Diverse opinions are held by workers, union officials, and labor researchers about the importance of the quality of working life to workers. Major issues in this debate focus on the following questions: (1) Is there a workers' movement to improve the quality of working life? (2) Do workers seek meaning and self-fulfillment in their jobs? (3) Can…

Noting that the education and training of most early childhood practitioners lack information on child care as an adult work environment, this guide is designed to assist trainers in providing practitioners information about working with the array of adults they encounter on the job, the serious challenges and instabilities in the field, and the…

This student guide is intended to assist persons employed as supervisors in understanding the law relating to discipline and implementing disciplinary procedures. Discussed in the first five sections are the following topics: knowing the rules pertaining to employee discipline (getting information and making judgments); handling discipline…

The study described in this report sought to determine why industrial plants become no longer economically viable and how to prevent this from happening prematurely. Conducted in Cleveland (Ohio) for the Cleveland Tomorrow Committee, the research was done by the McKinsey and Company staff, who interviewed chief executives, conducted case studies,…

This book is an attempt to create a theoretical vocabulary for those who believe that the sociology of industrial organizations should concern itself with discovering the ways in which people in industry define their life-position and with examining the collective and organizational consequences of these views which they hold of themselves. Using…

This report is a multi-disciplinary evaluation of policy-related research (which met relatively high standards of scientific validity) dealing with features of work affecting both the productivity and job satisfaction of employees. Its purpose is to determine whether and how worker job satisfaction and productivity together may be enhanced by…

This pamphlet on labor history highlights some of labor's economic and political actions during the past 200 years. The purpose is to provide inspiration and motivation for greater participation in union work. The introduction explains the purpose of unions--to pursue economic independence and social stature for all individuals--for defenseless…

This book sets forth the historic obstacles to the unionization of public school teachers, shows how difficult organization was, and illustrates the contradictions faced by public employees in unionization. The book is organized chronologically, beginning with the centralization of school life at the turn of the century and the emergence of early…

A study of 10 schools in 3 school districts examined how labor relations affect teachers' work attitudes and behavior, and how labor relations and contract provisions take on practical significance in the school and classroom. A three "generation" model of labor relations development--based on levels of conflict and the legitimacy accorded the…

The 1980s have been a period during which important private experiments with innovations have occurred in employee participation, work redesign, and the introduction of new technologies and new systems of production. It is now time to move beyond the experimental stage. The following four interrelated policy initiatives should guide public efforts…

This student guide is intended to assist persons employed as supervisors in understanding and practicing principles of occupational health and safety. Discussed in the first three sections are the following topics: health and safety at work (causes of accidents, ways of dealing with and reporting accidents, procedures for preventing accidents and…

Focusing on business occupations, this document is one in a series of forty-one reprints from the Occupational Outlook Handbook providing current information and employment projections for individual occupations and industries through 1985. The specific occupations covered in this document include accountants, advertising workers, collections…

Organization Development (OD), conceived by behavioral scientists to humanize psychological aspects of working conditions which deprive employees of opportunities to develop and utilize their inherent resources, is based on the assumption that human resources can be released if people are given other conditions for work and cooperation. There is…

Today the auto industry is going through the most radical restructuring it has experienced since its birth. Included in this upheaval is a dramatic reorganization of the workplace, and technology has been both a catalyst and a central part of such change. The issues involved touch every facet of workplace life: job classifications and demarcation…

Researchers explored the relationships between the great working class communities and the industries they sustained and were sustained by in terms of production, storage, and transmission of skills. First, the ethnographic literature on industrial workplaces and the working class communities associated with them was reviewed. Next, lengthy…