Research News

Issue 9, Nov 2014

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Welcome to the latest issue of the iROWE newsletter, in which we share with you our research and activities within the world of organisations, work and employment. iROWE‘s staff continue to be awarded funding to carry out their research, and throughout the newsletter members share their findings on: conflict management, lean thinking, mediation , internal communications, and challenges for innovation. Our ever popular evening seminar series has seen some lively debates. In May, Charlie Irvine, from Strathclyde University discussed workplace mediation. In November, Helen Bailey from Pinna Ltd will be running a seminar on workplace coaching, and how this can be utilised more effectively in organisations. Full details are available on the back page. We have seen some staff changes, as this summer Dr Costas Theodoridis moved on to join MMU Business School, and Dr Tony Bennett has now retired from UCLan. We wish both of them well in their future plans. We would like to congratulate Dr Ruth Slater for achieving her PhD ―The ―Professional Project‖ of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: 1968 to 2010 ‖ from Lancaster University. Also Dr Alison Hollinrake for receiving her doctorate titled ‗Policy into practice: To what extent is union learning representative (ULR) activity meeting the expectations of its principal stakeholders?‘ from Nottingham Trent University. Contact: Gemma Wibberley 01772 894674 [email protected] http://bit.ly/12Vp4ZG

iROWE seeks to encourage the conduct and dissemination of high quality academic research into organisations, work and employment. In addition iROWE works closely with employers, government and trade unions in order to inform the development of effective workplace practice and policy 1

Vicious circles in workplace conflict In May ,Professor Charlie Irvine presented “Do you seen what I’m dealing with here? Vicious circles in workplace conflict.” Charlie is Course Leader on Strathclyde University‘s Masters in Mediation and Conflict Resolution, and a professional mediator. In his talk, Charlie explained how biases and mental shortcuts can exacerbate employment disputes. He highlighted that people often make assumptions about the reasons for their colleague‘s behaviour, and are more likely to blame their personality for actions we find offensive, rather than question what the circumstances might be that have made them act in this way. Using the example of a colleague sending texts during your presentation, who you assume is a rude person, but may be experiencing a family problem. Charlie noted that we are more likely to make these assumptions if we are stressed, or the more personally we feel the offence. Or as the conflict escalates, as each disputant becomes convinced of the bad behaviour of others, and each action is perceived negatively. He believes that bullying and harassment policies and procedures may typically reinforce these vicious circles, as each party is labelled as a ‗victim‘ or ‗bully‘ with little opportunity to discuss the problem directly with each other, and only to react to the situation. Luckily, if we are aware of own biases we can act upon them, however, it can be very difficult for people to do this, especially when they are already involved in the dispute. Mediation can be a helpful tool, as it encourages the parties to understand the reasons behind each other‘s behaviour, and what actions have aggravated the other party.

‘Good Practice’ mediation research iROWE and in particular Tony Bennett feature heavily on the University of Dundee , Early Dispute Resolution HE/FE Forum. Both Tony‘s article on workplace mediation in universities , and his feature on his experience as an internal mediator are cited. In this online forum good practice about mediation and other forms of conflict resolution are published. The web pages also offer an array of resources for mediators and others interested in finding out more about mediation. Tony‘s pieces are cited at : http://www.dundee.ac.uk/academic/edr/ hefeforum.htm

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Recent iROWE publications

(N.B journals typically require subscription for access, or visit Uclan’s repository for alternative access — http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/) McClelland, G. P., Leach, D. J., Clegg, C. W. and McGowan, I. (2014), Collaborative crafting in call centre teams. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87: 464–486. http:// onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joop.12058/abstract

Bolton, S. and Wibberley, G. (2014) ‗Domiciliary care: the formal and informal labour process‘, Sociology, Vol. 48(4) 682–697 http://soc.sagepub.com/content/48/4/682

Emma Thirkell & Ian Ashman (2014) Lean towards learning: connecting Lean Thinking and human resource management in UK higher education, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, (online before print) http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2014.948901

