Abstract This paper examines the deteriorating working conditions for the American employee in the last couple of years. It discusses reduced wages and benefit packages, increased unemployment, cut-backs and problematic pension schemes. The writer also examines the changing work culture looks at how each specific sector (hi-tech, banking, publishing, tourism etc) have been effected by these changes.
From the Paper "Working conditions have continued to change and evolve for the American worker over the last ten years. To no one's surprise, the types of work that Americans are doing as compared to ten years ago have significantly changed. Along with changing job descriptions, work environments have changes as have rates of compensation, hours worked, and the worker culture."
Abstract Examines escalation of various kinds of violence in the workplace. Robbery, client violence, co-worker violence. Use of criminal & sociological theories to explain violent behaviors. Duty of employers to provide a safe, healthy workplace. Profiling violent perpetrators, particularly of co-worker violence. Importance of developing security systems & social bonds. Statistics.
From the Paper "Workplace violence has escalated considerably during the last two decades and security firms are increasingly forced to take these behaviors into account as part of their mission with various kinds of companies. There are three basic categories of workplace violence, based on type of perpetrator: actions performed by outsiders; actions performed by clients; and co-worker violence. The first category--which includes, for instance, those who try to rob a place of business--has always been a security concern and the design of any system of protection takes this into account. But both client violence--which constitutes a significant percentage of incidents of workplace violence especially in service settings such as hospitals, public agencies, and nursing homes--and co-worker-perpetuated violence--which includes everything from simple aggressive behavior to homicide--present different kinds of challenges and are the..."
Abstract Discusses both sides of the issue. Cites many studies on the topic. Conservative elements of American society that maintains women should stay home and take care of their kids. Growth of females in the work force. Economic factors. Importance of quality daycare. Problem of lack of daycare funding by the government.
From the Paper "Effects on Child Behavior of Mothers Working Outside The Home: A Literature Review
Introduction: Topic Identification
Recently, television and print media in the United States reported research by Mary Eberstadt (2001) indicating that the children of mothers who worked outside the home displayed behavioral problems far more frequently than the children of mother who stayed at home. Eberstadt (2001) concluded that the causal source of the problem was a combination of day care and an absence of maternal contact and supervision.
The issue reported by Eberstadt (2001) is important, and, while her findings may be valid, the failure of the media to fully identify her background and that of the journal that published her work indicates a need to explore the issue..."
Abstract Compares and contrasts social theorists viewpoints on specialization of functions. Social and economic philosophies of Karl Marx, Adam Smith & Max Weber. Their agreement regarding the standardization of production. Disagreement regarding economic and social purposes and outcomes of the division of labor. Concepts of Capitalism, self-interest, alienation of labor, free trade, social justice.
From the Paper "Division of labor is an economic concept involving the specialization of the functions and roles of production. To social theorists, such as Karl Marx, Adam Smith and Max Weber, the division of labor is more than economics; it is rooted in their own individual philosophy of life and society. This paper will compare and contrast Marx, Smith and Weber with respect to their analysis of "the division of labor."
All three men agree that the division of labor is tied to the standardization of production. To Adam Smith, the division of labor is the underlying principle of free trade, a concept he strongly advocated. To Marx, the division of labor is the underlying cause of the ills of society because it creates class differences, planting dissension among the individual workers. To Weber, the division of labor is the means by which one group in a ..."
Abstract Discusses goal of continuous improvement and sharing of responsibilities between employees and employers. Team concept of the cycle first proposed in Japan. Building and creation of patnerships. Possible ethical problems in utilizing Deming's points including diversity of workforce. Changes in capitalism since the 1950s. Business as a socioeconomic institution.
From the Paper "DEMING AND ETHICS IN BUSINESS
Deming's 9th Point states: "Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service."
The Deming "cycle" of points has for its goal continuous improvement, sharing success and correcting failure with employees, and thus sharing responsibilities. First successful in Japan, Dr. Deming proposed a series of steps so that there is no single goal-setting, but a commitment by everyone to continuous improvement. When there is a goal of continuous improvement, the idea of problem solving is part and parcel of that commitment. Without the ability of a team committed to solving problems the cycle would be inoperable. Times, and the ..."
Abstract Discusses the thesis of the book. Effects on people of turning human emotion into a commodity. The human costs of emotional labor demanded by the business community. Concept of deep acting on part of employees. Focus on training of Delta Airline Flight attendants for customer service. Problems encountered by flight attendants.
From the Paper In The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling (1983), Arlie Russell Hochschild discusses the transmutation of human emotion into a commodity, and the effects this has on those who daily expend their emotion for the sake of business. While the first part of her book she dedicates to private life, in the second part she discusses the costs of emotion work in the workplace and the different strategies used by both employees and employers to manage these costs. Specifically, Hochschild focuses on the commercial expropriation of feeling management, the differences between various types of emotion labor, and how gender, status and the search for authenticity are effected by the feeling mechanism in each individual.
