Fluent Essays

MODULE OUTLINE (2021) BMAN 73150 Trends in Global Business & Management Assignment Assessment for this course is by assignment only. The assignment should be a written essay of not more than 3000 words (not including bibliography) based on ONE question from a selection of six questions. The topics correspond to specific lectures or combinations of them but you will need knowledge from various points of the module to engage with them so attendance across the module is essential. An electronic copy should be submitted to Blackboard August 27th, 2021 by 2 pm UK Time. The Penalties for Late Submissions and Word Limits are available from the PGT OFFICE. 1) Restructuring organisations and work can have a negative effect on the workforce and the organisation itself. Explain the reasons for such negative outcomes from organisational restructuring highlighting and explaining the most important reasons. Furthermore, what role does the obsession with restructuring play in generating such negative effects? 2) What are the reasons for moving away from centralised and bureaucratic systems of management and what are the main challenges and risks? Why do such challenges and risks emerge? 3) How has the growing business obsession with the role of smaller employers and self-employment emerged recently? Why are there so many challenges facing both smaller employers and those that are classified as self-employed? 4) How has the pandemic impacted on the extent and nature of teleworking and homeworking? Discuss the negative issues emerging because of such forms of work. Explain which of these negative issues you see as being the most important and why. 5) How and why has the fascination with de-regulation developed in recent decades? What have been the main consequences of greater de-regulation on the way individuals work and why have so many problems emerged? 6) We talk a lot about the age of corporate social responsibility and wellbeing within organisations. Why is this the case? To what extent could these be viewed as mainly rhetorical concepts and developments that are not systematically introduced within organisations? Question 3 Look primarily as aspects of Lectures 1,2 and 3 but do check others Some initial readings Kirk, Eleanor. Contesting ‘bogus self-employment’via legal mobilisation: The case of foster care workers. Capital & Class 44.4 (2020): 531-539. Meager, N. (2016). Foreword: JMO special issue on self-employment/freelancing. Journal of Management & Organization, 22(6), 756-763. (useful special issue) Kinnie, N., Purcell, J., Hutchinson, S., Terry, M., Collinson, M., & Scarbrough, H. (1999). Employment relations in SMEs: Market‐driven or customer‐shaped?. Employee relations. 21(3) Mallett, O., & Wapshott, R. (2017). Small business revivalism: employment relations in small and medium-sized enterprises. Work, employment and society, 31(4), 721-728. (This is the introduction to a special issue with many pieces on SMEs and challenges) BMAN 73150 Trends in Global Business and Management Lecture 3: The question of SMEs and the evolving fascination with their role across time in policy and management circles Dr Peter Schofield [email protected] Structure of Lecture The importance of the SME History of the SME and public policy – the case of the UK The SME and HRM – some of the key characteristics Problems and challenges of the SME Regulatory space and the influence (and support) of a diverse set of actors. Summary conclusions 2 Learning Outcomes To recognise the ever increasing importance and role of small business within global business and management trends; with SMEs representing a key part of an economy (and the renewal of it). To appreciate the complex and diverse nature of the SME. To reflect on our evolving fascination with them. As we shall discover, SMEs are the focus of increasing attention, at different times they have been approached and regulated in different ways. To consider some of the challenges faced by SMEs and the support outlets available to them. 3 Why are SMEs important to study? Today, the economic importance of SMEs as a major employer and in GDP terms: SMEs make up 99.9\% of all UK private sector firms. Their role as a major employer (60\% of total). Combined overall contribution to the private sector turnover (52\% of total). (Source: BEIS, 2018) 4 A brief history of the SME and public policy (the case of the UK): 5 5 SMEs thinking Pre-1970 The traditional viewpoint held SMEs as superfluous to economic growth. Global marketing trends of the 1950s and 1960s handed the key to economic prosperity to the multinational corporation and Fordist mass-production ideals, including the much sought after economies of scale, thereby confining smaller firms to a mere peripheral role. (Stokes & Wilson, 2006) 6 7 “You can have any colour as long as it is black” 1970s: The Bolton Committee Report Eight key roles for smaller firms were identified: A productive outlet for enterprising and independent individuals; The most efficient form of business organisation in some industries or markets where the optimum size of the production unit or sales outlet is small; Specialist supplier, or subcontractors, to larger companies; Contributors to the variety of products and services made available to customers in specialised markets, too small for larger companies to consider worthwhile; Competition to the monopolistic tendencies of large companies; Innovators of new products, services and processes; The breeding ground for new industries; and The seedbed from which tomorrows larger companies will grow, providing entry points for entrepreneurial talent who will become the industrial leaders of the future. (Stokes & Wilson, 2006) 8 8 1970s: The Bolton Committee Report (Cont’d) “We believe that the health of the economy requires the birth of new enterprises in substantial numbers and the growth of some to a position from which they are able to challenge and supplant the existing leaders of industry. We fear that an economy totally dominated by large firms could not for long avoid ossification and decay.” “This ‘seedbed’ function, therefore, appears to be a vital contribution of the small firm sector to the long-run health of the economy. We cannot assume that the ordinary working of market forces will necessarily preserve a small firm sector large enough to perform this function in the future.” (Bolton Report, 1971: 85) 9 “We fear that an economy totally dominated by large firms could not for long avoid ossification and decay” - Recognition of change as an inherent characteristic of business and the SMEs’ ability to quickly adapt to it. “We cannot assume that the ordinary working of market forces will necessarily preserve a small firm sector large enough to perform this function in the future” – Recognition of the need to provide support for smaller businesses 9 1980s: Thatcherism and Entrepreneurship In the 1980s, SMEs were hailed as the saviours of western economies, most noticeably because they played a key role in the assurance of fuller employment and were believed to lead the way from an innovation standpoint. “The seed corn of Britain’s prosperity” – key characteristics or features include capitalism, privatisation, competition, de-centralisation of the state, and a decollectivisation of industrial relations. Piore and Sabel’s (1984) – Second Industrial Divide – flexible specialisation, industrial spaces and networks between smaller firms (e.g. Silicon Valley) See also Bagnasco (1977) – Third Italy – an industrial district of small Italian firms experiencing economic expansion at a time when the rest of Italy, and indeed other industrialised nations, were undergoing economic decline. 10 Perceived importance in a growing ‘network society’ (Castells, 1996), a post-industrialised era with economic growth and expansions now firmly directed towards information exchange and a service society. A more recent example is that of Silicon Valley in California, an industrial district renowned for the presence of small high-tech start-up firms. Ultimately, success resulted from the degree of flexibility and dynamism afforded to these smaller networked organisations, allowed to prosper in a post-bureaucratic decentralised age, and the subsequent ability of smaller firms to better cater for newer patterns of variable consumer demand. 