Saundry, R. and Wibberley, G. (2014) Workplace Dispute Resolution and the Management of Individual Conflict —A Thematic Analysis of Five Case Studies Acas: 06/14, http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/q/a/0614Workplace-Dispute-Resolution-Thematic-Review.pdf

Bennett, A. (2014) ‗The role of workplace mediation: A critical assessment‘, Personnel Review, Vol. 43 Iss.5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2012-0036

Ashman, Ian; Willcocks, Steve (2014) Engaging with clinical commissioning: the attitudes of general practitioners in East Lancashire, Quality in Primary Care, Volume 22, Number 2,pp. 91-99 http:// www.ingentaconnect.com/content/omics/ qpc/2014/00000022/00000002/art00006

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Conflict management Richard Saundry and Gemma Wibberley have written a report on the management of individual conflict and the resolution of employment disputes. This review explores five organisations drawing on interviews with HR practitioners, line and operational managers, employee representatives, and trained mediators. The work was kindly funded by Acas. It aims to provide new insights into the challenges faced by organisations in managing conflict, an under-researched area. Key findings for effective conflict management include:  

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informal social processes that help to identify and address conflict at an early stage. high-trust relationships between HR, Line managers and employee representatives. However, these relationships are under threat—creating a ‗resolution gap‘ . developing the skills and confidence of line managers to handle conflict organisations must recognise that conflict management is a strategic rather than a transactional issue taking a more holistic approach to mediation

The full review ―Saundry, R. and Wibberley, G. (2014) Workplace Dispute Resolution and the Management of Individual Conflict —A Thematic Analysis of Five Case Studies Acas: 06/14‖ is freely available via Acas : http://www.acas.org.uk/media/ pdf/q/a/0614-Workplace-Dispute-Resolution-Thematic-Review.pdf The review attracted a lot of attention in the press, social media and trade press. For instance Brendan Barber, chair of Acas, debated whether ‗organisations expect too much from line-managers‘ in their handling of workplace conflict, in Personnel Today’ http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/brendan-barber-organisations-expectmuch-line-managers/ The results were also utilised by Acas in a recent Employment Relations Comment piece. This was entitled ‗Plugging the confidence gap? Changing perceptions of conflict at work‘ . The comment piece focusses on the challenges experienced by line managers in dealing with workplace conflict, and also draws on the materials from the ESRC workplace conflict seminar series run last year by iROWE. It is available freely via Acas http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/0/1/ER-Commentconflict-at-work.pdf

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Conference presentations Douglas Martin presented on ‗The ―Big Box‖ scenario: standardisation and standard operating models in the UK Civil Service‘ to the British Industrial Relations Association Conference, University of Westminster, June 25 to 27 2014 Gemma Wibberley and Ian Ashman were invited to speak at the Mediation masterclass at MMU in September. Mary Welch presented Internal communication education: A historical critical analysis at the International History of Public Relations Conference in July 2014 at Bournemouth University.

Workplace mediation in Higher Education The findings of a new study of workplace mediation in the university sector by Tony Bennett are discussed in Personnel Review. Interviews were conducted with a cross section of key players in mediation from a sample of universities in the North of England.

The key findings of the research suggest that whilst there are many similarities with other organisations in terms of the rationale for and management of mediation in the workplace, there are also some sector specific variables that inform that practice. These include: 

The ethos of the sector,

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The nature of the academic labour process

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A propensity to network with others within the sector

