A Theory of Employment Systems

Micro-Foundations of Societal Diversity
Erscheinungsjahr 1999
ISBN: 978-0-19-829422-1
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 316 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 483 g

A Theory of Employment Systems considers why there are such great international differences in the way employment relations are organized within the firm. Taking account of the growing evidence that international diversity persists despite 'globalization', it sets out from the theory of the firm first developed by Coase and Simon, and explains why firms and workers should use the employment relationship as the basis for their economic cooperation. The originality of the employment relationship lies in its flexibility. It gives managers the authority to organize work, but it also establishes limits on employees' obligations.

The nature of these limits is fundamental to our understanding of the employment relationship and its international diversity. The author argues that they are provided by four basic types of employment rule. Which one predominates in a given environment is the source of international diversity in employment relations. Drawing upon evidence from the US, Japan, France, Germany, and Britain, the theory is developed to show why such diversity extends deep into key areas of human resource management, such as performance management, incentive pay, and skill development. It also explains why the open-ended employment relationship continues to dominate work despite the growth of market-mediated work relations.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Marsden, David

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Beschäftigung, Arbeitslosigkeit
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Arbeitsmarkt
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Wirtschaftssoziologie, Arbeitssoziologie, Organisationssoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Part I: A Theory of Employment Systems

- 1: The Employment Relationship

- 2: The Limits of Managerial Authority

- 3: Diffusion and Predominance of Employment Rules

- 4: Classification, and the Consolidation of Employment Systems

- Part II: Evidence and Personnel Management Implications

- 5: Employment Systems: comparative evidence

- 6: Performance Management

- 7: Pay and Incentives

- 8: Skills and Labour Market Structure

- Part III: Conclusions

- 9: Employment Systems and the Theory of the Firm: societal diversity

- References

Über Autor(innen)

David Marsden is Professor of Industrial Relations at the London School of Economics. His career has also taken him to Aix-en-Provence, Trier, and Rome as a Visiting Professor. He has researched extensively on comparative industrial relations and labour markets, and he has worked with the ILO, the OECD, the European Commission, and the World Bank. At present, he also acts as a member of a team of advisors to European Commissioner Edith Cresson on education and training policies in the EU.