The paradigm elaborated by John T. Dunlop in his landmark 1958 volume, "Industrial Relations Systems", described this system as consisting of three actors: unions, employers and the State. Over the past few years, the call to expand upon the notion of actors in the industrial relations environment has become more and more widespread, but no one has yet suggested how this integration might be implemented. The main objective of this paper is to propose an analytical model of the actor and to explore how the latter could be applied in the case of public urban transit users. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics 2000.

With a new appreciation for the value of their employees, many organizations are moving rapidly to embrace Competency-Based Management, a relatively new approach to human resource management. Competency-Based Management involves the management of key HR activities such as staffing, learning and performance management, around a competency profile for the work to be carried out. This article describes how Service Canada, a key service delivery agency within the Canadian Federal Public Service, was able to bridge the two worlds of job analysis and competency modeling in order to successfully implement a working competency framework in a large unionized organization.

INTRODUCTIONIn view of the widespread transformations affecting the world economy (Coutu and Murray, 2005), observers are increasingly noting the inadequacy of efforts, dating back to Fordism, to theorize industrial relations, particularly the systems model (Dunlop, 1958) and the strategic model (Kochan, Katz and McKersie, 1986). These models feature only three actors: unions, employers, and the government, which interact primarily within the framework of the Nation-State: (Translation)[A structurationist approach to industrial relations] allows us to recognize the potential fluidity or plasticity of institutions, particularly during times of major social transformations. In industrial relations, one could hypothesize that the Fordist (or Keynesian) crisis and the attempts to break free from these regulations in a fast-paced era of globalization, is one such episode of major transformation. That is why we think it is justified to study the boundaries between industrial relations systems or the social practices that contribute, on a small or large scale, to their systemization (Bellemare and Briand, 2006, p. 11).In a context where new emergent actors are making a significant impact on industrial relations, business-to-business (B2B) technology services companies (B2BTSC) are good subjects to study regarding emergent modes of the regulation of labour because 2 of their extensive exposure to international competition on the product and international labour markets. As part of the knowledge economy, they hire highly qualified information technology professionals. The study of work-life balance (WLB) in this segment of the labour market sheds light on the wider canvas of industrial relations and human resource management (HRM) practices in the so-called new economy.Given that modes of regulation are emerging from these situations, new actors and new issues should be integrated into theoretical models of industrial relations (IR) systems if their current complexities are to be explained. This article re-examines the classical identification of IR actors and illustrates its flaws with the case of the B2B sector in the Montreal Area. To demonstrate the presence of actors who are as important as they are unrecognized in the IR system of this branch of industry, we adopt Bellemare's (2000) definition of the IR actor and discuss how it impacts the definition of the boundaries of IR systems. The case study of the B2BTSC is used here as an example that supports the relevance of a wider theoretical framework in progress rather than developed. This example is used as part of a plea for a theoretical renewal and in that way of reasoning, addresses the question: are there new modes of regulation in this economic sector and if so, are there new actors besides the traditional employeremployees -state IR triangle? As we conclude so, our example supports our wider case but is not generalised at this early state; it will be added to a bank of examples that feeds the work towards theoretical renewal of IR. Bellemare (2000) put forw...

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use case study evidence to show that post‐bureaucracy is less marked by a discontinuity in surveillance than by its displacement and intensification.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the complex changes that occurred at the International Development Research Center, a Canadian public corporation.FindingsFundamental clash of values is evident. The reform has brought about a “new order” which relies on a centralized model of governance. Moves towards the “post‐bureaucratic organization” have entailed intensified surveillance and produced a new structure of domination.Originality/valueThe paper argues that Anthony Giddens' theories of late modernity and structuration contain elements that explain the emergence of new organizational forms, their continuity and transformation.