adjustments to accommodate disability, which are nonetheless only adopted by just
over a quarter of the workplace population in Britain (see Table 28. 2 ).
High-involvement practices can be classiWed according to Bailey’s work organi-
zation–skills–motivation triad (Appelbaum et al. 2000 ; Batt 2002 ; Huselid 1995 ;
de Menezes and Wood 2006 ), which is centered on the way work is organized
and jobs are deWned (cf. Parker et al. 1997 ) with human resource practices acting
as supports to the successful implementation of high-involvement work systems.
These entail work practices that enrich jobs, enhance theXexibility of workers,
and increase the involvement of workers, particularly in idea generation. They are
often deWned in terms of their opposite, Taylorism, so for example Gittleman et al.
( 1998 : 100 ) see them as representing ‘a movement away from a traditional, hierarch-
ical structure in which employees have rigid, narrowly deWned roles’. Accordingly,
they are associated with practices such as teamworking, self-directed or otherwise;
‘on-line’ or ‘in-work’ practices such as functionalXexibility, self-inspection, and
empowerment; and ‘oV-line’ or ‘out-of-work’ practices, which are mainly connected
with idea-capturing, such as suggestion programmes and quality circles.
The two other dimensions are viewed as supporting human resource practices
for this work organization. Skill acquisition practices are the means by which
individuals are given training and information that increases their knowledge
and capabilities and equips them to engage withXexible work practices. The
motivational practices are designed to ensure that the organization recruits and
retains people who are motivated to work in a highly involved manner, and are
typically taken to include incentive payment systems, job security guarantees, and
the use of internal recruitment toWll jobs.
Table 28.2 The provision of equal-opportunity practices for non-managerial
employeesIn WERS98 (unweighted
percentage)In the economy (weighted
percentage)Records on ethnic origin 46 30
Statistics on posts held by men and
women44 25Promotions monitored by gender,
ethnicity, etc.21 11Reviews of selection to identify
indirect discrimination35 21Reviews of relative pay between
groups22 14Adjustments to accommodate
disability47 26588 stephen wood and lilian m. de menezes