The operation of discipline in the workplace has received little attention in sociology; the control of attendance has attracted even less. Yet they have taken on a growing significance in many firms, and help to throw light on more general issues of new forms of the control of labour. Material...

Recent trends in industrial relations do not include a systematic attack on union organisation, according to evidence gathered during a survey of British manufacturing plants (base size: 250 full‐time employees) from the food, drink and tobacco, chemical, electrical engineering, textiles,...

In the previous issue of Employee Relations , the results of a survey of 229 large manufacturing plants were used to consider how labour relations have been changing recently. The survey also undertook a broader consideration of the management of labour relations. The results are outlined here.

Surveys based on standard questionnaires have long been a major research tool of the social scientist. The great majority have focused on one type of respondent — the workers of a given firm, the voters in a particular constituency, or whatever. For one sort of survey, namely, those that seek...