			Home About us Contact

Work Systems (work + system)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	65%
Engineering	25%
2 Other Domains	10%

Distribution within Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting

Industrial & Labor Relations	30%
Management	23%

Selected Abstracts

The Influence of Regular Work Systems on Compensation for Contingent Workers

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 4 2003
Article first published online: 16 SEP 200, Brenda A. Lautsch
Using data from a nationally representative survey of U.S. establishments, this article explores how features of regular work influence outcomes for contingent workers. The results show that firms combine regular and contingent work in varied ways: Some managers design contingent work to achieve performance objectives not possible with the regular workforce, whereas managers in other cases create contingent jobs to reinforce the same goals as regular work. In the latter case, contingent workers are more likely to be integrated with regular workers and to receive benefits. Benefit provision for contingent workers is also influenced by traditional internal labor market rules and by spillover effects in which efficiency or regulatory requirements lead benefits to be extended to contingent staff once offered to regular workers. [source]

High Involvement Work Systems and Job Insecurity in the International Iron and Steel Industry

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 1 2001
Nicolas Bacon
The different factors behind globalization and the emergence of high involvement work practices do not necessarily carry similar implications for labour. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of high involvement work systems upon workers in the steel industry. The authors present results from a series of cross-national sun>eys conducted in 1998 with 39 national trade unions from over 30 countries measuring issues such as job security, ownership changes, numerical flexibility, and union density. The findings are consistent with U.S. data reported by Osterman (1998) indicating that new work practices provide no defense against an environment of heightened Insecurity. Résumé Les différents facteurs qui encouragent la mondialisa-tion et le dévoloppement de nouvelles pratiques de travail, dites "high involvement" (travail en équipes, rotation des fonctions, plus grande autonomie des employés) n'entraînent pas nécessairement des consequences semblables pour la main d'oeuvre. Nous examinons dans cette étude les effets de ces pratiques "high involvement" sur les travailleurs métallurgiques. Les auteurs publient les résultas de sondages interna-tionaux effectués en 1998 auprès de 39 syndicats dans plus de 30 pays, permettant de mesurer la sécurité d'em-ploi, les changements de propriétaire, la flexibilité numérique et la concentration syndicate. Leurs résultats s'accordent avec des donnés provenant des E-U tels que dans Osterman (1988), et démontrent que ces nouvelles de travail ne sont pas une défense contre un environe-ment plus hostile que jamais. [source]

Work systems, corporate strategy and global markets: creative shop floors or ,a barge mentality'?

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 3 2004
Suzanne Konzelmann
ABSTRACT In the US, corporate restructuring of financial and physical assets as well as work systems has been widespread. Our study examines the inter-relationship between ,creative' work systems and ,destructive' markets, using a sample of US manufacturing firms in the metalworking, jet engine production and steel processing industries. [source]

Design and realization of the cooperative work system based on equipments sharing

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 4 2009
Bo Yan
Abstract With analysis on the necessity and functions of the equipments sharing platform and the cooperative work system for colleges and universities, this paper designs the cooperative work system to provide cooperative support for resource query and reservation. The system classifies users' resource application roles, divides users' application information into different cooperative grades, and provides a basis for users' cooperative work. Functions, authorization, page flow, operating methods, and relevant database table of cooperative roles are shown in detail. At the same time, the ASP system will be introduced into the system, and a special fee management system will be established for effective management of the system. Functions and page flow of the fee management system are also designed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 17: 372,378, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20195 [source]

The concept of work compatibility: An integrated design criterion for improving workplace human performance in manufacturing systems

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 4 2004
S. Abdallah
In this paper, we present the concept of work compatibility as an integrated work design criterion that simultaneously improves human health and safety, productivity, and work quality in manufacturing systems. In this respect, we have modeled work compatibility as a work design parameter that mathematically integrates the energizing (i.e., system resources) and the demand (i.e., system requirements) forces in the work system. A mathematical equation has been derived for the work compatibility matrix. Furthermore, an operating zone has been developed in which there is a region of optimality for the employee to function on practical grounds with a good degree of efficiency and sustainability. An application example is provided to demonstrate the potential of work compatibility to improve productivity and quality along with improvement in worker safety and health. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 14: 379,402, 2004. [source]

Research and theory on high-performance work systems: progressing the high-involvement stream

