The Nordic Model in a Global Company Situated in Norway. Challenging Institutional Orders?

In this article, we explore the impact of internationalization as organizational processes where institutional actors meet in local contexts and negotiate the institutional order. The internationalization of working life implies that different traditions and practices meet and challenge each other. The focus is on how important elements of the Nordic micro model like cooperation between employees and employers and regulation of working hours are implemented in a global company situated in Norway. In general, it seems that employees and employers cooperate in line with this tradition in the Nordic micro model. Norwegian manager’s practices are described to be in accordance with Scandinavian management traditions, while managers from the United States appear to practice management consistent with the liberal working life model. The findings show a tension-filled clash between two different management practices, which indicates that the Nordic micro model in this field might be under pressure. Manager’s recommendation to the employees was not to become members of the trade union. The absence of trade unions in the organization implies that employees and employers are not cooperating on a collective level. This means that only parts of the regulatory arrangement related to participation and cooperation are implemented. Findings concerning working time and the relation to the institutional order represented by the Norwegian Work Environment Act indicate a clear tension between different institutional traditions in the organization. The company does not respect the Norwegian in working time regulations. These regulations are seen as counterproductive for a company that competes in the international market. This devaluation of the regulations in the Nordic model implies that the institutional order represented in the Nordic micro model is challenged.publishedVersio

Polish migrant fathers using parental leave in Norway

Objective: This article explores how the Norwegian care regime impacts Polish migrant fathers' caring practices. Background: The present study illustrates the importance of context sensitive research when describing the consequences of migration from migratory-source countries in Eastern Europe. When a father’s labor migration takes place in an institutional context with a care regime which includes earmarked parental leave rights for fathers, it can result in the father having more time with his children. Method: To gain insight into fathers' experiences, in-depth research interviews were carried out with Polish fathers of young children. The majority of the informants live in Norway with their children and partners. Results: A main strength of the present study is the illustration of context-sensitive research when describing the consequences of migration from migratory-source countries in Eastern Europe. Conclusion: The findings in this article show how earmarked leave provides opportunities for the migrant fathers to be accessible and responsible and to interact with their child. These caring practices result in fathers bonding with their children and learning how to care for them. In addition, the migrant fathers experience emotional gains

The Translation of Nordic Workplace Democracy to the United States

This paper explores a translation process of Nordic workplace democracy by using an empirical case study of a Norwegian company setting up a subsidiary company in the US. The paper con- tributes to existing accounts of how ideas and practices in international companies are translated from one institutional context to another by focusing on the role of agency in translation processes. Drawing on advances in Scandinavian institutional theory, the findings show how employees from the source context acted as skilled translators in the new local context and helped to close the skills-gap between employees with and without experience of workplace democracy. In addition, the US managers had work experience from the company in Norway as well as from the US. The employees’ and managers’ complementary contextual knowledge represented important institutional bridging skills in the process of reproducing workplace democracy in the new local setting. However, during the translation process, some of the elements in the workplace democracy model were discussed and modified. This demonstrates how the organizations’ approach can change over time, from a reproducing to a modifying mode

The Nordic Model in a Global Company Situated in Norway. Challenging Institutional Orders?

In this article, we explore the impact of internationalization as organizational processes where institutional actors meet in local contexts and negotiate the institutional order. The internationalization of working life implies that different traditions and practices meet and challenge each other. The focus is on how important elements of the Nordic micro model like cooperation between employees and employers and regulation of working hours are implemented in a global company situated in Norway. In general, it seems that employees and employers cooperate in line with this tradition in the Nordic micro model. Norwegian manager’s practices are described to be in accordance with Scandinavian management traditions, while managers from the United States appear to practice management consistent with the liberal working life model. The findings show a tension-filled clash between two different management practices, which indicates that the Nordic micro model in this field might be under pressure. Manager’s recommendation to the employees was not to become members of the trade union. The absence of trade unions in the organization implies that employees and employers are not cooperating on a collective level. This means that only parts of the regulatory arrangement related to participation and cooperation are implemented. Findings concerning working time and the relation to the institutional order represented by the Norwegian Work Environment Act indicate a clear tension between different institutional traditions in the organization. The company does not respect the Norwegian in working time regulations. These regulations are seen as counterproductive for a company that competes in the international market. This devaluation of the regulations in the Nordic model implies that the institutional order represented in the Nordic micro model is challenged

Makt og kjønn i det nye arbeidslivet

I denne artikel vil jeg belyse det som er blitt kalt et norsk paradox, nemlig at vi finner færre kvinner i ledende stillinger i næringslivet når vi sammenligner oss med lande som Storbritannia og USA, på tross av at vi har høyere andel kvinner i næringslivet generelt og på toppnivå i politikken. Jeg skal ikke gi det endelige svaret på dette problemkomplekset, men jeg vil diskutere dette ved å ta utgangspunkt i to tema: for det første det som har vært det siste årets store debatt tema, nemlig spørgsmålet om foreldres behov for tid. Og for det andre, det som jeg ser som sentrale utviklingstrekk i arbeidslivet både i Norge og ellers. Det er kanskje unødvendig å si at jeg ser sterke sammenhenge mellom disse to

Den norske samarbeidsmodellen : egnet for eksport til USA?

publishedVersio

Norwegian Fathers’ Use of Parental Leave, 1987-89

The project has highlighted the following issues: 1. Which factors are important for fathers when it comes to take a paternity leave? 2. How does the arrangement around the (paid) leave of absence affect men's use of paternity leave? 3. What do the men who take paternitiy leave experience regarding (paid) leave of absence

The Nordic Model in a Global Company Situated in Norway. Challenging Institutional Orders?

