Lecture | 1. Course introduction: course organisation and assessment.
2. Employment Relations and ER systems
a. Understanding core concepts: the world of work; the employment relationship; employment relations (ER) and ER systems
b. The main actors in ER systems: employees; employers, unions, employer associations; and the state
c. Models of ER systems: unitarism, pluralism; corporatism/tripartism; statism | – |
Tutorial | Brief discussion of course, assessment and roles and expectations of students and tutor in tutorials.
Tutorial preparation.
You should prepare very brief answers to the questions below, ahead of class, and then share them in pairs (or trios) during in-class discussion. You may share some of these answers with different class partners:
Q1. What experiences have you had of any of the following types of work: unpaid, paid casual, paid part-time, paid full-time? Please provide very brief examples.
Q2. If you have had more than one work experience, was it mostly as an employee or something else e.g. business partner, owner-operator, self-employed, individual contractor? Please provide examples.
Were you aware of any differences in your rights as a worker across these different experiences?
Q3. Have you ever had ‘gig platform’ work? How was this organised? What rights as a worker did you feel you had?
Q4. Have you worked in more than one country? (and, if so, which ones?) If so, what differences did you notice from those experiences?
Q6. Were you aware of any protections or minimum standards – e.g. regarding pay, hours of work, workplace health and safety and working conditions – relevant to your work experiences? If so, where did you get your information from?
See Moodle for tutorial details. | – |
Core Reading | – | · ~ Budd, JW and Have DP (2019) The Employment Relationship, ch. 3 in Wilkinson A, Bacon N, Lepak D and Snell S (eds), The Sage Handbook of Human Resource Management. Second Edition, Sage, Los Angeles: 41-64.
· Frege C and Kelly J (2020) Theoretical perspectives on comparative employment relations, ch. 2 in Frege C and Kelly J (eds) Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy, Second Edition, Routledge, New York: 9-28.
Townsend K, McDermott AM, Cafferkey K and Dundon T (2019) Theories used in employment relations and human resource management, ch. 1 in Townsend K, Cafferkey K, |
Lecture | A. UNSW Library presentation: research tools. THIS WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR LEARNING JOURNAL, RESEARCH PROJECT and FINAL TAKE-HOME EXAM
B. Examining employment systems in international comparison
1. Institutions of representation, voice and regulation: Trade unions and employer associations:
2. Avenues of regulation and democracy: collective bargaining; works councils
3. Forms of state regulation of individual and collective rights
4. The ILO, human rights at work and international labour standards
| Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time), |
Tutorial | 1. Discussion of employment relations
Tutorial preparation. You should prepare for the questions below.
Q1. Find a recent (in the last 2 weeks) news media article about employment relations. What are the key issues? Is there an international or global aspect to the story? (Please have a copy of the article available to share with another student in the class.)
Q2. How should we understand the commonalities and differences between industrial relations (IR) and human resource management (HRM)?
Q3. How can we understand the differences between these perspectives: pluralism, unitarism, corporatism/tripartism, and state-led ER?
Q4. (Only if there is enough time) Have you ever held the role of employer, manager or supervisor? In considering the perspectives in Q4, how did you understand that role in relation to employment relations? Where/how did you receive relevant advice or information?
Q5. (Only if there is enough time) Have you ever held the role of union official, workplace representative/delegate or works council member? In considering the perspectives in Q4, how did you understand that role in relation to employment relations? Where/how did you receive relevant advice or information? | – |
Core Reading | – | ~ Doherty M (2018) Employment Relations and the Law, ch. 4 in Wilkinson A, Dundon T, Donaghey J and Colvin AJS (eds) The Routledge Companion to Employment Relations, Routledge Abingdon UK: 52-68
~ Fairbrother P (2014) Unions: Practices and Prospects, ch. 28 in Wilkinson A, Wood G and Deeg R (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Employment Relations, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 637-654. AND/OR
~ Sheldon P (2018) Employers, Managers and Employment Relations, ch. 13 in Wilkinson A, Dundon T, Donaghey J and Colvin AJS (eds) The Routledge Companion to Employment Relations, Routledge Abingdon UK: 199-215
· Estlund C (2020) Individual employee rights at work, ch. 10 in Frege C and Kelly J (eds) Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy, Second Edition, Routledge, New York: 191-214.
· Hyman R and Gumbrell-McCormick R (2020) Collective representation at work, ch. 11 in Frege C and Kelly J (eds)) Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy, Second Edition, Routledge, New York: 215-238.
· Meardi G (2014) The State and Employment Relations, ch 27 in Wilkinson A, Wood G and Deeg R (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Employment Relations, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 616-636.
· Sheldon P, Bamber GJ, Land-Kazlauskas C and Kochan TA (2019) Industrial Relations: Changing trends across theory, policy and practice, ch. 18 in Wilkinson A, Bacon N, Lepak D and Snell S (eds), The Sage Handbook of Human Resource Management. Second Edition, Sage, Los Angeles, 317-35.
