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Case studies in work, employment and human resource management Tony Dundon and Adrian Wilkinson (eds) (Cheltenham, UK), Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, (2020) 320 pages, £28 paperback, £120 hardcover

2022; Wiley; Volume: 37; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/ntwe.12245

1468-005X

Andrew Kozhevnikov,

Digital Economy and Work Transformation

This book, edited by Tony Dundon and Adrian Wilkinson, offers an excellent collection of case studies relevant to human resource management (HRM), work and employment studies, industrial relations, employment law, sociology of work, organisation studies and other cognate disciplines. While covering a broad range of topics, the book is likely to interest readers of New Technology, Work and Employment. Some cases explicitly address (as their primary or secondary point of interest) the impact of new technologies at work (e.g., technical skills in Chapter 2; Uber and gig economy in Chapter 14; technology-enabled people management in Chapter 37), whereas some others consider relevant HRM and employment matters in high-tech contexts (e.g., games industry in Chapter 28; Ford in Chapter 32; Apple in Chapter 41). In addition, the book should appeal to the readers' broader critical interests of HRM, work and employment by providing dynamic accounts of timely and important issues, considered from the points of view of various stakeholders, rather than just managers and business owners. The volume consists of eight thematic sections which, in turn, comprise 42 chapters presenting one case study each, with thought-provoking questions and, in most cases, useful references at the end. The book opens with an introduction by Dundon and Wilkinson (Chapter 1). Then, the four case studies in Section I report on issues pertaining to ‘people resourcing’. In Chapter 2, Scholarios and Hurrell explore diversity and inclusion in the strategic recruitment of young people in a law firm and demonstrate how championing diversity and inclusion can be a useful, although challenging, recruitment strategy. A selection process in the finance sector and issues surrounding it (such as inconsistency and lack of clarity) are addressed by Hurrell, Mazzoni and Scholarios in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, Roe and Athelstan-Price examine wellbeing at work through the case of a woman with autism and mental health issues in a UK educational institution. They specifically underscore the complexity of mental health policies as well as the ambiguity of their interpretations. Then, in Chapter 5, flexible working during and after the 2008 recession is discussed by Johnstone and Procter, who, worryingly, report that the postrecovery period (from 2011) witnessed further segmentation of the workforce with different degrees of uncertainty and precarity. Section II includes six case studies around ‘HR strategy, rewards and performance’. Kellner (Chapter 6) explores factors shaping HRM strategy in an Australian food franchise, such as the expansion of the business, legal compliance and brand protection, and Johnson (Chapter 7) discusses a shift towards the new contribution-based pay system in a local Country Council in the South-East of England. Then, in Chapter 8, Knies, Leisink and Boselie discuss the multistakeholder development and application of a high-performance work system in a Dutch insurance firm, illuminating the importance of manifold actors, from work councils to frontline managers. In Chapter 9, Gould and O'Donohue report on performance management in an Australian telemarketing company, focusing on incentives for business development managers and emerging problems with them. Following this, Woodhams, Wild and Atkinson (Chapter 10) present a case on the gender pay gap, which outlines and discusses gendered disparity in a UK Hospital Trust. Then, Prowse, Dobinson and Fells (Chapter 11) extend the debates on pay equality in a case about campaigns for ‘a real Living Wage’, which were, with somewhat ambivalent results, pursued in the United Kingdom. Next, there are six case studies in Section III reporting on ‘workplace relations and voice’. In Chapter 12, Cullinane, Dundon, Donaghey, Hickland and Dobbins report on striking differences regarding employee voice and unionisation across locations of a multinational organisation. Next, Harvey and Turnbull (Chapter 13) juxtapose the employment relations between the US-based Southwestern Airlines and Ireland-based Ryanair. The case exposes Ryanair's hard approach to HRM based on low security, wages and skills, but high labour productivity. Walker (Chapter 14) emphasises the legal pressures on Uber to change the company's problematic employment practices in London and New York. These debates are further explored in Chapter 15, where Robinson investigates attempts to improve employee engagement, and their welcome and unwelcome effects. The misbehaviour as a response to work intensification and subsequent managerial punitive measures are outlined by Murphy, Ryan and Dundon in Chapter 16, followed by a case about variations in work conditions and employment rights across different groups of workers (executive directors, permanent and nonpermanent employees) presented by O'Sullivan in Chapter 17. Section IV presents further six cases dedicated to ‘Human resource development, diversity, skills and training'. Brooks, Grugulis and Cook (Chapter 18) show how firefighters learn through practicing work-related activities and sharing narratives as well as (or instead of) more formal training provided by the employer. The importance of inclusive and exclusive approaches to talent management and the factors shaping them are discussed by Wiblen in Chapter 19. In the following chapter, Winterton and Turnbow (Chapter 20) consider the meaning of competence, in theory, policy and practice, using an example of Airbus' efforts to forecast the need for, plan development of and manage competencies. Caillard and Cox (Chapter 21) draw attention to the gender issues at Victoria Police and various initiatives to manage them, stressing the enduring problems faced by women in Victoria Police. Then, Chapter 22 by Deakin and Hoel highlights problems with defining and understanding bullying and suggests that at times it can be caused, sustained or encouraged by the management style and corporate culture. This is followed by an account of struggles faced by Argentinian sex workers in a case reported by Hardy in Chapter 23. The case examines how a collective organisation of informally self-employed women working in the semilegal industry resulted in recognition within the wider trade union movement and some remarkable welfare achievements. Section V comprises six case studies reporting on some of the key issues surrounding ‘culture and job quality’. Rafferty (Chapter 24) reports on gender discrimination and stereotypes at Microsoft, usefully discriminating between disparate impact and disparate treatment, and