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009
Peter Boxall
The notion of a high-performance work system (HPWS) constitutes a claim that there exists a system of work practices for core workers in an organisation that leads in some way to superior performance. In this article, we dissect this fuzzy notion and examine its companion terminology: high-involvement work systems and high-commitment management. We argue that a focus on the high-involvement stream usefully grounds HPWS studies in an important area of workplace change in the current context and takes us away from eclectic and contentious selections of ,best practices'. We review research models and findings in this stream. The path to better research lies in examining the underpinning processes experienced by workers when management seeks to pursue high-involvement systems, and charting their links to employee and operational outcomes. [source]

Jaques and the early years in Australia

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDIES, Issue 4 2005
Sir Roderick Carnegie
Abstract The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of any organization, by the nature of his or her title and role, sets the culture (the "how we do things around here") which becomes either paranoiagenic or trust-inducing to greater or lesser extremes. This account of one CEO emphasizes the relationships between past managerial experiences, the business requirements of a highly competitive industry, the nature of the impact of local government on globally dispersed installations, and an intense interest in bringing together a better understanding of trust-inducing top-down managerial leadership. Thus follows an examination of one CEO's journey with a nascent body of research and the researcher as, together, they struggle with understanding what requirements and actions will be interpreted as not only "good for the company" but also "good for me" as an employee. The paper describes the added value of a CEO's systematic organizational analysis and structural design of a managerial work system focused on the employment of the discretion and judgment of each employee within appropriate role boundaries, thereby inserting a large amount of psychologically sound, creative problem-solving focused on competitive business outcomes. It develops understanding of the business reasons for fair pay for levels of work assigned, and the recognition of current potential capability and development of individuals as they naturally mature in future potential capability to handle more complex assignments. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Reconceptualizing the learning transfer conceptual framework: empirical validation of a new systemic model

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2004
Constantine Kontoghiorghes
The main purpose of this study was to examine the validity of a new systemic model of learning transfer and thus determine if a more holistic approach to training transfer could better explain the phenomenon. In all, this study confirmed the validity of the new systemic model and suggested that a high performance work system could indeed serve as a catalyst to successful training transfer. [source]

Nonlinear dynamics, complex systems, and occupational accidents

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 4 2003
Stephen J. Guastello
This article explains how some concepts of nonlinear dynamics,attractors, bifurcations, catastrophes, chaos, and self-organization,contribute to the explanation of deterministic processes in occupational accidents. Empirical results from factory, transportation, and health care settings are compared. The complex dynamics of chaos and self-organization have recently become more important as work systems themselves have become more complex. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 13: 293,304, 2003. [source]

Research and theory on high-performance work systems: progressing the high-involvement stream

HR strategy and competitive advantage in the service sector

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2003
Peter Boxall
While taking its cue from studies of high-performance work systems in manufacturing, this article examines theory and research on the potential for HR advantage in the service sector, building directly on recent studies of market segmentation and HR strategy in the sector. The article uses these studies, along with strategic management theory, to put forward a new typology of market characteristics, competitive dynamics and HR strategy in services. Three broad types of competition, ranging from mass market to knowledge-intensive services, are identified. This framework helps the article to explore the issue of whether competitive differentiation through human resources is possible only in high-skill areas such as professional services. It argues that opportunities for HR advantage are broader; they exist where quality and/or knowledge are important in competitive strategy. However, seeing the opportunity is not the same as achieving the result. Service firms that identify and pursue these opportunities face the problems of building and maintaining barriers to imitation, and of managing the ,politics of appropriation'. [source]

Work systems, corporate strategy and global markets: creative shop floors or ,a barge mentality'?

Incremental Organizational Change in a Transforming Society: Managing Turbulence in Hungary in the 1990s

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2000
Laszlo Czaban
The rapid liberalization of the former state socialist economies of Eastern Europe coupled with privatization were thought by many in the early 1990s likely to generate effective capitalist firms quite quickly. However, the radical institutional transformation and collapse of Soviet markets resulted in considerable uncertainty for most companies which, together with high sunk costs and lack of resources, inhibited organizational restructuring and strategic change. Despite high levels of foreign ownership and control by the mid-1990s, many Hungarian companies continued to produce much the same kinds of products for mostly the same customers with inputs from mostly the same suppliers as in 1990. While most had reduced employment substantially, and many had disposed of ancillary organizational units, the bulk of the companies considered here had not greatly altered their work systems and overall organizational structures. In the few enterprises where the production process had been extensively reorganized by 1996, this was funded and directed by foreign firms who had taken them over. These foreign firm-controlled companies also tended to have new top managers from outside the enterprise. They additionally introduced new products more often than Hungarian firms, albeit within rather narrow product lines that usually dominated the domestic market. Overall, most of the enterprises studied were still doing much the same set of activities in the mid-1990s, though with fewer staff, as at the start of the decade, and privatization per se had not led to major shifts in enterprise structure and strategy, nor did it seem likely to do so in the foreseeable future. [source]

