Administration in Social Work Education and Training ...

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Education and Training in the Workplace Lawrence S. Root PhD

a b

a

School of Social Work , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2054, USA b

Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, the University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2054, USA Published online: 11 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: Lawrence S. Root PhD (1999) Education and Training in the Workplace, Administration in Social Work, 23:3-4, 13-28, DOI: 10.1300/J147v23n03_02 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J147v23n03_02

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INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATIONAL INTERVERNTIONS

Education and Training in the Workplace: Social Work Interventions in the Private Sector Lawrence S. Root, PhD

Global competitiveness, changing technologies, and new ways of organizing work place a premium on education and training in the workplace. Employers see human resource development as a key to creating an adaptable workforce which can respond to changes in the workplace and take on increasing responsibility for the quality of goods produced or services offered. This has found expression in a growing emphasis on education and training by employers. For example, competition in design, price, and quality has forced the ‘‘Big Three’’ automakers to re-examine all aspects of their operations (Katz & Lawrence S. Root is Professor, School of Social Work, and Director of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2054. [Haworth co-indexing entry note]: ‘‘Education and Training in the Workplace: Social Work Interventions in the Private Sector.’’ Root, Lawerence S. Co-published simultaneously in Administration in Social Work (The Haworth Press, Inc.) Vol. 23, No. 3/4, 2000, pp. 13-28; and: Social Services in the Workplace: Repositioning Occupational Social Work in the New Millennium (ed: Michàl E. Mor Barak and David Bargal) The Haworth Press, Inc., 2000, pp. 13-28. Single or multiple copies of this article are available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service [1-800-342-9678, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST). E-mail address: [email protected]].

E 2000 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

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SOCIAL SERVICES IN THE WORKPLACE

MacDuffie, 1994). The challenges of ‘‘lean production’’ and the efficiencies promised by such approaches depend upon an agile, adaptable workforce (Womack, Jones, & Roos, 1991). Lock-step roles characteristic of the assembly line production patterns of traditional ‘‘scientific management’’ have given way to approaches which foster teamwork, individual initiative, and personal responsibility for the quality of products (Berg, 1994). These changes in the expectations for the workforce reinforce the need for continuing education and training. In cross-national comparisons, the U.S. traditionally is at or near the bottom in terms of privatesector expenditures for workplace education and training (Lynch, 1994). Further, training within U.S. companies goes disproportionately to white collar and managerial workers (Osterman, 1995). Analysts present a variety of reasons for this low level of expenditures, from patterns of job-changing (e.g., U.S. vs. Japan) to alternative human resource philosophies or traditions (MacDuffie & Koch, 1995). These patterns may changing, however, as employers recognize that education and training are key to a more competitive workforce. During the last decade, the University of Michigan School of Social Work has initiated several major interventions related to education and training in the workplace. These address specific skill training as well as educational counseling to encourage workers to pursue further education. Unlike most social work programs in the workplace, these initiatives do not target ‘‘problem employees.’’ They are for the majority of workers who are already functioning well in the workplace. And they go beyond interventions with individuals by seeking institutional or system change in conjunction with union and management leadership. In this article, two approaches to education and training in the auto industry are examined. These programs draw upon basic social work practice skills and principles, applying them in a workplace context. The resulting experiences reflect new potential roles for social workers and the challenges associated with program implementation in a complex work environment. JOINT UNION-MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS: UNDERSTANDINGTHEORGANIZATIONALENVIRONMENT A number of significant changes are occurring in U.S. labor-management relations. The most obvious has been the long-term decline in


