Multinationals from the BRIC-countries investing in German firms: Impacts on industrial relations

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1-2020) ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
Martin Franz ◽  
Sebastian Henn
Keyword(s):  
Current System ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Bric Countries ◽  
Social Standards ◽  
Target Firms ◽  
Patterns Of Communication ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Works Council ◽  
India And China

Often, investments from emerging economies in firms in industrialized countries evoke concerns among the employees in the targeted firms. Many of them are afraid of losing their jobs, or fear that the new owners could undermine existing social standards. Up to now, little is known about how such investments affect industrial relations in targeted countries. Using the example of investments from the BRIC-countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in German firms, this paper analyses whether employees’ fears are well founded. To this end, four different factors are considered. These include: (1) the situation of the target firms in the run-up to an acquisition and the employees’ reactions to the takeover, (2) the investors’ knowledge of the current system of industrial relations, (3) the day-to day interactions with the new owners, and (4) the patterns of communication between works council representatives and the new owners. The empirical part of the article is based on an analysis of quantitative data as well as the application of problem-centered interviews with members of work councils, trade union representatives as well as managers.

Resources of the European Works Council — empirical knowledge and prospects

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Lecher
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Empirical Knowledge ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
Ability To Act ◽  
Metalworking Industry ◽  
Works Council ◽  
Development Paths

There typical EWC development paths can he singled out. To a certain extent these paths already exist. They can also he described as development stages of individual EWCs: the EWC with an exclusively national frame of reference: the EWC which is taking on an international quality, but focusses on the industrial relations within the parent company's country: the EWC deliberately working to develop a supranational collective identity with a European underpinning amongst members tending towards equality. Four dimensions can be analytically distinguished in this regard: time, money, information and power. The better the EWC can equip itself in terms of these four “claims”, the greater is the chance of developing a European identity and ability to act effectively. Naturally, the reverse is also true. The four claims are here differentiated in relation to EWCs, based on empirical knowledge mainly derived from two projects in which the author was or is a participant. As examples, the cases of Hoechst (chemical industry), Schmalbach-Lubeca (metalworking industry), AXA/UAP (insurance) and Kredietbank (baiting) are succinctly described. The evaluation looks selectively at a few other relevant empirical project results without detailed substantiation. The results are generalised in terms of a “good EWC practice”. The final part deals with the main subjects of the forthcoming revision of the EWC Directive, which focuses on improvement of the four main claims of EWCs' resource situation.

scholarly journals Works councils and performance appraisals

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50
Author(s):  
Christian Grund ◽  
Dirk Sliwka ◽  
Krystina Titz
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Bonus Payments ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Works Council ◽  
The Individual

PurposeWe analyze the role of works councils for the use of performance appraisals (PA). We distinguish between the incidence of PA systems as intended by the firm and their actual implementation on the level of the individual employee.Design/methodology/approachWe draw on two complementary data sets. These are the German Linked Personnel Panel (LPP), which combines firm-based information with information provided by several of those employees, and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), which is a representative longitudinal study of persons living in Germany.FindingsWe find that works councils tend to promote rather than restrict PA. Employees working in establishments with a works council are more likely to face a formal PA procedure. Works councils also act as a transmission institution for the actual use of an existing PA system – i.e. among the firms that claim to implement PA for all their employees, the likelihood of their employees actually having regular appraisals is substantially larger when works councils are in place. Moreover, the existence of works councils is positively related particularly to PA systems, which affects bonus payments.Research limitations/implicationsWe contribute to the understanding of the work of works councils in firms. In more general, we shed light to the relation of industrial relations and human resource management in firms.Practical implicationsThis result hints at a higher acceptance of PA systems in firms with works councils. It seems likely that the stronger formalization of such systems necessitated by codetermination laws increases the likelihood of supervisors consistently carrying out such appraisals.Originality/valueWe are the first who complement the analysis of the existence of HR practices (PA system) with its actual use for employees.

scholarly journals Nix the BRICs—At Least for the Higher Education Debate

2014 ◽  
pp. 2-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip G Altbach ◽  
Roberta Malee Bassett
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Good Sense ◽  
Bric Countries ◽  
Common Framework ◽  
India And China

Comparing the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—in terms of higher education does not make good sense. The only thing in common is that they are large academic systems. However, they quite different in terms of history, economic realities, patterns of coordination and governance, and other factors. This article argues that it is not useful to place the BRIC countries in any kind of common framework for comparison.

Does business cycle heterogeneously impact on banks’ capital buffers, risk and financial stability in BRIC economies?