10 1990s: Migration and Social Inclusion Ethnic minority entrepreneurship and the role of social networks: Policy interest in ethnic minority businesses (EMB)s has been boosted by a twin preoccupation of promoting ‘enterprise’ and of combating ‘social exclusion’ (Blackburn & Ram, 2006). Enterprise is not, as postulated in traditional microeconomics, a process that takes place in some hermetically sealed ‘economic’ sphere, but is decisively grounded in social relations (Ram & Jones, 2008). ‘Mixed embeddedness’ (Kloosterman et al., 1999) perspective, views EMBs as being grounded in their own social capital but being crucially shaped by a wider political economy in which a key element is the state regulatory regime. Inner city ethnic minority small business development (e.g. GLEB) Of relevance here is Kotkin’s (1992) ‘Tribes’ which offers insights into ethnically orientated, geographically located micro-business networks seen to provide a source of competitive advantage. The informal economy, ‘grey market’ illegitimacy and exploitative practices. 11 GLEB was formed with the intention of ensuring the local infrastructure was sufficiently optimal to assist small firms and industrial districts to prosper through the promotion of public-private partnership and investment in innovation, entrepreneurship and enterprise (Best, 1989). The most commonly cited example is remains the industrial district of small furniture firms sited in the East End of London who specialised in the design and manufacture of customised furniture. 11 12 Examples of exploitative practices identified in the UK – hand car wash and garment sectors 12 2000s: The Rise of the Creative Class The role of individual networks and new forms of collaboration amongst smaller firms and clusters of individuals. Greater emphasis on lifestyle issues and more mobile workplaces and spaces. The emergence of a cultural set of relations and lifestyles as defining this community of micro businesses. See Miguel’s section of the Lecture for more details. 13 What does this tell us? It shows us how SMEs are important to the political and institutional dynamics and susceptible to the influence of the external environment. That the state takes a great interest in SMEs not just due to their employment coverage and effects but also as a major space for innovation and change. That SMEs and micro-businesses especially are seen as the generators of new ideas but also a key point of inclusion for ethnic and generational communities based on the margins. Although, much of the policy approach seems to rest on specific characterisations and views – i.e. innovation and fuller employment – they do not always capture the downside and challenges facing the SME and micro-business sector. Increasingly these are a space for uneven employment practices. 14 Trends mutate and re-emerge in different forms as well. The different ‘trends’ in this lecture vary and are different in some senses but there are sometimes common links or ‘drivers’ and imperatives for change that underpin them The desire for a more local and decentred approach resurfaces in various ways 14 Some core elements of SME debates and key assumptions in terms of HRM: “The emergent role of SME’s on the world economic stage stands in stark contrast to our limited understanding of HRM activity within them.” (Arthur & Hendry, 1992: 246) Employment relations in the small firm: ‘Small is Beautiful’ (Schumacher, 1973) Vs. ‘Bleak House’ (Sisson, 1993) Assumed informality and an ad-hoc piecemeal approach are prominent features. Presumed universalism; ‘little-big business syndrome’ (Welsh & White, 1981) Typically lacking in uptake of normative best practice HRM – the ‘deficit position’ (Wapshott et al., 2014), often assumed to be a consequence of ‘resource poverty’ (Harney & Nolan, 2014). Paucity in research - academic motivations have historically been directed towards blue-chip organisations or public bodies (Heneman et al., 2000) SME employees were thus labelled as the ‘invisible workforce’ (Curran, 1986) 15 If the overarching purpose of this week’s lecture is to consider structural change and fragmentation and how that can unsettle forms of work and/or transform them, we need to think about such within an SME of small firm context… 15 Problems and challenges that are particularly common amongst SMEs: Centred around capacity and capability problems: Skills and experience of the workforce Knowledge & learning difficulties Training opportunities Typically lacking in functional expertise e.g. in the areas of finance, HR and health & safety Line managers often assume the role of the HR Manager but with limited knowledge and training Performance management and personal development Attracting and retaining valuable employees Adherence to employment law regulations 16 See also, Miguel’s slides from the first part of this week’s lecture in relation to the difficulties and challenges of de-centring organisations – particularly in relation to networks, which SMEs are invariably a part of – and can in turn be influenced/pressurised by dominant players in the network. 16 Exploring the Regulatory Space Regulation is a complex phenomenon De-regulation discourses do not accurately capture the nuances and realities of regulation (MacKenzie & Martinez-Lucio, 2005) ‘Regulatory space’ moving beyond the command based view seen as being limited to government regulators (Hancher & Moran, 1989; Frazer, 2006) The sum total of intersecting and conflicting interests and value systems. Multiplicity of sites, spaces and actors. Boundaries subject to constant renegotiation and regulatory jurisdictions may overlap (MacKenzie & Martinez-Lucio, 2005) No deterministic situation exists, there are no singular paths, firms appear to choose as they mature and utilise different external assets. 17 SMEs encounter similar (dilemmas and) interactions with the external regulatory environment to those of larger firms and there are similarly curious developments and processes of adaption. Regulation as a broader concept… 17 The Influence of a Diverse Set of Actors The requirement for state or expert support/assistance and the influence of a diverse set of actors; The interventionist state… focus on rules and regulations – ‘hard’ forms of governance e.g. HSE. The informational state… advisory in approach – ‘soft’ forms of governance e.g. ACAS – the consultative arm of the state. Intermediary actors e.g. employment law consultants (think back to Lecture 1), CIPD, Trade Unions etc. 18 Ranging from the authoritative influences of actors who assert formalisation to proceedings, most noticeably the CAA in relation to training activities, to the more indirect influences who accentuate informality. SMEs often regulated without a trade union presence; by a functional equivalent to worker representation – ACAS and Consultants - all serve to ensure the SME operates within the boundaries of what would be considered appropriate conduct of the notional reasonable employer. ACAS represents an important example of the consultative arm of the State, it offers training too, and accordingly provides reasoning for why budgetary cuts should not be made in this area. 18 The Myth of De-regulation? “The overall regulatory burden associated with employment has increased since the mid 1980’s.” (CIPD, 2015) Role of social partner institutions and public bodies; LPC, ACAS, HSE Dispersed and fragmented, but no unified consistent pressure resulting in added complexity. Further evidenced by a rise in employment law consultant services. Financial and human resources typically scarce in the SME (Sullivan & Garcia, 2005) Or re-regulation? 19 Summary SMEs are a key part of an economy and are central to the overall evolution and renewal of it. They are also the focus of increasing attention and at different times they have been approached and regulated in different ways. They present ways in which to generate new forms of economic change – decentralisation, outsourcing etc. The SME sector however is diverse and remains a complex area in need of more attention regardless of the stereotypes that exist of it. Supporting this sector is a key part of sustaining a vibrant economy (but this also requires greater attention to the collaboration and networking within this large economic space). 