May 20, 2011
- The Madison Moment: North American Public Sector Collective Bargaining
- Ontario Ministry of Labour and CIRHR Students Team Up
- A Surfeit of Library News
- Does it Take a Superstar to Win?
- CanLII Defends Canadians’ Right to Access Free Legal Information
- Size Doesn’t Matter: Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ Cities of Opportunities
- Mobbing in the Workplace
- Reputation Matters
- Talent Shortage: Employers' hiring difficulties increase despite high unemployment levels
- U.S. Professors’ Salaries
- EU Mobility Programs Encourages Youth to Move to Achieve
- Business Literature for More Highly Effective Jihadists?
- Book of the Week
The Madison Moment: North American Public Sector Collective Bargaining
Over the last year or so there have been over 700 attacks in the United States upon public sector collective bargaining. This alarming trend is also finding root in Canada with the elimination of collective bargaining rights for transit workers, the legislation back to work of Crown prosecutors and government attempts to impose wage restraints upon the public sector. This free symposium will explore this issue through a distinguished panel of speakers.
For details: The Madison Moment: North American Public Sector Collective Bargaining
Location: CMA Student Lounge - Ted Rogers School of Management
Date: June 23, 2011
Time: 7:00 pm-9:00 pm
Ontario Ministry of Labour and CIRHR Students Team Up
Customer service satisfaction is integral to government performance. As such, the Ontario Public Service (OPS) requires each branch of the Ministry of Labour (MOL) to monitor customer service and to address any service gaps. To satisfy this directive, the Dispute Resolutions Branch (DRB) of the MOL partnered with a student research team from the University of Toronto’s Centre of Industrial Relations and Human Resources (CIRHR). Supervised by faculty member Dr. Rafael Gomez, the students, Shoshana Klein, Jessica Collins, Allison Boyd and Julie Weller worked with the DRB to measure client satisfaction with their mediation, arbitration appointment, and Collective Bargaining Information Services (CBIS).
For details concerning this project please use the link below.
CIRHR Library website, Perry Work Report Highlights, May 20, 2011: The Ministry of Labour teams with CIRHR students for Research Project
A Surfeit of Library News
Although libraries and librarians, both public and academic, may not be dominating the media this week, they are in the news! An LA Times articles titled, “The Disgraceful Interrogation of L.A. School Librarians”; articles and editorials on the value of libraries in Canadian newspapers and on the web; and finally some very controversial statements and subsequent actions taken by the current McMaster University Librarian.
So here are the links to the current news about the NOT so quiet profession.
Seth’s Blog, May 2011: The Future of the Library
Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2011: “The Disgraceful Interrogation of L.A. School Librarians: If state education cuts are drastic, the librarians' only chance of keeping a paycheck is to prove they're qualified to be switched to classroom teaching. So LAUSD attorneys grill them.
Globe and Mail, May 16, 2011: “Librarians fight for a role in a digital world,” by Kate Hammer
Toronto Star, May 16, 2011: “School libraries should be hub of the school teacher says”, Kristin Rushowy
McMaster University Academic Librarians’ Association blog
Be sure to read: MUALA Review of University Librarian Jeffrey Trzeciak - Update of May 16, 2011 [4/4]
University of Toronto Academic Librarians Blog
Does it take a Superstar to Win?
Does the superstar model of team building actually work or does having a more even distribution of talent improve team performance?...One way of ensuring team chemistry is by being as attentive to the distribution of team skills as to the overall average. Rather than simply hiring the best individuals that money can buy, the best managers attempt to maximize joint output by recruiting, assembling and motivating the best group of workers possible. This is true whether the manager oversees the sales force of a New Jersey real estate office, runs the shop floor of a manufacturing plant in Shanghai or coaches from the sidelines of a football pitch in Leeds.
Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network Working Paper No. 75: Heterogeneous worker ability and team-based production: Evidence from major league baseball, 1920–2009, Kerry L. Papps University of Oxford IZA; Alex Bryson, National Institute of Economics and Social Research, Centre for Economic Performance: Rafael Gomez University of Toronto, London School of Economics.