The full paper "Tony Bennett, (2014) "The role of workplace mediation: A critical assessment", Personnel Review, Volume 43, Issue: 5" can be accessed here via subscription: http://

dx.doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2012-0036 5

Lean Thinking and HRM in universities Emma Thirkell and Ian Ashman recently published their findings on Lean Thinking and HRM in UK higher education. Recent changes to university funding in the UK, occurring against a background of intensifying competition and financial austerity, have resulted in a dual challenge for higher education institutions of improving quality and reducing costs. At the same time, some have argued that students are adopting the traits of consumerism and that academic freedom is in retreat. As a consequence, the higher education sector appears to be increasingly employing quality concepts such as total quality management (TQM), business process reengineering (BPR) and, most recently, Lean. From its origins in the automotive industry, Lean Thinking is increasingly being seen as a solution to problems of efficiency and quality in other industries and sectors. In recent years attempts have been made to transfer Lean principles and practice to the higher education sector, with indications of mixed consequences and debate over its suitability. Emma and Ian draw on evidence from 34 interviews conducted across two UK universities that have implemented Lean in some of their activities, and pay particular attention to the role of the human resource function in facilitating its introduction. Their findings suggest that there are problems in understanding, communicating and transferring Lean Thinking in the higher education context; despite human resource systems being vital facets of Lean, human resource professionals are excluded from participation; and as a consequence the depth and breadth of Lean application in the two institutions is very limited. Their conclusions suggest that, contrary to much of the existing debates within the public sector, the adoption and implementation of Lean Thinking across the UK higher education sector is unlikely to succeed until greater conceptual clarity is attained and more account taken of particular context. They also suggest that the exclusion of relevant human resource professionals from the implementation of Lean thinking will be detrimental to the success of such initiatives and that more attention should be paid to the human resource processes, techniques and outcomes. Emma Thirkell & Ian Ashman (2014) Lean towards learning: connecting Lean Thinking and human resource management in UK higher education, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, (online before print) The full paper is available here (free for a limited period and then via subscription) http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09585192.2014.948901

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Internal Communications updates Mary Welch’s work on internal communications has been generating attention internationally. She was invited to become an editorial team member of the Institute for Public Relations (USA) Organizational Communication Research Center. This involves contributing to their "Research Conversations" blog to reach practitioners and other researchers. The institute and Mary‘s pieces can be accessed via : http:// www.instituteforpr.org/ Also, one of Mary‘s articles has been selected for republication as a seminal paper for an international collection of Major Works in Strategic Communication to be published by Sage. The four-volume work is edited by two eminent public relations professors. The book, part of the Sage Benchmarks in Communication, is published in November 2014 (ISBN: 9781446275832). The original article is Welch, M. (2011) The evolution of the employee engagement concept: communication implications. Corporate Communications: An International Journal. Vol. 16 No. 4 pp. 328-346.

Accidently limiting innovation? A recent publication by David Vickers and his colleagues examines the links claimed between situated learning and innovation. In particular they critique the limitations of communities of practice (COP) theory. COP theory is basically a strand of organisational learning which studies how communities learn their practices and how those practices are passed onto others. Innovation is sometimes created by communities that operate under the organisational radar. These are called noncanonical' communities of practice. The chapter considers how a human resource policy on electronic access to buildings, designed to give staff flexibility, unintentionally damaged non canonical practices and innovation because staff could not enter buildings at 'anti-social' certain hours. As such an HR policy, designed to help staff, was limiting the ability of some staff to innovate and add value to the organisation. The full publication is available via : Fox, S and Vickers, D (2014) ‗Innovation, learning, communities and actor-networks of practice‘, Chapter 2 in Soliman, F. (ed.) ―From Knowledge Management to Learning Organization to Innovation: The way ahead!” Cambridge Mass., IGI Global Publishing. 7

Call for conference papers: The Degradation of the Employment Relationship – Back to Work as the Focus of CMS