Teamwork and patient safety in dynamic domains of healthcare: a review of the literature

ACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2 2009
T. MANSER
Aims/Background: This review examines current research on teamwork in highly dynamic domains of healthcare such as operating rooms, intensive care, emergency medicine, or trauma and resuscitation teams with a focus on aspects relevant to the quality and safety of patient care. Results: Evidence from three main areas of research supports the relationship between teamwork and patient safety: (1) Studies investigating the factors contributing to critical incidents and adverse events have shown that teamwork plays an important role in the causation and prevention of adverse events. (2) Research focusing on healthcare providers' perceptions of teamwork demonstrated that (a) staff's perceptions of teamwork and attitudes toward safety-relevant team behavior were related to the quality and safety of patient care and (b) perceptions of teamwork and leadership style are associated with staff well-being, which may impact clinician' ability to provide safe patient care. (3) Observational studies on teamwork behaviors related to high clinical performance have identified patterns of communication, coordination, and leadership that support effective teamwork. Conclusion: In recent years, research using diverse methodological approaches has led to significant progress in team research in healthcare. The challenge for future research is to further develop and validate instruments for team performance assessment and to develop sound theoretical models of team performance in dynamic medical domains integrating evidence from all three areas of team research identified in this review. This will help to improve team training efforts and aid the design of clinical work systems supporting effective teamwork and safe patient care. [source]

Promoting felt responsibility for constructive change and proactive behavior: exploring aspects of an elaborated model of work design,

JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 8 2006
Jerry Bryan Fuller
Although new theoretical models that are suggestive of how work design might be used to foster proactive motivation and proactive performance have been proposed, these models need further elaboration and testing if they are to be useful tools for contemporary organizations. Accordingly, we examine the extent to which feelings of responsibility for constructive change is a proactive psychological mechanism that explains how work design characteristics influence constructive change-oriented behavior and proactive performance. Specifically, we examine job autonomy, position in the organizational hierarchy, access to resources, access to strategy-related information, and role ambiguity as antecedents to felt responsibility for constructive change (FRCC). We also examine the extent to which feelings of responsibility for constructive change are positively related to voice behavior (i.e., constructive, change-oriented communication) and continuous improvement (i.e., proactive role performance). Results indicate hierarchical position and access to resources are positively related to FRCC. Results also indicate proactive personality moderates the relationship between access to resources and FRCC and the relationship between access to strategy-related information and FRCC. Plots of the interactions reveal that these relationships are enhanced for individuals with proactive personalities. The results also indicate that FRCC is positively related to voice behavior and continuous improvement. Perhaps more importantly, the results suggest that FRCC explains the psychological process by which structural and socio-structural forces influence proactive behavior. The results are discussed as they pertain to updated work design theory and theories of high involvement work systems, job characteristics, and leadership prototypes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

LEAN, GREEN, AND THE QUEST FOR SUPERIOR ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001
SANDRA ROTHENBERG
We examine the relationship between lean manufacturing practices and environmental performance as measured in terms of air emissions and resource use. We draw on two unique surveys of 31 automobile assembly plants in North America and Japan, which contain information on manufacturing practice and environmental performance, as well as in-depth interviews with 156 plant level employees at 17 assembly plants. Our survey results and interviews suggest that lean management and reduction of air emissions of volatile organic compounds (vocs) are associated negatively. Lean manufacturing practices contribute to more efficient use of paints and cleaning solvents, but these in-process changes are not sufficient to meet the most stringent air regulations. We found some evidence to support the link between lean practices and resource efficiency. While our survey results were in hypothesized direction, they were not statistically significant. In-depth semi-structured interviews, however, suggest a more robust relationship, and we use them to describe some mechanisms by which all three aspects of lean management (buffer minimization, work systems, and human resource management) may be related to environmental management practices and performance. [source]