Globalization and Employment Relations in the Auto Assembly Industry

Globalization Employment Relations in the Auto Assembly Industry

The auto industry is a prime example of globalisation in which multinational enterprises have developed networks, alliances, and cross-shareholdings across regions and nations. This important study—based on a three-year empirical research project in seven countries—focuses on employment relations in the auto assembly industry and shows that the influence of globalisation is tempered to varying degrees by institutional employment patterns at the local level. Twenty-one scholars and researchers representing all seven countries analyse the data, clearly describe the differences across both countries and firms, and offer conclusions and recommendations that greatly facilitate our understanding of the globalisation process at the level of human resources in industrial production. For each of the seven countries—two liberal market economies (the United States and Australia), two coordinated market economies (Germany and Sweden), and three Asian market economies (Japan, South Korea, and China)—the book describes five key issues in detail:

• work organisation;

• skill formation;

• remuneration systems;

• staffing arrangements and employment security; and

• enterprise governance and employee–management relations.

The authors offer in-depth comparative analysis of these central issues in the context of such overriding factors as corporate strategy, local institutional constraints and advantages, competitive pressures among automakers to capture emerging markets, power relations within firms, and the role that agency and interests play in shaping social action. Whether this book is used for its vast bank of information, or for its deeply-informed analysis, or for its far-reaching relevance to employment relations policy, it more than fulfills the urgent need to come to grips with the runaway impact of globalisation on employment relations. Anyone involved with labour and employment issues in any business, legal, or governmental setting will rely on its findings and insights for years to come.

Features:  

• First in-depth treatment of the impact of globalisation on employment relations practices in the auto industry
• Detailed comparative analysis of major employment relations issues in the auto industry in seven leading national economies
• Deeply-informed attention to corporate and national institutional contexts
• Important development of the varieties of capitalism theory of globalisation

Benefits:  

• Offers powerful insights into the patterns of change in employment relations under globalisation
• Clearly shows the range of effective options available to employers, unions, and policymakers in engaging with the auto or other industries
• Clearly illustrates systematic differences in globalised employment relations across varieties of capitalism
• Advances understanding of the globalisation process by focusing on one of its most essential and exemplary components