Studies in Comparative Political Economy and Public Policy;
3 total works
The massive changes under way in capitalist commodity production include the transition from a traditional or Fordist approach to a post-Fordist one, involving practices such as employee involvement, continuous improvement, and gainsharing. In this research monograph, Bob Russell explores the changing character of industrial relations and labour processes in two staple industries: potash and uranium mining. Using an innovative case-analytic approach, Russell compares the managerial strategies used by five transnational firms. As indicated by his title, More with Less, he sees the shift toward post-Fordism as having more to do with the intensification of labour, accomplished in part through the creation of multitasked positions, than with worker empowerment and the transcendence of class conflict. Russell combines extensive empirical analysis with a review of contemporary writing on work relations and labour processes to provide this intensive political-economic perspective on the capital-labour relation. His meticulous research will interest scholars and professionals in Canada, the United States, Britain, Europe, and Australia.
Just as textile mills and automotive assembly plants have symbolized previous economic eras, the call centre stands as a potent reminder of the importance of information in contemporary economies. Bob Russell's Smiling Down the Line theorizes call centre work as info-service employment and looks at the effects of ever-changing technologies on service work, its associated skills, and the ways in which it is managed. Russell also considers globalization and contemporary managerial practices as centres are outsourced to poorer countries such as India and as new forms of management are introduced, refined, and discarded. Invoking extensive labour force surveys and interviews from Australia and India, Russell examines employee representation, work intensity, stress, emotional labour, and job skills in the call centre work environment. The cross-national approach of Smiling Down the Line highlights the effects of globalization and scrutinizes the similarities and differences that exist in info-service work between different industries and in different countries.