TY - JOUR
T1 - Lost narratives? From paternalism to team-working in a lock manufacturing firm
AU - Greene, Anne Marie
AU - Ackers, Peter
AU - Black, John
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - This article discusses a process of workplace change at a manufacturing company. The firm had sought to radically change traditional working practices, organizational culture and labour-management relations. The article identifies a significant mismatch between management rationale for the changes and their subsequent behaviour, on the one hand, and workers' views, objectives and aspirations about their work lives, on the other. Explanations for this are grounded within the competing discourse of workers and managers. The article argues, in particular, that the relative failure of the change process derived largely from the unwillingness of management to recognize the way in which the workplace culture is embedded in a context of social and historical traditions. This analysis of 'paternalism' is situated within a discussion of the psychological contract.
AB - This article discusses a process of workplace change at a manufacturing company. The firm had sought to radically change traditional working practices, organizational culture and labour-management relations. The article identifies a significant mismatch between management rationale for the changes and their subsequent behaviour, on the one hand, and workers' views, objectives and aspirations about their work lives, on the other. Explanations for this are grounded within the competing discourse of workers and managers. The article argues, in particular, that the relative failure of the change process derived largely from the unwillingness of management to recognize the way in which the workplace culture is embedded in a context of social and historical traditions. This analysis of 'paternalism' is situated within a discussion of the psychological contract.
KW - Human resource management
KW - Paternalism
KW - Psychological contract
KW - Team-working
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035590665&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0143831X01222003
DO - 10.1177/0143831X01222003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035590665
SN - 0143-831X
VL - 22
SP - 211
EP - 237
JO - Economic and Industrial Democracy
JF - Economic and Industrial Democracy
IS - 2
ER -