...Flexicurity Student name Course code Course name Date Flexicurity refers to an European policy agenda, which seeks to increase flexibility and security in labor markets nationally. Much as it is a different approach from one centered solely on flexibility, flexicurity has been highly opposed right from its onset. Now it is being reviewed in light of the crisis that occurred in 2008 (Marsden and Hugh, 2008). Apart from letting go of this agenda, the European Commission announced a “second phase of flexicruity’, though it was highly suggested that flexicruity needed to be re-made independent of the crisis. Nevertheless, flexicruity envisages changing the work life and lifestyles of Europeans, and much as it is justified by the needs of the workers, it is void of a clear and democratic justifiable idea to back up its impact on the society. This report explains how flexicruity can be applied in the labor market and social policy. With reference to the European Commission (EC) (cp. 2007a, 7), flexicurity may contribute to the restoration of competitiveness in European economies and the maintenance of the European social model, both of which are perceived to be under immense pressure. On the contrary, this reform has been greatly countered from its onset with the criticism gaining momentum after the crises in 2008. Nonetheless, the European Commission has relentlessly affirmed its determination to pursue the flexicurity objective (Marsden and Hugh...
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...Antonio Caruso I6023297 Group 1 (09h00-11h00) Assignment 3 : Article Summary The Danish Model of “Flexicurity”- A Paradise with some snakes Per Kongshoj Madsen (2002), University of Copenaghen A BRIEF SUMMARY This article shows the so-called “Danish job miracle”, or the drastic decline in unemployment that happened in Denmark in the last twenty years after a hectic period of reforms in the early 90s. During this period the Danish labor market has changed radically becoming more flexible and dynamic but always with much attention paid to social security. The Danish model is an “hybrid” because it comes from the Scandinavian one, the archetype, but with essential differences. The Danish system has, on the one hand, a level of flexibility very similar to liberal countries (e.g. Canada, USA, Ireland) but, on the other hand, resembles the Scandinavian countries through social security and active labor market policy. For these reasons, when we speak of Denmark is often used the term “Flexicurity” that characterizes this successful combination of flexibility related to dynamism and a solidaristic welfare system. The success of the Danish model has stimulated ideas on the actual presence of a new model of the employment system, explained in general through the so-called “Golden Triangle” of flexicurity. Generous Welfare System Active LMP Flexible Labor Market Analyzing the corners of the golden triangle and specially the relationships, we can really understand how...
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...9-709-015 REV: OCTOBER 14, 2010 ARTHUR A. DAEMMRICH BENJAMIN KRAMARZ De enmark Globa k: alizatio and the We on elfare S State On April 5, 200 Lars Løkk Rasmussen was named prime mini n 09, ke n d ister of Denm mark followin the ng appoi intment of An nders Fogh R Rasmussen, p prime ministe since 2001, as secretary general of N er NATO. Thoug not related Lars Løkke had worked in Anders Fo gh d, e ogh’s governm ment, first as interior and h health minis ster and then as minister of finance. A he formed a new gove As d ernment, Lars Løkke soug to s ght develop a set of long-term economic and social plans that would keep Denma internatio l ark onally competitive, despite its large pu ublic sector an costly welf nd fare spending However, s g. short-term rea action to the worldwide economic do e ownturn dom minated policy discussions. A long-stan y . nding debate about joinin the Eurozo was given new saliency when the European Ce ng one n entral Bank lowered its ra on ate “refin nancing opera ations,” which provided liq h quidity to the Eurozone, ju days befor Lars Løkke took e ust re e office. Denmark was a member of the Europ w r pean Union but had retain its own cu ned urrency, the k krone. Likew wise, plans for rmulated a year ago to ex xpand the Dan nish workforc by looseni labor rule and ce ing es reduc cing welfare benefits had b b become unpop pular as unem mployment in ncreased. An nders Fogh Rasmussen had left a mixed legacy. Denm d d mark benefite from a balanced...
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...effect on the control of industrialization and the workforce in the country, as the business world becomes smarter by reducing costs through crossing borders. It has a negative impact on the policies for the welfare state and has raised the unemployment rates. “With the decrease of regulatory barriers in foreign nations, the economies have transformed increasing competition and welcoming foreign investment” (Hill 2005). Due to the current structure and lack of political momentum for reform, the spending on social protection grew exponentially. Recognizing the increased competition due to globalization, and the need to implement a different strategy has helped generate a better economic outlook for the country. Through the development of “Flexicurity” (Daemmrich & Kramarz 2010) the country has been able to gain positive footing, turn their negative employment statistics around, and increase their economic standing. The basis of this reform was to create a “flexible economy...
