Updated: 15 May 2006

NEWSLETTER 2

Qualitative research: organisational case studies
     By Jörg Flecker & Ulrike Papouschek

The qualitative research is at the core of the WORKS project. One of the aims is to carry out case studies of organisational change to provide windows into the restructuring of value chains at strategic points to illuminate changes in the organisation of work within and between organisations. The focus will be on the generic business functions: research and development, production, logistics, customer service and IT. These are generic in the sense that they apply across many different industries. The increasing standardisation of business processes accompanying the introduction of information and communication technologies makes it easier to separate the performance of business functions into separate units and either relocate them geographically or outsource them to another company or both.

58 case studies of organisations or networks will be conducted with a special focus on the relations between different links of a value chain. They will be situated both in manufacturing industries and in public services. Carrying out the research in 13 countries makes it possible to select comparable cases in different European regions which show particular institutional characteristics: Scandinavia, continental Europe, UK, Southern Europe and the CEE countries. The aim is not only to analyse the impact of value chain restructuring on work organisation and the quality of work but also to investigate in what way institutional frameworks shape organisational outcomes and thus mediate such impacts.

The case studies on organisational change will shed light on trends in the organisation of business functions and value chains; they will particularly emphasise the spatial aspects of restructuring and work organisation; they will link the level of value chains with work design in the workplace; they will assess the changing skill needs and requirements of knowledge as well as learning opportunities; they will investigate changes in employment relations against the background of current restructuring processes; and they will highlight the issues of flexibility and time use involved.

In particular main research questions are:

	How is the business function under investigation organised? How is the value chain under investigation organised? What are the differences along the value chain regarding the level of labour regulation (regarding pay, working hours, employment protection, representation, access to training)? What have been the main changes in recent years regarding the organisation of the value chain and the business function? What are the drivers of restructuring?
	What is the geographical structure of companies, units, etc.? What is the spatial division of labour along the value chain? How has the spatial fragmentation or concentration of the value chain developed over time?
	What are the tasks carried out in the units under investigation? What are the relations with other units in terms of division of labour, co-operation and control? What is the workflow? What are the main forms of functional flexibility? What forms of co-operation exist? What are the main forms of managerial control? What is the role of customers? What are the skill needs? What is the knowledge intensity of the different tasks? What was the impact of recent value chain restructuring on the functions performed and tasks carried out in quantitative and qualitative terms? How have basic skill structures changed because of restructuring?
	How can the value chain be described in terms of symmetry or asymmetry of power between organisations and units? What categories of workers are there in the establishments/units? What are the basic gender relations within the organisations? Are there workers‘ representatives? How are working hours regulated? How are issues of flexibility dealt with? Who are the main actors in restructuring? What have been the main changes in power relations in the value chain, in employment relations?
	What is the temporality of the functions performed and of the workflows? Does speed and flexibility play a role in the relations between units and companies in the value chain? How is working time organised? To what extent are workers autonomous in their time use? What is the temporal dimension of restructuring? How have working hours and time use been affected by value chain restructuring?

A comparative report on the basis of 58 case studies throughout the European Union will present up to date information on current trends of restructuring of value chains, organisation of business functions, flexible work organisation, work design and quality of work. The comparative approach will allow to draw conclusions on both the effectiveness and the sustainability of institutional frameworks.

Qualitative research: occupational case studies
     By Gérard Valenduc & Patricia Vendramin

In connection with the case studies of organisational change, a selection of occupational groups will also be studied. The purpose is to go beyond the level of the organisation and to draw conclusions at the level of the occupational groups and their societal dimension. The key question that the occupational case studies intend to answer is: ‘How do company strategies and labour market regulation impact on careers trajectories, time use and occupational identities?’. This means that the qualitative approach of occupational groups will tackle the individual dimension of changes in work, through the analysis of: work biographies, career construction and choices; changes in occupational identities; quality of work; learning and skills development; work life balance and the gender dimensions of changes. Seven occupational groups have been selected within the five business functions:

	within research and development: designers in clothing industry and researchers in IT;
	within production: skilled and semi-skilled production workers (in clothing industry and food industry) and production workers in IT (those who are writing software or developing applications);
	within logistics: skilled and semi-skilled workers (storekeepers, warehousemen, line managers);
	within customer service: front-office employees (in public administrations and in services of general interest);
	within IT service providers: IT professionals who provide services for public administrations and/or for services of general interest.

31 case studies of occupational groups will be conducted in the 13 countries covered by the organisational approach. They will be based on semi-directive interviews with a biographical focus and a narrative dimension. A comparative analysis will support a better understanding of the individual dimensions of changes in work. It will identify opportunities and threats at the individual and societal levels and their contextual dimensions.