For University of Toronto community access: Labour Economics, Volume 18, Issue 3, June 2011, Pages 310-319 [Special issue: The Economics of Sports Labour Markets]: Heterogeneous worker ability and team-based production: Evidence from major league baseball, 1920–2009
CanLII Defends Canadians’ Right to Access Free Legal Information
A Supreme Court copyright case set to begin December 2011 has grabbed the attention of Canada’s Legal Information Institute. One of the legal questions the copyright case—SOCAN v. Bell et al.—has brought up is the meaning of “research” and how the court should balance “copyright holders’ interests with user rights” [CanLII].
While the case does not pose an “immediate threat” to CanLII, “a narrow interpretation of ‘research’” and a “restrictive approach to fair dealing rights in respect of copyright material” during the proceedings could threaten Canadians’ “free and unencumbered access to the laws of the land”, a service being provided by CanLII. Stating that that they will not “wait for someone to bring the fight to us”, CanLII and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada is seeking to intervene in the case.
CanLII: “CanLII seeks to defend legal research as “fair dealing””, CanLII, News, May 16, 2011
Supreme Court of Canada: Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Bell Canada, et al., case history up to May 16, 2011
Size Doesn’t Matter: Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ Cities of Opportunities
Pricewaterhouse Coopers released its’ fourth edition of Cities of Opportunities, a report that analyzes the “26 global centers of finance, business and culture” across ten key indicators. According to the report, “alpha cities” such as London, Tokyo, and Paris have become less attractive compared to cities noted for their “quality of life and balance”. "Cities that want to thrive need to adapt to these changes. Size is no longer a leading predictor of influence. The success of cities such as Toronto, San Francisco, Stockholm and Sydney sends a clear signal that holistic balance makes a real difference. “Holistic” cities are noted for their “resilience during economic downturns” and their attractiveness to “people who build the future” [PwC Press Release].
Cities of opportunity: The Cities of opportunity website with a link to the 4th edition in PDF format
Press release, May 3, 2011: “Balanced Cities Perform Best in 2011 Study of Finance Capitals from PwC and the Partnership for New York City”,
Mobbing in the Workplace
In her article “The High Costs of Workplace Harassment”, Lisa Hughes argues that, in addition to having a human cost, workplace harassment has financial consequences due to “lost productivity and health costs associated with helping employees recover.” Writing largely in response to recent media reports regarding harassment in the public service, Hughes makes several recommendations as to how employers and employees can reduce the risk of workplace harassment from occurring.
The Conference Board of Canada: “The High Costs of Workplace Harassment”, By Lisa Hughes, May 16, 2011
CBC News: “Public servants sound alarm over workplace 'mobbing'”, By Julie Ireton, May 10, 2011
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat: “Highlights on results of the 2008 Public Service Employee Survey”, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer. For more information on harassment in the workplace scroll down to “Results on Workplace” -- 45% of respondents report experiencing harassment at the hands of “Individuals with authority over me”.
Reputation Matters
In his article Reputational risk: It’s time to pay attention, Brian Lindenberg discusses the importance of managing a firms’ “reputational risk.” Lindenberg makes several suggestions as to how a firm can develop a “well-thought out risk management strategy that specifically addresses reputational risk.” He writes that “the world has changed” and it is now imperative an organization pay attention to their reputation. He cites social media, forecasted labour shortages in Canada, and the increasing popularity of practicing corporate social responsibility as some of the factors that have put reputation on the agenda. Without a coherent strategy to mitigate “reputational risk”, writes Lindenberg, an organization is vulnerable to “strained employee and/or union relations…damage to the commercial brand… [and] negative financial consequences.”
Mercer, Articles: “Reputational risk: It’s time to pay attention” By Brian Lindenberg, 12 May 2011. Full story
Risk Management Monitor: “The Risks of Social Media: Self-Inflicted Reputation Damage”, By Jared Wade, April 23, 2010.
Check out this blog posting from Risk Management Magazine’s blog for a deeper look at managing reputational risk in a Web 2.0 world.
Econsultancy: Digital Marketers United: “10 common social media mistakes”, By Patricio Robles, March 31, 2010. For further discussion on social media see this blog posting. The author writes, “In the world of social media, everything you say can and will be held against you”. Robles goes on to outline the 10 common mistakes business’s make when using social media as a part of their business strategy.
Talent Shortage: Employers' hiring difficulties increase despite high unemployment levels
According to ManpowerGroup’s 2011 Annual Talent Shortage Survey of nearly 40,000 employers across 39 countries and territories, the overwhelming majority (89 percent) of companies cited a lack of experience, technical skills deficiencies or poor soft skills among available candidates as a bar to employability. Workplace skills such as collaboration, critical thinking and agility are critical to generate productivity and innovation.
