The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy

This book examines and evaluates various private initiatives to enforce fair labor standards within global supply chains. Using unique data (internal audit reports, and access to more than 120 supply chain factories and 700 interviews in 14 countries) from several major global brands, including NIKE, HP, and the International Labor Organization's Factory Improvement Programme in Vietnam, this book examines both the promise and the limitations of different approaches to actually improve working conditions, wages, and working hours for the millions of workers employed in today's global supply chains. Through a careful, empirically grounded analysis of these programs, this book illustrates the mix of private and public regulation needed to address these complex issues in a global economy.

Author: Richard M. Locke
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 04/29/2013
Pages: 228
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781107670884

Review Citation(s):
Choice 07/01/2014

About the Author
Locke, Richard M.: - Richard M. Locke is Class of 1922 Professor of Political Science and Management, Deputy Dean of the Sloan School of Management and Head of the Political Science Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His current research focuses on improving labor and environmental conditions in global supply chains. Working with leading firms such as NIKE, Coca Cola and HP, Locke and his students have been showing how corporate profitability and sustainable business practices can be reconciled. Locke is the author of Working in America (with Paul Osterman, Thomas Kochan and Michael Piore, 2001), Employment Relations in a Changing World Economy (with Thomas Kochan and Michael Piore, 1995) and Remaking the Italian Economy (1995, 1997). He was awarded the Jamieson Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2008 and the MIT Class of 1960 Teaching Innovation Award in 2007. Locke was named a 2005 Faculty Pioneer in Academic Leadership by The Aspen Institute.