Andy Danford

Analyzing the impact of Japanese-style management techniques such as lean production, teamworking, kaizen (continuous improvement) and business unionism of factory workers, this text investigates different facets of the organization of the labour process and employment relations within 15 Japanese transplants in South Wales. There is an emphasis on the impact of the restructuring of workplace relations on both individual groups of workers and collective labour organization. The text provides an insight into the reality of factory life in the 1990s by incorporating descriptions of shop-floor observations, quantitive data and revealing comments from different grades of shop-floor workers, office workers and management.

This is the story of workers' struggles in the British car industry, from the Second World War until today. Told from the viewpoint of the workers, the book chronicles how they responded to a variety of management and union strategies, from piece rate working, through measured day work, and eventually to 'lean production' beginning in the late 1980s. Focusing on two companies, Vauxhall-GM and Rover/BMW, this book shows how they developed their approaches to managing labour relations. It highlights the success of various forms of struggle to establish safer and more humane working environments, as well as their failures.

This is the story of workers' struggles in the British car industry, from the Second World War until today. Told from the viewpoint of the workers, the book chronicles how they responded to a variety of management and union strategies, from piece rate working, through measured day work, and eventually to 'lean production' beginning in the late 1980s. Focusing on two companies, Vauxhall-GM and Rover/BMW, this book shows how they developed their approaches to managing labour relations. It highlights the success of various forms of struggle to establish safer and more humane working environments, as well as their failures.

The promotion of workplace partnership in the high performance workplace has become central to policy debates on the 'modernization' of employment relations in British industry. This book provides critical insights into the dynamics of partnership by way of in-depth case studies of employee experience in an under-researched industry noted for its high concentrations of skilled workers and graduates. Drawing on rich interview and questionnaire data, the authors highlight considerable conflicts of interest in the development of partnership that derive from the competitive capitalist environment in which management strategies operate.

The promotion of workplace partnership in the high performance workplace has become central to policy debates on the 'modernization' of employment relations in British industry. This book provides critical insights into the dynamics of partnership by way of in-depth case studies of employee experience in an under-researched industry noted for its high concentrations of skilled workers and graduates. Drawing on rich interview and questionnaire data, the authors highlight considerable conflicts of interest in the development of partnership that derive from the competitive capitalist environment in which management strategies operate.

This book makes a major contribution to the debate within the UK and abroad on the reality of workplace unionism in an era of change. Drawing on examples of union renewal, the authors present an historical overview, and compare the UK experience with contrasting international examples. It presents both qualitative and quantitative research to provide new and comprehensive evidence on trade union strategies.

Analyzing the impact of Japanese-style management techniques such as lean production, teamworking, kaizen (continuous improvement) and business unionism of factory workers, this text investigates different facets of the organization of the labour process and employment relations within 15 Japanese transplants in South Wales. There is an emphasis on the impact of the restructuring of workplace relations on both individual groups of workers and collective labour organization. The text provides an insight into the reality of factory life in the 1990s by incorporating descriptions of shop-floor observations, quantitive data and revealing comments from different grades of shop-floor workers, office workers and management.