Determinants of work organization in the modern firm: change and continuity in the Spanish labour relations

Abstract

The host of statistical data on labour organization from the 2004 Encuesta de Calidad de Vida en el Trabajo (2005) will be used as a basis for using factorial analysis to identify the factors that determine how ‘modern’ companies organize their work according to business management literature. Workers' identification with their company seems to be the essence of a good part of business managers' objectives. The results of the research point to a continuity in a worker profile that largely corresponds to the Fordist model, with a few significant changes: the domain of some non-conflictive industrial relations which is settled on the value that is given to the good relationships with mates and managers and the flexible work-class positive assessment that allows to harmonize other life aspects.

Keywords:

• human resources
• labour market
• labour organization
• organizational innovations

Notes

1. We did a factorial analysis using a system of extracting principal component factor analysis using the orthogonal varimax rotation system. In all cases, the Kaiser, Meyer and Olin measure of sampling adequacy has values between 0.6 and 0.88 and Bartlett's sphericity tests also had significant values.

2. Cronbach's α analysis is not a statistical test, but rather simply a consistency or reliability coefficient. When above 0.7 it usually reflects a high similarity between the factors. Conversely, when the data are of a multidimensional nature, its value is low. Its formula iswhere N represents the number of items and represents the correlation between the items.

3. Model II regressions can be found as complementary information at author's mail.

4. We studied question 134 of the 2004 ECVT Survey (2005), which includes different worker attitudes towards the company. Full information available at author's mail.