Journal Article

First used logistic production with goals for reducing costs, improving product quality and streamlining flows within factories, robotics opens up new applications in the areas of construction, health or nuclear.  BA systems and mobilizes its know-how in the industry to meet new needs related to the protection of human beings, improving human gestures, their security and automation of activities in hostile environments . To meet this challenge diversification, BA Systems has adopted an original organizational innovation based on the establishment of a specific function, that of relational innovator responsible for developing external links, especially with research laboratories and users. [googletranslate_en]

France, like other advanced economies, has experienced significant transformation of labor demand over the past three decades. We tested one of the main hypotheses to explain this development: technical progress for the most skilled workers, driven by the spread of information technology and communication and automation of routine tasks, leading to their disappearance in favor of high-skilled jobs on the one hand, low-skilled jobs of the other services. From a theoretical model developed by Autor and Dorn (2013), which identifies the effects of technical progress from the structure of employment of local labor markets, we show the existence of a link between progress technology and changes in the structure of employment between 1990 and 2011 in France. In particular, low-skilled workers fail over from routine jobs to service jobs or to unemployment. We also show that the transformation of labor demand interacts with a functional specialization of territories. These results are robust to the inclusion of other assumptions, such as the influence of globalization and international trade, or of demographic changes. [googletranslate_en]

In this article, we estimate the effects of a French retraining program on the re-employment rate of displaced workers by matching techniques. This program, called ‘Conventions de conversion’, was intended to improve re-employment prospects of displaced workers by proposing them retraining and job seeking assistance for a period of 6 months beginning just after the dismissal. Our empirical analysis is based upon non-experimental data collected by the French Ministry of Labour. Matching estimates show that this program succeeded in increasing the employment rate of trainees by approximately 6 points of percentage in the medium-term, namely in the 2nd and 3rd years after the date of entry into the program. This improvement is essentially due to an increase of their re-employment rate in regular jobs, namely jobs under long-term labour contracts.

There is surprisingly little analysis of the employment and earnings impact on students of taking and completing Internet-based programs and of how it compares with earnings outcomes for graduates of face-to-face universities. This paper analyzes a follow-up survey of students who began attending the virtual Internet-based Open University of Catalonia (UOC) in the early 2000s. We find that, on average, they made smaller percentage gains in earnings than workers of similar age and initial education in the Spanish labor market. Yet, we also find that many of our UOC respondents were “high flyers,” already earning high salaries when they had begun studying at UOC. When we separate them out, we find that younger, more “normal” UOC students made larger earnings gains than the comparison group in the Spanish labor market. We emphasize the importance of disaggregating the varied clientele of online universities in assessing their economic payoffs.

This article presents a meta‐analysis of recent micro-econometric evaluations of active labour market policies. We categorise 199 programme impacts from 97 studies conducted between 1995 and 2007. Job search assistance programmes yield relatively favourable programme impacts, whereas public sector employment programmes are less effective. Training programmes are associated with positive medium‐term impacts, although in the short term they often appear ineffective. We also find that the outcome variable used to measure programme impact matters, but neither the publication status of a study nor the use of a randomised design is related to the sign or significance of the programme estimate.

Concerns over the supply of skills in the U.S. labor force, especially education-related skills, have exploded in recent years with a series of reports not only from employer-associated organizations but also from independent and even government sources making similar claims. These complaints about skills are driving much of the debate around labor force and education policy, yet they have not been examined carefully. In this article, the author assesses the range of these charges as well as other evidence about skills in the labor force. Very little evidence is consistent with the complaints about a skills shortage, and a wide range of evidence suggests the complaints are not warranted. Indeed, a reasonable conclusion is that overeducation remains the persistent and even growing condition of the U.S. labor force with respect to skills. The author considers three possible explanations for the employer complaints and the associated policy implications.

Innovation is creating robots and computers that are able to perform many tasks previously accomplished by man. The place occupied by men in the job field will shrink. The current organization and the existence of many jobs are in danger. In the article we discuss the treats and opportunities of using ICT in business and the impact on business models and on the human's job. Through a survey on Italian business context we observe the awareness of the people directly involved in decision making and in designing future work in the firms. The consciousness of the people on the effects of the diffusion of ICT matches with the opportunities for doing business. How to find the right equilibrium between the two perspectives?

Purpose: To examine how professionals in managerial positions in Brazil define the meaning of work and thereby initiate a reflection on organizational implications and consequences. Originality/value: This study addresses two research opportunities. It develops the thematic meaning of work beyond professional categories, emphasizing organizational and management positions and approaches in a complementary way, the research on managers that focuses primarily on personal development and execution of the organizational role. Design/methodology/approach: The research approach uses mixed methods-both qualitative and quantitative methods (interview, questionnaire, and focus group). Across all phases, 316 managers and executives participated in the research. Variables of the Meaning of Work (MOW) model supported the data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics and multivariate data analysis were used for data treatment. Findings: Although recognized as a pleasant, paid activity of high centrality in life, fulfilling intrinsic values (recognition, autonomy, learning opportunities), work has different interpretations based on where it is executed, whom it benefits, extrinsic values expectations, and ability to handle stress factors. Different from other international studies, this work has found possible relationships between the meaning of work and organizational culture. The meaning of the work of managers has organizational implications by impacting daily work, managerial styles, and the implementation of people management practices.

We analyse the impact of the adoption of broadband Internet technology on the productivity performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We distinguish access to the broadband infrastructure from the adoption of complementary services, i.e., different types of broadband software applications. The empirical analysis considers a sample of 799 firms observed from 1998 to 2004 that are representative of the population of Italian SMEs. Our econometric estimates indicate that the impact of the adoption by SMEs of basic broadband applications is negligible (or even negative). Conversely, SMEs are found to benefit from adopting selected advanced broadband applications depending on several contingent factors: (i) their industry of operations (services vs. manufacturing); (ii) the relevance of the specific broadband software applications for SMEs’ industry of operation; and (iii) the undertaking of complementary strategic and organisational changes.