In the beginning, Hochschild points out that emotion work and emotion exchange are both a natural occurrence in every day
Abstract Position of African-Americans in major corporations. Negative findings by the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission. Better pay and treatment for white workers. Limitations imposed by organizational hierarchies. Stereotypical perceptions of white management. Impact of subjective criteria regarding promotion of African-Americans. New forms of racism in the business world.
From the Paper "Through the success of the civil rights movement and affirmative action, African Americans have become an integral part of the workforce. Blatant displays of racism such as racial slurs, demeaning comments and segregation no longer occur in the workplace. In fact, some African American executives have succeeded in moving steadily towards the upper echelons of major corporations. However, these images of progress belie the fact that throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the wage gap between whites and African Americans has grown increasingly wider, even when the educational differences are factored into the analysis (Tilly 5; Cancio, Evans and Maume 554-6). Even though African Americans constitute about 12 percent of the U.S. population, only five percent of African Americans acquired executive and managerial positions and 0.6 percent obtained senior executive ..."
Abstract This paper answers the following questions: What are some of the challenges unique to managing virtual teams? What are common causes of failure in virtual team arrangements? How does a manager create a sense of team among people who spend little or no time in the same physical space? What can managers do to foster successful virtual teams?
Table of Contents
Abstract
A day in the Life of a Virtual Team
What is a Virtual Team ?
Challenges in Managing Virtual Teams?
Globalization
Managing Workforce Diversity
Dealing with Temporariness
Causes of Failure in Virtual Team Arrangements?
Battling Remoteness
Overcoming Communication Obstacles
Tackling Geography
Technology Challenges
Leveraging the Differences
Addressing Division of Labor
Successful Virtual Teams Management
Building Trust
Isolation
Building Cohesion and Team Identity
Summary
Works Cited
Other Works Consulted
From the Paper "A day in the life of a virtual team If you were to spend a day watching a virtual team in action, it might look something like this. Joe, a sales representative managing a five-state territory, began his day in Atlanta, which is over 600 miles from his home office and over 3000 miles from corporate headquarters. Upon leaving his first meeting of the day, he was asked to return the following day, first thing in the morning, to present to executive management. There was only one hitch. In an effort to get executive management to the meeting, Joe promised that the presentation would include existing customer satisfaction testimony, a live demonstration of how the products would effectively solve their technical operations issues, a walk through of a return on investment analysis, a discussion on deployment timeframes, and that there would be time for Q&A with management and developers at the end of the meeting. Joe also had three more meetings to get to that day before he could start to prepare for the next morning."
Abstract In the year 2000 the Irish population of the United States (those of Irish ancestry) numbered 33.1 million, almost nine times the population of Ireland itself. The paper shows that aside from the sheer number of their population, the Irish historically have had an influence on labor and the labor movement ever since they arrived. This paper examines data from the 1990 consensus and the 2000 consensus to discuss several facts about the Irish-American population in the labor force.
From the Paper "The data collected from the 1990 census, where statistics on demographic populations were broken down by ancestry, not just general racial categories, indicates that this situation has now changed. Both the Labor Force Characteristics for Selected Ancestry Groups and the Selected Characteristics for Persons of Irish Ancestry were used. Data in the 2000 census was collected differently to comply with laws enacted several decades ago. Lost in this new configuration, however, is the ability to draw information about groups based on ancestry. For that reason, the 1990 census is a more effective gage of the current status of Irish-Americans in the present United States labor force. There is little doubt that despite the fact that Irish-Americans were once the pariahs of the labor market, the assimilation and acculturation of that population into the American mainstream has changed that situation drastically."
Abstract This paper explains that job satisfaction and job counseling are both management and an employee issues. The paper quotes that the usual way of measuring job satisfaction through Total Quality Measurement (TQM) questionnaires is not effective because two people who do the same work for the same salary rarely record the same level of satisfaction as the motivation factor is missing from the questionnaire. The author concludes that job satisfaction is a component that can be tested through surveys and that can be promoted by means of in-house programs, but it is best promoted by good company policies that nurture an atmosphere that supports the needs and ambitions of workers and so motivates them to work their best.
From the Paper "The author further notes that the advent of the computer has contributed to the trend by placing a premium on innovation and creativity. To achieve this, a company must create an environment in which people do not feel alienated so that they only do what is required of them. The company needs commitment and loyalty, which are nurtured by affiliation, which is a product of the progressive management approaches characterized as giving attention to spirituality. This means a new emphasis on values and culture, though this as well may raise people's expectations too high. To decide which policies, programs, and cultures are merely "nice to have?, which actually have a positive effect on business, more, and more companies are routinely conducting attitude, productivity, and employee and customer satisfaction surveys."
