Developing Organisational Competitiveness through New Patterns of Work

Micro-economic reform was a response to the declining economic competitiveness of the Australian economy. A central pillar in this was the deregulation of the labour market to develop more efficient and effective work practices. The Williamstown Naval Dockyard was the federal government s premier dockyard. It had gained a reputation for inefficiency and industrial unrest. Variously described as Australia s worst worksite, the dockyard had gained the nickname of the Iron Lung . The federal government used the dockyard to demonstrate its willingness to employ its micro- economic reform agenda. On January 1 1988, the dockyard was the first public utility sold by an Australian federal government. This book documents the reforms undertaken at the dockyard, in particular the influence of new patterns of work and industrial relations reforms on enhancing performance. The results of this research indicate that an integrative approach across a broad range of work patterns and practices combined with a high level of management commitment and a new industrial relations agenda can provide a significant contribution to organisational performance.