International Conference Critical Management Studies, Leicester University,8th–10th July 15 Braverman‘s critique of the ‗degradation of work in the twentieth century‘ stemmed partly from the ‗personal affront‘ and ‗social outrage‘ he encountered amongst craftsmen (sic) in deskilled industrial settings. If he were here to consider degradation in the twenty-first century, he would firstly need to expand his focus to include aspects of the employment relationship beyond labour process and skill, as neoliberalism has created an environment within which employee rights and terms and conditions of work have been consistently eroded, and the broader experience of work has been degraded. Secondly, he might be surprised, and perhaps disappointed, at the apparent lack of affront and outrage that has accompanied these changes. Our stream thus seeks to extend an analysis of the degradation of work, to include the basic employment relationship, and to provoke anger at what is taking place around us, particularly within the relatively cosseted academic community, which too often concerns itself with intellectual puzzles that distract from the material experiences of people under pressure. This degradation is evident on several levels. Firstly, the context within which management takes place has changed significantly. On the one hand, the ownership structures of capital encourage a short termism that leads to the hollowing out of ‗businesses‘ and a squeeze on the least powerful stakeholders, all too often, employees. On the other, the cultural environment that lionises leaders and managers as the sole arbiters of all that is effective and efficient, bolstered by an enthusiastically biased media, that demonises trade unions and ‗anticapitalist‘ resisters, makes challenging the conditions difficult. Stifled debates about minimum wage legislation, the ‗living wage‘, industrial disputes and trade unions, and problems with various aspects of employment legislation, including health and safety and access to redress in disputes, do relatively little to improve matters. Secondly, within organizations there are many examples of the steady erosion of the employment relationship: pay and the emergence of ‗the working poor‘; zero hours contracts and part-time work; temporary and shortterm work; enforced self-employment; the narrowing of dispute resolution options; and the deployment of insidious forms of control under the mantle of ‗development‘ appraisals and performance reviews In keeping with the overall theme of the conference, this stream is designed to highlight workers and employees, who have often been neglected by critical management theorists, as an alternative focus for analysis. We welcome papers which :  address the issues outlined above and which explore the experience of work that is endured by many around the world.  offer insight into how people make sense of, and live their lives in the neo-liberal, managerial workplace, and how they push back against what is presented as an inevitable and unassailable trend.  provide further empirical evidence of the changes taking place and, more specifically, the effects of these changes on peoples‘ lives, both within and outside the workplace.  examine the changing mechanisms of the employment relationship and their deleterious consequences.  examine the wider business, media and policy context, which may include studies of the discursive constructions of fair employment relations, and the (usually negative) representation of interest groups such as trade unions and pressure groups in the media.  offer strategies for countering the prevailing neoliberal discourses and practices around work, including case studies of resistance and alternatives. Abstracts of 500 words should be sent to Louise McArdle, by January 31st 2015. You will be notified by 27th February 2015 as to whether your paper has been accepted. Stream Convenors: Dr. Pete Thomas - DOWT, Lancaster University; Dr Richard Saundry Plymouth Graduate School of Management; 8 Louise McArdle - iROWE, Lancashire Business School, Uclan, [email protected] CMS2015 conference website: http://www2.le.ac.uk/conference/cms15/conference-themes

Join iROWE on Social Media We regularly post updates about our research activities and events via social media channels. There is also opportunity for discussion with other people interested in employment issues. If you would like to be connected to iROWE via social media, then please email iROWE at [email protected] or you can find us on:

like – IROWE Seminars The iROWE Facebook has been re-launched to offer a new way to access us and our activities.

Follow – iROWE Uclan The iROWE twitter has all the latest information about research, awards and events

Join- iROWE The linkedin account has a group where there are regular discussions with other iROWE connections

Become an associate member iROWE is a research institute located within Lancashire Business School at the University of Central Lancashire. It provides a forum for the development and dissemination of high quality research into organisations, work and employment. Its work has a particular emphasis on policy and practice—in short research that has an impact and makes a difference. Therefore, iROWE brings together academics, managers, HR professionals, union representatives and policy makers. If you would like to be part of this exciting institute and kept at the forefront of research then become an ASSOCIATE MEMBER. This FREE membership is open to all those with a professional interest in organisations, work or employment. Benefits include: research e-newsletter, regular free seminars by key speakers in the field, consultancy opportunities for your organization, and networking. To join just email Gemma Wibberley at [email protected]

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