Case study of underground-coal-mining productivity in Utah
Reasons for the wide variance in productivity levels among underground-coal-mining firms in Utah are examined. Related objectives are to test the feasibility of relying on in-depth field research in the coal industry to clarify relationships and develop more-useful perspectives concerning productivity, to demonstrate in detail the considerable variance in productivity levels among firms, and to suggest more-useful hypotheses for further research. The methodology employed is a series of case studies of individual firms which include in-depth interviews, mine tours, and the collection of firm-specific data. Results indicate that, in the Utah case, the industrial-relations environment is the key to analyzing the determinants of productivity differences. However, this view of industrial relations encompasses more than the traditional area of labor-management relations. From the most-narrow perspective, it focuses on the impact on productivity of the differences in internal-labor-market organizations and functions in union and nonunion firms. From a broader perspective it includes such variables as the impact of the United Mine Workers of America on management philosophy, the work ethic and motivation of miners, and the impact of the size of the firm. The most general interpretation of the industrial-relations framework of analysis concerns the evolution of mine ownership patterns in Utah. The suggestion from this more historical view is that institutional forces have dictated the pattern of acquisition of union and nonunion coal operators.
- OSTI ID:
- 6824801
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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