scholarly journals High Performance Work Strategies: Empowerment Or Repression For The Working Class?

Author(s):  
James H. Browne

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.6in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A brief overview of work organization from pre-industrial times to today is presented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The importance of lean production and just-in-time inventory (JIT) as high performance work organization techniques in manufacturing assembly operations is highlighted as important business strategies for firms competing in the global auto industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Lean production and JIT strategies, when properly implemented, positively impact the need for manufacturing flexibility and customer demands for high quality and short delivery time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>However, there is growing concern that these strategies are having an unintended and negative impact on worker well being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Recent empirical work on the lean production and JIT in auto assembly plants is presented in light of its impact on workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>In addition, an assessment is made as to whether these strategies empower or repress members of today's working class. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (79) ◽  
pp. 539-552
Author(s):  
Ana Heloisa Costa Lemos ◽  
Leila Sharon Nasajon Gottlieb ◽  
Alessandra de Sá Mello da Costa

Abstract Recent changes in the world of work have resulted in a greater level of work intensification. Whilst there have been gains in productivity, workers have been subject to increasing demands of both a physical and mental nature, which tend to have a negative impact on their well-being. Our interest in understanding this phenomenon has led to a qualitative study that seeks to analyse the experiences of professional graduates working in organizations that use high-performance practices, which tend to generate work intensification. The respondents revealed both the negative implications of work intensification, such as an increase in the working day, excessive pressure and sacrifices in their personal lives, as well as other aspects considered positive, such as learning, professional growth, autonomy and financial gains. These latter aspects deserve attention, since they can help us understand what leads qualified workers to accept intensified working practices.


Author(s):  
Marta-Christina Suciu

Abstract The main goal of the paper is to highlight the importance of supporting the promotion of the culture of excellence among people involved in a way or another in contemporary business. In order to support business excellence, the culture of excellence have to empower and engage all the people within an organization to think out of the box in a modern vision suitable to the challenging and changing times we are facing now. All over the world, in the most competitive countries, regions and sectors of activities there is a paradigmatic change of business strategies and policies oriented more and more towards performance and excellence. The paper highlights the importance of promoting the culture of excellence in the contemporary changing business environment. It suggests an important shift from a perspective that focuses on the so called ‘hero of excellence’ towards promoting the culture of excellence among the whole organization. Within modern business, in order to face challenges of the changing times and to explore their opportunities all the people from an organization are considered to manifest as ‘heroes of excellence’ by co-creating and co-working together within creative and innovative teams. They have to contribute and to participate actively to assure, preserve and develop the competitiveness and well being of the whole organization. The paper supports a holistic, cross disciplinary and integrated vision. It is structured into three parts including: a brief literature review based on an overview of the current state of the literature dedicated to the topic of culture of excellence (part 1); presentation of the main steps of the process of building a sustainable high performance organization (part 2); a brief presentation of examples of best practice and case studied identified internationally (part 3); conclusions that highlight the importance of culture of excellence in changing and challenging times.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat Chillakuri ◽  
Sita Vanka

Purpose This paper aims to provide an empirical investigation into the mediating role of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on health harm (HH). The study also examines the negative moderated role of workplace well-being (WW) and its indirect effect on work intensification (WI) and HH. The paper highlights the implications of the HH on individuals, organizations, families and societies and recognizes the need for sustainable human resource management (HRM) practices that drive employee well-being, thereby reducing the HH. More importantly, the study extends the understanding of sustainable goals through sustainable HRM. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected using four established scales. The data collected from 324 executives were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 Version and AMOS 21.0. Findings The study results confirmed that WW practices reduce the adverse effects arising out of HPWS and WI. The results proved that WI is positively related to HH, and that WW moderates the relationship between HPWS and HH such that HPWS is more positively associated with HH when the WW is low compared to when WW is high. Research limitations/implications The data were collected from executives working in Information Technology (IT) organizations in India. The findings and the implications may not be generalized to other industries, as the data is collected from IT professionals. Practical implications The study highlights the need for organizations to develop sustainable HRM practices to minimize the HH of work. Organizations should implement well-being interventions and develop activities that promote an individual’s mental and physical well-being alongside limiting work intensity. Originality/value HRM Literature reveals the positive effect of HPWS that it engages employees to achieve a competitive advantage to the firm. However, this study examines and empirically proves the negative impact of HPWS on employee health and well-being.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamila Kasprzak ◽  
Tomasz Oniszczuk ◽  
Agnieszka Wójtowicz ◽  
Monika Waksmundzka-Hajnos ◽  
Marta Olech ◽  
...  

