Measuring the degree of organisational transformation.

Abstract: International organisations are increasingly urging governments to support the dissemination of new organisational concepts. Research into the efforts made by the business community in its quest for new organisational concepts and permanent monitoring of the effects of organisational transformation are necessary tools for supporting these policy lines. Since 1980 a variety of organisation surveys have been undertaken in an effort to evaluate the extent and effects of workplace innovation. Comparisons of the findings or results of these major organisation surveys are fraught with major difficulties because the choices of methodology and survey design differ widely. Moreover, little information is currently available about the methodological limitations of these organisation surveys. This paper therefore concentrates on the methodological design of 16 major organisation surveys. The objectives of the paper can be described as follows: (1) comparison of organisation surveys with the aim of making an inventory of 'good practices' at several levels (e.g. sampling method, non-response strategy, etc.), which can strengthen the quality of research into the diffusion and effects of new organisational concepts; (2) charting current 'methodological diversity' with the aim of investigating the possibilities for cross-national research into the spread and effects of new organisational concepts.Complications; Characteristics; International; Effects; Surveys; Strategy;

De instroom op de Belgische arbeidsmarkt in 2000: enkele leermomenten uit een turbulent jaar.

Management;

The delayed transformation: restructuring in the automobile, chemical, clothing and machine tool industries.

In this paper, we focus on the results of the Belgian Trend Study. The intention of this study was to examine the prevalence of new production concepts within the widest possible range of companies in the automobile, the machine-tool, the chemical and the clothing industries. The Trend Study aimed to answer the following questions : is the Taylorist division of labour a thing of the past ? What are the alternatives ? Are shifts in the division of labour accompanied by another type of personnel policy, and do traditional relations have to make way for this new approach ? The methodological concept used had to guarantee that the findings at the level of each industry could be generalized. Though the picture emerging from the empirical data collected in the four industrial sectors is inevitably diverse, the data make it possible merely to suggest a 'neo' rather than a 'post' Taylorist or Fordist concept.

The quest for a balanced manpower capacity: different flexibility strategies examined

To cope with permanent fluctuations in demand, organizations are challenged to organize their manpower capacity in a flexible way. Different strategies of manpower planning are being used for this purpose. Using data from the 2002 Panel Survey of Organisations Flanders, we first verify to what extent temporal, contractual and functional flexibility strategies are applied in Flemish organizations. Subsequently, logistic regression is used to analyse the link between these flexible work strategies and a ‘fitting manpower capacity’. While the results show a negative association between the use of temporal or contractual flexibility measures and a balanced manpower capacity, functional flexibility seems to be positively related. The different logics in which numerical and functional flexibility proceed can be labeled as ‘curative’ versus ‘preventive’ strategies of flexibility. Further analyses discern between various interpretations of functional flexibility and assess whether different team types make a contribution to a fitting manpower capacity.Knowledge Society; work; Foresight

Unionism and Workers' Strategies in Capitalist Transformation: The Polish Case Reconsidered

This article reassesses recent debates on labour weakness in Central and Eastern Europe after the end of `actually existing socialism', examining the relationship between workers' life strategies and the development of trade unionism in Poland. Biographical interviews with workers reveal three distinct patterns of coping with social change, structural conditions and their relationship to workers' activity in unions. It is suggested that recent signs of union renewal can only be sustained by re-linking the union agenda with the workers' diversified and pragmatized life strategies

Technological practices in the European auto industry: Exploring cases from Belgium, Germany and Portugal

The relation between work organisation and technological practices in auto industry is analysed in this article. The concept of “technological practice” in this sector is used to describe the specific ways of embedding information and communication technology applications into the organizational forms and cultural patterns. This concept was developed with the Sowing project (TSER, DG XII) and that approach included either the shop floor co-operation up to the regionally based networks of companies and supporting institutions. The authors studied different sectors in the automotive firms of different European countries (Germany, Belgium and Portugal): shopfloor and production lines, design and management and the local inter-relationships. It was underlined some evidencies of the different alternatives in terms of technological practices for the same sector. Much of the litterature try to disseminate an idea of a single (and optimum) organisational model for the same type of product. And here, even with the same type of technology, and of product (medium-high range), one can find different models, different cultures, different ways of organising the industrial structure (firms, regional institutions, R&D centres) in the same sector (auto industry).Automobile sector; technological practice; Information and Communication Technologies; work organisation; industrial structure; production models

Flexibiliteit van de arbeid: een vergelijking 'België-Nederland'.

