Documents Schmidt, Géraldine 6 results

"When it comes to negotiating over a collective dismissals plan, the French national legal framework explicitly encourages social partners to favour outplacement services over significant indemnity payments. However, significant above-mandatory redundancy payments are commonly granted to laid-off workers. Based on these factual observations, this article aims to identify the antecedent conditions, or, more precisely, the combinations of conditions, that lead to the granting of a large severance pay. We conducted a qualitative comparative analysis (Crisp set QCA) methodology applied to 20 monographs on downsizing operations that took place in France during the 2000s. The results show that above-mandatory severance payments are closely related to two major dimensions characterizing the economic and social context in which restructuring processes are carried out. The first one is about the balance of power prevailing between the company decisionmakers and the employees. This balance of power dimension is subsumed by two distinct conditions: the availability of financial resources and the presence of active unions. The second dimension relates to the moral and economic damages inflicted upon laid-off workers. This dimension is intrinsically connected to two downsizing process features, i.e. the perceived degree of legitimacy associated with the downsizing process and the degree of employability associated with the laid-off workers. Most notably, it appears that none of the identified conditions is sufficient by itself to induce the payment of a significant above-mandatory indemnity. However, some causal conditions may induce the outcome variable when they are combined with some specific other antecedent conditions. Thus, our research shows that the financial resource condition leads to the granting of an above-mandatory indemnity either in conjunction with a low degree of worker's employability or in conjunction with both a weak perceived legitimacy of the restructuring process and the presence of active unions."

"Les restructurations défraient la chronique, semblent régulièrement déferler sur des secteurs ou des territoires, et inquiètent toujours. Comment comprendre ce phénomène devenu permanent et universel ? Quels en sont les mécanismes de décision et de mise en œuvre ? Quels effets produisent les restructurations accompagnées de suppressions d'emplois sur les individus et sur les organisations ? Comment sont-elles régulées ? Quelles sont les postures et les marges de manoeuvre des acteurs dans ces processus qui semblent s'imposer à tous ? Des licenciements, des " plans de volontariat ", des mesures d'adaptation, la recherche de synergies ou d'autres réorganisations sont annoncés: de quels mouvements ces pratiques relèvent-elles ? Que signifient-elles? Sont-elles équivalentes ? A partir d'un panorama des connaissances actuelles sur ce phénomène protéiforme, les auteures mettent en exergue les systèmes de contraintes qui s'imposent aux uns et aux autres, mais aussi les champs des possibles qui peuvent être dessinés. "

"In this article we analyse two French restructuring cases, using Walton and McKersie's theoretical framework, and provide evidence of the potential of integrative bargaining in restructuring.We argue that any restructuring situation, even in an unfavourable context such as the French, displays an integrative potential, in that employers' and employees' risks are closely interrelated and these risks can be successfully addressed in a cooperative way. The two cases are from widely contrasting contexts: a medium-sized firm in the declining textile industry, and a large insurance company with no short-term economic threat. We show to what extent the underlying bargaining processes are illustrative of an integrative approach as defined by Walton and McKersie and that such an approach may prevail in different kinds of situation, decline-related as well as competitionenhancing restructurings. Moreover, in reference with the four subprocesses developed in the Walton and MacKersie's model, we analyse how and under which conditions, an integrative approach can be achieved. Finally, we discuss theoretical implications concerning the application of this model to restructuring processes. "

"Admittedly, women have a more precarious situation on the job market than men, which would suggest that they feel more insecure. However, literature on subjective job insecurity (JI) is contradictory about the effect of gender on JI. This could be explained by both individual characteristics and labour market gendered segregation – the companies in which women and men work do not have the same characteristics, particularly in terms of strategy and workforce management. Previous literature on JI rarely addresses this phenomenon. We propose to better understand the ‘gender face' of subjective JI combining individual and organizational characteristics. We utilize data from the 2017 REPONSE survey and generalized linear models, notably multi-level models. Our findings reveal that, although women hold more precarious jobs, they work in more protective organizations. Consequently, while women report an average lower level of JI, this difference disappears when controlling for individual and organizational variables."