Labor Relations in a Globalizing World

Compelled by the extent to which globalization has changed the nature of labor relations, Harry C. Katz, Thomas A. Kochan, and Alexander J. S. Colvin give us the first textbook to focus on the workplace outcomes of the production of goods and services in emerging countries. In Labor Relations in a Globalizing World, they draw lessons from the United States and other advanced industrial countries to provide a menu of options for management, labor, and government leaders in emerging countries. They include discussions based in countries such as China, Brazil, India, and South Africa which, given the advanced levels of economic development they have already achieved, are often described as "transitional," because the labor relations practices and procedures used in those countries are still in a state of flux. Katz, Kochan, and Colvin analyze how labor relations functions in emerging countries in a manner that is useful to practitioners, policymakers, and academics. They take account of the fact that labor relations are much more politicized in emerging countries than in advanced industrialized countries. They also address the traditional role played by state-dominated unions in emerging countries and the recent increased importance of independent unions that have emerged as alternatives. These independent unions tend to promote firm- or workplace-level collective bargaining in contrast to the more traditional top-down systems. Katz, Kochan, and Colvin explain how multinational corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and other groups that act across national borders increasingly influence work and employment outcomes.

Table of Contents:
PART 1. The Strategic Level of Labor Relations 1. A Framework for Analyzing Labor Relations 2. Labor, Management, and Government Interactions 3. The Law and Legal Systems 4. The Role of the Economic, Technological, and Demographic Environments PART 2. The Middle (Functional) Level of Labor Relations 5. Employment Systems-Informal, Bureaucratic, and Human Resource Management 6. The Negotiations Process and Structures 7. Dispute Resolution Procedures PART 3. The Workplace Level of Labor Relations 8. Workplace Labor Relations 9. Employment Outcomes PART 4. Special Topics 10. Labor Relations in the Public Sector 11. Global Pressures: Multinational Corporations, International Unionism, and NGOs 12. Economic Development Strategies and Policies Glossary Index

About the Author :
Harry C. Katz is Jack Sheinkman Professor and Director of the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution at the ILR School, Cornell University. He is coauthor of The Transformation of American Industrial Relations, Converging Divergences,and, with Thomas A. Kochan and Alexander J. S. Colvin,Labor Relations in a Globalizing World andcoeditor of Rekindling the Movement, all from Cornell, among many other books. Thomas A. Kochan is the George Maverick Bunker Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and Co-Director of the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research. He is coauthor of Healing Together, Up in the Air, The Transformation of American Industrial Relations, and, with Thomas A. Kochan and Alexander J. S. Colvin,Labor Relations in a Globalizing World, all from Cornell, and author or editor of many other books. Alexander J. S. Colvin is Professor of Labor Relations and the Martin F. Scheinman Professor of Conflict Resolution at the ILR School, Cornell University and the Associate Director of the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution. He is coauthor with Harry C. Katz and Thomas A. Kochan of Labor Relations in a Globalizing World and An Introduction to Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations, Fourth Edition.

Review :
"This excellent comparative relations text written bythree masters of the Wisconsin 'institutional' tradition analyzesemployment through the perspective of industrial relations...Readerswill benefit from the insights the authors have derived from their owninterventions as consultants and activists. Recommended for seriousupper-division students and graduate students in labor relations, humanresource management, sociology, and economics."-D. C. Jacobs,CHOICE(August 2015) "As a labor relations researcher and instructor focusing on developing countries I find Labor Relations in a Globalizing World full of interesting and innovative ideas; it is a breakthrough in comparative labor relations education. I am particularly impressed by the authors' innovative approach to integrating labor relations analysis with specific issues in major and typical developing countries including China, India, Brazil, and South Africa."-Mingwei Liu, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey "Harry C. Katz, Thomas A. Kochan, and Alexander J. S. Colvin are all internationally known and respected scholars with a knowledge of the field in a wide range of countries. The design of Labor Relations in a Globalizing World is excellent and builds on the very well-known and accepted three-tier model. The authors cover a broad spectrum of economies and provide new insights into the field of comparative labor relations."-Russell Lansbury, University of Sydney, coauthor of International and Comparative Employment Relations