From theories and concepts to hypotheses and research questions
     By Ursula Huws

The process

In order to address the ambitious aims of the WORKS project, in the first phase of its work the partners collaboratively carried out a major review of the relevant literature in order to generate clear hypotheses and research questions to guide the empirical research to be undertaken in the second phase of the project. This challenging task involved bringing together concepts from a wide range of different disciplines and national perspectives.

In order to develop a common framework, the first step of this process involved the identification and definition of key concepts. These were shared in the form of a glossary of key terms.

In the next step, the partners, working in cross-national teams, produced a series of thematic papers reviewing the evidence on:

	globalisation and the restructuring of value chains;
	policy, social dialogue and institutional structures;
	new forms of work organisation and flexibility in the knowledge-based society;
	employment change, labour market restructuring and the supply of skills;
	the use of knowledge and communication;
	organisational change and the demand for skills;
	new career trajectories and occupational identities;
	changes in work and quality of life;
	knowledge societies.

These nine thematic papers were then circulated to all the other partners to ensure that all bodies of national literature were properly represented.

These papers were then synthesised into a single report which will be available on the WORKS website in the Autumn of 2006.

Hypotheses and research questions

This process made it possible to identify some key starting points and research questions to be addressed by in the WORKS case studies of organisations and individuals.

In order to study the restructuring of global value chains it is necessary to look both inside and outside a single company to explore relationships with suppliers and customers and take account of the roles of intermediaries. It is also important to be aware that restructuring is a two-way process: local actors may be impacted by global forces but may also contribute to shaping them.

National and regional institutions play a mediating role in relation to global forces. It is important to compare the differing impacts, in different national environ-ments of policy interventions in relation to such issues as quality of life, gender equality, ethnic inclusion and skill supply. It is also useful to examine shifts in responsibility between the state, the employer and the individual (e.g. for training or for work/life balance). In parts of Southern and East Central Europe it is necessary to take account of the fact that much employment is in the informal sector.

There is a need to critically examine normative assumptions that flexible forms of working are necessarily empowering for workers. It is also necessary to investigate separately the spatial, temporal and contractual dimensions of flexibility, as well as its impact on skills. What are the implications of different forms of flexibilisation on autonomy and control? What are the impacts on work/life balance?

The standardisation of work processes and the transformation of tacit knowledge into codified knowledge are key themes. Are they causes or effects of the restructuring of global value chains? What are the impacts on work organisa-tion, quality of life, skills and career trajectories?

How does possession of certain skills (tacit or explicit) impact workers’ bargaining positions? What is the balance between individual and collective learning? Can new knowledge-based roles/occupations be identified connected with co-ordinating knowledge/knowledge management? Is there a shift to social and relational forms of knowledge and a shift from technical to social collaboration structures? How do performance monitoring processes and quality standards impact workers’ skills? What is the balance between ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ skills and does this vary depending on the position in the value chain?

In investigating new career trajectories it is vital to take account of gender and ethnicity. Which knowledge and competences are recognised by whom? Who are the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ when flexible practices are introduced? What changes are taking place in social bonds/collective identification? How does occupational identity interact with other identities?

In investigating the quality of life gender and age differences are also impor-tant. How are different groups differentially affected by changes in work organisation? What are the main factors that contribute to the definition of positive or negative results of discontinuous and atypical work paths? Which forms of new organisation can encourage more worker autonomy without increasing demands, stress and resulting health disorders? In what ways do changes in working time structures impact on health and safety?

Policy, institutions and social dialogue
     By Pamela Meil

On November 28th and 29th 2005, the WORKS policy pillar launched a work-shop to get an overview on developments in institutions, policy trends and social dialogue in the EU specifically dealing with issues of changes of work in the knowledge society. The goal of the workshop was twofold: (1) to assemble information from experts which could give the project partners of WORKS information on countries not covered in WORKS, or not covered by the policy pillar partners, information on other projects funded by the Commission which are highly relevant for the policy pillar and can provide synergy effects, and information from other organisations and institutions in the EU which are dealing with issues related to institutional change, policy and social dialogue; (2) have partners report on their review of various topics to be examined in the policy pillar toward the task of mapping and developing a concept for analysing policy in WORKS.

The workshop was divided into two parts: the first being the general presen-tations from experts and the second being the project partner presentations. In distributing tasks for the policy members before the workshop, there were two alternatives possible for determining the topics of the partner presen-tations: geographical dispersion or thematic responsibility. Given the small size of the policy pillar and the relatively sparse geographical representation, we decided on the latter strategy. We chose the topics: industrial relations, labour and work regulation, labour market and market orientations, education and training, gender, race and ethnicity, and innovation strategies or policy. The partners were asked to summarise the most important trends in their thematic area, and to identify potential indicators for the qualitative case studies to be carried out in 2006. This information was then used to begin developing a conceptual framework for understanding the role of institutions and policy for changes at work and its effects on quality of life in Europe and the individual EU nations. The papers or presentations from the workshop are available on the WORKS website.

