scholarly journals Industrial relations in Italy in the twenty-first century

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 654-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Pulignano ◽  
Domenico Carrieri ◽  
Lucio Baccaro
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Classical Source ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
The Government ◽  
Institutional Actors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the developments which have characterized Italy’s industrial relations from post-war Fordism to neo-liberal hegemony and recent crisis, with a particular focus on the major changes occurred in the twenty-first century, especially those concerning concertative (tripartite) policy making between the government, the employers’ organizations and the trade unions. Design/methodology/approach This study is a conceptual paper which analysis of main development trends. Findings Italy’s industrial relations in the twenty-first century are characterized by ambivalent features which are the heritage of the past. These are summarized as follows: “collective autonomy” as a classical source of strength for trade unions and employers’ organization, on the one hand. On the other hand, a low level of legislative regulation and weak institutionalization, accompanied by little engagement in a generalized “participative-collaborative” model. Due to the instability in the socio-political setting in the twenty-first century, unions and employers encounter growing difficulties to affirm their common points of view and to build up stable institutions that could support cooperation between them. The result is a clear reversal of the assumptions that had formed the classical backdrop of the paradigm of Italy’s “political exchange.” This paradigm has long influenced the way in which the relationships between employers, trade unions and the state were conceived, especially during 1990s and, to some extent, during 2000s, that is the development of concertative (tripartite) policy making. However, since the end of 2000s, and particularly from 2010s onwards national governments have stated their intention to act independently of the choices made by the unions (and partially the employers). The outcome is the eclipse of concertation. The paper explores how the relationships among the main institutional actors such as the trade unions (and among the unions themselves), the employers, and the state and how politics have evolved, within a dynamic socio-political and economic context. These are the essential factors needed to understand Italy’s industrial relations in the twenty-first century. Originality/value It shows that understanding the relationship among the main institutional actors such as the trade unions (and among the unions themselves), the employers and the state and their politics is essential to understand the change occurred in contemporary Italy’s industrial relations.

Can productivity be socially embedded? Reflections on some productivity measures of 2000s

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruya Gokhan Kocer
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Graphical Displays ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Empirical Material

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of items that are included in recent productivity programmes in various countries and integrate these items with the ideas of virtuous circuit of productivity and socially embedded productivity. Design/methodology/approach – In depth analysis of an illustrative set of productivity measures. The analysis reveals how each measure/programme could make sense to the industrial relations actors. A new conceptual reformulation of analysed measures and programmes. Findings – Bilateral productivity deals between trade unions and employers are not necessarily good from the perspective of national policy making. For this kind of uncoordinated productivity measures, though may be good for individual enterprises, may increase unemployment by pushing other domestic competitors out of the market or compelling them to lay-off workers in a reactive fashion. By drawing on Polanyi, one may argue that it is possible to strike a good balance between productivity concerns and societal interests by embedding the former into the latter. Research limitations/implications – The purpose is to introduce a new conceptualization, thus the empirical material is meant to be illustrative rather than extensive. Originality/value – By using graphical displays and empirical argumentation two new concepts are introduced: first, virtuous circuit of productivity and second, socially embedded productivity.

A search for new paths in Chinese industrial relations

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-37
Author(s):  
John Wheatcroft
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Gradual Transition ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Way

Purpose Collective bargaining (CB) in China is perceived as inadequate, thanks to the lack of trade union independence and representation. However, there are interesting developments in some parts of the country, including Wenling, a massive manufacturing center examined here. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative case study covers all stakeholders, including the government, trade unions, sweater association, workers and employers. Findings This paper examines initially the way that trade unions are constrained by corporatism in China. Increased industrial conflicts could push employers to become the engine of change. It finds that employers endeavor to use CB as a tool to stabilize employment relations and neutralize workers resistance. A gradual transition in labor relations system is on the way. The “Wenling Way” described here could become more widely used and is seen in some quarters as a possible model. Originality/value This paper offers new insights into the under-reported area of Chinese industrial relations.