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unionization in the private-sector. About 15 percent of U.S. workers are union members–11 percent of private-sector jobs are covered by unions (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996, Table 681). In the mid-1950s, the peak of unionism in terms of the proportion of jobs covered, unions represented one-third of the workforce (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1966, Table 345). This decline can be seen as part of a worldwide pattern, reflecting large-scale changes in the structure of employment. But cross-national trends in union representation have not been consistent. While the declines have been significant in some countries (such as Japan and the United Kingdom), union representation has remained constant for other industrialized countries and risen for some (e.g., Denmark and Belgium) (Jacoby, 1995). Although the decline in union representation has been relatively constant since the 1950s, some analysts anticipate a reversing of this downward trend, with an increasing role for unions in the future. Evidence cited for this includes the growth of unionization in some low-wage, service-sector industries, such as the health workers organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the election of activist national union leaders who support new organizing drives. Despite their declining proportion, organized labor continues to be a significant part of the social and economic landscape and represents an organized, visible voice for an important part of the workforce. Higher rates of union organization in some states give unions a much stronger influence in those geographic areas. Also, unions set standards which influence the practices of others. Non-union employers often match union pay and benefits in order to attract employees and avoid future unionization. In this way, the impact of unions and their policies extend beyond their specific worksites. One of the most significant changes to occur in union-management relations has direct impact on workplace education and training. In the last two decades, initiatives have emerged in which unions and management explicitly agree to work cooperatively (‘‘jointly’’) on specific goals and programs. In the early 1980s, a number of formal agreements were reached in the auto industry for joint programs in which the goals of management and those of the union coincide. For example, the national contract pattern created joint programs in health and safety, employee assistance programs, and education and training. (Labor contracts in the auto industry are traditionally for 3-year


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periods. The United Auto Workers (UAW) selects one company for initial contract negotiations and that agreement becomes the pattern which is generally followed, with some variation, in the contracts of the other two of the companies. Thus, while not formally having a single contract, such as those negotiated on a national level in some other countries, the three major U.S. auto companies have what is, in effect, a national contract.) Within the auto industry, ‘‘jointness’’ means that responsibility for program design, development, and implementation is shared by union and management. In the employee assistance program, for example, union and management leaders are assigned responsibility for overall program operations on the national level. At each plant, union and management personnel run the local program. The same pattern has been followed for other joint programs, with a central administration directed by a union-management leadership team and a parallel pairing of responsibilities at each plant. The negotiations which created joint programs also crafted a mechanism for funding these programs which reflects joint ‘‘ownership.’’ The agreement initially was for five cents to be deposited in a fund for each hour worked by an autoworker–the so-called ‘‘Nickel Fund.’’ From the union perspective, this was five cents which otherwise would have been paid directly to workers as wages. From the management perspective, it was company money actually being paid into the Fund. Thus, both parties have claim to having contributed and, therefore, to having responsibility for joint programs. Since first being negotiated, the funding of joint programs in the auto industry has evolved and broadened, reflecting their widening role. Although ‘‘Nickel Fund’’ is still used informally, joint programs are now funded through a variety of formulas, including different per-hour rates for overtime and for different program purposes. There are also distinctions made between the portion of funds which can be expended by the local plants (the ‘‘Local Nickel’’) and those allocated for disbursement by the central administration. The development of joint union-management programs is not without its critics. Some union activists see this approach as compromising the fundamental role of unions. From this perspective, joint programs are thought to undercut the ability and the willingness of unions to confront management when interests conflict. Joint control of the work process, such as team-based, self-directed work groups, are par-


