Organizing Employment for High Performance: Theories, Evidence and Policy

There has been increased interest in recent years about the way in which employment is organized. Some commentators have suggested that there has been a qualitative transformation such that new forms of work organization have developed which offer the prospect of improved performance. Among the key propositions are: (1) labour is being deployed in a more flexible manner; (2) productivity increasingly depends on the commitment offered by workers; (3) performance-oriented work practices only work if introduced in an internally consistent manner; and (4), it is crucial that such practices are congruent with the overall strategy of the organization in which they are sited. Empirical evidence has indicated that there is much support for these propositions, but that the link between them and high organizational performance is both complex and variable. In particular, the context in which they are situated is a crucial determinant of their success.

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