The American Workplace
Skills, Pay, and Employment Involvement

This volume contributes to a growing consensus about effective workplace practices.

Casey Ichniowski (Edited by), David I. Levine (Edited by), Craig Olson (Edited by), George Strauss (Edited by)

9780521089975, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 November 2008

300 pages, 64 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.41 kg

"...the issues raised in the text have wide bearing on society. The current volume certainly qualifies as being interesting to read...the book is academically solid, interesting, and timely." Personnel Psychology

Many managers are frustrated by a bewildering array of advice about what works in the workplace. This volume contributes to a growing consensus about effective workplace practices. The collection combines detailed studies of single industries (automobile assembly, apparel, and machine tools) with cross-industry studies of financial performance. Compared to most past investigations, the research here has better measures of both workplace practices and organizational performance. The contributors find that systems of innovative human resource management practices can have large effects on business performance. Success does not come from any single innovation, but from a coherent system encompassing pay, training, and employee involvement. Although a majority of contemporary US businesses now have adopted some innovative work practices, only a small percentage of businesses have adopted a coherent new system. A concluding chapter outlines barriers to diffusion and discusses public policies to remove barriers and enhance dissemination of effective management.

Preface
1. What works at work: overview and assessment Casey Ichniowski, Thomas A. Kochan, David I. Levine, Craig Olson and George Strauss
2. Diffusion and performance of modular production in the US apparel industry John T. Dunlop and David Weil
3. The performance effects of modular production in the apparel industry Peter Berg, Eileen Applebaum, Thomas Bailey and Arne L. Kalleberg
4. Participative bureaucracy and productivity in the machine products sector Maryellen R. Kelley
5. Methodological issues in cross-sectional and panel estimates of the HR-firm performance link Mark A. Huselid and Brian E. Becker
6. The adoption of high-involvement work practices Frits K. Pil and John Paul MacDuffie
7. The effects of total quality management on corporate performance: an empirical investigation George S. Easton and Sherry L. Jarrell
8. Implementing effective total quality management (TQM) programs on financial performance: a synthesis of evidence from quality award winners Kevin B. Hendricks and Vinod R. Singhal
9. Public policy implications David I. Levine.

Subject Areas: Working patterns & practices [KJWX], Office & workplace [KJW], Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU], Personnel & human resources management [KJMV2], Business & management [KJ]