Professor Steve Jefferys, Dr Ali Tasiran and Richard Pond
Likely to start in Spring 2006 and to last three years.
European Commission FP6
PIQUE will address the issues of service quality, productivity and the quality of work and employment. The proposal is based on the assumption that the impact of liberalisation and privatisation of public services depends, first, on the form of liberalisation and privatisation and the mode of market regulation and, second, on the strategies companies pursue in their reaction to the opportunities and challenges involved. Company strategies and processes of change, in turn, are shaped by the institutional context of the national employment model.
While the various forms of liberalisation and privatisation have attracted great scientific attention, business strategies, restructuring, work organisation and human resource policies so far have remained outside the focus of the research on liberalisation and privatisation. Yet, the impact on productivity, employment and the quality of public services depends on the answers companies find for new opportunities and challenges as well as on organisational restructuring, use of technology, labour relations and work design.
The PIQUE project is likely to start in Spring 2006 and to last three years. Initially Steve Jefferys and Ali Tasiran are the designated lead researchers within the Working Lives Research Institute.
PIQUE will study the form of regulation of liberalisation and privatisation in six countries (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Poland and the UK) and in four sectors (electricity, local public transport, postal services and health and social work). It will explore changes in work, employment and labour relations as well as the productivity and quality of service provision. Special attention will be paid to the company level and the question of how liberalisation and privatisation impact on company management and organisation and on the provision of high-quality services at affordable prices.
PIQUE project phases include:
1. describing national modes of liberalisation and privatisation
2. assessing the impact on employment, labour relations and productivity through secondary analysis (the WLRI is responsible for this phase)
3. understanding restructuring processes and the management of change through company case studies (the WLRI will contribute to this phase)
4. assessing quality and accessibility by way of a quantitative users’ survey
5. integrating results, developing policy recommendations and disseminating research Findings
For further information about the project contact Professor Steve Jefferys (s.jefferys@londonmet.ac.uk) or Ali Tasiran (a.tasiran@londonmet.ac.uk) or Richard Pond (r.pond@londonmet.ac.uk) at the Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University, 31 Jewry Street, London EC3N 2EY; telephone: 020 7320 3042.