In this article, we explore the impact of internationalization as organizational processes where institutional actors meet in local contexts and negotiate the institutional order. The internationalization of working life implies that different traditions and practices meet and challenge each other. The focus is on how important elements of the Nordic micro model like cooperation between employees and employers and regulation of working hours are implemented in a global company situated in Norway. In general, it seems that employees and employers cooperate in line with this tradition in the Nordic micro model. Norwegian manager’s practices are described to be in accordance with Scandinavian management traditions, while managers from the United States appear to practice management consistent with the liberal working life model. The findings show a tension-filled clash between two different management practices, which indicates that the Nordic micro model in this field might be under pressure. Manager’s recommendation to the employees was not to become members of the trade union. The absence of trade unions in the organization implies that employees and employers are not cooperating on a collective level. This means that only parts of the regulatory arrangement related to participation and cooperation are implemented. Findings concerning working time and the relation to the institutional order represented by the Norwegian Work Environment Act indicate a clear tension between different institutional traditions in the organization. The company does not respect the Norwegian in working time regulations. These regulations are seen as counterproductive for a company that competes in the international market. This devaluation of the regulations in the Nordic model implies that the institutional order represented in the Nordic micro model is challenged

Les pères en congé parental en Norvège. Changements et continuités

Fathers on parental leave in Norway. What has changed and what stays the same This article deals with what Norwegian fathers do during their parental leave when their partners are not present. Norway capped the amount of leave specifically for fathers in a parental leave system that has been in place since 1993. Since then, the quota has been extended from four weeks to 10 today. Based on interviews of fathers who took this leave when it was introduced in 1993, and of other fathers who took it between 2009 and 2011, the authors analyse what has changed in their practices. Whereas the first generation of stay-at-home fathers considered that looking after their child excluded them from doing housework, fathers these days include household chores in their childcare. They also seem to develop better interpersonal skills and stronger emotional ties with their child, along with a feeling of responsibility for their wellbeing, taking them from the role of mother''s helper to that of " coparent".Cet article porte sur ce que font les pères norvégiens en congé parental sans la présence de leur conjointe. La Norvège a instauré un quota de congés dédié aux pères, au sein d’un système de congés parentaux en place depuis 1993. Depuis cette date, ce quota a été étendu de quatre à dix semaines aujourd’hui. À partir d’entretiens auprès de pères qui ont utilisé ce congé lors de son instauration en 1993 et auprès d’autres pères l’ayant pris entre 2009 et 2011, les auteures analysent les changements opérés dans leurs pratiques. Alors que pour la première génération de pères « à la maison » , s’occuper de l’enfant excluait la prise en charge des tâches ménagères, les pères actuels intègrent celles-ci au travail de soin. Ils paraissent également développer des compétences relationnelles et des liens émotionnels plus forts avec leur enfant, ainsi qu’un sentiment de responsabilité de leur bien-être les faisant passer du rôle d’aidant de la mère à celui de « coparent ».Kvande Elin, Brandth Berit. Les pères en congé parental en Norvège. Changements et continuités. In: Revue des politiques sociales et familiales, n°122, 2016. Exercice de la paternité et congé parental en Europe. pp. 11-18

The Nordic Model in a Global Company Situated in Norway. Challenging Institutional Orders?

In this article, we explore the impact of internationalization as organizational processes where institutional actors meet in local contexts and negotiate the institutional order. The internationalization of working life implies that different traditions and practices meet and challenge each other. The focus is on how important elements of the Nordic micro model like cooperation between employees and employers and regulation of working hours are implemented in a global company situated in Norway. In general, it seems that employees and employers cooperate in line with this tradition in the Nordic micro model. Norwegian manager’s practices are described to be in accordance with Scandinavian management traditions, while managers from the United States appear to practice management consistent with the liberal working life model. The findings show a tension-filled clash between two different management practices, which indicates that the Nordic micro model in this field might be under pressure. Manager’s recommendation to the employees was not to become members of the trade union. The absence of trade unions in the organization implies that employees and employers are not cooperating on a collective level. This means that only parts of the regulatory arrangement related to participation and cooperation are implemented. Findings concerning working time and the relation to the institutional order represented by the Norwegian Work Environment Act indicate a clear tension between different institutional traditions in the organization. The company does not respect the Norwegian in working time regulations. These regulations are seen as counterproductive for a company that competes in the international market. This devaluation of the regulations in the Nordic model implies that the institutional order represented in the Nordic micro model is challenged