In deze bijdrage lopen meerdere doelen parallel. We starten met een kritische evaluatie van de argumenten pro en contra een verdere flexibilisering van de arbeid. Ten tweede vergelijken we, op basis van deze theoretische oefening, het Belgische beleid inzake contractuele en temporele flexibiliteit met het Nederlandse. Deze vergelijking heeft betrekking op de institutionele structuur, de dominante sturingsconcepten en de toegepaste mix van instrumenten. Ten derde gaan we na of verschillen in institutionele inbedding leiden tot verschillen in de wijze waarop bedrijven flexibiliteit nastreven. We besluiten met enkele reflecties over te verwachten evoluties in de sturingsconcepten.Industry;

The quest for a balanced manpower capacity: different flexibility strategies examined

To cope with permanent fluctuations in demand, organizations are challenged to organize their manpower capacity in a flexible way. Different strategies of manpower planning are being used for this purpose. Using data from the 2002 Panel Survey of Organisations Flanders, we first verify to what extent temporal, contractual and functional flexibility strategies are applied in Flemish organizations. Subsequently, logistic regression is used to analyse the link between these flexible work strategies and a ‘fitting manpower capacity’. While the results show a negative association between the use of temporal or contractual flexibility measures and a balanced manpower capacity, functional flexibility seems to be positively related. The different logics in which numerical and functional flexibility proceed can be labeled as ‘curative’ versus ‘preventive’ strategies of flexibility. Further analyses discern between various interpretations of functional flexibility and assess whether different team types make a contribution to a fitting manpower capacity

Mainstreaming innovation in Europe : findings on employee innovation and workplace learning from Belgium

The EU is striving for an ‘Innovative Union’. Various case studies already hinted that the involvement of various types of employees is crucial for the organisational innovativeness. Using data from a large scale Belgian employee level survey in five industries, this article focuses on the question how ‘mainstream’ innovation is in Belgian firms and how this coincides with forms of workplace learning. Innovation mainstreaming here refers to the inclusion of various occupational groups in the innovation process. Findings suggest that innovation in most sectors, is an ‘elite driven’ process with only a limited involvement of lower level employees. Moreover, genuine employee-driven innovations are a rarity. Nevertheless, the research also finds that workplace learning (job training and in-work learning opportunities) are potentially strong levers for employee innovation for all types of employees. Specifically providing in-work learning opportunities to technical workers could make innovation more mainstream in Europe

Temporary employment and employability: training opportunities and efforts of temporary and permanent employees.

The rise of temporary employment contributes to the fact that people can no longer count on life time employment with one employer. The conclusion that life time employment within the same organisation is no longer a prerogative for all, inspires the search for new career concepts. 'Life time employability' is often put forward as an alternative to 'life time employment'. A successful career is, then, believed to be assured by having and obtaining the appropriate capacities for being continuously employable on the internal and external labour market during one's working life. At first sight, temporary employment relations and employability go hand in hand. For temporary employment is less dramatic when it is linked to a higher employability. The career opportunities of temporary workers are safeguarded by their employability. Opponents, however, add some critical observations to this statement and claim that contractual flexibility and employability enhancement are at odds. In this article, we deal with this question. If temporary employment and employability enhancing activities are at odds, temporary employees get less facilities to expand their employability. This can have important implications for the career opportunities of temps. We compare the employability enhancing activities of temporary and permanent employees. We study one central employability enhancing activity, namely training. Firstly, we have a look at the capacity and the willingness of temporary and permanent employees to participate in training in order to enhance their employability. Secondly, we also study the training opportunities that are offered by employers to temporary and permanent employees. The results indicate that, although temps do largely take responsibility for their own training, they get less opportunities to enhance their employability than permanent employeEmployment;