Hardback : HK$987.00
Much of the hoopla surrounding quality circles, teams, and high-performance work systems has been based on anecdotes and very thin evidence. It has not been established that those employee involvement strategies amount to anything more than another series of management fads or ruses designed to get more out of workers without giving them anything in return. This revelatory book, written by some of the skeptics, lays some of the suspicion to rest.
Based on their visits to 44 plants and surveys of more than 4,000 employees, Eileen Appelbaum, Thomas Bailey, Peter Berg, and Arne L. Kalleberg concluded that companies are indeed more successful when managers share knowledge and power with workers and when workers assume increased responsibility and discretion.
The study of steel, apparel, and medical electronics and imaging plants revealed much. In self-directed teams, workers were able to eliminate bottlenecks and coordinate the work process. In task forces created to improve quality, they communicated with individuals outside their own work groups and were able to solve problems. Expensive equipment in steel mills operated with fewer interruptions, turnaround and labor costs were cut in apparel factories, and costly inventories of components and medical equipment were reduced.
And what did the employees think? The worker survey showed that jobs in participatory work systems often provide more challenging tasks and more opportunities for creativity. Employees in apparel had higher hourly earnings; those in steel had both higher hourly earnings and higher job satisfaction. Workers in more participatory settings were no more likely than others to report heavy workloads or excessivedemands on their time. They were, however, less likely to report involuntary overtime or conflict with co-workers, and were more likely to be satisfied with their surroundings.
Manufacturing Advantage provides the best assessment available of the effectiveness of high-performance work systems. Freestanding chapters near the end of the book provide full documentation of research data without interrupting the narrative flow.
Show moreMuch of the hoopla surrounding quality circles, teams, and high-performance work systems has been based on anecdotes and very thin evidence. It has not been established that those employee involvement strategies amount to anything more than another series of management fads or ruses designed to get more out of workers without giving them anything in return. This revelatory book, written by some of the skeptics, lays some of the suspicion to rest.
Based on their visits to 44 plants and surveys of more than 4,000 employees, Eileen Appelbaum, Thomas Bailey, Peter Berg, and Arne L. Kalleberg concluded that companies are indeed more successful when managers share knowledge and power with workers and when workers assume increased responsibility and discretion.
The study of steel, apparel, and medical electronics and imaging plants revealed much. In self-directed teams, workers were able to eliminate bottlenecks and coordinate the work process. In task forces created to improve quality, they communicated with individuals outside their own work groups and were able to solve problems. Expensive equipment in steel mills operated with fewer interruptions, turnaround and labor costs were cut in apparel factories, and costly inventories of components and medical equipment were reduced.
And what did the employees think? The worker survey showed that jobs in participatory work systems often provide more challenging tasks and more opportunities for creativity. Employees in apparel had higher hourly earnings; those in steel had both higher hourly earnings and higher job satisfaction. Workers in more participatory settings were no more likely than others to report heavy workloads or excessivedemands on their time. They were, however, less likely to report involuntary overtime or conflict with co-workers, and were more likely to be satisfied with their surroundings.
Manufacturing Advantage provides the best assessment available of the effectiveness of high-performance work systems. Freestanding chapters near the end of the book provide full documentation of research data without interrupting the narrative flow.
Show moreEileen Appelbaum is Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. She is coauthor of Unfinished Business, Manufacturing Advantage, and The New American Workplace, all from Cornell.
"Manufacturing Advantage seeks to focus on what may sound an unfashionable topic nowadays - the future of US manufacturing in a competitive global economy... What this impressive book demonstrates is that manufacturing and information technology, far from being separate sectors, are in fact firmly interrelated."-Robert Taylor, Financial Times "Manufacturing Advantage is well-written and clearly organized... A necessary read for all interested in the contemporary transformation of work. The authors are to be congratulated for the impressive research methodology of their study."-Charles Koeber, Wichita State University. Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 30, No. 3, May 2001 "This study analyzes productivity improvement and the effects of workplace practices within high-performance work systems (HPWS) on trust, intrinsic rewards, stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among workers in the steel, apparel, and medical electronics industries... EPI's conclusion here that HPWS will help U.S. manufacturing companies meet competitive challenges should stimulate discussions between labor and management."-David Rouse, Booklist. April 1, 2000. "Manufacturing Advantage provides the best assessment available of the effectiveness of high-performance work systems."-EPI Journal. Winter, 2000. "Manufacturing Advantage provides a refreshing alternative to the many pop management texts that fill airport (and, increasingly, university) bookshops... This is a serious scholarly work that seeks to put the claims of high performance work systems theory to the test, and that does so in a rigorous and systematic way... This book is a very important piece of work that fills a major gap in our knowledge of contemporary approaches to work organisation. It is high quality research conducted by a team of serious and accomplished social scientists... In a world where so much management literature mythologises managerial practice, works such as this are a welcome relief."-Bill Harley, University of Melbourne. The Journal of Industrial Relations, December 2000 "The book... is well structured and written... Undoubtedly, one of the great virtues of this book is that, although firmly based in research evidence, the material is presented in such a way as to make it accessible to a wide range of audiences."-Sue Hutchinson, Bath University School of Management. Industrial Relations Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1, March 2001 "Manufacturing Advantage is essential reading for anyone interested in work organization in the United States. It is unique in its combination of establishment and employee data and its power is enhanced by its research across three quite different industries. Its findings are important and persuasive-a terrific book."-Paul Osterman, MIT, Sloan School "This is an excellent piece of research that will be of interest to a large audience in both academic and public policy circles."-Harry Katz, Cornell University "Manufacturing Advantage is a very thorough, technically sound, original contribution to our understanding of the role that high performance work systems are playing in manufacturing."-Thomas Kochan, MIT, and President, Industrial Relations Research Association "Fresh and surprising evidence for the idea that employee empowerment and shop-floor participation are not only good for workers but a major source of competitive advantage. Skeptics in management and labor will have to come to terms with this book."-Charles Derber, author of Corporation Nation: How Corporations Are Taking Over Our Lives and What We Can Do About It "Manufacturing Advantage is a splendid book-well written, well referenced, filled with data and insight. If high-performance work practices make a difference, can we really just rely on evolutionary processes for their diffusion"-Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor, Stanford Business School and author of The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