2020 ◽  
Vol 07 (04) ◽  
pp. 2050032
Author(s):  
Syed Moudud-Ul-Huq ◽  
Md. Nazmul Islam ◽  
Abdul Gaffar Khan ◽  
Md. Rostam Ali ◽  
Tanmay Biswas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Business Cycle ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Bric Countries ◽  
China And India ◽  
Adjustment Speed ◽  
The Business Cycle ◽  
Indian Banks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
India And China

This paper revisited the relationship between capital buffers and risk adjustments by showing the impact of the business cycle. Empirically, we used an unbalanced panel dataset from 426 banks of the BRIC countries (i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, and China) for the period 2007–2016. By using the two-step system GMM (2GMM), this study shows the results as: (i) capital buffers of Russia, India, and China behave counter-cyclically while it is pro-cyclical for Brazilian banks over the business cycle; (ii) in BRIC’s economy, credit risk, and bank financial stability is related to business cycle in counter and pro-cyclical fashion, respectively; (iii) capital buffers adjustment speed is the premier in China and India, shining banks accessibility to capital refill is much easier to Brazil and Russia. The adjustment speed is heterogeneous across countries; and (iv) financial stability in apex for the Chinese, Russian, and Indian banks apart from the Brazilian banks.

scholarly journals Regulating Systematic Occupational Health and Safety Management

2003 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Øystein Saksvik ◽  
Michael Quinlan
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Precarious Employment ◽  
Crucial Element ◽  
Regulatory Strategy

Summary The promotion of systematic occupational health and safety management (SOHSM) represents a comparatively recent but significant realignment of regulatory strategy that has been embraced by many, if not most, industrialized countries. As yet there has been little critical evaluation of the origins and implications of this shift, and to what extent the experience of these measures differs between countries. This article seeks to start the process of answering these questions by comparing SOHSM in Norway and Australia. We identified a number of common challenges (problems of “paper” compliance, limited union input and the growth of precarious employment). In particular, the article highlights the interdependence of OHS and industrial relations regulatory regimes and argues the move away from inclusive collectivist regimes places significant constraints on independent vetting of SOHSM—a crucial element in their effectiveness.

scholarly journals MODEL ANALYSIS OF INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF WORLD COUNTRIES

2018 ◽  
pp. 71-78
Author(s):  
Olha Kovalchuk ◽  
Nataliia Strelbitska
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Graph Classification ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Social Standards ◽  
Index Of Inequality ◽  
High Level ◽  
Medium Method

The article discusses the possibilities of use of classical instruments of analytical methods and data mining methods for global sustainability modelling. To divide countries into groups according to the indicators that are traditionally allocated for sustainability studying, it is carried out the cluster analysis by k-medium method, which resulted in 2 clusters. The first cluster includes economically developed industrialized countries. A high level of social performance and a low level of inequality of outcomes characterize them. At the same time, these countries have high rank of corruption and low Gini Index. There are low social standards, but significantly lower rank of corruption and footprint than in developed countries in the countries of the second cluster. However, the index of inequality of outcomes is three times higher than in the countries included in the first cluster. The tree graph classification of the countries of the world has been constructed on the basis of indicators of sustainable development. The computer models, which are presented in this paper, aim to solve the main problems of sustainable development. They can also be applicable in many other fields, including international relations, economics, and management systems.

scholarly journals Correction to: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in BRIC countries: the cases of Brazil, Russia, India, and China

BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Richeldi ◽  
Adalberto Sperb Rubin ◽  
Sergey Avdeev ◽  
Zarir F. Udwadia ◽  
Zuo Jun Xu
Keyword(s):  
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Bric Countries ◽  
India And China

scholarly journals The long march through the institutions: Emerging powers and the staffing of international organizations

2020 ◽  
pp. 001083672096601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Parizek ◽  
Matthew D Stephen
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
Institutional Dynamics ◽  
Bric Countries ◽  
Staffing Patterns ◽  
Emerging Powers ◽  
Economic Size ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
India And China

How successful have emerging powers been at increasing their representation within the secretariats of international organizations (IOs)? We examine the representation of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) System, including the UN Secretariat, over the last two decades. The analysis reveals four major findings. First, some redistribution of staff positions from established to emerging powers has taken place, but it has been relatively minor. Second, nationals from emerging powers are still strongly under-represented in international secretariats in comparison with those from established powers. Third, emerging powers’ representation at the IMF and WTO increased more than in the UN, where it actually declined. Fourth, there is strong variation between emerging powers: India appears to be the most successful emerging power in sending its nationals to the secretariats of IOs, Brazil’s and China’s records are mixed, and Russia has fared poorly. We interpret our findings in light of international relations theories and theories of institutional path dependence. The results suggest that staffing patterns are only loosely related to shifts in economic size and are subject to strong independent institutional dynamics.

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