This paper sets forth the findings of a research study undertaken in Chihuahua, Mexico. The length of stay of 1 866 employees in six maquiladora plants is analyzed across a maximum of 24 months. By drawing on discrete time hazard modeling, the research analyzes the extent to which work and nonwork factors contributed to employee length of stay in the late 1980s. It examines, in particular, the influence of position, cohort grouping, plant type, and demographic characteristics on employee duration in (...) the participating plants.The findings show that line operators at the peak of high employment turnover in the maquiladora industry remained employed for an average of 10 months. The study highlights important differences, for the results were not uniform across all maquiladora employees. There were variations in length of stay among employees of different types of plants, in different positions in the same company, different months of entry, and different migrant status. (shrink)

The American State of California passed Proposition 187 in November 1994, thus confirming the discontent of the 'contented electoral majority' with spending taxpayer dollars on education and health care for undocumented immigrants. The paper traces the unfortunate set of events to their source, the initiation of the US-Mexico Bracero Programme in 1940. This retrospective enables us to observe how US policy switched from requesting assistance from Mexico during labour shortage to repudiating the sons of those who had come to its (...) aid. (shrink)

Running a business has become less private, more open, less managerial, more political, less a right, more a privilege dependent on the will of stakeholders. It has also become more external: people outside management who are affected by management's decisions increasingly have a voice in, if not a veto over, these decisions, and have access to the technology that enables them to have that voice heard globally. Historically, companies have tried to deal with their external environment by adding specific staff (...) functions to respond to particular 'threats' as they emerged. The authors argue that a more proactive approach is needed to adapt to the new reality of business in a global world. After analysing several cases that laid out important historical antecedents spanning the last 30 years, the authors suggest a new paradigm-based on open systems theory for conceptualizing and organizing the corporate external affairs activities. (shrink)