商业管理英语2..docVIP

Management professional English 管 理 专 业 英 语 结 课 作 业 班级：******** 姓名：****** 学号：************ Human Resource Management Practices and Worker Desires for Union Representation JACK FIORITO* Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 I. Introduction A host of factors have been cited in efforts to explain union decline in the U.S. and elsewhere. Principal suspects in this whodunit have included structural changes in the economy, changes in worker attitudes or values, government provision of benefits once obtained largely from unions, internal union problems, and union suppression and union substitution by employers (Fiorito and Maranto, 1987; Lipset and Katchanovski, 2001). All of these suspects have probably played at least some role in union decline, although there is often substantial disagreement about their relative importance. I focus on the union substitution effects of employers HR practices. Both union suppression and union substitution effects may stem from employer opposition to unions, although practices that have union substitution effects can also be motivated by efficiency and other factors unrelated to unionization. On the one hand, union suppression refers to direct attacks on symptoms of unionism (pro-union attitudes, intentions, or actions) among workers. Firing a suspected union supporter would be a quintessential illustration. On the other hand, union substitution refers to the effects that positive employer practices, again, whether designed toward this end or not, have in reducing the causes of unionism, i.e., worker dissatisfaction (Kochan, 1980). An example might be an employer deciding to raise wages to improve retention and applicant attraction. A likely side effect is that workers subsequently see less need to consider unionization. A different type of example could be a case where an employer changes HR practices with the goal of undercutting union support. For example, an employer adopts an employee involvement program in the f