The final part of the workshop was devoted to addressing the question of how we understand the task of developing a conceptual framework. A number of classification schemes are already available on how policy and regulation differ across nation: for instance, the three different worlds of welfare capitalism, varieties of capitalism, production regimes, industrial relations models or regimes, etc. All partners in WORKS recognise that differences between national contexts and institutional systems impact on forms of regulation, strategies for policy, and responses for dealing with changes in the global value chain. Using existing models however, presents some problems because the coherence of national systems are in flux as a result of, among others, the increasing presence of global value chains, European integration, shareholder value orientations, network organisation of firms. Also, there are a number of national contexts such as in the new member states or Southern Europe that have not been considered in existing typologies. Moreover, the strength of WORKS is precisely to be able to look at developments at the sectoral and workplace level, rather than staying at the macro levels often dealt with in existing classification systems. We want to find out how changes of work in the knowledge society are really affecting workers and their work life and what role policy and social dialogue play in this interaction.

Thus, in order to develop a conceptual framework that helps select the topics and analyse the information that will be available given the diversity in sector, institutional context and worker types in this project, it is necessary to create a mapping instrument that links various levels of analysis, allows room for change and overlap between systems, takes a variety of different topic areas and actor types into consideration. This will necessitate combining useful criteria in existing schemes and societal effects, but making a more dynamic framework than has existed up to now.

Currently the policy pillar is preparing information in those sectors that have been selected for empirical investigation in the upcoming case studies. Each partner is responsible for reporting on their own country, plus one additional neighbouring country, on the general principles and orientations of regulation in the given sectors. The reports will include evaluations of:

	the levels of regulation in the country for the various sectors (estimation of high or low, etc.);
	the means of regulation (what kinds of instruments are mainly used);
	the presence of union representation, works councils, or, if applicable, other types of representation;
	the influence of EU regulation;
	basic principles of regulation in the sectors (what is being negotiated, what is difficult to regulate and to control, etc.?);
	what recent regulations have been made on what issues (i.e. have there been discussions on protections regarding outsourcing or other job loss due to restructuring)?
	is there evidence of active labour market policy in the particular sectors (to create jobs, protect jobs, retrain, etc.)?
	do divisions between core/or non-core work forces exist? Does this affect orientations to protection?
	are there formal qualification requirements?

The idea behind the task is to get a picture of the regulation landscape in the various sectors and countries on issues such as working time, wages and employment protection. This then will be used to provide background infor-mation and guidelines for those carrying out the case studies. What should interviewees be sensitive to and what areas could they fruitfully pursue? The information will also be used to help operationalise the questions in the interview schedule. The reports are an important addition to having an analytical scheme for understanding how institutions and policy are affecting changes in work in the different areas of Europe and where the trends in institutional shift and policy formation are heading.

Measuring changes in work

     International workshop - Leuven (Belgium), 22-24 February 2006
     By Monique Ramioul

The ‘quantitative pillar’ of the WORKS project aims at studying the changes in work in Europe on the basis of comparative analyses on data from organisation and individual surveys. Both organisation surveys and individual/household surveys are well-developed in Europe. WORKS wants to make full use of these existing statistics and instruments to measure changes in work.

The research activities of the quantitative pillar include different steps. First, major European organisa-tion surveys and individual and household surveys relevant for changes in work are benchmarked. The focus here was on mapping the available surveys and assessing them on their relevance and their strengths and weak-nesses for comparative analyses on changes in work (see also: ‘the WORKS Digital Toolkit’ elsewhere in this Newsletter). Second, possible indicators on the WORKS themes enabling comparative research at the European level are identified. An important milestone here was the international workshop on ’Measuring changes in work’, that was organised in Leuven (Belgium) on 22-24 February 2006. The major aim was to contribute to a critical assessment of available data and indicators from surveys in Europe and to identify the opportunities (and gaps) for answering the WORKS research questions. Renowned international experts presented their experiences with important surveys in Europe, clarifying and assessing how they measure key dimensions of changes in work in their surveys. The themes looked at included the key issues under investigation in WORKS:

	organisational restructuring in the European Emergence Survey – Ursula Huws, WLRI-LMU (UK);
	new forms of work organisation in the European Survey on Working Conditions – Edward Lorenz, GREDEG (FR);
	new forms of work organisation in the German ISI Survey - Heidi Armbruster, ISI (GE);
	innovation in the Danish DISKO Survey – Peter Nielsen, AAU (DK);
	flexibility in the Belgian PASO Survey – Geert Van Hootegem and Stijn Gryp, CESO-K.U.Leuven (BE);
	quality of work in the Dutch Survey on Work in the Information Society – Steven Dhondt, TNO (NL).