· Sheldon P, Gan B. and Bamber GJ (2014) Collective Bargaining: Globalizing economies and diverse outcomes, ch. 21 in R, Blanpain (ed.) Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Industrialized Market Economies, 11th edn, Kluwer Law International: 681-731. |
Lecture | 1. ER systems and their contexts. An example of an explanatory framework: Business systems theory.
2. Globalisation, technological disruptions and ER.
Examples: global value/supply chains and networks; off-shoring; transfer pricing.
3. Employment relations systems as arenas for ideological contest: ‘New Deal labor relations’, social democracy; ‘neo-liberalism’. | Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time).
Possibility of an in-lecture quizz (5 marks) |
Tutorial | Tutorial preparation. You should prepare for the questions below, ready to discuss in small groups.
Q1. Find a recent (in the last 2 weeks) news media article about the effects of globalisation or technological change on employment relations. What are the key issues? Can you identify the assumptions of the author of the article regarding employment relations? (Please have a copy of the article available to share with another student in the class.)
Q2. Discuss in pairs/small groups the most important things you think you learnt in preparing your Learning Journal summary for this week (Frenkel, 2018).
Q3. What is the role of the ILO? Why was it established? In briefly looking at its website (ahead of class), what do you think its main priorities are currently?
Q4. (if there is time) Which are the main ways that your own country has been shaped by or has shaped globalisation? | – |
Core reading | – | ~ Frenkel, S (2018) Globalisation and Work, ch. 20 in Wilkinson A, Dundon T, Donaghey J and Colvin AJS (eds) The Routledge Companion to Employment Relations, Routledge Abingdon UK: 321-341. |
Lecture | 1. Employment relations in the United Kingdom (UK)
2. Employment relations in the European Union; Brexit | Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time).
Possibility of an in-lecture quizz (5 marks) |
Tutorial | Please prepare for the questions below, ready for discussion.
Q1. Discuss in pairs/small groups the most important things you think you learnt in preparing your Learning Journal summary for this week on the UK (Johnstone and Dobbins, 2021)
Q2. Why has the UK employment relations system been described as ‘voluntarist’. Is the UK still voluntarist? Why/not?
Q3. Find a recent (in the last 3 weeks) two news media articles about the effects of ‘Brexit’ on likely changes to employment relations in the UK. What does it suggest? What are the implications for people in the UK? Do you think the author is in favour or against Brexit? | – |
Core reading | – | ~ Johnstone S and Dobbins T (2021) Employment Relations in the United Kingdom, ch. 2 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International and Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises and Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 29-53. |
Lecture | 1. Employment relations in the United States of America (USA)
2. Employment relations in Australia | Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time).
Possibility of an in-lecture quiz (5 marks) |
Tutorial | Please prepare for the questions below, ready for discussion.
Q1. Discuss in pairs/small groups the most important things you think you learnt in preparing your Learning Journal summary for this week on either the USA (Katz and Colvin, 2021) or Australia (Wright and Kaine, 2021).
Q2. A few students who wrote on ER in 1) the USA and 2) ER in Australia should briefly present to the class on the main lessons learnt from the lecture, their Learning Journal summaries and what they have heard from other students.
Q3. Open[PS1] class discussion: How can and should we compare ER in the USA and in Australia? What are the most important similarities and differences between the two countries’ ER systems? How might we compare outcomes? | – |
Core reading | – | ~ Katz HC and Colvin AJS (2021) Employment Relations in the United States, ch. 3 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International & Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises & Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 55-79.
~ Wright CF and Kaine S (2021) Employment Relations in Australia ch. 5 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International & Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises & Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 105-129
Clark PF (2018) Unions, ch. 12 in Wilkinson A, Dundon T, Donaghey J and Colvin AJS (eds) The Routledge Companion to Employment Relations, Routledge Abingdon UK:175-198.
Friedman G and Godard J (2020) The United States, ch. 14 in Frege C and Kelly J (eds) Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy, Second Edition, Routledge, New York: 285-298
Sheldon P and Thornthwaite L (2022) Employers’ Associations in Australia, ch. 8 in Gooberman L and Hauptmeier M (eds) Contemporary Employers’ Organizations: Adaptation and Resilience, Routledge New York/Oxford: 139-158 |
Lecture | 1. Employment relations in Germany | Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time).
Possibility of an in-lecture quiz (5 marks) |
Tutorial | Please prepare for the questions below, ready for discussion.
Q1. Discuss in pairs/small groups the most important things you think you learnt in preparing your Learning Journal summary for this week on Germany (Keller and Kirsch, 2021).
Q2. What aspects mark out German ER as very different to employment relations in some of the ‘anglophone’ countries we have looked at?
Q3. What do you think are the main sources of those differences and of Germany’s particular ER system?
Q4. What factors have contributed to ER in Germany’s manufacturing industries better weathering the effects of globalization and technological change? | – |
Core reading | – | ~ Keller BJK and Kirsch A (2021) Employment Relations in Germany, ch. 8 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International & Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises & Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 183-211
Behrens M (2020) Germany, ch. 17 in Frege C and Kelly J (eds) Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy, Second Edition, Routledge, New York: 339-362.
