Work, Organisation and Labour in Dutch Society : A State of the Art of the Research

The Dutch have their own way of working, organising and managing. This book covers recent developments in labour markets, labour relations, quality of work, human resources management, work organisation and gender/diversity, as they reflect in social science research. It gives an overview of major subjects and themes in social and management sciences and it points to shifts in debates and arguments. The book covers a number of disciplines, such as economics, management and business science, and sociology, and thematic fields such as gender studies and human resources management. This state-of-the-art review of work, organisation and labour research fields in The Netherlands focuses on change in theories and paradigms, on shifting governance networks (the consultation economy), on changing policy-agendas and on new issues like subjectivity, identity and diversity. It contributes to understanding the Dutch model in various respects, and will be of use to scientists, students, policy-makers, media, management, consultants. The book has been commissioned by The Netherlands Universities Institute for Coordination of Research in Social Sciences (SIS-WO). Research on labour market, labour relations, quality of work, human re sources management, organisation ~f work and related topics has always been an important element in the activities of SISWO. The Netherlands' Universities Institute for Coordination of Research in Social Sciences (SISWO), is a national agency that initiates and supports, both scientifically and organisationally, research endeavours on a great variety of themes. This is done by organising discussion groups, congresses and conferences, expert meetings, newsletters and publications. For the field oflabour and organisation, WESW A, theN etherlands' Uni versities Working Committee on Social Science Research of Labour and Organisation, is the inter-university network that, in close cooperation with SISWO, unites experts from Dutch universities. WESWA and SISWO are convinced that an overview of the Dutch state of the art, in English, will be welcomed by an international audience. This state of the art work on research into labour and organisation in The Netherlands was edited by Gerard Evers, Bert van Hees and Joop Schippers. I do hope that this book will receive the attention both within and outside our country that it deserves Front Matter....Pages 1-10 Introducing Dutch Organisation and Labour Research....Pages 11-35 Labour Market Research: The supremacy of neoclassical economic theory....Pages 37-61 Labour Relations Research: Changing perspectives....Pages 63-104 Research Into the Quality of Work....Pages 105-138 Human Resources Management Evolving paradigms and research issues from an integrated stakeholder perspective....Pages 139-167 Theory and Research on Work and Organisation....Pages 169-198 From Inequality to Pluriformity Thinking about gender, work and organisations....Pages 199-223 Back Matter....Pages 225-231