managing people essay

Minor Essay: Job Quality
Proportion of Assessment 30%. 12-1500 words.
Due Week 10.
Question:
What differentiates good from bad jobs? What are the current trends in ‘job quality’? What HRM practices or other factors produce ‘good jobs’?
In your answer, consider the components of ‘good jobs’ and ‘bad jobs’ (aka ‘job quality’) as drawn from a number of sources, and make a list of what you see as the components of ‘job quality’. It does not have to be an exhaustive list, or an attempt to solve the problem of measuring job quality, but should go to the main points. In the next part of the question, you should consider some evidence about whether jobs are generally improving in quality or not. You might decide to confine this part of the discussion to Australia. This will lead to the next part of the question – what aspects of HRM or other factors affect trends in job quality? ‘Other factors’ obviously gives you a range of choice, but given the tight word length you should remain focused. Such factors might include aspects of a country’s institutional environment. Here, an exemplar is Sweden.
Suggested Sources
Warhurst, C., F Carre, P. Findlay and C. Tilly (eds) 2012) Are Bad Jobs Inevitable? Trends, Determinants and Responses to Job Quality in the Twenty-First Century, London: Palgrave Macmillan, esp chs 1, 4
Findlay, P., A. Kalleberg and C. Warhurst (2013) The Challenge of Job Quality, Human Relations, Vol 66 (4)
Gallie, D. (2013) Direct participation and the quality of work, Human Relations, Vol 66 (4)
Other articles from the Special Issue of Human Relations Vol 66 (4), and/or of Warhurst et al
above, as chosen by the student.
Australian Workplace Productivity Agency (2013) Quality of Work Research Project Report, Curtin University
http://www.awpa.gov.au/publications/Documents/MS4%20Report%20Final%20311013.pdf
For those with a special interest in the Swedish approach to job quality and work organization, I suggest you see the two books by Ake Sandberg
Sandberg, Ake (ed) Nordic Lights: Work, Management and Welfare in Scandinavia, SNS Forlag Esp Ch 1 & 2, 5 & 6
Cole, R (1989) Strategies for Learning: Small Group Activities in American, Japanese and Swedish Industry, Berkely: University of California Press
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