Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance
PurposeThe paper aims to explore the role of union strategic influence on the adoption of High Pe... more PurposeThe paper aims to explore the role of union strategic influence on the adoption of High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) in organisations and examines how the effects of job security and then in turn the industrial relations climate, mediate this relationship in a serial manner.Design/methodology/approachThe research analyses an original quantitative survey of union negotiators and representatives in 382 workplaces in England. The analysis employs structural equation modelling techniques to examine the relationships between union influence, job security, industrial relations climate and HPWS.FindingsUnion strategic influence has a positive effect on the take up of HPWS in unionised workplaces. Job security and the industrial relations climate demonstrate a serial mediation effect between union strategic influence and the take up of HPWS: union strategic influence has a positive effect on job security, which in turn positively impacts the industrial relations climate, thereby i...
PurposeThis paper examines the extent of bargaining concessions in recession through investigatin... more PurposeThis paper examines the extent of bargaining concessions in recession through investigating the effects of union bargaining on pay, job security and workforce composition.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on an original survey (n = 400) of workplace level trade union bargaining units in England, the authors employed latent class analysis to establish three groups of bargaining units on the basis of pay outcomes achieved. Linear regression analysis with moderation effects investigated whether pay rises at or above inflation in conjunction with shifts in bargaining priorities was associated with decreases in perceived job security and changes in the composition of the workforce.FindingsAround a quarter of sampled units, concentrated mostly in decentralised bargaining units in the private sector, achieved pay rises at or above the inflation rate during an economic downturn. Pay rises at or above inflation in workplaces severely affected by recession triggered changes in bargain...
Why does so much literature on unlearning ignore the people who do the unlearning? What would we ... more Why does so much literature on unlearning ignore the people who do the unlearning? What would we understand differently if we focused on those people? Much of the existing literature argues that unlearning can only be achieved, and new knowledge acquired, if old knowledge is discarded: the clean slate approach. This might be a reasonable way of organising stock in a warehouse, where room needs to be created for new deliveries, but it is not an accurate description of a human system. This article draws on a detailed qualitative study of learning in the UK Fire and Rescue Service to challenge the clean slate approach and demonstrate that, not only did firefighters retain their old knowledge, they used it as a benchmark to assess new routines and practices. This meant that firefighters’ trust in, and consent to, innovation was key to successful implementation. In order to understand the social aspects of unlearning, this research focuses on the people involved as active agents, rather ...
Legitimate peripheral participation is the bedrock of situated learning. It involves the novice o... more Legitimate peripheral participation is the bedrock of situated learning. It involves the novice or newcomer acquiring skills through work in a community of practice (CoP). It is generally assumed that CoP learning involves novices moving in a centripetal manner from periphery to core, gaining skills and knowledge from established workers before becoming full members of the community. This article draws on qualitative research in Northern Fire, one of the UK’s largest fire and rescue services, to challenge the idea that novices’ learning progression is linear and sequential, highlighting their fundamental importance in CoPs. It argues that learning is radial, with established workers learning from novices, just as novices learn from established workers. The novices contributed to group dynamics passively, simply by being there; and actively, through their own skills and theoretical knowledge. When funding cuts and austerity curtailed recruitment, the absence of novice firefighters hi...
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2017
This paper provides a nuanced insight into the workplace level interactions between a union and H... more This paper provides a nuanced insight into the workplace level interactions between a union and HRM systems within a union-management partnership arrangement. Soft outcomes of HRM systems typically suffer from compromised implementation by managers struggling to balance competing operational priorities, but we show how a union limits this poor implementation. Qualitative and documentary data were retrieved from a major UK retailer and a trade union to examine how union activity interacts with HRM delivery. Firstly, union communication systems enhanced or replaced company systems of employee voice. Secondly, union activity policed management implementation of HRM practices to limit their subjugation to short-term productivity increases, improving outcomes for employees and the HRM system for the company. These outcomes were achieved through oppositional engagement within the context of partnership, which points towards a persisting and productive pluralism within the cooperative rhetoric.
... Larsson, Patrik (Karlstad University, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Communication and IT, Ser... more ... Larsson, Patrik (Karlstad University, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Communication and IT, Service Research Center) (Karlstad University, Faculty of ... MacKenzie, Robert. Robinson, Andrew. Cook,Hugh. Title: Contingent Work in Construction: Results from a two Country Study. ...
ABSTRACTThis article explores the use of contingent forms of employment in two diverse country co... more ABSTRACTThis article explores the use of contingent forms of employment in two diverse country contexts—the UK and Sweden—and investigates the influence of changing regulatory and economic conditions over a period that covers the current economic downturn. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data for the construction sector, the article addresses three questions. How do employers balance their flexibility preferences in the context of regulatory constraints? How has the global recession influenced employer behaviour? And to what extent can the Swedish experience be explained by convergence on other country models? While the UK employment model encourages employers to externalise the risk of unpredictable market conditions through the use of contingent contracts, the more supportive welfare regime in Sweden underpins a resilient preference of employers for open‐ended employment contracts. Ongoing changes in labour market regulation pose challenges to the strongly regulated Swedis...
This article considers the potential gains which the union-led learning agenda may provide for it... more This article considers the potential gains which the union-led learning agenda may provide for its various stakeholders in Britain. To do this, it draws on extensive surveys of individual learners, trade union workers and employers to evaluate the extent of possible gains. The article argues that the union-led learning agenda may open a new and novel channel for unions to develop voice around learning at the workplace within a liberal market environment. The findings show that purported gains have been realized by all parties, but suggest that any notion of mutuality is dependent on the workplace structures of voice and codification that unions are looking to build around learning, such as learning agreements.
Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance
PurposeThe paper aims to explore the role of union strategic influence on the adoption of High Pe... more PurposeThe paper aims to explore the role of union strategic influence on the adoption of High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) in organisations and examines how the effects of job security and then in turn the industrial relations climate, mediate this relationship in a serial manner.Design/methodology/approachThe research analyses an original quantitative survey of union negotiators and representatives in 382 workplaces in England. The analysis employs structural equation modelling techniques to examine the relationships between union influence, job security, industrial relations climate and HPWS.FindingsUnion strategic influence has a positive effect on the take up of HPWS in unionised workplaces. Job security and the industrial relations climate demonstrate a serial mediation effect between union strategic influence and the take up of HPWS: union strategic influence has a positive effect on job security, which in turn positively impacts the industrial relations climate, thereby i...
PurposeThis paper examines the extent of bargaining concessions in recession through investigatin... more PurposeThis paper examines the extent of bargaining concessions in recession through investigating the effects of union bargaining on pay, job security and workforce composition.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on an original survey (n = 400) of workplace level trade union bargaining units in England, the authors employed latent class analysis to establish three groups of bargaining units on the basis of pay outcomes achieved. Linear regression analysis with moderation effects investigated whether pay rises at or above inflation in conjunction with shifts in bargaining priorities was associated with decreases in perceived job security and changes in the composition of the workforce.FindingsAround a quarter of sampled units, concentrated mostly in decentralised bargaining units in the private sector, achieved pay rises at or above the inflation rate during an economic downturn. Pay rises at or above inflation in workplaces severely affected by recession triggered changes in bargain...
Why does so much literature on unlearning ignore the people who do the unlearning? What would we ... more Why does so much literature on unlearning ignore the people who do the unlearning? What would we understand differently if we focused on those people? Much of the existing literature argues that unlearning can only be achieved, and new knowledge acquired, if old knowledge is discarded: the clean slate approach. This might be a reasonable way of organising stock in a warehouse, where room needs to be created for new deliveries, but it is not an accurate description of a human system. This article draws on a detailed qualitative study of learning in the UK Fire and Rescue Service to challenge the clean slate approach and demonstrate that, not only did firefighters retain their old knowledge, they used it as a benchmark to assess new routines and practices. This meant that firefighters’ trust in, and consent to, innovation was key to successful implementation. In order to understand the social aspects of unlearning, this research focuses on the people involved as active agents, rather ...
Legitimate peripheral participation is the bedrock of situated learning. It involves the novice o... more Legitimate peripheral participation is the bedrock of situated learning. It involves the novice or newcomer acquiring skills through work in a community of practice (CoP). It is generally assumed that CoP learning involves novices moving in a centripetal manner from periphery to core, gaining skills and knowledge from established workers before becoming full members of the community. This article draws on qualitative research in Northern Fire, one of the UK’s largest fire and rescue services, to challenge the idea that novices’ learning progression is linear and sequential, highlighting their fundamental importance in CoPs. It argues that learning is radial, with established workers learning from novices, just as novices learn from established workers. The novices contributed to group dynamics passively, simply by being there; and actively, through their own skills and theoretical knowledge. When funding cuts and austerity curtailed recruitment, the absence of novice firefighters hi...
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2017
This paper provides a nuanced insight into the workplace level interactions between a union and H... more This paper provides a nuanced insight into the workplace level interactions between a union and HRM systems within a union-management partnership arrangement. Soft outcomes of HRM systems typically suffer from compromised implementation by managers struggling to balance competing operational priorities, but we show how a union limits this poor implementation. Qualitative and documentary data were retrieved from a major UK retailer and a trade union to examine how union activity interacts with HRM delivery. Firstly, union communication systems enhanced or replaced company systems of employee voice. Secondly, union activity policed management implementation of HRM practices to limit their subjugation to short-term productivity increases, improving outcomes for employees and the HRM system for the company. These outcomes were achieved through oppositional engagement within the context of partnership, which points towards a persisting and productive pluralism within the cooperative rhetoric.
... Larsson, Patrik (Karlstad University, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Communication and IT, Ser... more ... Larsson, Patrik (Karlstad University, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Communication and IT, Service Research Center) (Karlstad University, Faculty of ... MacKenzie, Robert. Robinson, Andrew. Cook,Hugh. Title: Contingent Work in Construction: Results from a two Country Study. ...
ABSTRACTThis article explores the use of contingent forms of employment in two diverse country co... more ABSTRACTThis article explores the use of contingent forms of employment in two diverse country contexts—the UK and Sweden—and investigates the influence of changing regulatory and economic conditions over a period that covers the current economic downturn. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data for the construction sector, the article addresses three questions. How do employers balance their flexibility preferences in the context of regulatory constraints? How has the global recession influenced employer behaviour? And to what extent can the Swedish experience be explained by convergence on other country models? While the UK employment model encourages employers to externalise the risk of unpredictable market conditions through the use of contingent contracts, the more supportive welfare regime in Sweden underpins a resilient preference of employers for open‐ended employment contracts. Ongoing changes in labour market regulation pose challenges to the strongly regulated Swedis...
This article considers the potential gains which the union-led learning agenda may provide for it... more This article considers the potential gains which the union-led learning agenda may provide for its various stakeholders in Britain. To do this, it draws on extensive surveys of individual learners, trade union workers and employers to evaluate the extent of possible gains. The article argues that the union-led learning agenda may open a new and novel channel for unions to develop voice around learning at the workplace within a liberal market environment. The findings show that purported gains have been realized by all parties, but suggest that any notion of mutuality is dependent on the workplace structures of voice and codification that unions are looking to build around learning, such as learning agreements.
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Papers by Hugh Cook