The rapid technological changes and competitive pressure of Western economies are breathing new life into efforts to establish partnerships between workers and management. A lower union membership rate, less government regulation, and outmoded legislation may hinder such arrangements to a greater extent in the United States than in Europe. (Author)

When written clearly and distributed correctly, employee handbooks often represent the first line of communication between employers and employees, and serve as a resource for employees' questions. This article discusses how handbooks can be unnecessary liabilities for Head Start programs and offers suggestions for the development of satisfactory…

Interviews with 40 cooking apprentices, and teacher and employer comments, showed that many small-business owners are not concerned with employee learning or with how to create a learning environment. Many teachers had little or no contact with employers. Students lacked opportunities to practice under the supervision of workplace specialists. (SK)

Douglas and McCauley report on a survey of 246 managers about the management-development strategies used in their organizations. Results show that initiatives include mentoring, apprenticeships, coaching, and action learning. Bierema's reaction concurs in the need to widen the definition of relationships but suggests that methodological issues…

An increasing number of free agent or self-directed learners are getting their education outside their companies. As a result, they demand more of their corporate training departments and expect more from their jobs and companies. (JOW)

A study of two engineering firms attempting to implement a learning orientation found they were most like learning organizations in terms of empowerment and organizational structure. They were least like them in regard to participative policy making and information sharing about the external environment. Poor communication and lack of trust were…

The experiences of 24 women and 14 men working at home (23 independently, 15 as employees) indicated that, although their prime motivation was flexibility, this often benefitted employers more than employees. There were gender differences in childcare arrangements and part-time status. Home-based employment has the potential to reinforce existing…

Describes the effects of and universities' response to a recent National Labor Relations Board decision which defined graduate assistants at private institutions as employees, giving them the right to organize, collectively bargain, and strike. Includes a sidebar on the effects of the graduate student union at the University of Iowa. (EV)

Interviews and other data collected from a high-tech firm found that organizational instability raises workers' inclination to quit, independent of whether their job security is threatened. Instability undermines trust and impairs the usefulness of incentives intended to increase commitment. (SK)

Studies how public relation efforts affected labor dispute negotiations during the 1946 steel strike. Finds that neither national nor local public relations campaigns had any impact on the resolution of the strike. Suggests that national campaigns, in fact, may have confused the community by offering messages that did not correspond to the local…

Presents a framework for the analysis of continuing vocational education policy formulation. Two models are used: one of learning and work which examines an employer- or employee-dominated approach; and one of models of higher education institutions that illustrates a synthesis of market forces and social justice that can support lifelong…

Asserts that community college leaders should give two important "good news" messages to graduates about their long-term career success and economic well-being: congratulatory and predictive. The latter component should make graduates aware that a community college degree should be the foundation for self-managed, continuous education and career…

Focuses on the impact of "free-agent learners" (FALs) on training suppliers. Suggests that suppliers will have to change how they do business in such areas as marketing, product and service offerings, client relationships, and staff skills. (JOW)

A 1993 survey in a British bank revealed a lack of strategic approaches to career management and a negative psychological contract. A 2000 follow-up showed that employees viewed the new contract as a regression from a relational to a transactional approach. They had increased responsibility for career development, but management failed to provide…

Reports the findings of a qualitative study that explored what factors were likely to influence graduates' decisions to stay with or leave their first employer in the early years of their career. Uses results to propose how employers might take action to maximize retention, and to discuss the importance of career guidance in helping graduates…