Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The aim of this study was to provide an account of the employee/director experiment in the nationalised steel industry.
Main Topics:
Attitudinal/Behavioural a) Attitude towards work: most liked/disliked aspects of place of work; importance of working in a team; amount of flexibility and scope for personal innovation; whether work is interesting; amount of responsbility called for; attitude to employee participation in work organisation. b) Perception of firm: intention to stay in present works/steel industry; rating of firm (Likert scale); assessment of management's treatment of employees; assessment of decision-making process; perception of amount of influence held by employees. Anticipated and actual changes as a result of nationalisation. c) Trade unions: whether a member; opinion of union power held in BSC. If union member: which union; reasons for membership; offices held; whether meetings are held and personal attendance; opinion on power of own union in relation to others. Whether unions should be concerned with employee participation or solely with wages and conditions, whether respondent votes in union elections or discusses work problems with union representative. Whether respondent is satisfied that union acts in accordance with members' interests. d) Joint consultation: whether works has joint consultative committees; whether respondent has been a member and attitude towards; perception of extent of influence of employees on committees. e) Participation: attitude towards employee participation; if in favour, most important reason (fixed choice). f) Employee directors: knowledge of activities of a board of directors in BSC; knowledge of and attitude towards employee director scheme; assessment of extent of power and usefulness of employee directors and appropriate areas of involvement. Amount of influence over management decisions of joint consultantive schemes/collective bargaining/employee directors. Whether respondent expects any changes to result from employee director scheme and how. g) Social imagery: opinion on nature of relationship between employees and management (i.e., whether stresses importance of team-work or conflict of interests); importance of trade union membership; perception of class situation in Britain; party voted for at last election; whether respondent has always voted for that party. Background Variables Age, occupation, father's occupation, whether respondent's relatives work in the steel industry, length of time worked in the steel industry.
One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
9 plants of BSC, each employing at least 2000, with at least 2 from each steel-making division, spr
Face-to-face interview
