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Many managers responsible for functions where much of the work is of an administrative and clerical nature are expressing concern about the level of motivation apparent amongst employees. Changes in the nature of the tasks to be performed have resulted directly from mechanisation and automation. Such rationalisation is normally accompanied by reductions in staffing, a factor often leading to low morale. Opportunities for employees in clerical jobs to progress within the organisation are also diminishing, since the skills currently required for clerical work are not those generally demanded for management.

Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.

Bank unionism illustrates some of the diverse experiences of Malaysian unions in a seemingly hostile legislative environment. The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) is a powerful union that contrasts with in‐house unions in several banks and which shows that it is not impossible for Malaysian unions to organise and secure gains for members. Its experience illustrates the importance for union prosperity of: workplace union activity; the capacity to protect members from insecurity and arbitrary treatment; workplace reform strategies; internal discourse; education and training; union culture; creative and strategic approaches to industrial action; and the role of politics in industrial relations.

The nature of organisational payment systems is likely to be a critical factor in the complex pattern of interactions which influence industrial relations and productivity in industrial companies. The systematic arrangement of rates of pay for employees is one major way in which organisational managements attempt to influence the behaviour of those employees both directly and indirectly. At the same time, particular arrangements reflect the outcome of political, social and economic processes in which all levels of employee, as well as many outside agencies, are frequently involved. Despite its undoubted importance there is not as much systematic research on the topic as one might expect. In particular, little empirical evidence is available linking the parameters of payment systems to other organisational characteristics. The present paper attempts to make a contribution towards filling those gaps in the literature. We report on the characteristics of payment systems and their prevalence in different sized organisations in 59 small companies in South Wales. It will be argued that the characteristics of payment systems will be related to different dimensions of organisational climate, and these relationships are examined empirically.

We are seeing a basic transformation of the technology underlying one of our most fundamental economic activities, information handling. In particular, that major part of information handling that we call “office work” (in both industry and government offices) is being automated. Office automation is not just an incremental improvement in office equipment, analogous to electric typewriters and bookkeeping machines, and it is not accomplished by installing hardware, even complex electronic systems. It also requires redefining work and tasks, and restructuring the work flow and the work organization to fit the logic of the computer and the full range of its capabilities.

This study uses structural equation modeling to test a model of the impact of human resources management practices on perceived organizational performance, on a large sample of European companies. The influences of competitive intensity, industry attractiveness, and strategic management are considered in the model, and their direct and indirect influence on organizational performance is assessed. The model produced an adequate fit, and results show that strategic management does influence human resource practices. Human resource flexibility practices and performance management have a positive impact on organizational performance, while training was not found to have a significant impact. A direct positive impact of competitive intensity and industry attractiveness on strategic management was supported by the data, as well as a direct positive effect of industry attractiveness on perceived organizational performance.

The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible alternatives. We need the vision and the courage to aim for the highest level of technology attainable for the widest possible use in both industry and services. We need financial arrangements that will encourage people to invent themselves out of work. Our goal, the article argues, must be the reduction of human labour to the greatest extent possible, to free people for more enjoyable, creative, human activities.

The purpose of this paper is to provide novel and rigorous evidence on the productivity effect of varying attributes of performance-related pay (PRP) and shows that the details of PRP indeed matter.

In doing so, the authors exploit the panel nature of the Finnish Linked Employer–Employee Data on the details of PRP.

The authors first establish that the omitted variable bias is serious, which makes the cross-sectional estimates on the productivity effect of the details of PRP biased upward substantially. Relying on the fixed effect estimates that account for such bias, the authors find: (first, group incentive PRP is more potent in boosting enterprise productivity than individual incentive PRP; second, group incentive PRP with profitability as a performance measure is especially powerful in raising firm productivity; third, when a narrow measure (such as cost reduction) is already used, adding another narrow measure (such as quality improvement) yields no additional productivity gain; and fourth, PRP with greater power of incentives (the share of PRP in total compensation) results in greater productivity gains, and returns to power of incentives diminishes very slowly.

Much of the empirical literature on PRP focuses on a question of whether the firm can increase firm performance in general and enterprise productivity in particular by introducing PRP and if so, how much. However, not all PRP programs are created equal and PRP programs vary significantly in a variety of attributes. This paper provides novel and rigorous evidence on the productivity effect of varying attributes of PRP and shows that the details of PRP indeed matter.

This paper aims to investigate the shifting boundaries between two experiential categories – home and work – for office workers. The boundaries are both spatial and temporal, and the paper seeks to analyse how certain kinds of mobile technology are being used in such a way as to make these boundaries increasingly permeable.

The research involved both the collection of quantitative data using a survey tool, and the gathering of qualitative data through in‐depth interviews.

The paper finds that the mobile technology discussed enables work extension – the ability to work outside the office, outside “normal” office hours. This provides flexibility with respect to the timing and location of work, and makes it easier to accommodate both work and family. But at the same time, of course, it also increases expectations: managers and colleagues alike expect staff to be almost always available to do work, which makes it easier for work to encroach on family time, and also leads to a greater workload. The ability to perform work extension is, then, a dual‐edged sword.

The paper provides both managers and non‐managers with insight into the effects of providing mobile technology to office workers, and suggests some mechanisms to mitigate negative effects.

The paper explores the impact of mobile technologies on non‐mobile office staff.

Using the Irish data from the Price Waterhouse Cranfield Project on International Strategic Human Resource Management, examines developments in flexible working practices in the Republic of Ireland. Reviews relevant literature and presents an overview of the Irish labour market context. The organizational level evidence presented on both non‐standard employment and functional flexibility indicates a trend towards greater flexibilization, but the emergence of the flexible firm scenario is not supported.