UNSPECIFIED (1998) Does teamworking work and if so, why? A case study in the aluminium industry. ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY, 19 (1). pp. 59-90. ISSN 0143-831X

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Although teamwork is a leading innovation in work organization, detailed studies of employee responses, and the reasons for acceptance or rejection, are rare. Here, an advanced form of teamworking at a British aluminium smelter, part of a large Canadian multinational company, is examined. Direct supervision was abolished, and teamworking using semi-autonomous groups with job rotation, multiskilling and team briefing was introduced. Employees responded favourably to the initiative. Job satisfaction and labour productivity increased. Industrial action, overtime and accident rates fell. The conditions for this outcome included prior experience of job shedding, capital-intensive continuous process technology, union-management cooperation in the introduction of teams, and a pre-existing culture of strong work group solidarity. Some tensions remained, however, notably over the pay system and some aspects of work performance, and there was no evidence of a move towards high commitment.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Journal or Publication Title:	ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY
Publisher:	SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
ISSN:	0143-831X
Date:	February 1998
Volume:	19
Number:	1
Number of Pages:	32
Page Range:	pp. 59-90
Publication Status:	Published
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/16015

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

Request changes to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item