ASOK15413U Globalisation, international crisis and employment relations in Europe

Volume 2015/2016
Education

MA Theory and Themes (MSc Curriculum 2015)

Course package (MSc Curriculum 2015):Welfare, inequality and mobility and Knowledge, organisation and politics

MA thematic course (MSc Curriculum 2005)

Specialiseringslinje: Organisation, ledelse og arbejdsmarked.

BA-Undergraduates from foreign countries (exchange students) can sign up for this course.

Content

The 2008 financial crisis marked the beginning of a prolonged period of extreme economic turmoil that has created multiple challenges to national systems in the areas of labour, employment, social protection and industrial relations. Were these challenges already present and resulting from the process of globalization or were they triggered by the global crisis? How the changes observed have been challenging institutions and policies in Europe? What were the national responses and the European policy response and what shifts have been observed? How trade unions and the emergent social movements have responded and what new challenges are they facing? The course focuses on globalisation and challenges in relation to labour markets and employment relations. The changes introduced by information technology, multinational companies, and world trade rules and new migrations are examined as crucial factors of globalisation, which might impact in labour relations and labour rights and challenge the traditional national- centred practices and strategies of social actors (namely employers organisations and trade unions), The course examines the impact of financial and economic crisis and austerity policies in European countries from a comparative perspective with focus on: labour law reforms and labour market flexibility; wage and working time flexibility arrangements, collective bargaining decentralization and employees participation; employment protection and ‘flexicurity’; and active labour market policies.

The course will examine supra national European policies and trends in relation to austerity and labour market reforms and their impact in member states labour market regulations. The course focus on how those trends are challenging previous patterns of employment relations in European countries taking into consideration the different varieties of capitalism and of employment regimes as well as the variety of industrial relations systems and welfare models. The course focus also on the strategies and responses of labour market actors, and bargaining processes, in European countries, at the local, sector national and supranational level, and to the role played by European supranational institutions in relation to those processes. In addition, the course addresses the emergence of social movements in Europe and their connection with trade unionism and their role in relation to labour and social rights.

TENTATIVE OUTLINE

The course consists of the following fourteen units.

Unit 1 – Overview of the course

Unit 2 – Defining Employment Relations

Unit 3 – Industrial Relations approaches

Unit 4 – Globalization and changing employment relations

Unit 5 – Employment relations: convergence or divergence

Unit 6 – Globalization and financial crisis

Unit 7 – International crisis and challenges to labour, welfare and

employment relations

Unit 8 – International crisis, polarization and divergence in EU

Unit 9 – EU responses to international crisis: welfare, labour

market and employment relations policies

Unit 10 –Reconfiguration of Employment regimes in Europe Unit

Unit 11- Trends in Nordic employment relations and social models

Unit 12- Strategic orientations of trade unionism and renewal

Unit 13- Trade unions and new challenges at the national and

supranational level

Unit 14- The emergence and the challenges of social movements

in Europe

 

Learning Outcome

The course aims to provide each student with knowledge of: scientific debates on globalization and international crisis and on their impact on employment relations in Europe; theories and research related with convergence and divergence of labour markets and employment relations systems; theories and research on trade unionism and social movements’ agendas and strategies.

The course aims at provide each student with research skills in relation to the above mentioned topics and to enhance analytical competences

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

  • identify central debates concerning globalization and international crisis

  • discuss the impact of these debates on employment issues in Europe

  • apply relevant theories and empirical research in order to analyse issues and debates about globalisation, international crisis and employment relations.

 

Curriculum is 800 pages (10 ECTS) and app. 700 pages (7,5 ECTS).

Requirement readings/syllabus will be distributed during the first session. The course readings related to each class will be available in Absalon.

Literatur (Reading and further reading)

Beck, U. 2000. The brave new World of Work, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Dabscheck B (1983) “Of Mountains and Routes Over Them: A

Survey of Theories of Industrial Relations”. Journal of Industrial

Relations, 25. Sage Publications.

Castells, M. 1996. “The informational economy and globalisation”

in Castells, Manuel: The rise of network society, Vol I. Oxford:

Blackwell Publishers: 93-115.

Castells, M. 1996. “The transformation of work and employment:

networkers, jobless and flextimers” in Castells, Manuel: The rise

of network society, Vol I, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers: 202-231.

Crouch, C. 2011. The Strange Non-death of Neo-liberalism. Polity

Press, Cambridge.

Daly, M. 2012 “Paradigms in EU social policy: a critical account of

Europe 2020” Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research,

19/01:273-284.

Donatella della Porta and M. Diani (2006), Social Movements: An

Introduction. Oxford, Basil Blackwell.