20 References 21 BMAN 73150 Trends in global business and management Lecture 3: Work and the workforce (including managers) in terms of structural change: How does structural ‘change’ and fragmentation unsettle forms of work and transform them? The emergence of the creative economy as reality and myth PART 1 Professor Miguel Martinez Lucio 2021 Structure of Lecture Part 1: The question of structural change and ‘decentralisation’ The problems and challenges of de-centring organisations Part 2: The emergence of the creative economy as reality and myth Part 3: Guest speaker and section on SMEs Lots of amazing promises and hopes link to new organisational forms https://blog.dropbox.com/topics/work-culture/21st-century-organization-structure Idealised change narratives are very common But… Trends mutate and re-emerge in different forms as well The different ‘trends’ in this lecture vary and are different in some senses but there are sometimes common links or ‘drivers’ and imperatives for change that underpin them The desire for a more local and decentred approach resurfaces in various ways Part 1: The question of structural change and ‘decentralisation’: and related problems Understanding the Importance and Types of Structure – How we see and understand them as in the follow visual examples of structure Organisational Structure What is organisational structure? Structure: is a pattern of relationships among positions in the organisation; Defines tasks and responsibilities, work roles and relationships, and channels of communication; Provides the criteria for structural effectiveness; Organisational chart An organisation structure is often presented by an organisational chart which implies: Reporting lines channels of communication Workgroups Levels of seniority and responsibility The Objectives of Structure Division of work among members of the organisation; The economic and efficient performance of the organisation and the level of resource utilisation; Monitoring the activities of the organisation; Accountability for areas of work undertaken by groups and individual members of the organisation; Co-ordination of different parts of the organisation and different areas of work to achieve organisational goals; Flexibility in order to respond to future demands and developments, and to adapt to changing environmental influences; The social satisfaction of members working in the organization. Bureaucracy and common images? The common view of bureaucracy as being dysfunctional: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VveTsyjFlNA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaJMD4AkZWs However we need to be careful when dealing with the binaries and simplicities that underpin such approaches Explaining the Supposed Shift away from Bureaucratic Organizational Processes to Decentralized and Network Based Approaches: The cult of decentralization? Idealist (but not very realistic) approaches to explain changes   Centralisation v. Decentralisation   Advantages of centralised and decentralised decision-making: From Clegg et al (2005) CENTRALISED DECENTRALISED Control Speed Consistency Flexibility Co-ordination Responsiveness Accountability Relevance Economies of Scale Motivation Why is there a challenge to bureaucracy or more centralised structures? Bureaucracy is a source of much discussion, but it is felt we are moving to a post-bureaucratic age: Organisational Factors: Impact of competition and unstable environments Efficiency and reduction of costs – including organisational ones which target ‘bureaucratic costs’ Greater need for fast knowledge transfer and exchange Technological change means greater organisational adaptation especially with new forms of organisation with the platform economy Political and social factors: De-regulation and marketisation – although current economic context may limit these influences Greater need for employee autonomy and skilled employees Note these factors do not always sit easily together or point to a specific direction of change – they can be contradictory (source: Clegg, 2015) 15 There has always been a fascination with wanting to push the focus of organisations and work closer to the local and to de-bureaucratise, as in the 1970s Decentralization, Networking and Change Flexible Organisational Boundaries: Sabel (1994) talked of a greater flexibility within the organisation, and an ability to have a structure that covers various markets and to shift emphasis between projects. De-centring: firms as a cluster of smaller business units; subcontracting/outsourcing; a greater emphasis on a decentralised approach in terms of structure: the use of information technology and quality management to ensure such developments. The Boundaryless Corporation: the role of complex supply chains and outsourcing in creating greater interdependency The Age of Collaboration? This is seen to be the age of collaboration be it at the level of the team in the workplace (note the rise of teamworking) or between corporations. The new organisation is – in theory - about co-operation and collaboration in order to develop strategies and products/services that facilitate a greater competitive ability on behalf of a firm, be it: teamworking greater collaboration between departments, or joint ventures and alliances between firms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR3JTyi-Kek Hence, we speak of a Post-Bureaucratic age – an age of networking and network-based management. There are various definitions of networks and networking. In effect it is a halfway house between bureaucracy with its hierarchical organisational structures and markets with its ‘open’ transactions (see Powell, 1991 – referenced in Ackroyd The Organisation of Business). There are various points of co-ordination working together with a fair degree of autonomy. This degree of autonomy will vary. A society whose social structure is made up of networks powered by micro-electronics-based information and communications technologies. (Castells, 2000) The problems and challenges of de-centering organisations Tensions and Realities Even Castells, the guru and academic behind concepts such as the Network Society, argues that all networks have hubs – key intersections and power points. There are hierarchical elements to any relation – unfortunately – and even within collaborative networks there may be dominant players. There are managers of networks. Networks are not always based on neutral, transparent and formal relations. There are many different types and purposes and within them, there may still be hierarchies based on contract, knowledge, coercion, etc. Jensen (2004: 76) argues that networks vary between those based on ‘similarity and boundedness’ (‘clubs’), those based on ‘difference and functional relations’ (‘chains’) and those based on much looser and undefined relations (‘acquaintances’). Many networks are formal but many are informal, e.g. links of business men and women with particular interests, social status and economic interests which can act as a form of hidden hierarchy. Moreover, there is a problem, as Ackroyd has detected, of an increasing level of corporate concentration, which does not always sit well with the notion of networking: making us believe that networking is an operational factor and relation, and not one that underpins the very ownership and strategic decision making of a firm. This is clearly a point of discussion. MacKenzie (see the journal Work, Employment and Society 2000 &2002 and Org. Studs. 2008) has argued that many firms decentralize and subcontract only to find that they eventually re-centralise in the face of problems and tensions in terms of production quality, organisational order and employment related issues. Tensions and Realities (Continued) EXAMPLE OF PROBLEMS WITH NEW ORGANISATIONAL FORMS: THE CASE OF OUTSOURCING The text by Bowman et al (2016) argues as follows: Outsourcing shifts the blame between different parties e.g. governments may blame the providers of a service it contracted to or vice versa Creates (IRONICALLY) giant conglomerates which can control and influence bidding and limit competition for tenders which they win Raises serious public control issues in terms of public services and their provision Tensions and issues in the Boundary-less Organisations in terms of HRM Impacts on commitment strategies in terms of who the employer is and what is the line of command. Barley and Kunda (2001: 78) argue: ‘to determine whether organisational boundaries are constructed differently today requires data on where people work, with whom they work, and, most importantly, how they conceptualise their identity and the social collectivities of which they are part.’ Generates the problem of skills development: ‘Many managers complained that they were no longer engaged in the tasks for which they had expertise - for example health service managers no longer managed health services but instead had become by default full-time auditors and monitors of inter-organisational contracts (Grimshaw and Hebson 2003). Tension’s (Continued) Clients may take a primarily short term interest in the contracting arrangement and also in the system of work organization within the supplier company. There are considerable dangers that the development of a complex supply chain may result in an institutional failure to allocate responsibility for either the development of a skilled workforce or of new and more productive ways of working. (See Rubery et al 2004). Voice mechanisms for workers may vary across the different relations within and between organisations with the periphery becoming more fragmented and thus generating low trust and instrumental relations. The impact on management We have know for some time that decentralisation within organisations places great stress on management as it needs to coordinate a more complex array of units (Martinez Lucio and Noon, 1994) As you decentralise it can lead to issues and problems related to the ability to manage in a fair manner and to sustain social and equality initiatives (Demmke, 2020) There may be capability and capacity issues within management as they are called to account, communicate and engage directly with their workforce but without the strategic supports In Defence of Bureaucracy Some such as Byrkjeflot and Du Gay (2009) insist that bureaucracy has a place and that we cannot throw out these forms of organisations that easily: ‘One of the central functions of the civil service is to provide government with expert advice. This cannot be done in a proper way without a system of archives and files and routines for checking and making use of them. As noted by Karl Deutsch a long time ago: Memory is essential for “any extended functioning of autonomy” and thus for bureaucracy, we argue, which in a democracy is supposed to take the role of “feeding back of data from some form of memory, and thus from the past, into the making of present decisions” (Deutsch 1963: 206). ….. We have thus suggested that the time is ripe for a return to the principles of Weberian bureaucracy, but have so far concluded that such a return is not likely given the current preoccupation with anti-bureaucratic reform. However, it is possible and necessary to put bureaucracy back in time, which means defending some of the central principles of bureaucracy against the claim of anachronism.’ Source: http://soc.kuleuven.be/io/egpa/org/2009Malta/papers/EGPA\%202009\%20byrkjeflotdugay.pdf Part 2: The emergence of the creative economy as reality and myth A more contemporary variation on this cult and development regarding decentralisation is the notion of the ‘creative economy’ and the ‘creative class’ The creative class? Richard Florida’s (2002) book is seen to represent the dawn of a ‘new kind of capitalism based on human creativity’ Thesis: Urban fortunes increasingly turn on the capacity to attract, retain and even pamper a mobile class of ‘creatives’, whose aggregate efforts have become the primary drivers of economic development Driving force of economic development not only technological and organizational, but also human Creative types critical to capitalist growth (account for 30\% of US workforce) Cities must become ‘trendy’, ‘happening’ places in order to compete in lists that developed (league tables): the role of the local space Rather than people moving for jobs, cities must restructure themselves in the ‘race for talent’ 31 The creativity index Florida created a method of ranking cities – the creativity index Based on things like number of patents per head, density of bohemians, even ‘fitter’ residents Winners are San Francisco, Austin, Boston and San Diego – these are places to be emulated List attracted lots of media attention ‘Creative’ Cities Source of map https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-map-of-UNESCO-Creative-Cities-source-https-enunescoorg-creative-cities-home_fig1_328637910 Cultural circuit of capital Florida’s website: www.creativeclass.org International bestseller, urban economic‐development policy handbook, and highly lucrative speaking tour Hugely seductive Well written in an almost chatty style, it reads like a series of well‐crafted after‐dinner speeches at various chamber of commerce dinners’ (Marcuse) One of the most popular books on regional economies in last decade Won awards (Washington Monthly, HBR, Money magazine, etc.) Aspirant cities became Florida’s audience and market Suggest creative transformation within reach for ‘ordinary places’. Emergence of whole raft of urban development consultants to help fashion hipsterization strategies Reception Initially US cities took on board the prescriptions for growth, then the net was widened and rolled out globally Simplistic assumption of ‘build it and they will come’ ‘Cappuccino urban politics, with plenty of froth’ (Peck 2005) Critique Investments in soft culture of arts and culture is easy to some extent, but how this stimulates economic growth is less straightforward Argument that growth derives from creativity, so creatives make the growth. If creatives come to cities and find what they want (tolerance and openness) then growth will follow. These causal mechanisms are not specified. Arguments are largely based on suggestive correlations Critique Neglects issues of intra-urban inequality and working poverty What about the people who service these places? Sees creative individuals as drivers while remaining two-thirds are ‘passengers’ There are downsides to lifestyle flexibilisation strategies but Florida glorifies the contracted-out, free agent economy Florida pays no attention to divisions of labour within these employment practices and believes in creative meritocracy Abandonment of comprehensive planning policies in favour of piecemeal development of urban fragments, usually aided with gentrification and image makeovers About short-term concrete projects rather than progressive goals such as needs-based approaches and socio-spatial distribution Read: https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-richard-floridas-creative-class-vision-for-the-urban-future-went-wrong The case of UK digital and creative industries Move to freelance, outsourced, and project-based working E.g. BBC and ITV replaced large amount of core workforce with freelancers (Ursell 2000) Sector being redefined not only by new technology but also by increased emphasis on flexibility – i.e. work time and skill applications that are more responsive to changes in market demand Surge in ‘off the payroll’ workforce. Why? Shifting competencies, fluctuating demand, rising labour costs (subcontracting to smaller ‘creative companies’ too) UK digital and creative industries Seeing polarisation of employment types Studies reveal structural polarisation with a limited number of large firms sitting alongside micro firms, small start-ups and lone contract workers or self-employed (Bergvall-Kåreborn and Howcroft 2013; Flecker and Meil 2010; O’Riain 2010) Within the sector, the ‘self-expressive entrepreneur’ (Christopherson 2008) is fairly commonplace Growth of ‘venture labour’ (Neff 2012): workers adopt entrepreneurial values by investing time and human capital in their workplace in anticipation of a future payoff, despite the fact that many IT professionals can no longer anticipate or rely on long-term, secure jobs (Lazonick 2009). 