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...Dansko za najboljše mesto na svetu, ki je primerno za uspešno poslovanje (ena od držav, kjer je najlažje začeti nov posel), v letu 2008 pa je mednarodna raziskava pokazala, da so Danci najsrečnejši ljudje na svetu. Več kot 60% jih za sebe lahko reče, da so zelo zadovoljni z svojim življenjem. Tako jim recimo pripada 25 dni dopusta na leto in 37 urni delovni teden. 2. How did Denmark achieve 3% unemployment in 2008? V sredini 80'h ter v začetku 90'h let je mednarodna konkurenca privedla Dansko do povečanja nezaposlenosti, Danska vlada je v tem času močno povečala socialne izdatke, da je pokrila povečano nezaposlenost, zgodnje upokojitve .. itd. Potrebna je bila nova strategija, ki jo je uvedel Paul Nyrup Rasmussen, tako imenovana »flexicurity«. S to reformo so hoteli doseči bolj prilagodljivo ekonomijo brez rezanja socialnih ugodnosti. Tako so dali podjetjem možnost hitrega odpuščanja zaposlenih, vendar so na drugi strani nudili večji obseg izobraževanja in prezaposlovanja. Moto reforme je bil : »Ljudje imajo pravico do izobraževanja in socialne varnosti ter dolžnost do dela in prispevanja do družbe«. Glavni dejavniki reforme so: * Odpiranje novih delovnih mest, s tem da se odpravi minimalna plača, ni reguliran delovni čas, … , pogajanja se vršijo na relaciji delavec –...
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...Germany (18%), Denmark (7.9%), Norway (7.4%), Netherlands (6.2%), and United Kingdom (5.9%) | Sweden is ranked 2nd with an Economic Complexity Index (ECI) of 1.98292 Sweden has direct competition with Finland and Denmark. Competitive Country: Finland Finland provides an environment for business through its financial aiding and has policies which aid the work flow. The education level is being raised in Finland to become a technological and innovation based platform for business enterprise. There is a huge skilled workforce who is ready to adopt any change in work environment and adapt any changes. Industries: Energy, Agricultural and manufacturing. Denmark Denmark is known strongly for its innovative capacity. Denmark its follows a flexicurity system which is the most efficient in labor markets and it has strong social safety net. Industries: Manufacturing, shipping and wind power. Netherlands Netherlands is one...
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...Sample Answers to Questions 1 and 2. Most of you did well on questions 3 and 4, so here I post only sample answers to questions 1(a) & (b) and 2: 1(a) & 1(b): Question on whether moving production to China is ethical; Question on the economic and social costs and benefits of such a move. Sample Answer (A) Note: this student earned high grades for looking at the issue from multiple perspectives, for looking at the benefits and costs to all major stakeholders, and for acknowledging that moving productions overseas is a controversial topic. Excellent use of facts to support his/her claim. 1. Whether or not Ohio Art Company’s decision to shift production offshore was ethically wrong is a controversial topic. In strictly business terms, Ohio Art Company (OAC) did not break any laws or perform an illicit act; OAC’s decision to offshore was one that had few other options – if the company did not find ways to lower production costs, the company would have eventually gone bankrupt. If production had not been moved, OAC would have been unable to lower production costs, and would therefore be unable to generate enough profits to continue business. Either way, OAC employees would have suffered job losses. Furthermore, OAC’s decision benefited shareholders, which is one element of judging an ethical decision; there are no standards that prohibit off shoring. However, OAC’s obligations to its employees are something that must be considered as well. The company, which...
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...Introduction [pic] Company Background LeanEco was founded in December 2007 by Klaus Moth. The founder has a background in both market and technology gained from his positions as research director for a global UPS supplier 2000-2007, following 10 years as VP, R&D in a global company offering high-reliability power electronics for launchers and satellites. LeanEco offers cost-effective, sustainable, 24/7 Mission Critical Power Solutions for server farms, datacenters and other business critical applications. LeanEco develops, manufactures and sells an innovative, all-in-one no -break power solution. Mission /Securing Business Uptime. Vision/ LeanEco the obvious choice. Problem Statement LeanEco wants to expand to other markets to establish a great business and to differentiate from the competitors. The two main markets in Europe for UPS are Germany and UK. They counted for 18% and 22% looking at the total European market. (source: Henrik Raunkjær, CEO). Is the German market Attractive to LeanEco? Limitation The Leaneco is interesting firm, but getting the access information is not easy to find. During the presentation the Ceo Henrik Raunkjær only give brief information & the lecture is so quick that can’t even enough to write down (taking notes). Leaneco website is not enough information to support this project. Porters Diamond of National Advantage (Denmark) 1. Factor Conditions The basic factors that the Denmark is no. 6 in the infrastructure...
