Mapping the Industrial Relations System of Samoa: An Assessment of Industrial Democracy and Employee Participation in Employment Relations Decisions in a Pacific Island Nation.

<p>This thesis maps out the industrial relations system of Samoa with specific emphasis on industrial democracy and employee participation in the making of rules and decisions affecting worker's employment. The thesis outlines the impacts of the environmental contexts, social, political, legal and economic, of Samoan society on the scope and nature of industrial relations in Samoa. Using data collected through face-to-face interviews, workshop observation and the analysis of various secondary documents that include for example, the study of industrial relations in the South Pacific nations by Prasad, Hince, & Snell (2003) and several country reports and national policies on employment relations, the thesis utilises Dunlop's (1958) systems model of industrial relations to describe the employer, employee and state relationship within the system and their varying roles in the determination of workplace rules. Dunlop's systems model enables the researcher to identify a strong link between the industrial relations system and the social institutions of Samoan society that are structured around the fa'asamoa (Samoan customs and traditions) and the fa'amatai (chiefly) systems of social justice and traditional rule making. Dunlop's model (which suggests that the 'rule' is the fundamental goal of an industrial relations system) enables identification of the prevailing processes that employer, employee, state and their representing agencies use to determine the rules in the Samoan workplace. It suggests that while the worker (union) is considered to be one of the key actors' in the establishment of workplace rules, the nature and scope of union participation and influence on industrial relations decisions in Samoa do not reflect this: in the sense that unions play virtually no role in Samoa's industrial relations system. The thesis also attempts to uncover the 'shared ideology' that prescribes and defines the actors' roles, prestige, power and influence on the process of rule making in Samoa's IR system. In doing so it finds that Samoan government is the dominant player in industrial relations in the sense that the government can unilaterally make decisions and rules regarding employment relations both at the organisational and national level, without the involvement of employers and workers. While employee participation in employment decisions is clearly affected by economic, technological and market constraints, other factors relating to the culturally nuanced concepts of 'respect', 'loyalty' and 'trust' toward those who hold significant power and authority appear to be predominant influences in the determination of rules in all facets of Samoan society. This particular condition of the Samoan system of industrial relations is explained with reference to Dunlop's notion of 'shared ideology' and the 'locus and distribution of power' within wider society.</p>

Mapping the Industrial Relations System of Samoa: An Assessment of Industrial Democracy and Employee Participation in Employment Relations Decisions in a Pacific Island Nation.

<p>This thesis maps out the industrial relations system of Samoa with specific emphasis on industrial democracy and employee participation in the making of rules and decisions affecting worker's employment. The thesis outlines the impacts of the environmental contexts, social, political, legal and economic, of Samoan society on the scope and nature of industrial relations in Samoa. Using data collected through face-to-face interviews, workshop observation and the analysis of various secondary documents that include for example, the study of industrial relations in the South Pacific nations by Prasad, Hince, & Snell (2003) and several country reports and national policies on employment relations, the thesis utilises Dunlop's (1958) systems model of industrial relations to describe the employer, employee and state relationship within the system and their varying roles in the determination of workplace rules. Dunlop's systems model enables the researcher to identify a strong link between the industrial relations system and the social institutions of Samoan society that are structured around the fa'asamoa (Samoan customs and traditions) and the fa'amatai (chiefly) systems of social justice and traditional rule making. Dunlop's model (which suggests that the 'rule' is the fundamental goal of an industrial relations system) enables identification of the prevailing processes that employer, employee, state and their representing agencies use to determine the rules in the Samoan workplace. It suggests that while the worker (union) is considered to be one of the key actors' in the establishment of workplace rules, the nature and scope of union participation and influence on industrial relations decisions in Samoa do not reflect this: in the sense that unions play virtually no role in Samoa's industrial relations system. The thesis also attempts to uncover the 'shared ideology' that prescribes and defines the actors' roles, prestige, power and influence on the process of rule making in Samoa's IR system. In doing so it finds that Samoan government is the dominant player in industrial relations in the sense that the government can unilaterally make decisions and rules regarding employment relations both at the organisational and national level, without the involvement of employers and workers. While employee participation in employment decisions is clearly affected by economic, technological and market constraints, other factors relating to the culturally nuanced concepts of 'respect', 'loyalty' and 'trust' toward those who hold significant power and authority appear to be predominant influences in the determination of rules in all facets of Samoan society. This particular condition of the Samoan system of industrial relations is explained with reference to Dunlop's notion of 'shared ideology' and the 'locus and distribution of power' within wider society.</p>