Behrens M (2022) German Employers’ Associations and their Strategy of Deliberate Neglect, ch. 9 in Gooberman L and Hauptmeier M (eds) Contemporary Employers’ Organizations: Adaptation and Resilience, Routledge New York/Oxford: 159-175. |
Lecture | 1. Employment relations in Italy | Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time).
Possibility of an in-lecture quiz (5 marks)
Research briefing (40 marks) due by 4 pm Friday 31 March 2023 (Sydney time) |
Tutorial | Please prepare for the questions below, ready for discussion.
Q1. Discuss in pairs/small groups the most important things you think you learnt in preparing your Learning Journal summary for this week on Italy (Dorigatti and Pedersini, 2021).
Q2. What aspects mark out ER in Italy from a. ER in Germany? Or b. from the anglophone countries we have studied?
Q3. What do you think are the main sources of those differences and of Italy’s particular ER system?
Q4. How does Italy’s ER system interact with an economy marked by a preponderance of family-owned SMEs? | – |
Core reading | – | ~ Dorigatti L and Pedersini R (2021) Employment Relations in Italy, ch. 6 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International and Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises and Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 131- 157 |
Lecture | 1. Employment relations in Japan
2. Employment relations in South Korea | Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time).
Possibility of an in-lecture quiz (5 marks) |
Tutorial | Please prepare for the questions below, ready for discussion.
Q1. Discuss in pairs/small groups the most important things you think you learnt in preparing your Learning Journal summary for this week on either Japan (Kubo and Ogura, 2021)) or South Korea (Lee, 2021).
Q2. A few students who wrote on (1) ER in Japan or (2) South Korea should briefly present to the class on the main lessons learnt from the lecture, their Learning Journal summaries and what they have heard from other students.
Q3. Bringing together answers to Q2 and Q3, how are ER in Japan similar to ER in South Korea? How are they different? If we tried to explain those similarities and differences, what aspects would we be looking at?
Q4. (if there is time) How are ER in these north-east Asian countries similar and/or different to those in countries in the EU we have studied? | – |
Core reading | – | ~ Kubo K and Ogura K (2021) Employment Relations in Japan, ch.10 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International and Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises and Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 239-261.
~ Lee B-H (2021) Employment Relations in South Korea, ch.11 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International and Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises and Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 263-289. |
Lecture | 1. Employment relations in China | Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time).
Possibility of an in-lecture quiz (5 marks) |
Tutorial | Please prepare for the questions below, ready for discussion.
Q1. Discuss in pairs/small groups the most important things you think you learnt in preparing your Learning Journal summary for this week on China (Cooke, 2021).
Q2. Is it possible to speak about a single Chinese employment relations system? If so, why? If not, why not?
Q3. Find recent (in the last 4 weeks) two (2) news media articles about employment relations in China. What does it suggest? What are the implications? How does globalisation influence the stories portrayed?
Q4. How has China’s dominant role in the globalisation of manufacturing affected ER policy debate and legislation in China?
Q5. How similar and/or different are ER in China compared to ER in Japan and South Korea? What are the main sources of those similarities and differences?
Q6. Can we see ER in China converging, in any way, with ER in other countries wed have studied? If so, in which ways? And what might be the main factors influencing such changes? If not, what might be the main factors at work? | – |
Core reading | – | ~ Cooke FL (2021) Employment Relations in China, ch.12 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International & Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises & Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 291-313.
Chan CK-C and He Y (2018) The Transformation of Employment Relations in Contemporary China, ch, 25 in Wilkinson A, Dundon T, Donaghey J and Colvin AJS (eds) The Routledge Companion to Employment Relations, Routledge Abingdon UK: 402-417. |
Lecture | 1. Cross-national employment relations
2. The Covid-19 era and employment relations
3. Conclusion: Global employment relations | Learning journal summary, Wednesday by 4 pm (Sydney time).
Possibility of an in-lecture quiz (5 marks) |
Tutorial | Please prepare for the questions below, ready for discussion.
Q1. Discuss in pairs/small groups the most important things you think you learnt in preparing your Learning Journal summary for this week (Doellgast et al., 2021).
Q2. Does globalisation mean the end of national diversity in employment relations systems? In which ways, has globalisation contributed to cross-national convergence?
Q3. How might we explain evidence of continuing or even greater divergence across national ER systems?
Q4. What might be the major effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on ER patterns? Are these likely to persist, change or disappear?
Final summary of course and discussion of take-home exam. | – |
Core reading | – | ~ Doellgast V, Wright CF, Cooke FL and Bamber GJ (2021) Conclusions: globalization, crises and institutional responses, ch. 15 in Bamber GJ, Cooke FL, Doellgast V and Wright CF (eds) International and Comparative Employment Relations Global Crises and Institutional Responses 7th Edition, Sage, London: 363-368. |