Introduction

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Le Grand ◽  
Bill New
Keyword(s):  
Relevant Information ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
The Government ◽  
Paternalistic Intervention ◽  
Nanny State

This book explores one of the major social questions of the twenty-first century: whether the government should save people from themselves. More specifically, it considers whether there are circumstances when the state, or the government of the state, should intervene to protect individuals from the possibly damaging consequences of their own decisions, even if those decisions affect only themselves, and even if the individuals concerned made the decisions while in full possession of their faculties and of all the relevant information. In other words, whether government paternalism can be justified. The book asks whether allowing the government to be the agent of paternalism creates a “nanny state” that invades the autonomy of the individuals concerned and potentially infantilizing them. Finally, it examines what form a paternalistic intervention should take and to what extent the rationale or consequences of government policies may be regarded as wholly or partly paternalistic.

Florida voters react to Biden's Caribbean policy

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Relief ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
The State ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Family Connections ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Government

Significance Many areas of the Caribbean have trade, investment and family connections with communities in Florida. As the state now plays a pivotal role in US electoral politics, crises in the region can take on added political importance for parts of Florida’s electorate. Impacts Forecasts of short-term economic recovery for Florida remain highly uncertain given the continuing impact of the pandemic. Clashing interests across the Caribbean may demand greater coordination of US policy than the government can currently offer. Healthcare and disaster relief capabilities within the state are severely overstretched and could be overwhelmed by a new crisis.

Leadership competencies for the 21st century: a review from the Western world literature

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Major Ngayo Fotso
Keyword(s):  
Personal Development ◽  
World Literature ◽  
Leadership Competencies ◽  
First Century ◽  
Western World ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Decision Choices ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Recruitment And Selection

Purpose The proliferation of studies on leadership competencies have not yet provided a consistent set to guide the work of researchers and practitioners. This paper aims to generate a clear, literature-based overview of the relevant leadership competencies for the twenty-first century. Design/methodology/approach The paper is an integrative literature review and identifies four strands of literature on leadership, reaching back to traditional works. It reviews each strand to establish which leadership competencies remain relevant for the twenty-first century. Findings This paper shows it is essential to clarify and harmonize terminology used in leadership literature. It identifies 18 groups of leadership competencies required for the twenty-first century. The research reveals that leaders of the twenty-first century must be able to combine a strong concern for people, customer experience, digitalization, financialization and the general good. Research limitations/implications This paper is based on a non-exhaustive list of literature derived from studies published in Western journals, written in English. Future research should include papers beyond the confines of Western academia and entail fieldwork to test the comprehensive framework derived here. Practical implications This paper will help practitioners develop leadership training curricula and transform the leadership culture in their organizations. The competency list can be useful in recruitment and selection processes for leadership positions. Professionals will find it helpful as an index in self-diagnosis and personal development for their career decision choices. Originality/value The paper addresses the growing need for clarity on the required leadership competencies for the twenty-first century.

Transnational Corporate Governance: The State of the Art and Twenty-First-Century Challenges

2021 ◽  
pp. 614-646
Author(s):  
Dionysia Katelouzou ◽  
Peer Zumbansen
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Institutional Investors ◽  
Shareholder Wealth ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
Access To Health Services ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Shareholder Wealth Maximization ◽  
Twenty First Century

This chapter explores corporate governance as a transnational regulatory field. Mirroring the rise in importance of the idea of shareholder wealth maximization as a firm’s definitive performance measure, corporate governance became a hotly contested field of competing visions of firms’ institutional and normative infrastructure in search of creating the most advantageous conditions to attract capital in volatile markets. This shift occurred at the same time that regulatory transformations in Western postindustrial societies since the early 1980s had begun to significantly shift public service provision and state-organized frameworks for old-age security guarantees and access to health services. Today’s corporate governance laboratory is a transnational force field, fought over by a host of different state and nonstate actors and also by private actors such as institutional investors. Meanwhile, following the financial crises in 2001, 2008 and 2020 and the simultaneously growing pressure on corporations from human rights, gender equality, and environmental groups, the corporate governance debate again is shifting. This time, a diversity of issues are being discussed under the corporate governance rubric, indicating a more comprehensive engagement with the firm’s purpose and functions and its societal obligations and responsibilities. Given the crucial role of firms as the residual claimants of a wide-ranging retreat of the state from its role in guaranteeing and providing a wide range of social functions, corporate governance is a mirror for the transformation of public and private power, and it has to address the twenty-first-century challenges, including global value chains and the proliferation of institutional investors, unfolding on a planetary scale.

