Managing Labour in Small Firms

This book explores the manner in which the size of the organization influences the employment relationship with a focus upon small enterprises. The majority of organizations in the UK economy are categorized as small firms, having fewer than 50 employees, and in 2002 such firms were found to provide 43% of jobs within the economy (DTI, 2002). Clearly these organizations make a critical contribution to the British economy, yet - surprisingly - until quite recently very little was known about how such firms managed their labor. Since the 1990s there has been a growing of evidence which has explored the employment relationship in small firms and this book fulfils an important task by recognizing the importance of this literature, and also by moving the debate forward.
Managing Labour in Small Firms also acknowledges that size - whilst influential in shaping firm behavior - will interact with context to create particular employment relationships. These relationships are examined in chapters covering:
* HRM in the smaller organization
* The challenge of undertaking research in such firms
* The impact of regulation
* The influence of social embeddedness
* The affect of the national minimum wage
* Training and development
* Pay construction
* Employee representation
These discussions link the key themes and concepts within employment relations, and illustrate how firm size shapes their articulation and consequent management. Written by well respected specialists in the field, this is one of the only books on the market covering this topic, and as such it will be an essential text for researchers and graduates studying business and management, human resourcemanagement and industrial relations.

The majority of employees currently working in the private sector are now employed in small firms, yet little is known about their working conditions. This collection of essays addresses this gap. Based on theoretical analysis supported by contemporary empirical evidence, the book explores key areas of the employment relationship adding a new perspective to our understanding of contemporary work.

1. Introduction Susan Marlow 2. The hunting of the snark: A critical analysis of human resource management discourses in relation to managing labour in smaller organisations Scott Taylor 3. Researching the Employment Relationship in Small Firms: What are the Contributions from the Employment Relations and Small Business Literatures? Robert Blackburn 4. Managerial Strategies in Small Firms Richard Scase 5. Training in smaller firm Dean Patton 6. Breaking out of survival businesses: managing labour, growth and development in the south asian restaurant trade Monder Ram, Trevor Jones, Tahir Abbas and Sara Carter 7. labour regulation and SMEs: A challenge to competitiveness and employability? Mark Hart and Robert Blackburn 8. Small Firms and the National Minimum Wage Jim Arrowsmith and Mark Gilman 9. Managing variable pay systems in smaller workplaces: the significance of employee perceptions of organisational justice Annette Cox 10. Representation, Consultation and the Smaller Firm Alan Ryan

Dr Susan Marlow is Reader in HRM at De Montfort University. She has extensive experience and an international reputation in the field of small HRM research, having her work published in leading academic journals such as Entrepreneurship, Theory & Practice.Dr Dean Patton is Principal Lecturer, Dept of Strategy and Management, De Montfort University; he has undertaken research and consultancy within and on behalf of small firms. His current research interests focus on the evaluation of small firm policy, and training and management development within smaller firms.Professor Monder Ram is Professor of Small Business, and Director of Small Business and Enterprise Research Group, at De Montfort University. He has extensive experience of working in, researching, and acting as a consultant to ethnic minority businesses. He is author of 'Managing to Survive - Working Lives in Small Firms', and 'Ethnic Minorities in Business' (with T. Jones).