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Co-determination

To what extent can the John Lewis Partnership be considered an example of both 'co-determination' and a 'co-operative'?

We shall forgo an introduction to workplace and organizational democracy and move on to the issue at hand.

In post-war Germany as a elected supervisory boards political defence against communism, Co-determination is a consequence of the anthropocentric orientation of Catholic social teaching.

The need for workers to have some amount of control, or as least the ilion thereof, unions are the instrument by which the this right to co-determination is securined. Specifically, the right to be affiliated with an employee organisation; receive the benefit of this relationship and to establish a trade union organisation.

The Bullock report to the Callaghan managers proposed supervisory board structure for UK industry. However trade unions were unwilling to "join management" and resign their traditional, adversarial role thus, they argued, compromising their ability to challenge managerial action.

However English business has always had a form of Co-determination is in the emploty managers.

We should not forget that the corporate structure of a German company is different from that of an English one.

In the UK, Shareholders have no say in the management of their company. Their sole involvement is through their ability to appoint Directors, almost all of whom are employees of the company. For the most part English company law needs to protect the shareholders from the employees, not vice versa.

The English debate therefore centres round the conflict between management and shop floor, not employees and investor/owners.

In Germany there is a norm for the Investor/owners to be single institutions or individuals, who have a direct say in management as of right, from whom all workers need protection, therefore promoting an alliance between management and unions.

I am the website administrator of the Wandle industrial museum (http://www.wandle.org). Established in 1983 by local people determined to ensure that the history of the valley was no longer neglected but enhanced awareness its heritage for the use and benefits of the community.

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