ABSTRACT
In this chapter we describe the factors that can influence the nature of employment relations in a firm and explain some of their effects. While these forces are at work in nearly all firms, their influence can vary over both time and space and so an employment relationship is essentially a dynamic state of affairs. Indeed, some of the forces described in this chapter might not have an influence in a particular firm, and so the chapter deals with what are really potential forces. For this reason, the first section of the chapter gives a conceptual map of these factors and this has two main purposes: first, it structures the discussion for the remainder of the chapter and second, it provides a framework for analysis in chapters 5 to 8.
