Employee Participation by Codetermination, Labor Law, and Collective Bargaining

Nutzinger, Hans G.

doi:10.1515/9783110859379-027

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The Taiwanese government, for example, recently mandated greater industrial democracy among its labor force, an initiative impeded by lack of worker skills for participating, low public education in labor issues, and relatively authoritarian management practices (Han & Chui, 2000). In contrast, the sustained effectiveness of democratic practices in German firms is reflected in ongoing support from the federal government, which oversees works councils for labor-management deliberation and sponsors an array of training programs for union leaders at least in some industry sectors (Nutzinger, 1988). Democratic culture is often greatest in local or otherwise easily accessible settings of small to moderate size where participation is invited.…”

Section: Meanings Of Democracymentioning

confidence: 99%

Democracy, a Way of Organizing in a Knowledge Economy

Rousseau

Rivero

2003

Journal of Management Inquiry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This essay expands on the theme of the 2003 Academy of Management conference in Seattle: Democracy in a Knowledge Economy. A central concern is the disconnection between the expansion of democratic governments and the relatively limited facets of democracy practiced in the workplace. The knowledge economy provides the context for reexamining the role of democratic practice in the way firms are organized in consequence of expanded access to information and the comparative advantage gained by firms composed of skilled and engaged workers. This essay's goal is to promote discussion among organizational scholars, educators, and practitioners regarding the link between democracy and work life. It reflects our personal deliberations based on research, practice, and conversations with Academy members, political scientists, and organizers of electronic communities.

show abstract

Section: Meanings Of Democracymentioning

confidence: 99%

Democracy, a Way of Organizing in a Knowledge Economy

Rousseau

Rivero

2003

Journal of Management Inquiry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…(I) the dual system of collective representation with its two complementary components of (a) centralised wage bargaining at sectoral level covering all workers employed by the industry, and (b) de-centralised codetermination on recruitment, dismissals, internal mobility, and work organization at plant and enterprise level through elected works councils (see : Nutzinger 1988).…”

Section: Reasons For the Failure Of The Epa From An Institutionalist mentioning

confidence: 99%

More Jobs Through Less Employment Protection? Evidence for West Germany

Buechtemann¹

1989

Labour

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In reaction to growing criticism of the allegedly negative employment effects of job protection regulations (lay-off and dismissal restraints), the West German government in 1985 introduced new legislation facilitating the conclusion of temporary (i.e. f i e dterm) work contracts in order to stimulate employment growth ('Employment Promotion Act 1985'AZPA).The research unit 'Labour Market and Employment' at the WZB has evaluated the employment and labour market impact of the new legislation for the period 1985-1988, and apart from providing a detailed analysis of the socio-economic and institutional diversity of job arrangements covered by the category of temporary (i.e. fiied-term) employment, the project's focus has been on the impact of minor changes in the institutional framework as effected by the EPA on firms' employment policies, as well as on the overall level of employment.Results show that like in most other European countries the temporary work force in Germany has considerably grown over the past years in both absolute and relative terms, this increase, however, being largely due to cyclical facfors as well as medium-term sfrucrural changes on the supply and demand side of the labour market rather than to changes in the regulatory framework as effected by the EPA.The impact of the new regulations on firms' hiring decisions and on the overall number of hirings in the total economy have to be regarded as rather modest, in fact amounting to not more than an estimated 25,000 additional hires per year or roughly 0.5% of all employment contracts concluded in the private sector. This marginal positive impact on firms' employment decisions, however, is counterbalanced by unintended substitution effects and an increase in involuntary quits arising from them when labour demand declines. Even under the overall positive employment development given in the period under investigation the net employment effects of the EPA temporary work legislation thus are shown to be at best marginal. In case of a deterioration of the overall economic situation, however, the increase in temporary job arrangements supported by the new legislation is likely to lead to accelerated workforce adjustments by firms and thus over time to result in a depression of the overall level of employment. From a theoretical point of view, the findings suggest that measures aiming at de-regulating labour relations such as the EPA largely fail to modify essential behavioral parameters of economic actors in economic environments which for decades have adjusted to a relatively high level of welfare state regulation, as has been the case in Western Germany.

show abstract