News

The Republic's activities, and the impact of our research.

Research Republic Presents to Inaugural Meeting of Commission on Ownership

Thursday, 11 March 2010 00:00

Republic Directors Rohit Lekhi and Ricardo Blaug attended the first meeting of the new Commission on Ownership at the House of Commons today. Their presentation clarified the impact of ownership on the motivation and engagement of employees, corporate governance, and the responsiveness and efficiency of public services. Contrasting shareholder and stakeholder models of ownership, they concluded that changes in ownership must be accompanied by stakeholder influence in decision-making.

The independent Commission on Ownership was announced late last year by the Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell MP and is tasked with examining Government's responsibility for “ensuring diverse and fair ownership in Britain”. It will investigate the effects of different ownership structures on corporate behaviour and also citizen and employee involvement in public services. The Minister has expressed interest in the adaptability of mutuals for running public services and their ability to extend ownership rights to the communities they serve. Accordingly, the campaigning society Mutuo's Peter Hunt also outlined recent developments in the mutual sector at today's meeting.

The commission's membership includes:

Chair: Will Hutton (Executive Vice Chairman, The Work Foundation); Lady Sylvia Jay (Vice Chairman, L’Oreal plc); Peter Marks (Group Chief Executive, The Co-operative Group); Charlie Mayfield (Chairman, John Lewis Partnership); Colin Melvin (Chief Executive, Hermes Equity Ownership Services); Jonathan Michie (President, Kellogg College, Oxford University); Paul Mullins (Member, Industrial Development Advisory Board); Oliver Nyumbu (Chief Executive, Caret Ltd); Richard Reeves (Director, Demos) and Ruth Sunderland (Business Editor, The Observer).

 

 

Research Republic Presents New Research to Good Work Commission

Wednesday, 10 March 2010 00:00

Research Republic has contributed important new research to the Good Work Commission, launched today at The Work Foundation. This independent commission will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the UK workplace, taking into account the broad range of economic, social and even moral issues that underpin working life. Following up on previous investigations into the concept of good work, Research Republic has delivered two provocation papers, 'Smoke, Mirrors and the Employment Relationship' and 'Ownership and Good Work'. The first investigates changes and pressures on the employment relationship, and makes recommendations on addressing them. The second makes important links between the concept of good work and current interest in new forms of ownership.

The Good Work Commission's membership consists of:

Chair: Alan Parker (Founder and Chairman, Brunswick Group); Clare Chapman (Director General of Workforce,The Department of Health); Rt Rev Richard Chartres (Bishop of London); Adam Crozier (Chief Executive, Royal Mail); John Hanner (General Secretary, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers); Peter Housden MP (Permanent Secretary, Department of Communities and Local Government); Will Hutton (Executive Vice Chair, The Work Foundation); Jim McAuslan (General Secretary, British Airline Pilot's Association); Carolyn McCall (Chief Executive, Guardian Media Group); Peter Sands (Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered); John Varley (Group Chief Executive, Barclays) and Kim Winser OBE (Former Chief Executive, Pringle and Aquascutum).

 

'Accounting for Intangibles' Report Launched at The Work Foundation

Wednesday, 16 September 2009 00:00
Research Republic's Rohit Lekhi presented the report, 'Accounting for Intangibles: Financial reporting and value creation in the knowledge economy' to partners at The Work Foundation. Starting with the "value paradox", in which it is increasingly difficult to account for knowledge-based assets while these become increasingly important in the knowledge economy, it outlined how intangible assets in the public sector can be used towards creating public value, and gave recommendations for policymakers on how to resolve the value paradox. They were joined by speakers from the Cabinet Office and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.
 

Good Work Report Discussed in Parliamentary Debate

Thursday, 05 March 2009 00:00
In a recent speech to parliament by Dr. Howard Stoate, Labour MP for Dartford, entitled 'Men's Health at Work', research conducted by Research Republic in collaboration with the Work Foundation was cited. Dr. Stoate argued that the qualities of good work established by the report, have a "direct and quantifiable" effect on "health, life expectancy and life chances". Such work, he outlined, is characterised by lack of monotony and repetition, autonomy and discretion over tasks, a fair balance between effort and reward; and good workplace relationships, as the report suggested. He went on to assert that it was particularly important in the economic downturn to invest in people, through encouraging innovation in "job enrichment, empowerment initiatives aimed at enhancing autonomy, and new forms of work organisation".
 

Report on Good Work Discussed in Financial Times

Tuesday, 07 October 2008 00:00
Stefan Stern, columnist for the Financial Times, warns of the danger of declining terms of employment, referencing research carried out The Work Foundation's David Coats in association with Research Republic. In an article titled 'We will all lose out on a foolish race to the bottom' published on the International Labour Organisation's World Day for Decent Work, he expresses concern about a cost-cutting culture among managers of "all sectors" and declining job security. The report, 'Good Work: Job quality in a changing economy', published in September, is a comparative study of job quality between the UK and Europe, and investigates the interaction between the "production regime" set by employers and the regulatory "employment regime", expressing significant concerns about employment hours, intensity autonomy, rewards in comparison to other EU countries. Among the "brave" but worthwhile assertions made by the report, Stern points out, is the central argument that without good work employees are "deprived of many of the capabilities we require to chose a life that we value", and so declining employment relations may "be seen as a significant restriction to individual liberty".
 
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