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ticularly troublesome because they are seen to substitute peer pressure for supervisory control. The contention is that they can pit workers against each other in support of management objectives (Parker & Slaughter, 1988). On the other hand, advocates of joint programs counter that cooperation in areas of shared interest does not undermine the union’s ability to advocate when interests diverge. Further, they contend, such cooperative efforts achieve common goals and decrease the likelihood of reaching an impasse of other issues. Notwithstanding this debate, joint programs provide a pervasive structural and institutional context for education and training programs in the auto industry (Cohen-Rosenthal & Burton, 1993). JOINT EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS: TWO EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL WORK INTERVENTIONS The University of Michigan School of Social Work has been working with joint programs in two of the three major U.S. auto companies since the mid-1980s. This work provides examples of how social work practice can be applied to improving education and training in the workplace. One program described in this paper involves the development of a training program for employee assistance program (EAP) representatives. The second program provides educational counseling in the workplace. Together, they present illustrative models for expanded social work involvement in workplace programming. Designing EAP Training. The School’s involvement with EAP training in the auto industry began with individual consultation with the national union and management leadership in one of the ‘‘Big Three’’ companies. EAP operations in the auto industry have several unique aspects. First, there are internal EAP representatives (‘‘EAPreps’’) who are selected from among union and management personnel. Typically, the union EAP-reps have their EAP work as a full-time responsibility. Management EAP-reps tend to have additional responsibilities. For example, it is not unusual for a plant nurse or a representative from human resources to also be the management EAP-rep. Typically, the union EAP-reps, particularly those selected in the earlier days of the program, were chosen because of experience with substance abuse treatment and a personal commitment to helping others who are experiencing similar problems. In fact, many had informally



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assisted employees with substance abuse problems prior to the creation of system-wide joint EAP program. The plant-level union and management EAP-reps are responsible for the overall operation of the program in the plant and its integration into the workplace. This includes outreach with supervisors and workers, communicating with treatment agencies, and encouraging workers to take advantage of the program. The EAP-reps are not authorized to provide ‘‘counseling’’ beyond encouraging workers to use the program when appropriate. These internal EAP-reps work directly with external EAP providers (counselors in treatment agencies who provide diagnosis and referral) and treatment personnel, providing the liaison with the worksite. The union and the company established a contract with the School of Social Work to assist in the review and redesign of their EAP training. Working with a national training committee composed of union and management leaders and EAP-reps, a two-stage process was developed. The first stage involved a series of 31 site visits to local plants, employing approximately 130,000 workers. These included a variety of types of plants, from forges and foundries to parts plants to assembly plants which make the finished car or truck. These visits included meetings with the local EAP representatives and members of the local plant leadership (e.g., plant managers, human resource directors, and union leaders. Interviews covered: S S S S S

the nature of the local workforce and the caseload at that plant; relationships with treatment providers; assessment of the existing program monitoring mechanisms; recommendations with regard to training needs; and general suggestions for the central EAP leadership.

A preliminary report was prepared for the training committee on the basis of these site visits. Areas of training needs were identified and categorized according to common themes, such as ‘‘understanding personal problems’’ (e.g., dynamics of addiction, suicide prevention, domestic violence, and AIDS), ‘‘understanding the treatment process (working with treatment agencies, assessing appropriate levels of care, aftercare, re-entry into the workplace), operational procedures (e.g., disciplinary and grievance procedure, health care benefits, and use of local joint funds), and communications skills (e.g., interviewing techniques, diversity issues, and gender-specific issues).


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With this preliminary inventory of training topics, a second step was needed to get input from the range of union and management personnel working in the local EAP programs. The goal was to introduce the range of training goals and elicit feedback on the relative importance of each topic. The committee wanted to achieve broad participation in the process both to improve the outcome and to gain greater acceptance of the eventual recommendations. Using a survey offered an efficient way of getting broad input, but the committee was hesitant to use such an approach because of negative past experiences. Two specific problems were identified. First, many recent surveys had been of limited value because of very low response rates. And, second, there was a history of surveys being conducted and then the results never shared with the respondents. A company-wide EAP meeting in Atlanta provided the opportunity to introduce the work of the committee and to get the reactions and suggestions from the attendees. This meeting was to include all EAPreps as well as others who are involved in the implementation of EAP services in local plants (e.g., plant medical directors, union officials, and other management personnel). Bearing in mind the two major criticisms of using a survey, a research/organizational protocol was created which addressed these concerns. First, the survey would be integrated into the presentation and actually administered during a plenary session. The committee would present the outcomes of the site visits and, as each topic was discussed, the individual respondents could indicate on their questionnaire their assessment of the relative importance of that training topic. By integrating data collection into the program for the session and taking advantage of having a ‘‘captive audience,’’ the problem of low return rates would be minimized. To address the criticism that the results of previous surveys had not been shared, the author, on behalf of the Committee, made the commitment to share the preliminary results before the end of the threeday meeting. To accomplish this, a ‘‘rapid response’’ procedure was designed. This involved an expedited procedure for data entry and analysis. Prior to the training meeting, the software framework for data analysis was created on a University computer and the data entry group at the University’s Institute for Social Research was reserved for the day after the survey was administered. On Monday, the first day of the national meeting, the training committee presented its work to the 400 participants. The session began



