Ecuadorian migration and family strategies of social mobility: dialectic relation between emotional and financial capital

This text deals with transnational strategies of social mobility in Ecuadorian migrant households in Spain. We apply the capital accumulation model (Moser, 2009) for this purpose. The main target of this article is, beyond thinking in terms of capital stock and accumulation, the analysis in depth of the dynamics of the different types of capital, that is to say, how they interact with each other in the framework of the social mobility strategies of the migrants and their families. We are bringing into light the way some households adopt investing decisions in capitals that don't translate into any addition or earnings in all cases, on the contrary, concentrating all their efforts on the accumulation of a certain asset they may, in some cases, lead to a loss of another. We will concentrate our analysis primarily on the dynamics between the physical and financial capital and the social and emotional capital, showing the tensions produced between these two types of assets. At the same time, we will highlight how migrants negotiate their family strategies of social mobility in the transnational area. Our study is based in empirical material obtained from qualitative fieldwork (in-depth interviews) with families of migrants in the urban district of Turubamba Bajo -(south of Quito) and in Madrid. A series of households were selected where interviews were carried out in the country of origin as well as in the context of immigration, with different family members, analysing the transnational social and economic strategies of families of migrant members. Family members of migrants established in Spain were interviewed in Quito, as well as key informants in the district (school teachers, nursery members of the staff, etc.). The research was framed within the projects "Impact of migration on the development: gender and transnationalism", Ministry of Science and Innovation (SEJ2007/63179) (Laura Oso, dir. 2007-2010),"Gender, transnationalism and intergenerational strategies of social mobility", Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FEM2011/26210) (Laura Oso, dir. 201-1-2015) and “Gender, Crossed Mobilities and Transnational Dynamics”, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FEM2015-67164).

The way to succeed in mexican business realations

The article is based on the research project titled “Intercultural Dimension in Corporate Culture of Multinational Companies” and it deals mainly with cultural stereotypes that influence business relations. The article takes a famous research of Geert Hofstede and extends it on Czech-Mexican business reality. The article is therefore dedicated to Czech businessmen who are interested in having good relations with Mexico and avoiding mistakes that could prevent them from doing so. The first part of the article covers Hofstede´s dimensions and compares them with other studies. The comments include topics such as social hierarchy in Mexico, Mexican collectivism and life values, approach to pragmatism of both Czech and Mexican nations and also how these nations tend to indulgency. The second part of the article is aimed at the image of Czech Republic in the foreign markets and includes the feedback on Czech work behaviour from Latinoamericans who have previously worked with Czechs.

Solidarity, the network and the history of workers' self-management from the Gdańsk Agreement to shock therapy

This PhD thesis is an empirical research project in the field of modern Polish history. The thesis focuses on Solidarity, the Network and the idea of workers’ self-management. In addition, the thesis is based on an in-depth analysis of Solidarity archival material. The Solidarity trade union was born in August 1980 after talks between the communist government and strike leaders at the Gdansk Lenin Shipyards. In 1981 a group called the Network rose up, due to cooperation between Poland’s great industrial factory plants. The Network grew out of Solidarity; it was made up of Solidarity activists, and the group acted as an economic partner to the union. The Network was the base of a grass-roots, nationwide workers’ self-management movement. Solidarity and the self-management movement were crushed by the imposition of Martial Law in December 1981. Solidarity revived itself immediately, and the union created an underground society. The Network also revived in the underground, and it continued to promote self-management activity where this was possible. When Solidarity regained its legal status in April 1989, workers’ self-management no longer had the same importance in the union. Solidarity’s new politico-economic strategy focused on free markets, foreign investment and privatization. This research project ends in July 1990, when the new Solidarity-backed government enacted a privatization law. The government decided to transform the property ownership structure through a centralized privatization process, which was a blow for supporters of workers’ self-management. This PhD thesis provides new insight into the evolution of the Solidarity union from 1980-1990 by analyzing the fate of workers’ self-management. This project also examines the role of the Network throughout the 1980s. There is analysis of the important link between workers’ self-management and the core ideas of Solidarity. In addition, the link between political and economic reform is an important theme in this research project. The Network was aware that authentic workers’ self-management required reforms to the authoritarian political system. Workers’ self-management competed against other politico-economic ideas during the 1980s in Poland. The outcome of this competition between different reform concepts has shaped modern-day Polish politics, economics and society.

Down the aisle : the effects of technological change on retail workers skills

Reconfiguration of corporate structures and the retailer-supplier interface in the retail industry have restructured product markets and supply chains, as well as supermarket employment, over the past decade or so (Baret, Lehndorff & Sparks 2000; du Gay 1996). Various studies have examined the consequent changes in labour usage practices within supermarkets or superstores (Baret et al. 2000; Marchington 1995; Penn & Wirth 1993; Sparks 1992; Dawson, Findlay & Sparks 1987, 1986). Commonly, this literature explores the interplay between shifts in the structure of the labour market, broader societal trends and retailers’ employment strategies. One study found that domestic and gender dimensions, accompanied by industrial relations regimes, exert considerable influence on patterns of labour usage (Baret et al. 2000). However, while the types of labour usage and the drivers of changes to labour usage patterns have attracted significant academic attention, research has largely overlooked the ways in which the nature of supermarket work has evolved as a result of changing technology, which effectively bolsters managerial prerogative, and which has affected the skill levels of workers in the industry (Marchington 1995).