The legality of employee attitude surveys in union environments

Employee attitude surveys are becoming an increasingly popular tool for employers. A host of legal implications, such as the circumstances under which they can be used, what they can ask, and whether or not they are a subject of mandatory bargaining, arise when surveys are conducted by companies that have an incumbent union or by companies that are involved in union-organizing campaigns. The following article describes the survey process, outlines some of the inherent advantages and pitfalls, and examines the legal questions raised when surveys are used by nonunion employers, by employers with incumbent unions, and by employers who are involved in union-organizing-campaigns. It concludes with recommendations for employers that undertake attitude surveys.     

The politics of management in health care: a British perspective

This paper discusses the contribution of organizational political perspectives to a better appreciation of policy implementation problems in health care. The context is the efforts of successive British governments to accord a higher priority to community health and long-stay services. The limited success of these policies owes much to continuing medical control of the philosophy of the organization and agenda, in spite of government responsibility for funding and providing health services. More effective policy implementation depends on a recognition of the "naturalness" of organizational politics, rather than treating them as constraints in an otherwise rational, managerial system.