41 Managing autonomy? Normative forms of control: Employ young male workers with ‘zero drag’ (Kunda 1992) that are presumed to be more inclined to work long hours and can dedicate their time and energy to the profession, working as and when required (Barrett 2004) Workplaces characterised by informality and team-working Temporal autonomy and technical autonomy adopted as strategies to extract utmost value (Barratt 2001): the illusion of autonomy Tales of ‘rags to riches’ generating massive wealth yet may conceal uneven development 42 Re-formulation of control Changes in employment contract Shift from waged labour to independent producers and small firms Reputation functions as substitute for hierarchy ensures contract delivery due to short-term nature of work, competition to get into market and need to ensure access to work flows through networks of jobs which depend on how performed in last job Move away from salaried or waged forms of exchange within an internal market to a network or external market of competing and numerous small firms or contractors 43 Myths and issues Emergence of creative cities narrative reveals how cultural circuit of capital subsequently shapes policy and economic development As a ‘creative capital’ Greater Manchester appears more like an assemblage of disconnected parts than a cluster Any big picture ambition quickly overtaken by interests of property developers who have focussed on turning money-making plots into rentable space(Froud et al. 2018) Gillespie et al (2021) point to how broader dynamics around housing and local economy can undermine even creative and inclusive spaces within cities such as Greater Manchester - https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/5110-the-housing-crisis-in-manchester-capital-of-the-long-90s In contrast to Florida’s celebratory portrayal of bohemians working in CI, much of the day-to-day experiences are fraught with uncertainty and tensions See Jamie Peck’s critique even back then: https://www.eurozine.com/the-creativity-fix/ Summary Part1 and 2 So we need to think in terms of the dynamics of …. How do bureaucratic and centralized approaches to organizing differ from the de-centralised and networkbased approaches? Are we in a post-bureaucratic age? How does the cult of locality, decentralization and autonomy remake itself constantly? What are tensions linked to each of these types and how they evolve? Is the creative economy which is premised on a more de-centered view of the organization a reality or a myth or even a cult? References for decentralisation The original lecture was developed my Professor Miguel Martinez Lucio – the third part draws from Professor Debra Howcroft Please see Chapter 15 and 16 in Huczynski and Buchanan (2015) for more in-depth discussion of the topic Ackroyd, S. (2002). The organization of business: applying organizational theory to contemporary change. Oxford University Press. Byrkjeflot, H., & Du Gay, P. (2012). Bureaucracy: An idea whose time has come (again)?. In Reinventing Hierarchy and Bureaucracy–from the Bureau to Network Organizations (pp. 85-109). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Castells, M. (2000). Toward a sociology of the network society. Contemporary sociology, 29(5), 693-699. Clegg, S. R. (2012). The end of bureaucracy?. In Reinventing Hierarchy and Bureaucracy–from the Bureau to Network Organizations (pp. 59-84). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Demmke, C. (2020). Institutional change and increasing ambivalence of reform effects and reform outcomes. Public Administration in Central Europe: Ideas as Causes of Reforms. In edited by Stanisław Mazur (ed.) Public Administration in Central Europe: Ideas as Causes of Reforms London: Routledge Jensen, T. E. (2004) ‘The Networking Arena’ in T.E. Jensen and Westenhalz (eds.) Identity in the Age of the New Economy: life in temporary and scattered work practices Cheltenham, U.K.; Northampton, MA : Edward Elgar MacKenzie, R. (2000) ‘Subcontracting and the Reregulation of the Employment Relationship: A Case Study from the Telecommunications Industry’ Work, Employment & Society Vol. 14,No. 4, pp. 707–726. Martinez Lucio, M. and Mike Noon. Organisational change and the tensions of decentralisation: The case of Royal Mail. Human Resource Management Journal 5, no. 2 (1994): 65-78. Rubery, J., Carroll, C., Cooke, F. L., Grugulis, I., & Earnshaw, J. (2004). Human resource management and the permeable organization: The case of the multi-client call centre. Journal of Management Studies, 41(7), 1199-1222. Grimshaw, D., & Hebson, G. (2005). Public-private contracting: Performance, power and change at work. Fragmenting work: Blurring organizational boundaries and disordering hierarchies, 111-134. Barley, S. R., & Kunda, G. (2001). Bringing work back in. Organization science, 12(1), 76-95. Bowman, A., Ertürk, I., Folkman, P., Froud, J., Haslam, C., Johal, S., ... & Tsitsianis, N. (2015). What a waste: Outsourcing and how it goes wrong. Oxford University Press. Sabel, C. F. (1994). Flexible Specialisation and the Re‐Emergence of Regional Economies. Post‐Fordism: A Reader, 101-156. Weber, M. (1946). Bureaucracy. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, 196, 232-235. Further reading for creative classes Townley B, Beech N and McKinlay A (2009) Managing in the creative industry: managing the motley crew, Human Relations, 62(7): 939–962 O’Connor J and Gu X (2010) Developing a creative cluster in a post-industrial city: CIDS and Manchester, The Information Society, 26(2), 124-136. Christopherson S (2004) The divergent worlds of new media: how policy shapes work in the creative economy, Review of Policy Research, 21:4, 543-558 Ursell G (2000) Television Production: issues of exploitation, commodification and subjectivity in UK television labour markets, Media, Culture & Society, 22: 6, 805-825.. Peck J (2005) Struggling with the creative class, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 29, 740-770. For additional reading look at research by Andy Pratt (City University), David Hesmondhalgh (Leeds) and Mark Banks (Leicester) The University of Manchester AMBS 2021 BMAN 73150 Trends in Global Business & Management 2921 LECTURE 4 New technology, the organisation and work: The implications of Robotization and automation will it keep changing and what are the implications of current circumstances? PART 1: New technology and change as a fascination Professor M. Martinez Lucio Outline of Lecture PART 1 - NEW TECHNOLOGY AND CHANGE AS A FASCINATION - DIMENSIONS AND ISSUES IN ROBOTIZATION: REALITY AND FANTASY PART 2 - CHANGES IN THE WAY WE WORK AND ARE EMPLOYED THE ‘PLATFORM ECONOMY’ AND THE ‘GIG ECONOMY’: TELEWORKING AND WORKING FROM A DISTANCE PART 1: NEW TECHNOLOGY AND CHANGE AS A FASCINATION DIMENSIONS AND ISSUES IN ROBOTIZATION - REALITY AND FANTASY 1. Technology and our inner fantasies The lure of technology is deep within our imaginations The idea of a future where communication and robotization dominates our social and economic landscape is always present There are also fears and concerns with the idea of being replaced and being seen to be redundant due to such changes Why is this relevant? Well in many ways these concerns and fears but also expectations and fantasy seem to enter the debate on how organisational change and the transformation of work are understood Link to cinematic representations: Visions of the future in the past – short section of the film Metropolis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcReykfvqi4 Blade Runner 2049 (trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCcx85zbxz4 World Economic Forum We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold…The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance. (World Economic Forum, 2016) The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is 7 Headline hype: the heightening of expectations A world without work Robots could wipe out humanity by accident (UK Mail Online, 20/02/16) Humans will eventually merge with robots to become an elite race of cyborgs (Daily Express May 2017) Sex robots promise revolutionary service but also risks (The Guardian, 04/07/17) Within five years computers will become so smart they will keep people as pets (1983 Ed Fredkin, head of AI lab at MIT) 2. Context and drivers of technological change As the economy takes a downturn, technological determinism pops up * Second Machine Age, Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industrie 4.0 Debates on future of work is dominated by influential texts speculating on effects * Consensus that an upheaval in work organisation, job design, and labour markets is coming Current unease concerns end of the professions (Susskind and Susskind 2015) Susskind, R. E., & Susskind, D. (2015). The future of the professions: How technology will transform the work of human experts. Oxford