http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/9937/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/39923/ 2013-05-01T00:00:00Z Squatting became illegal in the Netherlands on 1 October 2010. The paper examines the dynamics involved. Theoretically drawing on debates about culture wars, revanchism, moral panics and the creative city, it is based on participant observation in squatter meetings, debates with politicians, a parliament hearing, lobbying meetings and various informal encounters, on a survey and on a collection of documents. A key mechanism that the paper explores is the following. Strategies of resistance that seem more or less manageable in the local context of a creative city can, when they backfire, cause a moral panic on the national level. This provides ammunition for revanchist politicians. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32806/ 2012-07-02T00:00:00Z In 1951, C. W. Mills (58-59) wrote: "To be free and to be secure is to have an effective control over that upon which one is dependent: the job within the centralized enterprise". A key problem of our time is if and how employees can be free and secure by having an effective control over their employability. The aim for this paper is to contribute to the debate about this by focusing on the ICT sector, because it is characterized by rapid change which makes it a prototype for an employability- dependent careers pattern, and within this sector on companies whose management takes a keen interest in employability. The research question is: what are the implications of the new psychological contract based pursuit of employability by ICT companies? The paper starts with some conceptual clarification regarding employability and the new psychological contract, followed by a brief review of theoretical constraints. Then it outlines the employability-related challenges that work in the ICT field entails, and positions the nine companies studied as fairly exceptional, critical cases in terms of the interest shown in the issue of employability. In the empirical part of the paper implications and constraints are explored on the basis of 37 interviews with employees and managers in the companies. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32912/ 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Empowerment – het tegenovergestelde van beheersing – is een centraal element in de ideologie van sociale bewegingen geworden. Maar ook daarbuiten is het een populair concept. Het concept wordt vaak enthousiast gepresenteerd als een win-win formule, waarbij zowel activisten als degene waarmee zij strijden profiteren. Het is echter ook vaak verworpen als een versluierende term waarachter het tegenovergestelde schuil gaat: zowel voor activisten als degene waarmee zij strijden, pakt empowerment uiteindelijk nadelig uit. Het concept is echter zelden systematisch bekeken. In dit artikel geef ik eerst aan wat empowerment inhoudt en waarom het moeilijk in zijn geheel door meer gangbare concepten vervangen kan worden. Ook laat ik zien dat het concept zijn wortels heeft in sociale bewegingen. Vervolgens ga ik in op interne tegenstellingen binnen het concept, en stel voor empowerment te zien als een balanceeract. Voorbeelden ontleen ik aan sociale bewegingen in Nederland, maar ook ver daarbuiten. Ten slotte ga ik in op de weerklank die empowerment – weliswaar vervormd – bijna overal in de samenleving heeft gevonden. Ik bekritiseer het idee dat sociale bewegingen als wegbereiders voor het neoliberalisme hebben gefungeerd en stel daartegenover dat de verspreiding van empowerment buiten de sociale bewegingen ook interventiemogelijkheden met zich meebrengt. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/25656/ 2011-08-15T00:00:00Z Abstract Existing frameworks tend to break when applied to the analysis of urban squatting. Five basic configurations, combinations of features that fit together well and are therefore effective, are discussed in this paper. In the case of squatting, configurations differ with respect to the characteristics of the people involved, type of buildings, framing, demands made by activists, mobilization and organization patterns. Each configuration also entails specific problems. Deprivation based squatting involves poor people who are distressed because of severe housing deprivation. In squatting as an alternative housing strategy people organize squatting to meet their own housing needs. Entrepreneurial squatting offers opportunities for setting up nearly any kind of establishment, without the need for large resources nor the risk of getting bogged down in bureaucracy. Conservational squatting involves squatting as a tactic used in the preservation of a cityscape or landscape against efficiency-driven planned transformation. Political squatting is a field of action for those who are engaged in anti-systemic politics. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20764/ 2010-03-01T00:00:00Z The idea that investing in employability is the answer to the insecurity caused by creative destruction originated in the context of Silicon Valley. Paradoxically, this 'employacurity' discourse has taken root in the Netherlands, a country in which the employment system is firmly based on the norm of job security, the total opposite of Silicon Valley's employment system. Although management gurus have built an attractive discourse on employability, an associated collective action problem detracts from its realism. The Dutch case exhibits mechanisms that may alleviate such a collective action problem. These mechanisms are explored via an examination of policy documents, a quantitative analysis of collective labour agreements and two cases, one of a large bank and one of an industrial company. A craving among Dutch employers for flexibility, fuelled by the norm of security that impacts their perception of potential benefits of investments in employability, is crucial to our understanding of employacurity in the Netherlands. