Learning Factories or Reproduction Factories?

Abstract

This article compares and contrasts the labor-management practices of Japanese consumer electronics maquiladoras in Mexico with those of consumer electronics factories in Japan and assesses the extent to which the labor-management practices of Japanese factories have been transferred to maquiladoras in Mexico. An idealized model of the labor-management system employed in Japanese factories in the consumer electronics sector is delineated from the available research literature. Data on labor-management practices of the Japanese consumer electronics maquiladoras are derived from personal interviews with 75 Mexican production workers. The findings suggest that the consumer electronics maquiladoras in Mexico are using a hybrid labor-management system that is similar to but differs in important ways from the system used in consumer electronics factories in Japan.

Revisiting Classic Needs Theory: Does Maslow Explain Mexico’s Maquiladora Workers’ Needs?

“…The interviews were conducted in Spanish and tape-recorded. Since qualitative studies investigating lower-level workers were limited (Sargent & Matt hews, 1997;Kenney, Goe, Contreras, Romero & Bustos, 1998), the questions developed are based on relevant literature and similar studies. The open-ended interview questions used in the study are in Appendix A (English version) and Appendix B (Spanish version).…”

Mitä työssä opitusta tunnustetaan?

“…Y leinen ja empiiristen tutkimustenkin vahvistama käsitys on, että koulutus ylipäätään ja etenkin taitojen sertifioiminen on työnantajien kannalta ongelmallista, koska koulutus ja todistukset helpottavat työntekijöiden hakeutumista muiden työnantajien palvelukseen (esim. Méhaut & Delcourt 1997, 79;Kenney et al 1998). Toisenlaisiakin tuloksia on tosin saatu.…”

The Crisis of the Maquiladora Model in Mexico

“…Empirical evidence, through case studies, that partial aspects of a modern maquila are already present in Mexico (Kenney, 1998). 2.…”