University Press, USA. Numbers The US has less than half the robots per 10,000 employees compared to Japan and the Republic of Korea In the last 10 years, the adoption rate of robots increased by 40\% in Brazil, 210\% in China, 11\% in Germany, 57\% in the Republic of Korea, and by 41\% in the US Main drivers of growth: *Automotive industry, electrical/electronics industry, metal industry, rubber and plastics Automotive industry is continuous strong demand, while others are showing accelerating demand 10 Definitions Robots Often refers to software that performs certain repetitive and dreary tasks so that humans can concentrate on more unstructured and interesting tasks (Lacity and Willcocks 2016) AI Prompts belief that robots will become super-intelligent Use of the word intelligence applies differently to robots and people In context of robots, it addresses an algorithmic category of processes ‘Smart computing’ would be more appropriate (Aleksander 2017) Brings to mind visions of electromechanical machines that perform human tasks, but often far less threatening. But even after 60 years of intense scientific effort, the intelligent robot is proving to be more elusive than predictions of futurologists. Intelligence in humans satisfies human needs such as procreation, food acquisition by foraging and use of locomotion to organise foraging. Robots do not have such needs. Algorithmic category of development does not include life-need characteristics of human intelligence. Trying to create robots with IT-powered human-like intellectual prowess may be a mistakenly framed ambition. But using IT to power robots with highly mechanistic functions is worthwhile, providing machines that support human needs. But robots as mechanical super-tools less newsworthy than a fantasy of robots surpassing humans in terms of mental capacity. 11 The singularity argument Some of the popularity of doom-laden reports due to two major speculative arguments: singularity and artificial general intelligence arguments. Vinge is a sci-fi writer The design of a better bicycle is not the same as designing the designer of the better bicycle. There is a disconnect between being competent AI designer and being a designer of designers. Like a belief that base metals will be turned into gold – it’s bound to happen some day. Self-regenerating singularity hypothesis is based on machines that we simply don’t know how to build. No evidence that singularity is bound to happen, based on advances in technology. 12 Concept originated with Vernor Vinge (1983) *created a scenario where robot designers are planning ever smarter robots to the extent that robot becomes so clever it can design the next even smarter robot without human intervention Belief that robots will give rise to even smarter machines ending supremacy of humans who will be replaced by robots – essence of argument. AI will make humans redundant through self-perpetuation of ever smarter robots Moore’s law (1965) Singularity is seen to arise from Moore’s law Computing power doubles approximately every two years – the exponential growth trend It is an observation or projection, not a law The Apollo guidance computer that took early astronauts to the moon has the processing power of 2 Nintendo Entertainment Systems The Cray-2 supercomputer from 1985—the fastest machine in the world at the time—roughly measures up to an iPhone 4 let alone 12 But – arguments confuse processing chip power with an understanding of how biology leads to intelligence of humans Some day, machines will acquire better-than-me design skills and singularity will happen. Alchemists used to make same claim – the more we master chemistry, more likely we are to make gold. Making a machine faster is not same as mental activity. 13 The Artificial General Intelligence argument (AGI) So they build road maps. 14 AGI issues a challenge to AI workers in arguing there is intelligence in every day human activities and these are worth modelling to get a better idea of what intelligence is AGI researchers argue that the intelligence that goes into walking in a kitchen and making cup of coffee is an unmet challenge They argue this requires a more holistic and systematic approach than conventional AI effort that goes into designing better vision or locomotion algorithms Types of knowledge Codified knowledge: Subject of continued research Can be transcribed using structured procedures, theoretical logic, algorithms, databases, expert systems, etc. Tacit knowledge: remains dependant on human involvement and cannot be translated into a computer language Involves actions performed without individual being able to explain exactly how, as well as skills and reasoning processes that are intuitive Workers skills tend to combine codified and tacit knowledge Brain-inspired robots? In 2013 the EU commission funded the Human Brain project (1.19billion Euros over 10 years) After 3 years no matter how massive or complex the computational models of the brain might be, they will not yield a theory of how it relates to the unconscious mind Little evidence of going in direction of systems that threaten human intellect through these heavily funded projects. Looks at neuroinformatics (way formal neural models process info; brain simulation, supercomputing, medical informatics, neurorobotics). It will not come from investing in supercomputer, regardless of how big/powerful. Like saying if we spend enough money on a telescope it will reveal all mysteries of universe. 16 Technology, speculation and grand narrative Previous waves of technological advancement also led to cataclysmic predictions about job displacement and changes in working life During 1970s oil crisis the ‘electronic cottage’ was seen as a solution, suggesting ‘literally millions’ of jobs would shift from the factory and office back to the home (Toffler 1980) In early 1980s it was forecast that 50m people would lose their jobs due to ICTs by 1990 (Braham 1985) There are may texts that predict ongoing and systematic change within organisations and at work This time it’s different? The level of robotics use has almost always doubled in the top capitalist economies in the last decade (Roberts, 2016) Progress is being aided by complex datasets as big data algorithms can substitute for labour in a growing range of non-routine cognitive tasks Business services are at an inflection point (Willcocks and Lacity 2017) as robotic process automation and voice recognition technology threatens to substitute human labour Despite a notable absence of workplace studies, various authors document how technology can potentially be used to replace a diversity of human actions 3. Impact on Jobs ‘We are approaching a time when machines will be able to outperform humans at almost any task’ (Vardi, director of institute for IT at Rice University in Texas, 2016) Similar pattern as singularity – unsubstantiated prediction with no supporting evidence which gives rise to pessimism and fear Frey and Osborne (2013; 2017) Study of the likely impact of technological change on 702 occupations, from podiatrists to tour guides, animal trainers to personal finance advisers and floor sanders Findings: Anticipate ‘first wave’ will affect transportation/logistics, office and admin support, and production (in manufacturing) Followed by services, sales and construction occupations Second wave will be dependant on overcoming engineering bottlenecks related to creative and social intelligence – affect occupations that rely on creativity, caring for others, negotiation, persuasiveness, etc. They place management, business, finance, education, healthcare, arts, and media in low risk category  Low-skill workers whose jobs are susceptible to computerisation will re-allocate to tasks requiring social and creative intelligence BUT…. Arntz et al (2016) suggest many of high risk occupations contain substantial amount of tasks which are hard to automate, so numbers are an over-estimation. They estimated that across 21 OECD countries, 9\% of jobs are at risk of automation Key Texts: Ford (2015) a former Silicon Valley software entrepreneur If robots take all the jobs, our long march of progress may well go into reverse. 