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18159/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Abstract. The idea that investing in employability is the answer to creative destruction caused insecurity originated in the context of Silicon Valley. Paradoxically, this ‘employacurity’ discourse has taken root in the Netherlands, a country in which the employment system is firmly based on the norm of job security, the total opposite of Silicon Valley’s employment system. Although management gurus have built an attractive discourse on employability, an associated collective action problem detracts from its realism. The Dutch case exhibits mechanisms that may alleviate such a collective action problem. These mechanisms are explored via an examination of policy documents, a quantitative analysis of collective labor agreements and two cases, one of a large bank and one of an industrial company. A craving among Dutch employers for flexibility, fueled by the norm of security that impacts their perception of potential benefits of investments in employability is crucial to our understanding of employacurity in the Netherlands. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18161/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z InterviewStreamliner is a free, open source, minimalist alternative to complex computer-assisted qualitative data analysis packages. It builds on the flexibility of relational database management technology. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19231/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/466/ 2003-03-01T00:00:00Z In this article the opportunity structures of New York City and Amsterdam for organized squatting are compared. New York City knew two distinct squatting waves, with an intermission of several years. The literature on US urban movements predicts transformation through cooptation and repression. Only the first wave, in which housing activists used squatting as a tactic, fits this prediction. The second wave of squatting in New York City, and squatting in Amsterdam in general, escaped cooptation because they involved a squatters' movement proper, in which squatting was not only a tactic but also central to its existence. Compared to Amsterdam, squatting in New York was hampered by technical difficulties and political isolation. Stricter protection of private property made New York squatters restrict themselves to publicly-owned abandoned buildings. Turf conflicts tended to develop on the neighbourhood level when these buildings were later claimed for the development of low-income housing. In Amsterdam this type of conflict was rare because of the broad support for low-income (re)development. Instead, Amsterdam saw citywide protest directed at the real estate sector and municipal authorities. Cet article compare la structure des opportunités des villes de New York et Amsterdam concernant les squats organisés. New York a connu deux vagues de squattage séparées de plusieurs années. Les textes sur les mouvements urbains aux Etats-Unis prévoient une mutation par cooptation et répression. Seule la première vague, pour laquelle les militants en faveur du logement ont utilisé le squattage comme tactique, répond à cette prédiction. La seconde vague d'opérations à New York, et celles d'Amsterdam en général, ont échappéà la cooptation, car il s'agissait de mouvements de squatters à proprement parler, où le squat n'était pas seulement une tactique mais surtout un fondement de leur existence. Comparéà Amsterdam, le squattage à New York s'est heurtéà des problèmes techniques et à un isolement politique. La protection plus stricte de la propriété privée a forcé les squatters new-yorkais à se limiter aux bâtiments publics abandonnés. Des luttes de territoires ont eu tendance à se développer entre voisins lorsque ces bâtiments ont ensuite été réclamés pour aménager des logements à faible loyer. A Amsterdam, rare fut ce genre de conflit grâce au vaste soutien favorable au (ré)aménagement social; au contraire, une protestation générale s'est élevée à l'encontre du secteur immobilier et des autorités municipales. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1572/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z The concept of teamworking is the product of two distinct developments. One: a neo- Tayloristic form of organization of work, of which Toyota has shown that it can be very profitable, was packaged and reframed to make it acceptable to the Western public. Two: anti-Tayloristic ways of organizing work, inspired by ideals of organizational democracy, were relabeled to make these acceptable to profit-oriented managers. Drawing on empirical research in Scandinavia, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK, as well as on published case studies of Japanese companies, the paper develops a neo-Tayloristic and an anti-Tayloristic model of teamworking. Key concerns in the teamworking literature are intensification of work and the use of shop floor autonomy as a cosmetic or manipulative device. Indeed, all the features of neo-Tayloristic teamworking are geared towards the intensification of work. However, one of the intensification mechanisms, the removal of Tayloristic rigidities in the division of labor, applies to anti-Tayloristic teamworking as well. This poses a dilemma for employee representatives. In terms of autonomy, on the other hand, the difference between neo-Tayloristic and anti-Tayloristic teamworking is real. In anti-Tayloristic teamworking, there is no supervisor inside the team. The function of spokesperson rotates. All team members can participate in decision-making. Standardization is not relentlessly pursued; management accepts some measure of worker control. There is a tendency to alleviate technical discipline, e.g. to find alternatives for the assembly line. Buffers are used. Remuneration is based on proven skill level; there are no group bonuses. In contrast, in neo-Tayloristic teamworking, a permanent supervisor is present in the team as team leader. At most, only the team leader can participate in decision-making. Standardization is relentlessly pursued. Management prerogatives are nearly unlimited. Job designers treat technical discipline, e.g. short-cycled work on the assembly line, as unproblematic. There are no buffers. A substantial part of wages consists of individual bonuses based on assessments by supervisors on how deeply workers cooperate in the system. Group bonuses are also given. The instability and vulnerability of anti-Tayloristic teamworking imply that it can only develop and flourish when managers and employee representatives put determined effort into it. The opportunity structure for this contains both economic and political elements. In mass production, the economic success of Toyota, through skillful mediation by management gurus, makes the opportunity structure for anti-Tayloristic teamworking relatively unfavorable. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19213/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z Abstract: In this article the opportunity structures of New York City and Amsterdam for organized squatting are compared. New York City knew two distinct squatting waves, with an intermission of several years. The literature on US urban movements predicts transformation through cooptation and repression. Only the first wave, in which housing activists used squatting as a tactic, fits this prediction. The second wave of squatting in New York City, and squatting in Amsterdam in general, escaped cooptation because they involved a squatters' movement proper, in which squatting was not only a tactic but also central to its existence. Compared to Amsterdam, squatting in New York was hampered by technical difficulties and political isolation. Stricter protection of private property made New York squatters restrict themselves to publicly-owned abandoned buildings. Turf conflicts tended to develop on the neighbourhood level when these buildings were later claimed for the development of low-income housing. In Amsterdam this type of conflict was rare because of the broad support for low-income (re)development. Instead, Amsterdam saw citywide protest directed at the real estate sector and municipal authorities. Cet article compare la structure des opportunités des villes de New York et Amsterdam concernant les squats organisés. New York a connu deux vagues de squattage séparées de plusieurs années. Les textes sur les mouvements urbains aux Etats-Unis prévoient une mutation par cooptation et répression. Seule la première vague, pour laquelle les militants en faveur du logement ont utilisé le squattage comme tactique, répond à cette prédiction. La seconde vague d'opérations à New York, et celles d'Amsterdam en général, ont échappéà la cooptation, car il s'agissait de mouvements de squatters à proprement parler, où le squat n'était pas seulement une tactique mais surtout un fondement de leur existence. Comparéà Amsterdam, le squattage à New York s'est heurtéà des problèmes techniques et à un isolement politique. La protection plus stricte de la propriété privée a forcé les squatters new-yorkais à se limiter aux bâtiments publics abandonnés. Des luttes de territoires ont eu tendance à se développer entre voisins lorsque ces bâtiments ont ensuite été réclamés pour aménager des logements à faible loyer. A Amsterdam, rare fut ce genre de conflit grâce au vaste soutien favorable au (ré)aménagement social; au contraire, une protestation générale s'est élevée à l'encontre du secteur immobilier et des autorités municipales. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19230/ 2002-06-01T00:00:00Z Social capital is predominantly seen as a public good. Internet communication tends to complement real-world interaction. Therefore, concerns that it might contribute to a decline of social capital seem unfounded. Internet communication can support and enhance communities that to some extent depend on face-to-face interaction. Taking the online communication of computer professionals as a model, the paper seeks to demonstrate the power of virtual communities. Examples are the development of Linux and users reactions to a bug in the Pentium processor. Online communication, facilitated by personal home pages and search engines, offers isolated workers opportunities for increasing their private good social capital as well. On the level of infrastructure, key characteristics of the Internet match those of social capital: the network aspect itself, cooperation, voluntary work, giving, standards of social behavior and the fact it is not designed. Downsides of the Internet also correspond to downsides of social capital: exclusion, a trade-off between openness and trust and support for destructive forces. Realizing the equalizing potential of the Internet in terms of social capital requires action; there is also a possible scenario in which social capital is undermined. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1574/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Internet communication tends to complement real-world interaction; it does not destroy (public good) social capital. The Internet can support and enhance communities that to some extent depend on faceto-face interaction. Taking the online communication of computer professionals as a model, this article seeks to demonstrate the power of virtual communities. Examples are the development of Linux and users’ reactions to a bug in the Pentium processor. Online communication, facilitated by personal home pages and search engines, offers isolated workers opportunities for increasing their private good social capital as well. On the level of infrastructure, key characteristics of the Internet match those of social capital: the network aspect itself, cooperation, voluntary work, giving, standards of social behavior, and the fact that it is not designed. Downsides of the Internet also correspond to downsides of social capital. Realizing the equalizing potential of the Internet in terms of social capital requires action. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1573/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z There is some debate as to whether it is wise to teach programming to students who are not majoring in computer science. Some claim that students do not need the “Turing expressiveness” of a general purpose programming language (Soloway, 1993, p. 22). There are at least three categories of reasons for taking the opposite view. