Analysis of Contemporary Media Reporting on the World of Work
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Topic2LectureNotesPart2.pptxWork in a Global Society
Tutorial week 2
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Lecture Recap
Turn to the person next to you and discuss:
What was the lecture about?
What were the major themes/ideas that you got out of it?
Is there anything you didn’t understand/would like clarity on?
You will be invited to share your discussions to the class.
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I would probably give a few minutes for this.
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Concepts and questions for week two
Concepts
Outsourcing
Offshoring
Pyramid sub-contracting
Financialisation
Franchising
Questions
1. Are there alternatives to the corporation?
2. Are outsourcing and offshoring sustainable for corporations and society?
3. How has outsourcing and offshoring impacted on workers and employment?
4. Is franchising a sustainable business model?
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Work in the News
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Work in the News
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Darryn Snell (DS) -
Work In the News
'Manifestly failed': Damning report calls for franchise sector overhaul
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Work in the News: Article for Assignment Three
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https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/forum-some-banking-sector-trends-not-helpful-to-singapore
Work in the News: Article for Assignment Three
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Outsourcing: the case of H&M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY4FeUYMFzM
In this video produced by H&M, the company talks about the working conditions of the factories that they purchase clothing from.
As we watch the video, I want you to think about:
Do you think H&M accurately represents the working conditions in their factories?
Does other evidence (e.g. your reading from Taplin) provide a different narrative to H&M?
Why would H&M produce this video?
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Outsourcing: the case of H&M
You have been hired as a consultant to provide H&M with an independent review of worker welfare in their supply chains and whether H&M is doing enough to ensure the fair treatment of workers.
In groups of 3, produce a table of the strengths and weaknesses of H&M’s action to protect and improve workers’ rights in their supply chains. You should be able to find a range of information (i.e. news articles, websites etc) using google. You should, of course, also think through the debates/discussions made in the readings.
At the end of the activity, I will ask you to share the strengths and weaknesses, and make a decision as to whether you believe H&M is doing enough to ensure the fair treatment of workers.
When researching, I would like you to also consider:
Why has H&M chosen to outsource to developing countries?
Can H&M truly ensure the protection of workers in factories that they do not own?
Is outsourcing a sustainable business model for corporations and society?
How does outsourcing relate to capitalism?
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Work in a Global Society
Assignment two
Why group work for Assignment 2?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrVtGkm0r7Q
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Assessment 2: Group Research Report 40% - due 13 March
Workers and Dignity at Work
In groups of no more than 5 students, decide on a clearly-focused project that investigates worker experiences and its relationship to dignity at work. You may choose to centre your project around one of the themes we cover in this course (e.g. the 'gig' economy, outsourcing, pyramid subcontracting, deindustrialisation/ industrialisation, 'flexibility', skills, migrant labour, technological change, skills development and training etc.) and how it is impacting on worker experiences of decent and meaningful work.
Each group develops an interview schedule related to their chosen topic/question
Each group member interviews one friend/ family member based on interview questions.
The group produces a research report that includes a complete reference list and interview schedule.
Analyse the interview data and discuss the findings in relation to relevant academic literature and academic debates. Groups will draw on 3 required readings for topic 5 (Lucas, 2017; Sayer, 2007; Spicer & Fleming, 2016) PLUS additional scholarly resources. Reports must include complete reference list & interview schedule. The report should be no more than 2,500 words long, excluding references.
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Check out report format on Canvas
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TOPICS
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Week 2: Globalisation, Outsourcing and Offshoring
Week 3: Restructuring and Deindustrialisation
Week 4:Technological Change and the Future of Work
Week 5: Workers and Dignity at Work
Week 6: From ‘job for life’ to the ‘Gig economy’
Week 7: ‘Flexibility’: a ‘win-win’?
Week 8: The Globalization of Labour: The Skilled and Unskilled Migrant Experience
Week 9: Control and Surveillance in the Workplace
Week 10:Socially Responsible Management and Workers Rights
Week 11: Jobs and Skills for the Future
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Group assignment
When you form your groups, you should do the following:
Develop a timeline for completing the assignment (factoring in the due date of the assignment in week 10)
Think about the weekly topic(s) from the unit that you will focus your study on
Discuss who you have available to interview (friends or family) who may have relevant experience to your chosen topic
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Your research project: The current state of knowledge
When doing any research, you need to know what existing research has found about the topic. This should guide what you focus on in your own project.
Why is this important?
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Your research project: The current state of knowledge
Reasons it is important:
You don’t want to study something that we already know the answer to – your research needs a purpose
You want to explore something that is in need of being researched – you can then contribute greater knowledge to the topic
Reading existing knowledge makes researching the topic easier – you will develop a good understanding of the topic that will help with the entire process
Existing research can shine a light on any difficulties that you may encounter when researching a particular topic
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Your research project: The current state of knowledge
In your group, I would like you to brainstorm what you want to focus on regarding the topic that you are exploring (i.e. if you were looking at week two, you might wish to focus on what it is like to work in a supply chain and how the workers perceive their labour conditions). It is important to narrow down the focus to make the project more manageable.
Once you have done this, I would like you to start searching for existing research in the area using databases (RMIT library, google scholar, google etc) and begin looking at the types of research in the area.
You don’t need to read the entire papers today. You just want to get a sense of what papers have found and any gaps in research, so read the abstracts and skim through each paper.
You may also wish to develop a database of papers for your group (i.e. on google drive).
Make sure you take notes down that you can look back on after you have read multiple papers.
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The COVID-19 Context
Will COVID-19 make a difference to young worker experiences and their experience of dignity at work?
Watch this very short ILO video on the COVID-19 youth employment crisis
What are the triple shocks young people may experience in access to work?
Read the ILO Policy brief Preventing exclusion from the labour market: Tackling the COVID-19 youth employment crisis p 14-16 on on Policy Solutions
What are the key policies suggested?
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