Approaching the 21st Century: Perspectives on Korean Industrial Relations

1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seoghun Woo
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Presidential Address ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Government ◽  
Time Changes ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Major Factors

This paper argues that the future direction for the development of Korean industrial relations will evolve through direct interaction between employers and trade unions (either conflictual or cooperative). The government is likely to play a less interventionist role in industrial relations, compared with the past, and to adopt the role of mediator between unions and employers. Characteristics of Korean industrial relations during the pre- 1987 period is firstly examined; four major factors are used to explain the industrial relations practice during this time. Changes after 1987 are also considered. Special consideration is given to interaction between the environment and the three major industrial relations participants, and the interactions between them. Both macro and micro aspects of industrial relations are examined. The special Presidential Address (26/04/1996), known as New Conception of Industrial Relations, is also analysed in terms of its implications for future industrial relations issues in Korea.

Using sustainability themes and multidisciplinary approaches to enhance STEM education

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rogers ◽  
Thomas Pfaff ◽  
Jason Hamilton ◽  
Ali Erkan
Keyword(s):  
Web Site ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
First Century ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Traditional Course ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Introductory Calculus ◽  
Existing Structure ◽  
Specific Learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the Multidisciplinary Sustainability Education Project (MSEP) as a framework using sustainability-themed education modules to introduce students to the need for multidisciplinary approaches to solving twenty-first-century problems while retaining traditional course strengths and content. Design/methodology/approach – The MSEP uses sustainability-themed education models and a multidisciplinary approach to link courses across disciplines. Modules are identified by an overarching question with activities designed to address the overarching question from course-specific perspectives, resulting in students writing short technical reports summarizing their results. Students then read and evaluate technical reports from other classes, and complete a summary activity designed to connect perspectives from different disciplines. Findings – The multi-method assessment identified no loss or gain in discipline-specific learning; increased understanding about the characteristics of twenty-first-century problems, in particular those related to sustainability; and increased students ' favorable perceptions of introductory calculus. Assessment of increased understanding of how different disciplines can work together to understand complex problems was difficult to measure due to limitations of a project-developed assessment instrument. Originality/value – This paper contributes to undergraduate sustainability education by describing a framework for connecting courses using sustainability-themed modules. By implementing an asynchronous manner where courses use materials from the project Web site and contribute materials to the Web site after implementing a module, it is easy to incorporate a module into existing courses, any educational institution’s existing structure and across institutions. The framework’s flexible design allows new courses from any discipline to connect to a module, allowing for multidisciplinary connections to grow over time.

scholarly journals Professionalization and Innovations in Nigerian Public Service: How far the Dream of Success?

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Salami Issa Afegbua
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Made In

Public service accounts for a substantial share of a country’s economic activity. It is designed as an agent of fruitful change and development in the state. The transformation of any society or system depends on the effectiveness and efficiency of its civil service. The article examines the nature of professionalization and innovation in Nigerian public service. It argues that professionalization in the public service is an overarching value that determines how its activities will be carried out. The article note that various attempts have been made in Nigeria to professionalised and encourage innovation in the public service, but these have not bring about the expected changes in the public service. It therefore advocates for professionalization and innovations as panacea to the ills of public service in Nigeria. The article concludes that no public service can meet the challenges of the twenty first century without a stronger commitment to the professionalization of its workforce.

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