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19233/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z Abstract Survey data show that post-Tayloristic production concepts are not developing to the extent that many researchers had originally expected. It also is inadequate to portray post-Taylorism as a development that is happening, but just slower than expected. This is inadequate because there are counter-tendencies: the resurgence of the assembly line in the highly paradigmatic automobile assembly; the rise of the McDonalds-type organization; and continuing skills-replacing automation. An explanation for this persistence is sought. Considers possible reasons for decision makers to be attracted to Taylorism as well as reasons for disliking Taylorism. To some extent, it is possible for managers to work around these problems but there are ways to tackle these problems by making modifications to Tayloristic patterns, while keeping basic principles intact. Thus, adaptability is shown to be an important explanation for the resilience of Taylorism. Finally, the paper makes inferences from results obtained in organizations where a more radical break with Taylorism has been attempted. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19236/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z An examination of the deep structure of the discourse on the organization of work shows that the most successful texts share a common structure: they construct an ideal model in which performance and quality go hand in hand. They provide explanations for the self-constructed gap between the model and reality, and recipes for change. This type of discourse has widespread appeal, but there are shortcomings attached to it: an inevitable neglect of the employment relation (and accordingly inadequate analysis of resistance to organizational change) and undue optimism about the quality of working life (thereby de-legitimizing efforts, such as in Scandinavian and Dutch working conditions legislation, to establish the quality of working life as a value in its own right). Critical and empirical evaluative alternative approaches seem unable to capture substantial mind share. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/463/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z Examines the deep structure of the discourse on the organization of work and shows that the most successful texts share a common structure: they construct an ideal model in which performance and quality go hand-in-hand. Provides explanations for the self-constructed gap between the model and reality, and recipes for change. This type of discourse has widespread appeal, but there are shortcomings attached to it: an inevitable neglect of the employment relation (and accordingly inadequate analysis of resistance to organizational change), and undue optimism about the quality of working life (thereby de-legitimizing efforts, such as in Scandinavian and Dutch working conditions legislation, to establish the quality of working life as a value in its own right). Critical and empirical evaluative alternative approaches seem unable to capture substantial mind share. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/465/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z Survey data show that post-Tayloristic production concepts are not developing to the extent that many researchers had originally expected. It also is inadequate to portray post-Taylorism as a development that is happening, but just slower than expected. This is inadequate because there are counter-tendencies: the resurgence of the assembly line in the highly paradigmatic automobile assembly; the rise of the McDonalds-type organization; and continuing skills-replacing automation. An explanation for this persistence is sought. Considers possible reasons for decision makers to be attracted to Taylorism as well as reasons for disliking Taylorism. To some extent, it is possible for managers to work around these problems but there are ways to tackle these problems by making modifications to Tayloristic patterns, while keeping basic principles intact. Thus, adaptability is shown to be an important explanation for the resilience of Taylorism. Finally, the paper makes inferences from results obtained in organizations where a more radical break with Taylorism has been attempted. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/881/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z De loonarbeidsverhouding wordt, in de kern, gekenmerkt door onderschikking, asymmetrie en instrumentalisme. Voornamelijk in de twintigste eeuw zien we een stroom van overheidsbeleid, waarmee bescherming werd gecre?erd tegen de scherpe kanten van de loonarbeidsverhouding. Anti-Tayloristisch beleid, een nog onvoltooid project, vormde het sluitstuk ervan. Wij dienen nu rekening te houden met een scenario, waarin de resultaten van het tot dusver gevoerde beleid dreigen te verdampen. Met name in de VS tekent zich dat duidelijk af, maar ook in Nederland zijn er indicaties. Er zijn echter - ook nieuwe - mogelijkheden voor assertief onderhoud aan de Rijnlandse aspecten van de Nederlandse arbeidsverhoudingen op bedrijfsniveau. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/462/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z BPR can be deconstructed into four different identities. In the first place it is a product of the management fad industry. In the second place it is part of a neo-Taylorist movement because of the following characteristics: a top-down streamlining of operations, unproblematic acceptance of typical Taylorist solutions and the prevalence of assertions that the outcome for workers is an upgraded work content. In the third place BPR is a euphemism for downsizing. Downsizing is much more at the core of BPR than some of its proponents would have it. Finally, BPR functions as a non-normative, descriptive label for process oriented change. The paper seeks to show how the different identities of BPR interact and get into one another’s way.