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with a discussion of the site visits and the identification of a broad range of topics for EAP training. The presentation corresponded to the organization of a 17-page survey questionnaire. The survey included identifying information about the respondents so that subsequent analysis could be carried out on subgroups (e.g., looking at the responses of the union EAP-reps as a group). For the questions directly related to training needs, participants were asked to rate the importance of the topic for EAP practitioners and the extent to which they personally needed training in the topic. In this way, the questionnaire was used as a guide to the topics and as a means for getting the direct input of the audience of EAP practitioners. At the end of the session, the questionnaires were collected, boxed, and taken to the airport for air-express shipping to Detroit. Early the next morning they were picked up at the airport and delivered to the data entry group. Eight hours later, when data entry was completed, a computer tape was taken to the University computer system and loaded into the prearranged software framework. That evening, the dataset was accessed via modem from Atlanta, a preliminary analysis was carried out and a report written. This report was distributed and discussed on Wednesday morning, approximately 36 hours after the questionnaires were initially completed (see Chart 1). In addition to feedback for training, the survey provided a range of CHART 1. Rapid Response Survey: EAP Training Needs Survey Administ’d (Monday PM)

Air Express to Detroit (Monday Eve.) Data Entered (Tuesday) Data Analysis (Tues. Eve.)

Prelim. Rprt Written (late Tues. Eve.) Prelim. Rprt Presented (Wed. AM)


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new information about the EAP-reps. The decentralized nature of program administration has meant that there was no central source of information about the background of those appointed as local EAPreps. For example, it was found that the majority reported having had experience with substance abuse or chemical dependency prior to becoming an EAP-rep. Among the union EAP-reps, 43.4 percent reported extensive experience and 34.1 percent reported ‘‘some’’ prior experience. Among the management EAP-reps, the proportions were 19.3 percent and 43.0 percent, respectively. The information collected in this survey enabled the union and management EAP leadership to rank the potential training areas in terms of their important and the extent to which the respondents felt a personal need for the training. The School then worked with the training committee to design basic and advanced EAP training and implemented this approach for union and management EAP representatives throughout the corporation. Providing Educational Counseling. The second program area involves educational counseling provided in auto plants. This initiative grew out of the tuition assistance program, one of the key elements of joint programs in the auto industry (Ferman et. al., 1991). Tuition assistance pays for a wide variety of educational programs which are taken at the worker’s discretion. These programs do not have to be related to their work. Currently, the contract in the auto industry provides a worker with up to $3,800 per year in tuition assistance. Educational counseling was initiated by the union and management leadership as a response to the concern that the tuition assistance program was underutilized and, when used, workers often were not able to make informed choices because of inexperience or a lack of information. One of the ‘‘Big Three’’ auto companies established a contractual relationship with the University to develop and provide this counseling. The resulting program became a part of the School of Social Work. Subsequently, the union-management leadership at a second of the Big Three auto companies contracted with the School for a separate, although similar, program for their employees. These two programs together employed over 120 full-time counselors working in 140 plants throughout the country. (At the end of 1997, one of these programs was absorbed into the internal joint union-management structure and union members were selected and trained for this role. As a result, the School’s involvement with that program ended.)


