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OVERLOOKED
THE INTERVENTION OF A THIRD
PARTY IN DRAWING UP PLANS FOR SAVING JOBS: THE DDTEFP’S ROLE
Philippe CHAPELLIER and
Claude FABRE
In France, the restructuring of
firms and plans for saving jobs (PSE) have a heavy impact on parties
both in- and outside the firm. As a consequence, it is decisive to
socially regulate them. Although the management of the processes and
arrangements for following up on the dismissals foreseen in the plan is
thought to be a key condition for “responsible restructuring”, there
are many difficulties and contingencies with implementing it because of
the context. Three recent studies of such plans shed light on the role
played by the DDTEFP (Departmental Direction of Work, Employment and
Occupational Training) as a third party in regulating PSEs — an
important role that, at the interface with other concerned
parties, provides authority and know-how so as to cause a change in the
lineup of forces, the “collective actor” and theplan’s contents.
Despite the administrative framework, the DDTEFP’s actions depend
on the game that, played by other parties, develops (or not) within
(and around) the plan and on the persons involved in the follow-up.
TRIAL BY FACT
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT REPORTS, FROM A GLOBALTO A LOCAL LOGIC: TOTAL
HAUTE-NORMANDIE
Nathalie AUBOURG,
Béatrice CANELDEPITRE and Corinne RENAULT-TESSON
Sustainable development reports are
part of the toolbox for corporate social responsibility. They often
serve as a social and environmental showcase. They fit into a rationale
of institutional communication with global aims.
Firms are increasingly aware of the requirements set by local parties;
their response must be in line with a “territorial logic” in order
toensure their legitimacy. The objectives of legitimacy and proximity
appear coherent but are sometimes hard to make compatible. As part of
its tools for corporate social responsibility, the firm studied herein
(a refinery in Normandy belonging to the group Total) drew up a local
sustainable development report. The conjugation of local and global
sustainable development reports was evidence of a bottom-up approach in
dealings with local parties. It was a source of information of a
different sort; consulting local parties was an element in a
participatory approach that fit into a process of collective learning.
MANAGING CHANGE AND
THE HOMEOSTASIS OF SYSTEMS
Gilles BAROUCH
The “management of change” is defined as an action
for bringing an organization from one situation to another, preferred
situation while avoiding difficulties inasmuch as possible. The
hypothesis of a homeostasis of organizational systems underlies the
theory, proposed herein, of resistance to change. This concept of
homeostasis improves our understanding and management of complex
changes. It is used to propose principles for facilitating this
management.
HOW DO PROCESSES
THINK?
A STUDY OF PRACTICES RELATEDTO
RETURNED FILES IN A BANK
Vincent MAYMO
Since 2000, banking processes have been reorganized
following a rationale for reducing costs and timing while maximizing
the value on account. Standards have been set for malfunctions that
generate “non-quality”, for example, when headquarters returns case
files toward an agency. Nine months of participant observation in a
regional bank in France have been devoted to studying these practices.
A managerial approach to conventions has been adapted to explain why
practices do not adhere to the standards set by the procedures for
managing processes.
OTHER TIMES,
OTHER PLACES
THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN GASTRONOMY AND NEGOTIATION,
LESSONS DRAWN FROM THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA (1814-1815)
Lionel BOBOT
UNESCO
has just listed French gastronomy as an immaterial heritage of
humanity. The history of this French art de vivre cannot be separated
from the art of negotiations, not just diplomatic but also commercial.
Despite the downturn in the economy, business luncheons and dinners are
still a must for French firms; they represent a strategic investment.
Negotiations, like gastronomy, has its origins in the 17th and 18th
centuries. Talleyrand and Carême personified the alliance of the
two
during the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815).
Focusing on this alliance during this event lets us discern the
advantages and limits (emotions, theatricality and communication) of
sharing meals today.
“RECRUIT, RESHAPE,
RETAIN”:MANAGING TURNOVER IN AN INTERCULTURAL SITUATION - FRENCH FIRMS
IN INDIA
Dr. Nathalie BELHOSTE
The
growing Indian market is so attractive that more and more companies are
setting up operations there. Once they do so, the recruitment, training
and loyalty of the workforce (in
particular of qualified English-speaking
whitecollars) become priorities for expatriate services.
This
exploratory study has been drawn from qualitative interviews conducted
with French expatriates in India and with their principal Indian
colleagues in four big cities.
What
strategies are adopted in response to this problem in an intercultural
context? These strategies heavily depend on a short- or longterm view
of local operations, a view related, in particular, to how expatriates
interpret the local (cultural or business) situation. These strategic
decisions are discussed in light of expatriates’ understanding and
their implication at the local level.
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DEBATES
ARE COOPERATIVES A
MODEL FOR CAPITALISM? A REVIEW OF THE MONDRAGÓN CASE
Philippe DURANCE
Cooperatives often represent a credible (and
seemingly more human) alternative to the present-day capitalistic
system. Nonetheless, they have been criticized for not being capable of
acquiring the qualities that reinforce traditional firms in a
globalized environment. Such criticisms date back to a study of a now
mythical case, the Spanish Basque group Mondragón. The classical
capitalistic model has evolved, as has that of cooperatives. As this
review of the major relevant studies shows, this cooperative has proven
capable of adapting and developing beyond the expectations of many
observers. However the purchase of a European industrial group in 2005
opened a new fault line between two quite distinct spheres:
shareholding cooperative members and other wage-earners. Top executives
in Mondragón insist that the cooperative should not be seen as
an alternative to the capitalist system, since it is a full part in a
single vision of the world.
IN QUEST
OF THEORIES
THE PERFORMANCE OF
WINEMAKING COOPERATIVES: A BENCHMARK BUT WITHOUT RENT
Frédéric
COURET
The wine industry, faced with a crisis, has turned
toward new strategic options and managerial practices. Among the
approaches adopted is benchmarking, a cooperative attitude based on
understanding partners. In cooperatives with the aim
of maximizing payments to their members for their
contributions, the best suited indicator of economic performance is the
earnings to be shared. But it is not suited as a tool for comparing the
economic performance of wine-growers because of the economic rent
derived from labels of origin (AOC), of which there are differing
perceptions.An innovative method is presented and assessed: the
EBR (Bordeaux red wind equivalents) is intended to neutralize the
pernicious effects that the rent drawn from these labels has on
calculating the earnings to be shared.
MOSAICS
Daniel FIXARI: FROM BOSS TO MANAGER: PUBLIC RESEARCH
LABORATORIES SINCE THE 1970S
On Séverine Louvel’s Des patrons aux managers, les laboratoires
de la recherche publique depuis les années 1970 (Rennes: Presses
Universitaires de Rennes, 2011).
Michel VILLETTE: WHAT DOES “BEING
A WHITE-COLLAR” MEAN IN FRANCE TODAY?
On Paul Bouffartigue, Charles Gadea and Sophie Pochic’s Cadres, classes
moyennes: vers l’éclatement? (Paris: Armand Colin, 2011)
Pascale DE ROZARIO and Rémi JARDAT:
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACTS IN
ORGANIZATIONS: UNDERSTANDING WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN AGREEMENTS
On Denise M. Rousseau’s Le Contrat
psychologique (CA: Thousand Oaks, 1995).
Arnaud
TONNELÉ: HOW TO STEER
SYSTEMS?
On François Dupuy’s Lost in management – La vie quotidienne des
entreprises au XXIe siècle (Paris, Seuil, 2011).
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