Spillover effect of workplace democracy: A conceptual revision

The so-called "spillover thesis" by Pateman is one of the prominent theoretical explanations for why workplace-based participation and democracy could induce stronger political participation. By this thesis, Pateman underscored the relevance of industrial workplaces as relevant places where citizens can be socialized regarding democratic attitudes while proposing the educative effect of workplace democracy and assuming a strong linkage between workplace-based and political participation as moderated by self-efficacy. The spillover thesis has received a controversial consideration as previous empirical studies have provided inconsistent evidence. Some empirical undertakings support the assumption by Pateman and indicate a positive relationship between workplace democracy and societal effects, like increased moral and community orientation or higher levels of political participation among employees from companies with higher degrees of workplace democracy. Other empirical studies yield results that do not confirm the thesis. Scholars have discussed method-based shortcomings of the previous empirical research while pointing to the inconsistency of definitions and operationalizations as the main shortcoming. In contrast to that, systematic conceptual consideration of the spillover thesis and the accompanying scholarship are still lacking. The present article addresses this shortcoming and provides a critical reflection on the spillover thesis and corresponding research. It aims at identifying the main conceptual shortcomings and providing avenues for future theoretical undertakings in analyzing whether and how participation at the workplace is related to participation in political domains.

Meanings of management in the post-socialist higher education: the case of Lithuania

Purpose

The study examines prevailing understandings and meanings of management represented in Lithuanian higher management education as a selected East European post-socialist country. While concentrating on the notion of management as an institution, the study draws upon the concept of “travel of ideas” by Czarniawska (2008). The study aims at analysing what reasons led to the development of specific management meanings in Lithuanian higher education by considering local historical and socio-political processes of transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis is based on a qualitative content analysis of 23 relevant textbooks on general management in Lithuania, written by local authors.

Findings

The results show that the reception and translation of management concepts in Lithuania is mainly focused on rationalistic Anglo-Saxon concepts. Dominating meanings are informed by Taylorism, with alternative or critical management approaches remaining absent. The study additionally reveals the effect of “imprinting”, referring to the fact that local management pioneers have a considerable and sustainable impact on how and which management models and theories are adopted in management education.

Research limitations/implications

Since the analysis is limited to local textbooks in higher education of only one post-socialist country, there is a need for further research, especially for the inclusion of the remaining Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Additionally, other factors that may influence management meanings in higher education in post-socialist countries need to be considered by analysing translated books, management programmes or guest lecturers from other countries.

Practical implications

One of the central implications of the research into management in higher education is the call for a stronger inclusion of management ideas that go beyond Taylorist approaches. These could be team-based management or participative management, as these potentially better align with work-oriented expectations by prospective, especially young, employees.

Originality/value

The study shows the relevance of historic roots regarding managerial thought. The study identifies an “imprinting” by local pioneers in the field of management that establishes initial and enduring meanings of management in a considered country. The mechanism of “imprinting” serves as a selective filter and indicates a local general receptivity towards certain ideas and could, thus, enable or impede travelling of ideas. In the case of Lithuanian higher management education, the study shows that “imprinting” has led to a narrow meaning of management with a higher receptivity towards concepts and approaches that align with Taylor's scientific management theory.

How do employees cope with mandatory working from home during COVID-19?

How do employees who are coerced to work from home during COVID-19 cope with this unprecedented situation? Drawing upon the job-demands-resources (JD-R) model and upon the literature on coping, we analyse empirical qualitative material which stems from two-stage interviews with and online diaries prepared by 15 white-collar employees in Romania. We identify four initial coping types in relation to mandatory working from home: ‘explorers’, ‘statics’, ‘chaotics’ and ‘irremediables’. In the follow-up stage of the field work, the ‘chaotic’ type of coping disappears. These findings in relation to the unique pandemic situation represent a significant contribution to the literature on working from home as well as on coping with stress.

Betriebliche Integration von Geflohenen

Zusammenfassung. Während die vorliegende Forschung zur betrieblichen Integration von Geflohenen in Deutschland mehrheitlich auf die Unternehmensperspektive ausgerichtet ist, kommt die Sicht der Geflohenen oftmals zu kurz. In dieser explorativen Studie auf Basis von qualitativen Interviews mit erwerbstätigen Geflohenen untersuchen wir die fachliche, soziale und werteorientierte betriebliche Integration. Dabei stellen wir ein großes Defizit von unternehmensinitiierten Unterstützungsangeboten fest, wie der betriebsspezifische Sprachunterricht. Wir thematisieren dabei auch die gravierende Bedeutung von informeller Integrationsarbeit seitens der Arbeitskolleginnen und -kollegen und formulieren Gestaltungsempfehlungen für Betriebe.

Partizipative Führung: Auf den Spuren eines Konzeptes

Dieser Beitrag der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) befasst sich mit ausgewählten Konzepten zur partizipativen Führung, mit denen die Führungsforschung aufwartet. Das Ziel besteht darin, eine kritische Inspektion der den Konzepten zugrundeliegenden Annahmen über die Partizipation im Führungsgeschehen vorzunehmen. Dabei richten wir unseren Fokus zuerst auf die historischen Vorläufer der Führungspartizipation, wie die Überlegungen von Mary Parker Follett, Kurt Lewin, Robert Tannenbaum und Warren H. Schmidt. Anschließend diskutieren wir eine Reihe ausgewählter aktueller Konzepte aus dem Bereich partizipativer Führung in Bezug auf deren analytischen Kerndimensionen und rhetorischen Ansprüche. Die Konzepte durchleuchten wir in Bezug darauf, inwiefern diese auf die humanistisch inspirierte Demokratisierung von Organisationen mittels partizipativer Führung abstellen, oder partizipative Führung als ein weiteres Mittel zur Leistungssteigerung in Organisationen thematisieren, oder womöglich beides. Zum Schluss gehen wir darauf ein, welche dieser vielfältigen konzeptionellen Vorüberlegungen Eingang in die Diskussion zum agilen Management gefunden haben.

Employee voice and silence in temporary agency work

Despite the increasing relevance of temporary agency work, studies dealing with this type of work arrangement in reference to employees’ voice and silence have remained rare so far. Literature mainly deals with voice mechanisms and processes with reference to traditional (permanent) workplaces. The present study tackles peculiarities of employee voice in the context of temporary agency work. The empirical material, based on 19 interviews with German temporary agency workers and agency managers, reveals that temporary agency work abounds in mechanisms inducing employee silence, but also contains instances supporting voice. Several structural and social conditions surrounding this employment mode turn out to be decisively important for processes of silence and voice, like the duration of assignments, working and task arrangements, power status of temporary employees, fear and support of agency.