ManpowerGroup, May 2011: "Manufacturing" Talent for the Human Age, (8 pages, PDF)
ManpowerGroup, May 2011: 2011 Talent Shortage Survey results (37 pages, PDF)
U.S. Professors' Salaries
The American Association of University Teachers (AAUP) released an annual survey of compensation of university professors. This year the report lookeds at the effect of the recession,; contingent employment, salary inequality, and salary inversion and compression.
American Association of University Teachers, April 13, 2011: It’s Not Over Yet: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2010–11.
EU Mobility Programs Encourages Youth to Move to Achieve
The European Commission website “Youth on the Move” has recently been launched as a part of the EU’s new education and employment strategy that seeks to “improve young people’s education and employability” by encouraging young people to work and study in other parts of the EU. According to the website, “too many young people fail to reach their full potential in education and training – which then makes it harder for them to find a job.” To remedy this, the EU has launched the website to provide “a single point of access to information” about living and working abroad and making young Europeans’ “dreams a reality” [Youth on the Move website]. The initiative follows a
Eurobarometer surveys showing that 53% of young Europeans would like to live abroad and, most importantly, that employers value the skills obtained by residing in a foreign country, e.g. speaking another language, adaptability and interpersonal communication skills.
Youth on the Move: The Commission’s new website
European Commission, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: “Half of young Europeans ready to work abroad”, News article, May 13, 2011
Europa Press Releases: Q & A, The EU’s official website, September 15, 2010
Europa: ”Youth on the Move – strengthening support to Europe's young people”, Europa Press Release, September 15, 2010
Business Literature for More Highly Effective Jihadists?
Thomas Frank muses on the reading habits of those in prison -- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey being a very popular read in Guantánamo prison library:
“This is not a premise unique to The 7 Habits, of course. Inducing acquiescence is the object of nearly all modern management literature. The genre exists to persuade the world that the market is a benevolent deity, that the corporation is its worthy representative here on earth, and that the sooner you understand that, the better.”
“Let’s recall, in this connection, that management favorite of the 1990s, Who Moved My Cheese? It was, thought, a parable of worker powerlessness before the market deity, that invisible cheese-moving hand. The course of wisdom, the book taught, was for us to submit to the ineffable makers of “change,” even though they “moved” our “cheese” hither and yon. To question those powers, as in the book’s title, was to brand yourself a recalcitrant good-for-nothing. Managers everywhere bought the thing in bulk and required their workers to read it, and for good reason: it was a weapon of class war.”
“Suppose the prisoners are pretending to internalize the book’s hyper-Americanness and its message of “change,” but are in fact paying attention only to the parts about managing your time better and “sharpening the saw.” Then we would have achieved the exact opposite of deradicalization. We would have filled dangerous people with all sorts of useful tips for making even more mischief than before. We would have created a bunch of highly effective jihadis.
From “Easy Chair: Required Reading,” by Thomas Frank, Harper’s Magazine, June 2011. (full text available upon request)
Book of the Week
Global Slump: the Economics and Politics of Crisis and Resistance, by David McNally. Oakland, CA: PM Press, 2011. 230 p. ISBN 9781552663967 (pbk.)
Analyzing the massive intervention of the world’s central banks to stave off another Great Depression,Global Slump shows that, while averting a complete meltdown, this intervention also laid the basis for recurring crises for poor and working class people: job loss, increased poverty and inequality, and deep cuts to social programs. The book takes a global view of these processes, exposing the damage inflicted on countries in the Global South, as well as the intensification of racism and attacks on migrant workers. At the same time, Global Slump also traces new patterns of social and political resistance – from housing activism and education struggles, to mass strikes and protests in Martinique, Guadeloupe, France and Puerto Rico – as indicators of the potential for building anti-capitalist opposition to the damage that neoliberal capitalism is inflicting on the lives of millions.
About the Author: David McNally is Professor of Political Science at York University, Toronto.
Visit the Recent Books at the CIRHR Library blog.
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Questions or comments: cirhr.library@utoronto.ca
Editor: Vicki Skelton with a big thank you to special guest editor Yasmin Hartung, a student at theUniversity of Toronto iSchool working at the CIRHR Library for the summer of 2011.
Designer: Nick Strupat
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