Working on the quality of working life

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-X

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Project goals and approach: increasing actionable Q.W.L. knowledge

      • Max Elden

      Pages 3-8

3. Quality of Working Life Improvements in Europe: National Programmes and Perspectives

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9

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   2. The action programme of the German federal government: Research on the humanization of working life

      • Werner Menden

      Pages 11-20

   3. Q.W.L. developments in Holland: an overview

      • Hans J. J. van Beinum, René van der Vlist

      Pages 21-33

   4. Swedish industrial democracy, 1977: progress and new government initiatives

      • Doron Gunzburg, Olle Hammarström

      Pages 35-43

   5. Historical background and action plans towards improving the quality of working life in the United Kingdom

      • Jenny Blake, Margaret Butteriss

      Pages 45-56

   6. A general overview of the current Q.W.L. scene in Italy: Notes on the situation in 1974, 1975 and 1977

      • Federico Butera

      Pages 57-72

   7. Problems of middle management in France: Their special position regarding work reorganization

      • Josephine Poirot

      Pages 73-79

4. Action Research Reports: Production and Technical Units

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 81-81

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   2. Warehouse workers reorganize their own work organization

      • Andreas Alioth

      Pages 83-92

   3. The Volkswagenwerk AG project within the framework of the research programme ‘Humanization of Working Life’ of the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology: Comparison of work structures in machine production (engine assembly)

      • Michael Granel

      Pages 93-102

   4. Breaking the deadlock: The search for new strategies for Q.W.L.

      • J. F. den Hertog, H. J. J. de Vries

      Pages 103-115

   5. Democratizing work and social life on ships: A report from the experiment on board M.S. Balao

      • Ragnar Johansen

      Pages 117-127

   6. ‘Action learning’ among unskilled women workers

      • Michel Liu

      Pages 129-139

   7. Developing new forms of work organization in a new chemical plant in France

      • Michel Liu, Oscar Ortsman

      Pages 141-149

   8. The starting-up of a new plant organized in multi-skilled production groups

      • R. Bittel, G. Trepo

      Pages 151-174

   9. Introduction of a procedure of change: An example of operation

      • Denis Regnaud

      Pages 175-182

   10. From training to job redesign in a chemical plant in Italy

       • Stefano Mollica

       Pages 183-190

In November 1975, the German Marshall Fund of the United States agreed to support a proposal from the International Council for the Quality of Working Life for study of 'cross-cultural com­ munication' on developments associated with the quality of work­ ing life -a shared interest of the fund and the council. In early 1976 the council invited four action researchers, each from a major language area in Europe Andreas Alioth, Switzerland and Germany; Max Elden, Norway and Sweden; Oscar Ortsman, France; and Rene van der Vlist, the Netherlands, to consider pro­ duction of a joint publication which would make more generally available, at international levels, reports on innovative Q. W. L. ex­ periences within individual European countries. The main task of the four 'correspondents' was seen as facilitating the exchange of experiences across international boundaries -it was left to them to decide which experiences, how these should be communicated, and how the project itself should be organized. In early March 1976, the 'correspondents' decided at their first meeting to search informally, through their existing national con­ tacts, for suggestions as to what papers might be of value to a larger and more international Q. W. L. readership. Decisions on the char­ acter of the proposed book publication, and further definition of the project itself, were at this point deferred. At their second meeting, some sixty suggestions from six countries were reviewed.

• Germany
• Italy
• Switzerland
• design
• development
• interaction
• management
• meeting
• organization
• planning
• production
• research
• service
• sweden
• trade

• USA

  International Council for the Quality of Working Life

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