Management and Organization of Temporary Agency Work
Edited by Bas A.S. Koene, Nathalie Galais, Christina Garsten
To Be Published December 30th 2013 by Routledge – 272 pages
Series: Routledge Studies in Management, Organizations and Society
Description
Over the past two decades the use of flexible employment relations has increased in most developed countries. The growth of temporary agency work constitutes a significant component of this development. Organizations are now facing the challenges of managing a ‘blended workforce’, i.e. a workforce consisting of both direct hires and contractors. At a time when Europe, as well as the rest of the world, is facing enhanced global competition and a severe labor market crisis, an understanding of temporary employment practices becomes all the more acute. With the evolution of the use of agency work in the Western world over the past decade, the chapters in this volume show how a focus on the management and organization of temporary agency work can be helpful to see possibilities and pitfalls for the use of temporary employment in the wake of changed employment practices and challenges to labor market stability and welfare structures.
Together, the new case studies presented in this volume provide a wide scope of analysis of the organization and management of temporary agency work, offering a much-needed contribution to the discussion of issues and priorities that guide and shape organizational practices today. Its particular uniqueness lies in the empirical richness and variety of local case studies and the way in which these are related to wider policy aims, ideological shifts, and the dynamics of organizational practice, with a particular focus on the organization and management of ‘blended workforces’.
Reviews
‘This book is timely and smart. It handles a particularly significant economic/social change, the study of which is still relatively under-developed. I particularly liked the mix of national accounts of new labor institutions with cross-national accounts of the impact of flexible labor in the workplace, especially as it discusses issues of integration and compatibility with "stable" labor forces inside the firms. This poly-focus is a strength, and a novelty with respect to other books in the field.’ –Michael Blim, City University of New York
Contents
1. Introduction: Managing Blended Workforces Bas Koene, Nathalie Galais, and Christina Garsten Part I: The Changing Nature of Work: Different Perspectives on the Employment Relationship 2. What is at the Heart of an Employment Relationship? Reflections on Social Contracts between Workers and Organizations Axel Haunschild 3. Flexicurity Pathways and the Role of Temporary Agency Work Ronald Dekker and Ton Wilthagen Part II: Organizing Employment Flexibility: The Triangular Employment Relationship 4. Organizing Strategic Partnership between Temporary Work Agencies and Client Companies Anneke Goudswaard, Tony Brugman, and Jan de Leede 5. When External Consultants Work on Internal Projects: Exploring Managerial Challenges Torstein Nesheim, Bjørnar Fahle, and Anita Tobiassen 6. Flexibility and Security: Micro-Perspectives on Dealing with Flexicurity François Pichault and Virginie Xhauflair Part III: Managing the Triangular Employment Relationship 7. Organizational Boundaries, the Triangular Employment Relationship, and Attitudinal Spillover Effects Catherine Connelly, Christa Austin, and Dan Gallagher 8. Temporary Agency Work: Identity Issues Dick De Gilder 9. Double Employment Relationship in TAW: Psychological Contract Towards Client and Agency Maria José Chambel Part IV: Different Business Models in Context 10. Agency Work in Italy: Limits and Unexpected Potentials of a Highly Debated Form of Employment Ida Regalia 11. Domesticating an Industry: How the TAW-industry became an Establishment in the Swedish Labor Market Lars Walter 12. Alternative Temporary Staffing Agencies as Workforce Intermediaries Françoise Carré, Joaquín Herranz, Jr., and Silvia Dorado 13. Concluding Afterword: Changing Notions of Work John Purcell
Author Bio
Bas Koene is Assistant Professor of Organization Theory and HRM in the Department of Organization and Personnel Management at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University in the Netherlands.
Nathalie Galais is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Organizational and Social Psychology at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
Christina Garsten is Professor of Social Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Social Anthropology at Stockholm University, Sweden.
Name: Management and Organization of Temporary Agency Work (Hardback) – Routledge
Description: Edited by Bas A.S. Koene, Nathalie Galais, Christina Garsten. Over the past two decades the use of flexible employment relations has increased in most developed countries. The growth of temporary agency work constitutes a significant component of this development. Organizations are now facing the challenges of...
Categories: Organizational Studies, Project Management, Human Resource Management, Employment Relations, Asian Business