Abstract
There is a need to reframe the underlying theoretical assumptions of the employment relationship. In current models it is assumed that there is a bipartite relationship between the employer and employees. Through a study of Australian higher education, we identify the role of customer power in the employment relationship, with student-customers influencing conditions of employment and the organisation of academic work. We conclude that as universities adopt the ‘win-win’ paradigm of customer-focused strategies, student-customers are no longer merely the focus of the output of the employment relationship, but rather are actors in it. This warrants the development of a corollary to current models that will identify and explain the phenomenon of the customer acting as a partial-employer in a tripartite relationship between employer, employee and customer. To make sense of employment relations in contemporary service-sector enterprises such as universities, it is necessary to incorporate consumption into theory building. The concept of the student-customer as ‘partial-employer’ provides an example of how this can be done.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Varieties of Capitalism |
Subtitle of host publication | Organisational, Management and Human Resource Implications. |
Editors | Jonathan Morris |
Place of Publication | Cardiff, Wales |
Publisher | Cardiff University |
Pages | 1-22 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Publication status | Published - 2007 |
Event | Annual Employment Research Unit Conference - Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom Duration: 17 Sep 2007 → 18 Sep 2007 |
Conference
Conference | Annual Employment Research Unit Conference |
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Country | United Kingdom |
Period | 17/09/07 → 18/09/07 |