Abstract The Russian working population changed dramatically when the country modernized during the late Imperial age. It was a drastic change for a Russian peasant to go from living in a small village and working a variety of tasks to going to the large cities and specializing in one task. Using Victoria Bonnell's book "The Russian Worker" as a reference, this paper evaluates this shift, as well as the Russian government's actions toward labor.
From the Paper "As thousands of peasants moved out of villages, a new type of worker was formed. Their individual identities and their concepts of their roles in society all changed. The first revolution in 1905 was due to poor working conditions and the need on the part of the workers to be herd. Although the old regime stayed in tact, many workers began to comprehend the political power of their actions. After some time, many workers residing in large factories formed the working class."
Abstract The issue addressed in this proposal is the development of an effective mechanism for responding to the problems created by workers with substance abuse problems. The report identifies the problem, defines its policy perspectives, offers alternate policy solutions, provides an analytic framework for evaluating those alternatives and concludes with a discussion of the selected policy, its implementation and its evaluation. The selected policy consists of creating integrated Employee Assistance Programs and Health Maintenance Organization structures that would ultimately remove the burden of responding to the needs of the substance abusing worker from the corporation and place that burden on the shoulders of medical caregivers.
From the Paper "Under the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-690, 41 U.S. Code Section 701 and 48CFR Part 223), employers with government contracts or grants over $25,000 must develop and publish a company policy prohibiting use, distribution, or possession of illegal drugs. The Act does not apply to the use of alcohol (Bryan, 1998). Discipline or rehabilitation is required following violation of the policy. All employees must be informed of the Act and company policy, must participate in a drug-free awareness program, and acknowledge that compliance is a condition of employment. Employers must report any employee workplace drug use conviction to the government and a contractor who violates the Act may be prohibited from receiving government contracts for up to five years (Bryan, 1998)."
Abstract This paper examines some of the activities of HR management with respect to problems created in the workplace by industrial relations, such as unionization and affirmative action. A broad definition of "industrial relationships" reflecting various issues such as the impact of new technologies and the HR response, training of workers and response to such programs as affirmative action are covered in this paper.
From the Paper "Ralph King (1988) commented that affirmative action has shifted some of the key roles and functions of human resources managers, who now play some of the roles once held by unions, and disputes over fairness are turning into costly court battles. As a direct result, the amount spent on HR management has tripled over the last decade, to $750 per employee each year, for a representative selection of 700 U.S. corporations polled by the Bureau of National Affairs. The emphasis on fairness has forced management to develop standards for hiring and promoting as well as evaluating employees that are viewed by many HR managers as too constraining."
Abstract This paper shows that social and cultural context play a significant role in the shape and content that HRM practices, both in theory and on application to organizational activity, assume in a given culture. The paper discusses how the attributes of social, economic and political culture affect, for good or ill, organizational behavior in general and the employment experience of individuals so affected in particular. It shows that no national culture has an unmediated positive or negative effect on HRM practices and that the lessons of the interplay of national culture and HRM in a given culture might profitably be discerned by organizations that seek to do profitable business in a variety of cultural venues.
From the Paper "Frederick Taylor's methods of "scientific management," which dominated management theory in the early part of the 20th century, were applied with some uninterrogated success in the UK and US in the attempt to overcome the adversary relationship of managers and workers: "Management and labor need no longer quarrel over how hard a man must work or how much he should earn; science, the impartial arbiter, would decide" (Kanigel, 1996, p. 45). "Taylorism" ineluctably gave weight to top-down, hierarchical management practices that were in place as heavy industry became increasingly mechanized, increasingly less dependent on expertise or craftsmanship of individual workers. With worker-facilitated mechanized assembly lines, Taylorism provided management with an objective rationale for work rules aimed at enterprise efficiency: "Taylor's experts and engineers did the thinking, while you were consigned to mindless doing" (Kanigel, 1996, p. 51)."
Abstract In a 'Columbia Law Review' article published in 1999 -- "Lifetime Employment: Labor Peace and the Evolution of Japanese Corporate Governance" -- authors Gilson and Roe maintain that the Japanese practice of constricting the external labor market is responsible for firms' willingness to invest in human capital. They specifically reject the proposition that Japan's institution of lifetime employment could be the impetus for such corporate outlay. This paper contends, however, that social norms, coupled with a divergent development of Japan's employment law, gave rise to its lifetime employment policy and that this resulting policy accounts for employers' willingness to invest in human capital. The paper argues that a closed market is the result -- not the cause -- of corporate investment in employees.
From the Paper "It is recognized that Japanese labor law theory is firmly established in that of the Weimar Republic, which gave preference to group interests over that of the individual. The theory began to evolve during Japan's first industrialization at the end of the 19th century, when a severe shortage of skilled labor fostered worker migration from company to company. The situation was exacerbated when, in the 1920s, Japan underwent a series of hostile, chaotic strikes, which further caused significant labor turnover in key industries."