What drives employee's involvement in corporate volunteering? Bright and dark side of consequences to organization

PurposeThis study assesses the relevance of both individual and contextual factors as an antecedent to employee participation in corporate volunteering (CV) activities and affective organizational commitment and inter-role conflict as an outcome of employee volunteering. This study draws from the functional theory of motivation, social exchange theory and role strain perspective to explain hypothesized relationship of the study constructs.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was administered with 461 employee volunteers who had participated in company-sponsored volunteering programs. The authors adopted structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the study hypotheses.FindingsThe findings from the survey suggest that altruistic motives and organization CV capability will impact employee's participation in CV. The results highlight that employee participation in CV enhances affective organizational commitment, indicating that employee volunteering creates inter-role conflict.Research limitations/implicationsThough the study has identified inter-role conflict as a potentially unfavorable outcome, exploring when and how employee volunteering will create a negative effect will add significant value to organizations to protect the interest of their employees.Practical implicationsThis study provides insights to understand the relative effects of self- and other-oriented motives. The results suggest that organizations have more directed and carefully designed employee volunteering activities to enable more favorable benefits to employees.Originality/valueThis study contributes to expanding the knowledge on the phenomenon of employee volunteering by introducing and empirically validating an integrated framework of antecedents and consequences of employee volunteering.

Employee participation, job quality, and inequality

PurposeThe purpose is to review the effects of employee participation (EP) in decision-making, ownership and profit on job quality, worker well-being and productivity, and derive policy recommendations from the findings.Design/methodology/approachThe authors summarise results of “declining labour power”, plus theoretical arguments and empirical evidence for the benefits of EP for job quality, satisfaction and productivity.FindingsWorker well-being and job satisfaction are ignored unless they contribute directly to profitability. EP is needed to remedy this situation when employers have market power and unions are weak. The result can be a rise in both productivity and well-being.Research limitations/implicationsThe chief issue here is that there are data limitations, particularly on the well-being effects of participation.Practical implicationsLots of encouraging examples in many countries need legislative help to multiply.Social implicationsIt is quite possible that there could be major implications for welfare and employment.Originality/valueThe authors make the case for public sector subsidies for employee buyouts and new cooperative start-ups, as well as legislation for works councils and profit sharing.

Employee Participation Rights During Company Restructuring: Lessons Learned from the “Capability for Voice” in British Law

In the current economic context, marked by a growing number of company restructuring processes as well as a rising unemployment rate, it seems important to address the employee’s issue of job security as well as the need to reduce the negative impacts that some restructuring processes have on businesses and employees. One solution in this regard is to ensure that employees are heard during the restructuring process. Since the Quebec and the federal Canadian legal frameworks on the subject offer insufficient protections, the author’s goal is to find solutions in order to strengthen the existing frameworks as well as to suggest different ways of adopting other legal information and consultation procedures applicable to company restructuring in general. To this end, the author is interested in whether a process of information and consultation of employees in restructuring matters, similar to what exists in the European Union, is possible in Canada, in light of the British experience. In fact, the United Kingdom’s case is particularly interesting for Canada, because this country originally applied a collective laissez-faire approach to employee participation rights during company restructuring which was similar to the North American one. It was only because of mandatory directives of the European Union on the subject that the United Kingdom has set up information and consultation procedures recognized by law. In order to perform this study, we have used the method of comparative law and as a theoretical framework we have applied the capability for voice, developed by Amartya Sen, which provides a method for assessing the impact and relevance of Parliament acts that recognize extended participation rights to employees in regard to a company’s economic decisions. In doing so, we assess the extent that the British statutory instruments, related to the subject matter under study, meet the conditions of the capability for voice, which are prerequisites to pass from the involvement stage of the employees in company decisions to their real influence on such issues.