The Representation Gap: Change and Reform in the British and American Workplace [Paperback]

Brian Towers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0198293194 | ISBN-13: 978-0198293194

This comparative study shows how, since the early 1980s, British and American employees have experienced a critical weakening of their defenses against the growing managerial prerogative and have borne a greater part of the business and organizational risk. The author explains the growth in this "representation gap" primarily through the withdrawal of public policy support for collective bargaining. He argues that this development has serious implications for economic efficiency and competitiveness but, above all, for the health of the democratic process.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brian Towers' extensive analysis...is a thoughtful and comprehensive discussion of the economic and public policy issues relevant to the increase in the number of workers who are without workplace representation in both countries....This book employs sound scholarship, including a thorough review of the relevant literature, to make the case for expanded workplace representation....[Towers'] thesis is provocative, and his comparison of British and U.S. labor movements is instructive. There is much in this volume to consider concerning the immediate future of the trade union movements in both countries."--Labor Studies Journal

About the Author

Brian Towers is currently Professor of Industrial Relations in the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Strathclyde, and is Editor of the Industrial Relations Journal.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198293194
• ISBN-13: 978-0198293194
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,874,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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