Agency and the deunionisation of managers in an Australian telecommunications company

Abstract

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1833367200001620How to cite this article: Ruth Barton and Diane van den Broek (2011). Agency and the deunionisation of managers in an A B S T R A C T Discussions about deunionisation usually focus on lower levels of the workforce with managers seen as the initiators of deunionisation strategies. Managers, however, occupy contradictory positions as agents of capital, employees and possibly trade unionists. This can place them in the position of being both recipients and conduits in deunionisation strategies. The focus of the study is on Telstra, the major telecommunications carrier in Australia. Using a range of sources such as interviews and company and union materials, this qualitative research shows how between 1992 and 2000Telstra's senior management's concerns over middle management agency prompted them to reframe the concept of a manager by using a set of managerial practices from the mining company CRA and the provisions of the Workplace Relations Act (1996) to individualise and deunionise their managerial ranks as a precursor to the deunionisation of the wider workforce.

Importance and performance of managerial skills in the Australian aged care sector - a middle managers' perspective

“…In particular, international and national research has established that middle managers not only communicate information and coordinate activities (Schlesinger & Oshry , Floyd et al . ) but also implement strategies formulated from those above them (Jackson & Humble ), act as change agents and oversee the day‐to‐day running of the business (Barton & van den Broek ). Moreover, in the Australian aged care sector, middle managers are expected to be involved in everyday service delivery (Paulsen ).…”