Donnelly (Chapter 25) reports on changes in the corporate hierarchy and how hierarchical structures can be beneficial and damaging to business. In Chapter 26, Ressia, Wilkinson and Mowbray address workplace wellbeing in an Australian not-for-profit organisation, with a specific focus on issues, such as gossiping, trust and workload. Next, Warhurst and Wright (Chapter 27) discuss dimensions of job quality and possible ways to improve and enforce them in the context of low-waged workers in Scotland. The debates on job quality are further extended by Been and Payton (Chapter 28) and their case about two contrasting ways to organise project-based work in the Dutch games industry. Timming, in Chapter 29, shows how tattoos can contribute to the cultural cohesion among employees and customers, thanks to the cultural ‘fit’ and shared aesthetics of workers and the target clients. Another four cases are grouped together in Section VI, focusing on ‘leadership and change’. In Chapter 30, McCann warns against too vague or simplistic (re)interpretations of leadership and cautions that the ‘Good to Great’ slogan promoted by one of the American leadership gurus, Jim Collins, can give grounds to bullying, selfishness, ruthlessness and conflict. In the next two chapters, Harney and Dundon (Chapter 31) discuss (un)ethical HRM by exploring the ‘hard’ leadership ideology at Amazon and its transformation into corporate culture, and Langerud and Jordan (Chapter 32) draw on a case of Ford Motor Company to debate transformational leadership and its implications, such as the increased consistency and coherence that benefitted the company. Then, Said, in Chapter 33, brings the discussion to the macronational level to report on implementing transformational management in Brunei, as well as relevant obstacles and enablers. The seven cases in Section VII explore a range of aspects relevant to ‘international HRM’. In the first of these, Lavelle, Gunnigle and Monaghan (Chapter 34) examine challenges and tensions in the HR function of a multinational corporation's subsidiary, including the growing pressures for rationalisation and uniformity. Next, conflicting forces encouraging localisation and standardisation of HRM practices in a multinational organisation are discussed in a case by Kynighou (Chapter 35). McDonnell, Jooss and Scullion (Chapter 36) cover issues surrounding international mobility and management of talent in multinational corporations and scrutinise the decentralised management approach in a large, headquartered in Europe multinational enterprise. In Chapter 37, Cooke establishes connections between business strategy and people management in China to demonstrate some radical changes in Haier and to argue that their effect is yet to be understood. This is followed by a debate on the advantages and disadvantages of Emiratisation for organisations and their efficiency by Zeffane and Kemp (Chapter 38). The subsequent two chapters extend the national perspective further as Bischoff and Wood report on the issues of outsourcing, such as tensions between businesses and trade unions, in South Africa in Chapter 39, and Despotovic discusses the culture shock experienced by an Australian couple in South Korea, in Chapter 40. Finally, three case studies in Section VIII are concerned with ‘global labour rights’. Chan, in Chapter 41, presents a case on worrying labour practices in Foxconn, one of Apple's Chinese suppliers. The case highlights issues, such as long working hours, insecurity and exploitation, especially of vulnerable workers. Finally, Mustchin, Martinez Lucio, Whittall, Rocha and Telljohann (Chapter 42) investigate transitional collective agreements at Volkswagen and highlight differences between the United Kingdom and Germany, and Jenkins (Chapter 43) concludes by showing the labour conditions at a Pakistani clothing factory, drawing on a disturbing example of the fire that happened in September 2012, killing 262 lives. The case studies offered by this edited collection differ favourably from many other available case studies in which they present the fruits of labour of many prominent academics researching real-life phenomena within the domain of employment and work. Unlike case studies relying upon hypothetical (and often farfetched) situations or descriptive news-like reports of real events, this book draws upon the results of painstaking and reputable academic investigations. On the one hand, the texts included in this volume are valuable pieces of academic writing in their own rights, given the in-depth critical accounts of important contemporary issues. On the other hand, they encourage readers (most likely postgraduate and/or advanced undergraduate students on critically engaged programmes) to extend these analytical efforts further by investigating, evaluating and interpreting the scenarios through the interesting and intellectually stimulating questions suggested in each chapter. This offers an excellent opportunity for students to form their own understandings of some of the most topical, significant, inspiring and worrying developments in the employment arena, as well as to explain the complex reasons behind them and consider how they could be addressed. Importantly, the book makes implicit its intention to go beyond inviting students ‘to walk in the shoes of managers, by trying to fix some presumed corporate problem for a managerial class or other corporate vested-interested group’ (p. 5). Instead, many cases underline the importance of other stakeholders, especially workers, and the students are actively encouraged to venture outside the world of managerial concerns to recognise, appreciate and advocate other, often conflicting, agential interests co-existing in the world of work and employment. In a similar vein, this compilation covers a broad range of different organisations, industries, countries and, overall, situations. The importance of the context in most cases is particularly noteworthy and commendable. While many of the texts in this volume explicitly demonstrate the potential of agential powers to, for example, resist adverse employment conditions and transform the workplace, they also recognise the significance of structural factors, such as legislation, corporate policies and regulations, organisational hierarchies, social relations and cultural stereotypes that shape individual experiences and constrain and enable agential powers. Taken together, the cases in this book offer an impressive and valuable bank of evidence-based materials that, due to the multidisciplinary approach adopted by the book, can enhance students' learning on a variety of modules taught in business schools, as well as in law schools and sociology and psychology departments. Postgraduate and, perhaps, senior undergraduate students (as well as their lecturers and tutors) seem to be better placed to benefit from reading and discussing the texts in this book, considering the advanced nature of the discussed problems, and raised questions.