This paper presents the findings of a case study undertaken in a UK utility company, referred to as Energy Co. The main aim of the study was to assess how the agreement of a partnership arrangement in 1995 had affected the conduct of employment relations. The study found that partnership was...

Purpose – Given the emergence of new legal initiatives for union recognition, declining levels of union membership and the growth of alternative forms of employee representation, this paper aims to examine the management of employee voice in non‐union firms. Design/methodology/approach –...

British industrial relations has changed greatly over the past decade. A central development has been management′s sponsorship of new, direct forms of employee involvement (EI) such as team briefing, quality circles and profit sharing. In many larger manufacturing firms new schemes now...

Argues that the discipline of Industrial Relations has become marginalized, as discussion about business, work and employment has been increasingly dominated by the popular nostrums of “Enterprise Culture”, “Excellence” and “Human Resources Management”. Attempts to restate the...

Looks at the effect of modern empowerment policies on middle management. The transition of middle managers from technical experts to coaches, and the position at the sharpest point of conflict between senior management and employees, means that empowerment often requires middle management to...

This article reports on a new strategy for labour control in a British carpet factory, brought about under the pressure of the recession. The key characteristics of this approach have a number of similarities with the Japanese model of labour relations. Quality circles are the only overtly...

Uses a longitudinal case study approach to analyse changes in industrial relations in a chemical company over the last decade. The authors argue that the concept of “waves” can be used to help understand developments during this period. The first wave related to the crisis of the early 1980s...