Explores applications of work teams and proposes an analytic framework for team effectiveness. Presents the following applications: (1) advice and involvement; (2) production and service; (3) projects and development; and (4) action and negotiation. Depicts team effectiveness as interdependent with organizational context, boundaries, and team…

Consists of five articles summarizing research in personnel administration during the past 25 years. Topics discussed include (1) the changing environment of the public personnel function; (2) human assessment; (3) human development, careers, supervision and discipline; (4) public service labor-management relations; and (5) compensation, benefits,…

The Ashtabula County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities in Ohio has developed an alternative to arbitration. The local conciliation committee, composed of representatives of both management and labor, plus a nonvoting, objective adviser, is a third level in the grievance procedure. Benefits include resolution of conflicts…

Discusses old and new employer-employee problems within various high-tech companies giving rise to a variety of employee organizations. Examines union building at IBM and looks at the employee group founded by Microsoft employees. Concludes by focusing on the issue of new unions for the new economy. (SM)

This document summarizes discussions at an invitational workshop on labor development in Nigeria. The discussion centered on the need to promote an individual work ethic and to improve the quality of life of the average worker. The following broad topics were discussed: (1) the negative effect of colonialism on individual productivity and the lack…

Details the history and activities in New Jersey of "El Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolos" (CATA) or Farmworkers' Support Committee. The Committee was founded in 1979 to help Puerto Rican migrant workers who suffer from social and political isolation and are denied basic rights. Successes, goals, and problems are noted. (PS)

This interview is the latest in a series designed to give an airing to contemporary industrial relations issues. Training of shop stewards and other activists has been a major growth area for about 10 years. The Union of Shop, Distributive, and Allied Workers has been at the forefront in developing new courses and training methods. (SSH)

Surveyed school administrators and teacher union leaders in order to evaluate the success of the labor management committees in New York school districts. A total of 48 surveys were sent, and responses were received from 17 teacher union representatives and 16 administrator representatives. (MLF)

This article records and assesses developments in relations between employers and academic staff in British polytechnic institutes and colleges. It focuses on the conditions of service and contracts of employment for lecturers. It also analyzes to what extent these issues are symptomatic of a shift in the employee relations strategy of schools…

The impact of information and communications technologies on jobs is not yet known and no outcome is inevitable. Technology-driven changes in organizational structures, employment relations, worker autonomy, and work organization will not automatically result in higher job quality. (Contains 92 references.) (SK)

Driven by a competitive environment with other employers to maintain a quality workforce, businesses are increasingly becoming aware of the necessity to assist employees with programs and services regarding family needs. Unfortunately, most small to medium size companies are either ignorant of the necessity for family friendly services or lack the…

While the building and printing industries flourished in pre-Civil War Columbus, manufacturing languished. The manufacturing base grew and diversified from 1820 to 1850. Few unions emerged, and those that did seldom lasted long. During the Civil War business and manufacturing increased to serve the camps and prisons established in Columbus. When…

This book examines the potential benefits and costs of labor-management cooperation and factors that influence these potential benefits and costs. The analyses presented are based on a variety of secondary data sources, as well as data from nationwide surveys of plant managers, their local union leader counterparts, and executives of parent…

The question which this paper poses for resolution is: What are the relationships (if any) existing between job satisfaction, on the one hand, and occupation, on the other? The answer to this query is significant for two reasons: (1) the existence of relationships raises fundamental issues for consideration and (2) if no relationships exist; it is…

Results of a survey of 15 directors of large libraries revealed a consensus that despite their adversarial roles and the time and effort it takes to make the relationship work, unions are worth the trouble. Highlights include who runs the library, rewarding mediocrity, salaries, team versus individual, race, negotiating roles, and changes needed.…