Dølvik J. D. 2008. "The Negotiated Nordic Labour Markets: From

Bust to Boom". Center for European Studies Working Paper Series

#162. 1- 44.

European Commission. 2013. Industrial Relations in Europe 2012.

Fadda, S. and Tridico, P. 2013. Financial Crises, Labour Markets

and Institutions, Routledge.

Gallie, Duncan.2013. Economic crisis, Quality of Work, and Social

Integration: the European experience. Oxford University Press.

Gumbrell-McCormick R and Hyman R. (2013) Trade unions in

Western Europe: Hard times, hard choices. Oxford University

Press

Hall, P. and Thelen K. 2009. Institutional change in varieties of

capitalism, Socio-Economic Review, 7 (1): 7-34.

Harvey, D . 2010.The Enigma of capital and the crisis of

capitalism. Oxford University Press.

Heyes, J. 2013. “Flexicurity in crisis: European labour market

policies in a time of austerity” European Journal of Industrial

Relations: 1-16.

Huiskamp, R. 1995: “Regulating the employment relationship: an

analytical framework”, in Ruysseveldt, J.V., Huiskamp, R. and

Hoof, J.V. (eds.): Comparative Industrial and Employment

Relations. London: Sage Publications: 16-36.

Hyman, Richard. 2002. Understanding European Trade Unionism:

Between Market, Class & Society, Sage, London.

Jensen, Carsten Strøby, 2008. “Theories of Industrial Relations -

Existing Paradigms and New Developments”. IREC Conference

2008. London.

Jesper D and Jørgen S M, 2008. "The Danish Model of Industrial

Relations: Erosion or Renewal?" Journal of Industrial Relations

50(3): 513-529.

Lallement, M. 2011." Europe and the economic crisis: forms of

5

labour market adjustment and varieties of capitalism", Work

Employment Society, 25(4), Sage Publications: 627-641.

Lapavitsas, C. 2011. "Theorizing financialization", Work

Employment Society, 25(4), Sage Publications: 611–626.

Murray, G. (2010) “Framing Globalization and Work: A Research

Agenda”, Journal of Industrial Relations, February 2010, 52: 11-

25.

Natali, David and Vanhercke, Bart (2013) Social developments in

the European Union 2012, European Trade Union Institute

(ETUI)/European Social Observatory (OSE).

Pochet, P. and Degryse, C. (2013) “Monetary Union and the

stakes for democracy and social policy”, Transfer: European

Review of Labour and Research, 19/01:103-116.

Schäfer, A. and Streeck, W. 2013. Politics in the age of austerity.

Polity Press.

Schömann, I. 2014. Labour law reforms in Europe: adjusting

employment protection legislation for the worse?Working Paper

2014.02, ETUI (European Trade Union Institute), Brussels.

Svalund J et al (2013) “Stress testing the Nordic models:

Manufacturing labour adjustments during crisis”, European

Journal of Industrial Relations, September 2013 19: 183-200.

Traxler, F. 2003. “Bargaining, State regulation and the trajectories

of Industrial Relations”, European Journal of Industrial Relations,

Volume 9, Number 2, July. London: Sage Publications: 141-161.

Visser, J. 1996. “Traditions and transitions in industrial relations.

A European view”, in Ruysseveldt, J. V. and Visser, J.: Industrial

Relations in Europe - Traditions and Transitions. London: Sage

Publications: 1-41.

Students of social sciences.
The course will combine lectures with group discussion and presentations in relation to specific topics.
Dette kursus har adgangsbegrænsninger. Kurset vil som udgangspunkt ikke blive udbudt igen. Du kan således ikke planlægge efter, at det udbydes i senere semestre, end hvad der fremgår af denne kursusbeskrivelse.

INDICATIVE WORKLOAD
The number of lecture hours are the same for both 7,5 and 10 ECTS courses

Lectures: 28
Course preparation: 60
Exercises: 46
Project work: 22
Exam Preparation: 50
Total: 206

10 ECTS:
Lectures: 28
Course preparation: 80
Exercises: 56
Project work: 45
Exam Preparation: 66
Total: 275


BA-Undergraduates from foreign countries (exchange students) can sign up for this course.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Course Preparation
  • 60
  • Exam Preparation
  • 50
  • Exercises
  • 46
  • Lectures
  • 28
  • Project work
  • 22
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual/group. See further details in the curriculum
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2015 to take this exam.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal examiners.
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Criteria for exam assesment

See couse learning outcome

Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual/group. See further details in the curriculum
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2005 to take this exam.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal examiners.
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Criteria for exam assesment

See course learning outcome