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Although these educational counselors come from a variety of professional backgrounds, they share the common feature of having experience with nontraditional students and, to a lesser degree, nontraditional educational settings. For example, many have worked as counselors and teachers in job training programs for adults (e.g., for laid-off workers or the hard-to-employ). Most of those hired as education counselors have graduate degrees, usually in the field of education. The educational counselors play a number of roles in the plants. Typically, their time and effort is devoted to outreach and counseling with workers, encouraging them to consider expanding their educational experience and providing logistical support in working with schools and colleges. Educational options can range from basic skills and educational enrichment (e.g., improving one’s reading or math skills) to enrolling in Bachelor’s or Master’s degree courses offered on-site in the plant or in the community. Counselors are often involved in arranging for courses to be taught in the plant. Many, if not most, auto plants now have well-equipped learning centers, with computer work stations for educational use. It is not unusual to find classrooms equipped to teach vocational skills such as electrical wiring, heating and ventilation, and computer repair. The educational counselors also spend a significant portion of their time assisting workers with the logistics of educational enrollment and tuition reimbursement. Because one of the programs started several years after the other, together they provide form of sequential, ‘‘natural experiment’’ in administration. The second program was able to draw upon the experience of the first, and the rapid advances in computers and information technology, to develop alternative approaches to administration. For example, the initial program depended on a very labor-intensive program monitoring system. In light of that experience and with the rapidly expanding use of computers, the second program was able to computerize operations from the beginning and automate their information systems as well as a number of other functions. These two workplace counseling programs are essentially decentralized social service systems, with all of the attendant challenges of monitoring, coordination, and consistency which characterize such enterprises. Training and professional development opportunities were created to support programming at the local level. Systems were developed to yield valid data, be workable for distance administration,


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and apply to the wide variety of settings represented. For example, a management information system was designed which incorporated both the client information system needed for local service provision as well as automatically generating program data for system-wide programs monitoring and evaluation. The system was created with explicit attention to the variation among individual plants. For instance, the information system incorporated fields which could be defined by the individual counselor. This customization allowed some degree of local autonomy for client information without compromising the need for consistent data on overall program operations. Other service delivery features were also built in, such as the facility to generate ‘‘to-do’’ lists of upcoming commitments for client services or program development. The design of this system diverged from earlier patterns and was based directly emerging models in social service agencies. Guests in a Complex Organizational Environment The EAP training project and the two educational counseling programs share a number of common features. First, they draw upon essential elements of social work practice. In the EAP case, the connections with social work is based on the experience of the profession in providing services for troubled individuals/families and working with treatment agencies. In the case of educational counseling, the range of responsibilities (such as, one-on-one counseling, marketing, advocacy, information management, and program development) are similar to those found in more traditional social work settings. Both programs are also examples of how outside service providers must adapt when working in ‘‘host’’ organizations–that is, ‘‘organizations whose mission and decision making are defined and dominated by people who are not social workers’’ (Dane & Simon, 1991). This is the reality for social workers who work in many settings, such as schools, hospitals, and prisons. In the workplace, this outsider role is more pronounced because the social service role is relatively new to the organization and such programs are less directly integrated into the main goal of production. In the EAP example, the large number of site visits undertaken and the special ‘‘rapid response’’ survey technique were, in part, efforts to gain greater acceptance by the participants in the host organization. In the educational counseling examples, being a guest has meant having