Prohealth food contains specific components which have positive influence on the health and well-being of the consumer. An important position among bioactive compounds occurs for polyphenols. Many results have indicated that an increased intake of phenolic compounds may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. The objective of the study was production of extruded corn snacks with addition (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8%) of kale (Brassica oleraceaL. var.sabellica)—a polyphenol-rich plant. Afterwards, high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) and antioxidant activity analyses of snack extracts were performed. In the corn snacks enriched with kale, fifteen phenolic acids were indicated. These were protocatechuic, 4-OH-benzoic, vanillic,trans-caffeic,cis-caffeic,trans-p-coumaric,cis-p-coumaric,trans-ferulic,cis-ferulic, salicylic, gentisic, syringic, 3-OH-cinnamic,trans-sinapic, andcis-sinapic acids. Both the qualitative and quantitative content of polyphenols increased with the addition ofB. oleracea. Data from spectrophotometric analyses of the samples showed high DPPH radical scavenging potential of snacks enriched with 4, 6, and 8% of kale. Snacks enriched with kale contain high level of phenolic acids and, therefore, have great potential to make a valuable source of natural antioxidants. High-temperature short-time extrusion-cooking process had no negative impact on polyphenol’s activity.


Ensemble ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol SP-1 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-93
Author(s):  
Anindya Basu ◽  
◽  
Lopamudra Bakshi Basu ◽  

Medical tourism has become a booming industry in the recent past. People from all around the world cross the borders for better medical treatment. The leading destinations with markets for medical tourism include Malaysia, Thailand, India, Singapore, Turkey, and United States. Latest medical technology, high-quality services, insurance are a few of the criteria medical tourists seek for. As public-funded well-being insurance is unable to keep pace with the increasing demands of a growing aging population, patients from the United Kingdom and Canada travel to India to beat the huge waiting period for the routine procedures. The unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak has forced the market to observe diminishing growth. The pandemic is predicted to have a negative impact on this growing industry. The organizations, involved in the development of the medical tourism, stare at a dark future. It is, therefore, necessary to streamline the industry in view of this dismal scenario. However, with the growing technological development, one such platform that can bridge the distance in the health sector is telemedicine. This paper is an attempt to study the growing importance of telemedicine in a developing country like India. The research is based on both primary and secondary data along with a thorough literature review. Post lockdown telemedicine is likely to grow, and telemedicine is probably the future of the healthcare industry.


Author(s):  
Dávid Losonci

A lean termelési rendszer szociotechnikai megközelítése szerint a lean technikai elemei (technikai alrendszer) a kimagasló teljesítményt nyújtó munkaerő-szervezési rendszer (HPWS) gyakorlataival (szocio alrendszer) kapcsolódnak össze. A tanulmány ezt a megközelítést MacDuffie (1995) szervezetilogika-koncepciója alapján mutatja be. A lean termelési rendszer munkaerő-szervezési rendszerével kapcsolatosan négy témakört tekint át: (1) a lean termelési rendszer munkaerő-szervezési rendszerekre gyakorolt hatását, (2) a HPWSgyakorlatok használatát és (3) teljesítményhatását, végül a (4) munkásokra gyakorolt hatásokat. A feldolgozott koncepcionális és empirikus munkákban valamennyi pontban számos ellentmondás fedezhető fel. _____ According to the socio-technical view of lean production lean system is built on both technical and human resource practices (subsystems). The concept of organizational logic developed by MacDuffie (1995) describes how lean techniques and high performance working systems practices mutually suppose each other in lean environment. This study reviews four fields of human issues in relation to lean production: (1) the impact of lean system on work organization; (2) the use HPWS practices and (3) their impact on operational performance indicators in lean producers; (4) the impact of lean production on workers. The review of empirical and conceptual studies points out that there are many contradictions regarding the above points.


