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Various aspects of managerial and professional employees in Australia are examined in an attempt to establish if the Australian experience is similar to that reported in other countries where “management” appears to have emerged as a third force between the employers and organised labour. It is argued that the new style manager is a younger, more highly educated “professional” but that the managerial function is also changing. A survey, conducted in Australia during 1985 of senior executives and 14 large scale organisations from both the public and private sector, provides the basis for this report of the changing characteristics of managerial and professional employees in Australia. Areas explored include the proportion of managers and professionals as a percentage of the labour force; particular characteristics which are emerging; education levels and qualifications; the process governing the movement of managers within the labour market; the effect of recent legislation on remuneration systems; and the degree of union membership among managers.

The past decade has witnessed a wide range of industrial relations reforms in Australia. Employee participation and industrial democracy was espoused by the federal Labour government in 1986 as a key element in its reform programme. It was also embraced by the trade union movement and, to a lesser extent, by leading employers and their associations. Examines why the promise of industrial democracy has not been fulfilled at the enterprise level. Identifies contributing factors as the economic recession, the decline of trade union membership and a lack of “people” skills in managerial ranks. Shows that although the trend towards enterprise bargaining may herald a new impetus for employee participation, thus far it has been characterized by a narrow agenda and limited involvement by employees.

Despite the enactment of affirmative action programmes by the Government, there has been little change in the position for working women in Australia. In order to achieve genuine and lasting change, there needs to be challenge to issues such as the lack of adequate child care facilities, the career implications of part‐time work, and the male‐dominated structure of the family.

Australia offers an example of a formerly centralized system of industrial relations which is in the process of significant change towards a more decentralized and deregulated system. However, many of the criticisms of the previous system, which focused on its inflexibility and rigidity, were based largely on anecdotal evidence. The results of the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey revealed that many of these criticisms did not appear to be supported. Presents further evidence, based on a series of detailed case studies, that there was a good deal of flexibility at the workplace level under the so‐called centralized system. It argues that many of the criticisms of the arbitration systems and of union resistance to change, especially by employer organizations, have been misplaced. Indeed, where management pursued a clear strategy to achieve greater efficiency, and actively involved both employees and unions in the process, their initiatives were generally well received and successful.

WE MAKE NO apologies for taking Thomas Paine's classic title for our leader this month. Written all but 200 years ago, it was brought vividly to mind when we read letters in a contemporary journal. From two well‐qualified men in their early fifties, they regretted they could obtain no replies to many applications for employment. They were, all too evidently, considered “too old at 50'.

For management development activities to be successful at the supervisory level, they must take note of the effects of organisational characteristics such as task structures, control systems and the allocation of authority. These needs are often neglected. A long‐term study of over 1,200 first‐line managers in Australia has shown that essentially two types of managers exist: “managerial” and “supervisory”. The former are younger, better educated and aspire to future careers in middle and higher management. The latter group are older, less formally educated and have spent most of their life on the factory floor. The “managerial” group are more technically qualified but lack experience and confidence in dealing with others. The “supervisory” group tend to highlight difficulties in dealing with rapid technological change and its effect on their role. Each group requires training and development which will complement their strengths and help overcome weaknesses.

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

Many areas of the public sector are establishing executive development schemes both to improve current management practices and to ensure the future supply of qualified seni or executives. The need for these schemes stems from many sources. Pressure on the public sector to be responsible and responsive to the people, together with financial constraints, is forcing the administration to seek greater efficiency in the management of personnel and the allocation of resources. The increasing complexity of society coupled with the Westminster principle of ministerial responsibility requires governments to ensure competency in the management of departments through which ministers must implement policies. Finally, the use of government administration as the cutting edge of social change in areas such as equal employment opportunity and working conditions all require an adaptable, innovative and flexible senior management.

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and economic democracy, which centres around the establishment of a new sector of employee‐controlled enterprises, is presented. The proposal would retain the mix‐ed economy, but transform it into a much better “mixture”, with increased employee‐power in all sectors. While there is much of enduring value in our liberal western way of life, gross inequalities of wealth and power persist in our society.