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to avoid violating norms of the workplace or the organizational structure. The counselors are ‘‘outsiders’’ both in terms of their professional identification and the fact that they are subject to supervision and directives which come not only from the University but also from the ‘‘central office’’ in Detroit. This connection outside of the plant can be very sensitive. For example, on a visit to a local plant one of the School’s program staff was casually asked, ‘‘Wouldn’t it be great if the tuition assistance could be used by the children of workers?’’ The individual responded that such an extension would be a great benefit. By the end of the day, word had spread throughout the system (and back to the central office) that the School was making recommendations concerning ‘‘contractual issues.’’ In another situation, a deadline was approaching for a threatened strike. The School drafted instructions for procedures the counselors were to follow in case of a strike. The issuance of these instructions were stopped by the central union-management team. The goal of the School had been to create an orderly set of procedures so that the individual counselors had a clear direction for how to proceed. In that organizational context, however, the central union-management leadership were concerned that the issuance of any contingency plans would give the impression that the top leadership expected a strike. Such an issuance in itself might actually influence whether or not the union leadership actually called the strike. The complexity of the setting is increased by both the nature of union governance and the complicated relationship between the central administration and the individual plants. Union governance is shaped by the fact that the union is a ‘‘democratic’’ organization. Leaders are elected and they can lose their position if decisions prove unpopular. In this context, the union leadership must be attuned not only to the effects of decisions but also to how they are perceived and how they can be portrayed by competing groups within the union. The relationship between local plants and the central administration also adds to the complexity of the setting. The interests of the two may not always coincide. In an era of industrial consolidation and cost-cutting, local plants may be in competition with each other for their future. In the most extreme case, local plants ‘‘compete for product’’– that is, the central administration decides where it will produce a product (such as the assembling of a new model of car or the building of a new transmission). With changes in the competitive structure of the auto industry, such decisions may also include whether a product


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should be manufactured within the company or purchased from an outside supplier. This dynamic is volatile and creates potential areas of conflicting interests among plants and between the plants and the central administration. The complexity of the organizational setting and the geographic isolation of the individual counselors create challenges for working in such a setting. Researchers have documented the detrimental effects of a sense of powerlessness on morale and a practitioners’ feelings of self-efficacy (Guterman & Bargal, 1996; Shera & Page, 1995). In the educational counseling programs, communication and support from the School have become an important part of program development and maintenance. The programs seek to minimize the effects of isolation through ongoing staff development, regular telephone contacts with supervisory personnel, and, in the case of one of the two programs, implementing a computer conference for regular formal and informal communications among the counselors and with the central managerial staff (Root, 1996). Despite these efforts, the being a ‘‘guest’’ in a host setting creates continuing challenges. WORKPLACE EDUCATION/TRAINING: A BROADER SOCIAL WELFARE ISSUE Earlier generations of social workers saw employment as a critical part of their interventions–such as assisting immigrants, promoting healthy working conditions, and restricting child labor. In recent years, social workers have been less involved in addressing employment issues despite their centrality in our lives and the variety of example of social work roles which exist (Kurzman & Akabas, 1993). Employment has changed in ways which tie economic opportunity more closely to education and training. For example, the gap between the wages of college graduates and high school graduates has widened. In 1972, male high school graduates had a median income 28 percent higher than dropouts. By 1990, the difference was 36 percent (U.S. Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations, 1994, p. 17). Women had an almost identical pattern. Similarly, the median income of male and female college graduates has increased relative to that of high school graduates. In 1972, male college graduates earned 42 percent more than high school graduates (53 percent for women). In 1990, the difference was 60 percent and 66 percent, re-


