1,720,996 research outputs found
A study of workers’ mobilization within the Irish supermarket sector
No full textThis thesis examines why workers in the Irish large supermarket sector acquire a sense
of collective identity separate from their employer’s organization in response to
perceived injustice and why they engage in collective action. The data is collected
from two of the largest supermarket chains in Irish retail. The first is the British-based
Multinational Enterprise (MNE), Tesco, and the second MNE is the Irish owned
Dunnes. Using a qualitative study, the thesis examines the perceptions, attitudes and
actions of four groups of workers: shop stewards formally recognised in Tesco; union
member employees in Tesco; union activists in Dunnes (where no formal recognition
exists), and union member employees in Dunnes.
Kelly’s (1998) Mobilization Theory has been chosen as the theoretical framework, as
the theory’s concepts of injustice, common identity and attribution help to understand
why workers collectively mobilize and engage in collective organization and activity.
The thesis finds that in the two large supermarket organizations in this study, workers’
sense of injustice was predominantly subject to their economic necessity to earn a
livelihood; the focus of attribution can change from individual managers to their
employer’s organization; the study also suggests that common identity can be
fragmented due to fear of management. Finally, collective organization and activity
were discouraged by fear of management counter-mobilization tactics. This countermobilization is facilitated by the constitutional legal framework notion that the parties
to an employment contract are equally free to enter or not enter these contracts of
employment.
The contributions of the thesis are: (i) industrial relations in the retail sector is underresearched and (ii) Mobilization Theory has not been previously utilised in a retail
setting. This thesis helps to narrow these academic gaps. Theoretically, the thesis finds
that the utility of Mobilization Theory lacks predictability due to its overlapping
modules and conflicting variables. However, this thesis finds that Mobilization
Theory, when used in an application approach, has explanatory utility. The thesis
builds on the application approach by demonstrating its new conceptual model is of
use to both academic scholars and practitioners within the field of industrial relations
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The diffusion of global human resource information technology in the subsidiaries of a US multinational corporation
No full textThe majority of multinational corporations (MNC) utilise some form of global human resource information technology (GHRIT) to collect, store and analyse employee data. The literature suggests that the use of GHRIT has the potential to add strategic value to the organisation. The MNC as an organisational form and the manner in which MNCs transfer business practices across their subsidiaries has been widely debated in the literature. However, little international and comparative research has to date been carried out into the diffusion of GHRIT in the subsidiaries of a single MNC and the factors that might mediate that process. Using institutional theory as a theoretical lens this research examines the way in which a large US-based MNC has diffused HRIT in its German and Irish subsidiaries. This research builds on existing research to explore actual transfer success, that is, the implementation, internalisation and integration of GHRIT practices. Data derived from twenty seven interviews with key stakeholders in a number of locations and the analysis of documentary evidence. This research makes a number of significant contributions to knowledge by advancing the fields of HRIT, Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, international and comparative HRM and institutional theory. The unique interplay of complex institutional environments within which the MNC and its subsidiaries operate effectuates discernible variations in the level of transfer of particular GHRIT practices not just between the US headquarters and its subsidiaries but also between the subsidiaries themselves. The GHRIT Diffusion Model developed as part of this research demonstrates that the successful diffusion of GHRIT practices within MNCs is shaped by an interchange of various institutional level contexts (external, relational, organisational and individual) of the MNC and its subsidiaries, various social actors, the HR and GHRIT strategy of the MNC, and the level of integration of practices within the subsidiary
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Working for McDonald's in Europe: The Unequal Struggle?
No full textNoThe McDonald's Corporation is not only the largest system-wide sales service in the world, it is a phenomenon in its own right, and is now recognized as the most famous brand in the world. By providing a detailed analysis of the extent to which the McDonald's Corporation adapts or imposes its labour relations policies in Europe, this volume represents a real life case study revealing the interaction between a global multi-national enterprise and the regulatory systems of a number of different European countries.
Key features include: an overview of the McDonald's Corporation's development and structure; an analysis of its corporate culture and the issues of franchising; an examination of key union strategies, including systems of co-determination, consultation and collective-bargaining; and a chapter dealing specifically with European legislation, in particular the McDonald's European Works Council.
The author systematically analyses the conflict between the McDonald's Corporation and the industrial relations systems of the European countries within which it operates, and exposes this conflict as an 'unequal struggle' between economic liberalism and collectivism
Low-road Americanization' and the global 'McJob': a longitudinal analysis of work, pay and unionization in the international fast-food industry
No full textNoThis article examines the employment practices of McDonald's and other US-owned multinational corporations (MNCs) in the global fast-food industry from the 1970s to date. It focuses on the impact that different host institutions have had on pay and working conditions in different countries in the industry. The author argues that US fast-food MNCs still adopt the underlying principles of their US practices, even if the practices themselves could not be imposed in their entirety, often keeping unions out of workplaces and preserving their management prerogative, even when sector-level collective agreements have been imposed, and often limiting the impact of such agreements. Whilst some improvements have been achieved in some countries, adequate representation remains a serious problem, with many employees experiencing low pay, inadequate hours, insecure work, unpaid hours and sometimes hazardous and intimidating working conditions. The theoretical effect of host-country influences cannot therefore be automatically assumed; rather, the variations that arise across countries, while indicating national diversity, also emphasize variation within national systems and a limited form of convergence or ‘low-road Americanization’ in this sector
‘low-road americanization’ and the global ‘mcjob’: a longitudinal analysis of work, pay and unionization in the international fast-food industry
No full textThis article examines the employment practices of McDonald\u27s and other US-owned multinational corporations (MNCs) in the global fast-food industry from the 1970s to date. It focuses on the impact that different host institutions have had on pay and working conditions in different countries in the industry. The author argues that US fast-food MNCs still adopt the underlying principles of their US practices, even if the practices themselves could not be imposed in their entirety, often keeping unions out of workplaces and preserving their management prerogative, even when sector-level collective agreements have been imposed, and often limiting the impact of such agreements. Whilst some improvements have been achieved in some countries, adequate representation remains a serious problem, with many employees experiencing low pay, inadequate hours, insecure work, unpaid hours and sometimes hazardous and intimidating working conditions. The theoretical effect of host-country influences cannot therefore be automatically assumed; rather, the variations that arise across countries, while indicating national diversity, also emphasize variation within national systems and a limited form of convergence or \u27low-road Americanization\u27 in this sector
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