Author(s):  
Maria S. Bryleva

Introduction. One of the priority socio-economic and medical-demographic problems in Russia is the high mortality. The study aim is to identify the most significant factors that determine the mortality on the example of two single-industry towns. Materials and methods. Mortality in two single-industry towns specializing in copper-nickel production, differenced in climate, environmental, and socio-economic indicators, was studied using age-standardized indicators averaged over 8 years (2010-2017). Results. In Monchegorsk, compared to Russia, with similar non-production characteristics, working-age mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) was higher by 49.0%, from malignant neoplasms (MN) by 34.7%, from diseases of the digestive system by 35.5%, which confirms the negative impact of occupational factors on the mortality of the population of a single-industry city. In Norilsk city, with the worst characteristics of the environment and climate, compared to Monchegorsk, mortality from CVD was lower in working age by 40.6%, in post-working age by 41.4%; from MN - in working age lower by 37.2% that shows the compensating influence of socio-economic factors on mortality. Conclusion. Risk factors for increased mortality rates in single-industry towns with copper-nickel enterprises are the influence of harmful occupational factors, as well as environmental pollution. Along with primary prevention, an effective mechanism for reducing mortality is to improve socio-economic well-being, and the quality of medical care.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Wales Patterson ◽  
Lilla Pivnick ◽  
Frank D Mann ◽  
Andrew D Grotzinger ◽  
Kathryn C Monahan ◽  
...  

Adolescents are more likely to take risks. Typically, research on adolescent risk-taking has focused on its negative health and societal consequences. However, some risk-taking behaviors might be positive, defined here as behavior that does not violate the rights of others and that might advance socially-valuable goals. Empirical work on positive risk-taking has been limited by measurement challenges. In this study, we elicited adolescents’ free responses (n = 75) about a time they took a risk. Based on thematic coding, we identified positive behaviors described as risks and selected items to form a self-report scale. The resulting positive risk-taking scale was quantitatively validated in a population-based sample of adolescent twins (n = 1249). Second, we evaluated associations between positive risk-taking, negative risk-taking, and potential personality and peer correlates using a genetically informed design. Sensation seeking predicted negative and positive risk-taking equally strongly, whereas extraversion differentiated forms of risk-taking. Additive genetic influences on personality accounted for the total heritability in positive risk-taking. Indirect pathways from personality through positive and negative peer environments were identified. These results provide promising evidence that personality factors of sensation seeking and extraversion can manifest as engagement in positive risks. Increased understanding of positive manifestations of adolescent risk-taking may yield targets for positive youth development strategies to bolster youth well-being.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Długosz ◽  
Yana

The article presents the results of research on psychosocial condition among Polish and Ukrainian students during the quarantine. The aim of the research was to verify the impact of the pandemic and its accompanying phenomena on the well-being of youth. In order to achieve this goal, the CAWI on-line survey method with double measurement was used. The first measurement carried out at the beginning of the quarantine resulted in 3659 filled out surveys in Poland and 739 in Ukraine. The second measurement conducted at the end of distance learning brought 1978 filled out surveys in Poland and 411 in Ukraine. The results of research indicate that the quarantine had a negative impact on the psychosocial condition of youth. The deterioration of emotional condition and the increase in mental disorders has been observed. Due to the pandemic and distance learning, the mental health of youth deteriorated significantly. Polish youth were negatively influenced by the pandemic to a greater extent than young Ukrainians.


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