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A slow burning flame? Organisational change and industrial relations in the fire service
Author(s) -
Fitzgerald Ian,
Stirling John
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
industrial relations journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.525
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1468-2338
pISSN - 0019-8692
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2338.00108
Subject(s) - restructuring , pace , metropolitan area , context (archaeology) , industrial relations , business , service (business) , public sector , organisational change , tertiary sector of the economy , trade union , economic system , economics , political science , economy , management , public relations , marketing , finance , international trade , medicine , paleontology , geodesy , pathology , biology , geography
The process of organisational change in the public sector has led to a restructuring of the employment relationship in a context of budgetary constraints, the introduction of performance indicators and the development of new management strategies. The pace of change has been uneven and mediated by service cultures that have been resistant to innovation. Our case study of a metropolitan fire brigade explores these issues and suggests that financially driven organisational change has a major impact on industrial relations and that trade union organisation rooted in workplace culture can provide a significant challenge to restructuring.