Assessing the inputs and outputs of partnership arrangements for health and safety management
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450310490183 |
| Published date | 01 October 2003 |
| Pages | 492-503 |
| Date | 01 October 2003 |
| Author | L.H. Vassie,C.W. Fuller |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Assessing the inputs and
outputs of partnership
arrangements for health and
safety management
L.H. Vassie and C.W. Fuller
Scarman Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Keywords Partnership, Health and safety, Input/output analysis
Abstract Partnerships have the potential to create significant benefits for all participants
provided that there is a mutual understanding of and respect for the inputs required and the
outputs sought from the arrangements by each party. The aim of this study was to explore the
inputs required and the outputs achieved by partners as a function of the level of involvement
required within the partnership arrangement. The study has investigated the extent to which the
input criteria defined by the DTI and the output criteria defined by Kanter, within three health and
safety initiatives involving homeworker-employer, employee-employer, and contractor-employer
partnerships varied, as a function of the level of partnership defined by Thompson and Sanders.
The examination of the partnership arrangements within the three case studies demonstrated that
the inputs were very similar whether the arrangements were classified as co-operation,
collaboration or coalescence, although the extent of the output criteria was greatest in the case of
the coalescence partnership. The results illustrated the level of inputs required within a range of
partnership arrangements in the context of health and safety management and the range of
outputs that might be anticipated.
Introduction
Partnerships, which include working arrangements, such as joint working,
coordinated working, collaboration, coalition and alliances (Taket and White,
2000), have become widespread in a range of industrial sectors. Kanter (1994,
p. 96) commented: “Alliances between companies, whether they are from
different sides of the world or different ends of the supply chain, are a fact of
life in business today”. The net result of these partnerships is that: “Strategic
alliances and closer relationships with suppliers and contractors tend to blur
the boundaries of the enterprise” (OECD, 2000). Whilst partnering has often
been discussed in the context of inter-organisational relationships, it has been
recognised that the principles of partnering are equally applicable between
other parties, such as intra-company groups of employees and managers. For
example, the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, 2000) advocated
within its “Partnerships with People” initiative that, because everyone was
capable of contributing to the goals of an organisation, the implementation of
partnering approaches could improve the competitiveness of UK industry.
Partnerships, however, are not limited to the private sector; within the public
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
ER
25,5
490
Received October 2002
Revised January 2003
Accepted January 2003
Employee Relations
Vol. 25 No. 5, 2003
pp. 490-501
qMCB UP Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450310490183
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