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...Kære selvstuderende i: Samfundsfag B Herunder ser du et forslag til materiale, der kan udgøre dit eksaminationsgrundlag. Der vil blive indkaldt til to møder inden eksamen hvor jeg introducere hvordan man går eksamen. Sørg for at din mail står på Fronter eller skriv til mig, så du kan få besked om møderne og anden information. Hvis du er interesseret i at jeg afholder et møde tidligt på semesteret kan du skrive til mig. Ellers bliver de afholdt omkring en måned inden eksamensperioden. Jeg træffes på mail: fk@kvuc.dk Med venlig hilsen Frederik Kruse Eksaminationsgrundlag for selvstuderende Hvis du ønsker ændringer, skal det godkendes af din vejleder inden 1. november (vintereksamen) Termin Forår 2014 Institution 414 Københavns VUC Uddannelse HF Fag og niveau Samfundsfag B Lærer Frederik Kruse(FK) Hold Selvstuderende Oversigt over temaer Titel 1 Køn i det senmoderne samfund Titel 2 Demokrati, menneskerettigheder og overvågning Titel 3 Kan fremtidens danske velfærd sikres? Titel 4 Dansk politik efter valget 18. juni 2015 BØGER: SamfNU – STX og HF b-niveau, Morten Bülow(red.) Systime, 2011-12 Luk samfundet op, Brøndum og Hansen, Columbus, 2012 Sociologisk set, Bundgård, Iversen og Lund, Systime, 2009 B-bogen, Skov og Bundsgaard, Columbus, 2012 Titel 1 ”Køn i det senmoderne samfund” Indhold INTRODUKTION TIL SAMFUNDSFAGLIG METODE B-bogen, Skov og Bundsgaard, Columbus, 2014 s. 9-13 Luk samfundet op, Brøndum og Hansen, Columbus, 2012 s. 12-23 INTRODUKTION TIL...
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...FLEXIBILITY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE: Comparing flexible policies in Sweden, Australia and the UK. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 2. DEFINING WORKING-TIME FLEXIBILITY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE………………………………3 3.1 FLEXIBILITY: EMPLOYERS´ APPROACH…………………………………………….……………………..4 3.2 WORK-LIFE BALANCE: EMPLOYEES´ APPROACH…………………………..………………………..6 3.3 TYPES OF FLEXIBILITY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE……………….……….…………………………7 3. ANALYSING FLEXIBILITY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN THREE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES: UK, SWEDEN AND AUSTRALIA…………………………………………….….……………………………………8 4.4 EVOLUTION OF TRENDS IN FLEXIBILITY………………………………………………………………….9 4.5 THE REGULATORY AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP……………………………………………………………………………………………………..12 4. MANAGING FLEXIBILITY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE: CULTURAL FACTORS AN HR MANAGER NEEDS INSIGHT INTO, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE FLEXIBILITY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE TRADE-OFFS THAT ARE PREFERRED IN ANY PARTICULAR COUNTRY…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 5. GIVEN THE IMPERATIVES OF MODERN CAPITALISM, IS IT LIKELY TO SEE CONVERGENCE ACROSS COUNTRIES OR AT LEAST CONVERGENCE ACROSS THE NATIONAL OPERATIONS OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES?................................................................................18 6. CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………………….……………………………..19 7. REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………………………19 1. INTRODUCTION ...
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...datWorld Bank Office, Beijing www.worldbank.org.cn www.worldbank.org/china CHINA QUARTERLY UPDATE SUSTAINING GROWTH April 2012 The China Quarterly Update reviews recent economic developments in China, updates the economic outlook and lays out key policy challenges. This issue was produced by Philip Schellekens (task team leader) and Xiaoli Wan, in collaboration with Xiaofan Liu, Philip O’Keefe, Dewen Wang and Min Zhao, and under the overall guidance of Klaus Rohland, Sudhir Shetty, Bert Hofman and Ardo Hansson. Comments are gratefully acknowledged from country economists in the East Asia and Pacific Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit. The team would also like to thank Jianqing Chen, Tianshu Chen, Li Li, Li Ouyang and Yan Wang for support in the production and dissemination of this report. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or governments they represent. This report takes into account information available up to end of March 2012. Questions and feedback can be addressed to Philip Schellekens (pschellekens@worldbank.org). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS The Chinese economy is in the midst of a gradual slowdown. A weaker global economic environment and tighter domestic policies combined to slow GDP growth from 10.4 percent in 2010 to 9.2 percent in 2011. Slow growth in the Euro area and sluggish recovery in the US limited...