21 Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future Packed with irresistible gee-whizz facts Running through text is assumption that technological innovation may lead to major shift in boundary between codified and tacit knowledge This time the robots are coming for (almost) all the jobs * Robots are getting too smart, too flexible and too convenient Key Texts: Ford Argues that globalization, the decline of unions and the capture of government by special interests have all contributed to a rise in economic inequality The result: The fruits of innovation throughout the economy are now accruing almost entirely to business owners and investors Argues technology now threatens even the nimblest and most expensively educated *Lawyers, radiologists and software designers have seen their work evaporate to India or China He predicts that new industries will “rarely, if ever, be highly labour-intensive” Ford, M. (2015) Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. Basic Books, For a good review of the book read: IJHRD-Vol-1-No-1-Final.pdf (ijhrdppr.com) Fords thesis is not new. Similar outbursts of techno-pessimism pop up every time the economy takes a downturn or machines make a paradigm leap. He predicts that new industries will “rarely, if ever, be highly labor-intensive,” pointing to companies like YouTube and Instagram, which are characterized by “tiny workforces and huge valuations and revenues.” On another front, 3-D printing is poised to make a mockery of manufacturing as we knew it. Truck driving may survive for a while — at least until self-driving vehicles start rolling out of Detroit or, perhaps, San Jose. 22 Key Texts: Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2015) Second Machine Age Foresee a potential employment crisis *They suggest this time automation escalation may be too fast and too steep for surplus labour to be absorbed elsewhere Like Ford, although they argue manual, routine jobs remain most vulnerable to automation, also concerned that machines will replace non-manual, non-routine jobs, including several high paying ones *Journalists, translators, lawyers, photographers, stock brokers, software developers In their view, unemployment results from workers possessing ordinary skills or the wrong education They link the rise of digital technologies to the polarisation of the labour market and potential increase in inequality Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The second machine age: Work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. WW Norton & Company. The Second Machine Age (2014) has become something of a byword for the new technological revolution that society is now living through, illustrating the wide influence of the book. Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey business book of the year award in 2014 and is listed as a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller, indicating its broader appeal   Authors have promoted the ideas contained in their book at various high profile gatherings including the 2015 and 2016 World Economic Forums in Davos. Some prominent public figures e.g. Andrew Haldane, Chief Economist of the Bank of England have also invoked the book in speeches and articles. Politically, its ideas are seen to present both a warning of how 23 Critique Much of the debate fails to uncover the linkages between the politics of production and digital technologies Rather than being some neutral force, digital technologies are deeply connected to relations of power These relations, more directly, influence the form, direction, and outcomes of digital technologies, including within the work realm Digital technologies are not neutral as such, but rather are created, harnessed, and reproduced under conditions where power resides with capital, not labour So digital technologies are favourable for employers and unfavourable for workers but that also depends on the employment relations context, the level of rights that exist, who designs new technology and for what purpose Much is due to a fetishizing of technology amongst managerialist academics and amongst society as well Dig tech seen in apolitical terms - is more in their book on the power of computers than on the power of capital and as such they fail to explain how these technologies are and will be used in ways that increase the exploitation of workers. power is treated almost as an after-effect of digital technologies. What the authors fail to show is how power affects the selection and evolution of digital technologies. 24 Robotic jobs – the robotisation of the self Technology often employed as a mechanism of control rather than minimise ‘grunt work’ Increase in bio-tracking (previously used for animals) Use of sensors in helmets/hats of electricians and train drivers to detect fatigue, stress, mood and emotions Badges can be used to monitor employees tone of voice, how often speak in meetings, who they speak to, and for how long Amazon warehouse pickers wear wristbands which constantly track and rate productivity levels Platforms have led to rise of ‘algorithmic management’ (Lee et al. 2015) Uber drivers face an assemblage of digital devices on the dashboard: number of trips, number of hours online, fares per hour, acceptance rate, and driver overall rating, all of which are compared with ‘top drivers’ (Rosenblat and Stark, 2016) Issues of control and monitoring in the gig economy and more generally Phoebe Moore on performance management and control: increasingly we are seeing an interest in greater surveillance and also personal control over the bodies of the workforce: (Moore, P. (2020). Who is the smart worker? Who should she be?. Global Labour Journal, 11(2). https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/4313 ) Questions of monitoring have been remade over time and raise issues of privacy and dignity at work: the move to greater gig working, platforms, and teleworking are framing new debates on the question of work intensification, privacy and change However these developments are not inevitable and are political and organisational choices and employers and governments make: they do not arise from the technology itself so there is a wider possibility of countering such developments or mediating them See Mihalis Kritikos, (2020) Workplace Monitoring In The Era Of Artificial Intelligence https://epthinktank.eu/2020/12/22/workplace-monitoring-in-the-era-of-artificial-intelligence/ Read: A. Deppler (2021) Watched Over by Machines: AI and Surveillance at Work https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/watched-over-by-machines-ai-and-surveillance-at-work/ And how extensive is the effect of robotization Read the following article in The Conversation that argues the idea of technology displacing work may be a myth. (https://theconversation.com/automation-robots-and-the-end-of-work-myth-89619). What can be done: Education? So what can we do? The standard prescription is more education. Keep ahead of the robots by acquiring skills. Some techno-utopians go so far as to suggest that technology will save us from technology, by disrupting higher education with cheap online classes, and thus vastly expanding educational opportunity for all. Suggestion of getting an education emphasise their attention on the individual most were about technology amplifying and enhancing human attributes and strengths Ford doesnt buy it. Staying ahead is a losers race, in which ever larger numbers of people fight for ever smaller numbers of jobs. We are running up against a fundamental limit both in terms of the capabilities of the people being herded into colleges and the number of high-skill jobs that will be available for them if they manage to graduate. The problem is that the skills ladder is not really a ladder at all: it is a pyramid, and there is only so much room at the top. Fords preferred dramatic policy response — a redistribution of wealth from the winners to everybody else, in the form of a guaranteed basic income that ensures displaced workers have enough income to keep the consumer economy chugging along. 