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spectively. Once high school dropouts could enter a blue-collar job and earn middle-class wages, but this is now rarely the case. This growing education-income gap reflects a more general increase in income inequality in the U.S. and abroad (Freeman & Katz, 1995; International Labor Organization, 1996). Factors such as the changing industrial mix, globalization of production/trade, decreases in the incidence of unionization, a lagging minimum wage, and increased mechanization and computerization all play a role in this trend (Danziger & Gottschalk, 1995; Freeman, 1996). If social work is to have an impact on economic opportunity and seek solutions to persistent income inequality, there must be increased attention to workplace issues–not just for those experiencing personal problems, but for those whose background, education, and experience limit their ability to earn a viable living. Even for jobs which do not have extensive educational prerequisites, reading, writing, math, and computer skills are needed. Eighty-three percent of non-college jobs require at least the occasional reading of paragraph-length material–55 percent require such reading on a daily basis (Holzer, 1996, Table 3.1). Almost 60 percent of these jobs require daily interactions with customers. Social work interventions related to poverty have tended to focus on welfare and other forms of social insurance. But these programs operate at the margins, for limited numbers of people and at low levels of support. They are critical for providing the basics, but they have little effect on the overall income distribution in society. Real change in the income of individuals and groups depends upon success in the workplace. And education and training are essential to being a successful participant in the economy. The interventions presented in this paper grew out of experiences with the private, unionized sector. But they raise broader issues of the role that social work will assume with regard to employment opportunities. Preparation for the workplace and access to good jobs presents a more comprehensive challenge for social work practice. REFERENCES Berg, P.B. (1994). Strategic adjustments in training: A comparative analysis of the U.S. and German automobile industries. In L.M. Lynch (Ed.), Training and the private sector. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Cohen-Rosenthal, E. & Burton, C.E. (1993). Mutual gains: A guide to union-management cooperation. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.


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Dane, B.O. & Simon, B.L. (1991). Resident guests: Social workers in host situations. Social Work, 36(3), 208-213. Danziger, S. & Gottschalk, P. (1995). America unequal. New York: Russell Sage Foundation and Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Ferman, L.A., Hoyman, M., Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J. & Savoie, E.J. (Eds.). (1991). Joint training programs: A union-management approach to preparing workers for the future. Ithaca, New York: ILR Press. Freeman, R.B. (1996). Toward an apartheid economy? Harvard Business Review 74: 114-121. Freeman, R.B., & Katz, L.F. (1994). Rising wage inequality: The United States vs. other advanced countries. In R.B. Freeman (Ed.), Working under different rules. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Guterman, N.B., & Bargal, D., 1996. Social workers’ perceptions of their power and service outcomes. Administration in Social Work, 20(3), 1-20. Holzer, H.I. (1996). What employers want: Job prospects for less-educated workers. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. International Labor Organization (1996). World employment 1996/97: National policies in a global context. Geneva: International Labor Office. Jacoby, S. (1995). Social dimensions of global economic integration. In S. Jacoby (Ed.), The work of nations: Industrial relations in a global economy. New York: Oxford University Press. Katz, H.C. & MacDuffie, J.P. (1994). Collective bargaining in the U.S. auto assembly sector. In P.B. Voos (Ed.), Contemporary collective bargaining. Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association Series. Kurzman, P.A., & Akabas, S. (1993). Work and well-being. New York: National Association of Social Workers. Lynch, L.M. (1994). Introduction. In L.M. Lynch (Ed.), Training and the private sector. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.. MacDuffie, J.P., & Kochan, T.A. (1995). Do U.S. firms invest less in human resources? Training in the world auto industry. Industrial Relations, 34(2), 147-168. Osterman, P. (1994). How common is workplace transformation and who adopts it? Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 47(2), 173-188. Osterman, P. (1995). Skill, training, work organizations in American establishments. Industrial Relations, 34(2), 125-146. Parker, M. & Slaughter, J. (1988). Choosing sides: Unions and the team concept. Boston: South End Press and Labor Notes. Root, L.S. (1996). Computer conferencing in a decentralized program: An occupational social work example. Administration in Social Work, 20(1), 31-45. Shera, W., & Page, J. (1995). Creating more effective human service organizations through strategies of empowerment. Administration in Social Work, 19(4), 1-16. U.S. Bureau of the Census (1966). Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1966 (87th edition). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.


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U.S. Bureau of the Census (1996). Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1996 (116th edition). Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service. U.S. Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations (Dunlop Commission), May 1994. Fact Finding Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Departments of Labor and Commerce. Womack, J.P., Jones, D.T., & Roos, D. (1991). The machine that changed the world. New York: Rawson Associates.