Douglas A. Fraser Center for Workplace Issues
Wayne State University
POST-DOC POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
The Douglas A. Fraser Center for Workplace Issues at Wayne State University anticipates hiring a Post-Doc interested in
issues
of labor, labor process and the analysis of the workplace. Specifically, we are launching an analysis on lean production and
its implementation (and impact) in the Automobile Industry. The program of research can be summarized as follows:
Encountering bottlenecks and barriers to successfully integrating current labor relations and human resource management
practices and processes with lean production innovations, both labor and management in the automotive sector recognize
a
growing and serious challenge to building sufficient dynamic capabilities around lean production in ways that continuously
reduce cost and improve quality and productivity, while not displacing UAW workers. Faced by an intensely competitive
global
market and overcapacity worldwide, the result is that domestic firms are losing ground to foreign competitors, which too
often
leads to displacement of American workers and the offshore movement of work. All firms want to avoid this, as, of course,
does the UAW.
Several auto OEMs and Tier 1 and 2 suppliers have offered unique and immediate access to their plants, an unprecedented
move. With the support and cooperation of both the UAW and plant management we will be exploring what repertoire of
actions might improve their competitive position and secure jobs in Michigan. Funding from MEDC (Michigan Economic
Development Corporation) starting September 2004 enables us to enter plants in 6 firms in order to assess how cooperation,
production changes and innovation can improve competitiveness. In addition, we will be undertaking a pilot project in two
Tier
1 automotive suppliers, with the cooperation of the UAW, to explore what is meant by lean production, how it might be
implemented, and how it can improve the prospects of long term employment opportunities.
The National Science Foundation published calls for proposals under their "Partnerships for Innovation" program designed
to
support promising partnerships between academe and the private sector that will study new approaches to support and
sustain
innovation. For purposes of this program, innovation explicitly extends both to developing the people and tools and to
creating
the necessary organizational conditions to foster the transformation of knowledge into the products, processes, systems,
and
services that fuel economic development, create wealth, and generate improvements in the national standard of living.
NSF indicated that if we could conduct a pilot project to demonstrate the promise of our research agenda and show access
to
automotive sector companies, a proposal to his directorate in the next round (May, 2005) would be highly competitive. A
second program is also in place at NSF that fits our project well: the "Innovation and Organizational Change" (IOC)
program
in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences. NSF is enthusiastic about the unique opportunity to engage
in
research with the explicit support of both automotive sector companies and UAW. OIC's next funding round of competition
is set for February 2005.
The successful applicant will have an interest in this topic, will demonstrate methodological skills, and will be able to
contribute
to the development of grant proposals. Funding is secured for a two-year appointment, with continued employment
opportunities dependent upon future funding streams. Salaries and benefits are competitive, and starting date can be
negotiated.
Please send a sample of writing and a current vitae with names and contact information of references to either Bill Cooke,
Director of the Fraser Center at w.cooke@wayne.edu or to David Fasenfest at david.fasenfest@wayne.edu.
Wayne State University encourages the application of women and minorities, and is an equal opportunity employer.
David Fasenfest
Associate Professor of Urban Affairs, and
Senior Research Fellow, Douglas A. Fraser Center for Workplace Issues
College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs
Walter P. Reuther Library
Wayne State University
5401 Cass Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202
+1.313.577.5111 (office)
+1.313.577.7599 (fax)
Return to Employment and Funding Opportunities Archives