28 Keep ahead of the robots by acquiring skills (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2014) Contrary to today’s worst fears, robotics could facilitate the rise, not the demise, of the human “knowledge worker”, but managers need to prepare staff for the unavoidable changes to their current jobs, enabling them to upskill, specialise and re-train where necessary (Lacity and Willcocks 2017) Lacity and Willcocks found that for every 20 jobs lost through automation, approximately 13 new ones could be created How to support people when jobs no longer exist Finland – 2k people for 2 years. Level – if near poverty rates could simply streamline welfare systems and manage mass pauperisation How to deal with capital 29 Reduction of the labour supply by reducing working time End 40hour week and move to PT working (Larry Page, CEO Google) Reduce working week to three days (Carlos Slim, Mexican telecom magnate) Universal basic income Giving every citizen a liveable amount of money without means-testing Depends on what level it is set Must be sufficient to live on, must be universal, and must supplement (not replace) the welfare state A matter of perspectives and approaches Three perspectives: Doom-mongers Optimists (but on condition we re-skill) Automate everything Debates about future of work are heavily reliant on futurology and speculation Key issue: technological ability does not necessarily equal adoption and implementation; depends on wider socioeconomic context AMBS BMAN 73150 2021 Manchester University Professor M Martinez Lucio Lecture 4 Part 2 – technology: changes in the way we work source of picture: http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/01/does-eu-law-protect-gig-economy-workers.html 4. The ‘platform economy’, gig work, and the decentring of work and the organisation? The ‘4th Industrial Revolution’ has many dimensions but beyond robotization and questions of drone technology there are other dimensions changing the nature of work irrespectively Beyond physical dimension of work and robotization there are also questions of qualitative shifts due to the development of the platform and the gig economies which are the focus of this section. The use of new forms of internet-based digital connectivity to decentre and fragment organisations and work The creation of new patterns of organisational relations that are based (although not necessarily) on individualised or insecure forms of employment Platform economy and gig work http://www.differencebetween.net/business/economics-business/difference-between-sharing-economy-and-gig-economy/ https://www.toptal.com/insights/future-of-work/traditional-employment-gig-economy https://www.thoughtco.com/gig-economy-4588490 These are short texts worth looking about the impact of the gig economy The question of the platform economy The question of new technology and its impact is also important beyond the question of robotization ‘Advances in mainly internet-based digital connectivity and matching technologies, combined with financialised strategies like venture capital, gave facilitated the emergence and rise of the platform economy (Srineck, 2017)’ (quoted from Vandaele, 2018: 8) The emergence of digital labour platforms and their impact on fragmenting work The move to independent subcontractors and ‘self-employment’ Range of sectors are seeing changes: private transportation and delivery, gaming industry, IT more generally, and others Tends to parallel a greater ‘decentralisation’ of service delivery and production ADD WHAT THEY SAY Howcroft, D., & Taylor, P. (2014). Plus ca change, plus la meme chose: researching and theorising the new, new technologies. New Technology, Work and Employment, 29(1), 1-8. Vandaele (2018 – see link below) classifies it in terms of: Online work: micro and macro crowdworkers Online crowd work (low skilled, repetitive e.g. data entry) Online macro crowd work (requires professional knowledge eg graphic design) b) Offline work: on-demand digital platform workers In private settings: repair work or domestic services (domestic work for example) In public space: delivery and transport (e.g. Deliveroo and Uber) https://www.etui.org/Publications2/Working-Papers/Will-trade-unions-survive-in-the-platform-economy-Emerging-patterns-of-platform-workers-collective-voice-and-representation-in-Europe The gig economy in reality Some concerns That the workplace environment is not protected and there is very little health and safety The nature of employment contract and lack of protection: see video by Phoebe Moore for the ILO in 2018: Protecting Workers in Digital Economy: Phoebe Moore, University of Leicester https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqsoPPyjqoE (further references to her work – see earlier slides) It is individualised and questions of worker voice and engagement may be limited as such due to the way workers share no common workplace and reference point There may be little negotiation power and the status of self-employment may not necessarily be a legitimate one as responsibilities are transferred from the organisation to the worker There may be issues related to quality and control similar to those raised with subcontracting generally There might be issues as to who is responsible for training and development in terms of the workforce as responsibility for materials and development are transferred over to the worker Conflict and strikes in the gig economy There are a range of disputes emerging around a range of issues – for an overview see: Chris FORDE, Mark STUART, Simon JOYCE, Liz OLIVER, Danat VALIZADE, Gabriella ALBERTI, Kate HARDY, Vera TRAPPMANN, Charles UMNEY, Calum CARSON, (2017) The Social Protection of Workers in the Platform Economy https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-ceric/news/article/187/how-to-make-the-gig-economy-work-for-everyone https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/614184/IPOL_STU(2017)614184_EN.pdf See also https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/Platform\%20work\%20Leeds\%20Index\%20Joyce\%20et\%20al\%20Policy\%20Brief\%202020.02.pdf There are new forms of organising and solidarity emerging: Johnston, H. & Land-Kazlauskas, C. (2018). Organizing on-demand: Representation, voice, and collective bargaining in the gig economy. Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 94. Geneva: ILO. The use of the courts has been a major point of reference in struggles against companies such as Uber or Deliveroo: Minter, K. (2017). Negotiating labour standards in the gig economy: Airtasker and Unions New South Wales. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 28(3), 438–454. The use of social media and the Internet in terms of organising workers: Wood, A. J., Lehdonvirta, V. & Graham, M. (2018). Workers of the Internet unite? Online freelancer organisation among remote gig economy workers in six Asian and African countries. New Technology, Work and Employment, 33(2), 95–112. A new demand for collective organisation emerges and solidarity across platform labourer: Wood, A., & Lehdonvirta, V. (2019). Platform labour and structured antagonism: Understanding the origins of protest in the gig economy. Working Paper presented at the Oxford Internet Institute Platform Economy Seminar Series March 5th 2019 available: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3357804 Issues in the status and experience of worker in offline work: on-demand digital platform workers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnTbiiFgziU Reasons for tensions and issues There are a range of factors that contribute to these issues and tensions related to the context of de-regulation generally, the decline or weakening of collective worker voice, the ambivalent nature of employment regulation, the way in which technology and platforms have been developed by key companies, the use of vulnerable workers within the platform economy and gig working, and various others. There is no inevitability as to why employment conditions for gig workers in the platform economy have to be negative although the reality appears to suggest it is becoming worse although recent court cases are challenging the situation. Why context is key: many developments are the subject of legal and regulatory interventions according to De Ruyter and Brown (2019: 69) as in the role of the courts over the status of the employer and their rights is important ‘Gig workers in October 2018 staged a number of strikes across the UK in protest over pay. Companies affected included Wetherspoons, McDonalds, Uber eats and TGI Fridays. The strikes were coordinated across a number of regions, including South America, The Philippines, Japan and parts of Europe (BBC News, 4 October 2018). As a result, there have been signs that gig companies are being subjected to increasing critical …