career prospects. This conclusion is also supported by the fact that absence is also
higher in workplaces where there are hard-to-Wll vacancies, which may suggest to
employees that they are not readily dispensable, so taking time oVis seen as less
costly.
Finally, to assess whether the impact of any of the forms of management is
contingent on other factors, rather than universal, we tested to see if any associ-
ations between the orientations and the outcome variables are moderated by the
size of the workplace or a larger organization of which it is a part or by the extent to
which the organization faces a turbulent market environment. No such moderated
relationships were discovered. We also considered, in the light of the claims that
trade-union voice should enhance the eVectiveness of high-involvement manage-
ment (see e.g. Kochan and Osterman 1994 : 105 – 7 ), whether the presence of a
recognized union strengthens any of the associations between the orientations
and the outcomes, and again found no evidence of this.
In summary, of our three orientations, high-involvement management is most
strongly associated with organizational outcomes. It is related toWnancial perform-
ance, labor productivity, and labor retention, as well as to change in labor product-
ivity when variable pay is used in conjunction with it. In addition, where it is
practiced, equal-opportunity management is associated withWnancial performance
and, in the private sector only, the level of productivity. High-involvement man-
agement also intensiWes the tendency for equal-opportunity management to lower
absence. Family-orientedXexible management has little or no eVect on outcomes,
but where top management values a family–work balance, it can reduce absence.
28.4 Conclusions
.........................................................................................................................................................................................
The chapter has shown that in Britain there is no evidence yet of an integrated
high-commitment management. Nonetheless, there appear to be discrete orienta-
tions underlying the use of family-orientedXexible, equal opportunity, and core
(work and skill acquisition) high-involvement practices. Moreover, there is a
tendency for these orientations to coexist, but this reXects idiosyncratic local
factors.
The performance results provide little support for the ‘business case’ in favor of
family-friendly and equal-opportunity initiatives, which is the argument for
employee-centered methods on the grounds that they are supportive of key
organizational objectives. But, equally, neither set of practices has a negative
eVect on performance. We have nonetheless found that high-involvement man-
agement is positively associated withWnancial performance, labor productivity,
594 stephen wood and lilian m. de menezes