The different presentations provoked interesting and lively debates on issues such as: the importance of conceptual clarity and comprehensiveness, strengths and weaknesses of measuring complex phenomena by means of surveys; the trade-off between innovation and continuity of surveys; the particularities, limitations and opportunities of organisation surveys versus individual/employee surveys when measuring changes in work, etc. For more information, all presentations are available on the project’s website.

Based on the outcome of the workshop, the next phases of the quantitative analysis in WORKS are fleshed out. A major task is to provide comparative background information on the sectors and occupational groups selected for the case study research. A key focus is to gain insight into national/regional and sectoral differentials in working conditions amongst occupational groups in order to understand both the locational decisions of restructuring companies and the longitudinal effects of restructuring on these working conditions. Another analysis can focus on occupational and sectoral shifts in employment over time by country within the EU and Accession States in order to get some indications for a new international division of labour related to the global restructuring of value chains. Such analyses are targeted at a comparison at the European level and will (therefore) be based on secondary data from European individual/employee surveys that are carried out (1) with a broad coverage throughout the whole of Europe and (2) for several years in order to allow for measuring changes. Surveys such as the Community Labour Force Survey, the European Survey on Working Conditions and the European Household Panel can meet these requirements. Another approach will be adopted for analysing results from the existing organisation surveys in Europe. Focused reviews of the survey publications will contribute to more in-depth insights and trends on company policies with respect to work and employment. This will allow to better understand the significance of changes in work and explain the causes of change over time.

The Digital Toolkit on the WORKS website

     By Rik Huys

One major information source on changes in work in European countries is provided by surveys.

On the one hand there is a multitude of surveys of individuals and of households. Several of these are well-established at the European level and deliver through a common methodology and questionnaire comparable data between European countries. Examples of such surveys are the European Labour Force Survey (ELFS) or the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC).

On the other hand there is a multitude of organisation surveys in European countries, for which international comparability is far less developed. There are only a few European-wide organisation surveys and these are limited on specific topics such as the European Survey on Working Time (ESWT) or the Continuing Vocational Training Survey (CVTS). The major organisation surveys covering a wide range of issues on changes in work are confined to a national or regional coverage. Due to their different methodology and questionnaires it is hard to draw a picture on changes in work at the European level from these organisation surveys.

There are no quick fixes to achieve greater convergence between the existing organisation surveys. Each survey has to take care of the continuity between the waves and its longitudinal comparability. And it must meet the expec-tations of its national sponsors. However, a step towards more convergence is to increase awareness and knowledge about the different national surveys.
The Digital Toolkit on the website of WORKS is aimed to increase this mutual knowledge. It provides information on the major organisation surveys in Europe, their methodology and their questions.

The following 12 organisation surveys and their questionnaires are currently included in the Digital Toolkit:

Next to methodological information, the Digital Toolkit is mainly a question-naire database. On a number of topics related to changes in work, it provides an overview of the questions asked in the different organisation surveys. Topics listed are concerned with the relationship of the organisation to its environment, the structure of the division of labour in the organisation as well as their personnel policy.

This database shows what kind of information is collected by the different surveys, how they question similar topics, the extent to which such information may be comparable... and may serve as a source of inspiration in the development of future questionnaires. In this way, we hope this Digital Toolkit will advance the convergence within the community of organisation survey organisers.

The transformation of work in a global knowledge economy: towards a
     conceptual framework

     The first WORKS conference

     By Ursula Huws

WORKS will hold its first international conference at the MAICH Centre in Chania, Crete, September 21-22, 2006 This event will bring together leading experts from a range of different disciplinary and national backgrounds with the aim of developing a conceptual framework for studying the relationship between these global forces and working life, recognising that global corporate strategies may both shape and be shaped by local practices. In particular, it will address such questions as:

	How are global forces mediated by national and regional institutions?
	What are the spatial impacts of global corporate restructuring?
	What are the impacts of corporate restructuring on workers’ skills and knowledge?
	What are the impacts of flexibilisation strategies on the organisation of work?
	What are the impacts on working time, on work-life balance and the quality of life?
	What are the gender impacts?
	What is happening to occupational identities and career structures?
	What are the implications for workers’ organisation and representation and for the Social Dialogue?

An exciting range of speakers have been invited from around the world. They include leading theorists from the disciplines of economics, sociology, political science, geography, gender studies, communications studies, industrial relations and organisational theory. There will also be presentations from researchers who have carried out relevant research in North America, Asia and Latin America as well as in Europe. Invited speakers will include representatives from research units of the European Commission, government and trade union organisations as well as academic bodies. We therefore anticipate an exceptionally rich range of presentations.

A limited number of places are still available at the conference.

For a programme and further information, please go to conference website.