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...1) The cultural environment of a country is best defined by which characteristics? C) attitudes, beliefs, and values 2) Suppose you have a friend from India who is a lifelong vegetarian and who does not like McDonald's because the company sells hamburgers in many countries. Which of the following describes your friend? A) "vegetarianism" represents a value, "dislike McDonald's" represents an attitude 3) There is nothing inherently "good" or "bad" about any color of the spectrum and all associations and perceptions regarding color arise from culture. Which of the following statements is not true: D) Red color is highly preferred in some African countries. 4) Cultural influences are also quite apparent in food preparation and consumption patterns and habits. Domino's Pizza, the world's largest pizza-delivery company, pulled out of Italy because: C) Italians perceived its products to be "too American." 5) While some food preferences remain deeply embedded in culture, there is plenty of evidence that global dietary preferences are converging. Examples of such a change can be predicted from: C) the growing number of McDonald's restaurants globally. 6) American Nancy McKinstry recently became the new CEO at Dutch publisher Wolters Kluwer. As Ms. McKinstry noted, she had to drop the word "aggressive" in describing her strategic plan to company managers. She said, "I learned that the word has a negative connotation to a lot of Europeans. I was coming...
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...ARJ/ST 2007‐07‐09 1 Employability in working life: Graduates’ expectations and possibilities after graduation Airi Rovio‐Johansson and Stefan Tengblad Gothenburg Research Institute (GRI), School of Business. Economics and Law at Göteborg University Airi.Rovio‐Johansson@gri.gu.se Stefan Tengblad@gri.gu.se th Nordic Academy of Management Conference, Paper presented at the 19 August 9‐11, Bergen, Norway. Abstract The aim of the study is to investigate graduates’ strategies and attitudes towards employability and career development, and to construct a tentative model of employability by identifying inherent factors. Four theoretical perspectives have been used to discuss the concept employability and the empirical results, i.e., the Human capital theory perspective, Institutional theory perspective, Critical theory perspective, and Actor theory perspective. The research project takes its point of departure in changes of the European and the Swedish labour market during recent years and the ongoing restructuring of Higher Education in Europe. A fundamental principle underlying these movements is the formulation of “Employability” as a thesis that aims at making the European Union the most dynamic and productive Higher Education Area and labour market. A higher degree of “employability” is attainable if the relation between the employee and the employer depend more on market based contracts limited in time, and where the employees are willing to take a higher...
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...© département des relations industrielles, université laval - issn 0034-379X – ri/ir, 64-4, 2009, 555 – 574 555 Flexibility: Whose Choice Is It Anyway? Isik U. Zeytinoglu, Gordon B. Cooke and Sara L. Mann This paper examines whether flexible work schedules in Canada are created by employers for business reasons or to assist their workers achieve work-life balance. We focus on long workweek, flextime, compressed workweek, variable workweek length and/or variable workweek schedule. Statistics Canada’s 2003 Workplace and Employee Survey data linking employee microdata to workplace (i.e., employer) microdata are used in the analysis. Results show that more than half of the workers covered in this data have at least one of the five specified types of flexible work schedules. Employment status, unionized work, occupation, and sector are factors consistently associated with flexible work schedules. Personal characteristics such as marital status, dependent children, and childcare use are not significantly associated with flexible work schedules, and females are less likely to have a flexible work schedule than are males. Overall, results suggest that flexible work schedules are created for business reasons rather than individual worker interests. KEyWORDS: work schedules, non-standard work, work-life balance This paper examines whether flexible work schedules in Canada are created by employers for business reasons or to assist their workers achieve work-life...
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...LABOR MARKET INSTITUTIONS AND WAGE INEQUALITY WINFRIED KOENIGER, MARCO LEONARDI, and LUCA NUNZIATA* The authors investigate how labor market institutions such as unemployment insurance, unions, firing regulations, and minimum wages have affected the evolution of wage inequality among male workers. Results of estimations using data on institutions in eleven OECD countries indicate that changes in labor market institutions can account for much of the change in wage inequality between 1973 and 1998. Factors found to have been negatively associated with male wage inequality are union density, the strictness of employment protection law, unemployment benefit duration, unemployment benefit generosity, and the size of the minimum wage. Over the 26-year period, institutional changes were associated with a 23% reduction in male wage inequality in France, where minimum wages increased and employment protection became stricter, but with an increase of up to 11% in the United States and United Kingdom, where unions became less powerful and (in the United States) minimum wages fell. W age inequality is substantially lower in continental European countries than in the United States and United Kingdom, and its evolution over time has differed greatly across countries. The same holds true for the skill (or education) wage premium. Changes in the supply of and demand for skills are unlikely to fully account for these marked differences (Acemoglu 2003). A substantial amount of research on...
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