Michael J. Handel

mhandel@ssc.wisc.edu

Reasearch: Economic Sociology, Sociology of Work and Labor Markets, Sociology of Organizations

I study the growth of earnings inequality in the U.S. over the last twenty years and its relationship to the changing nature of work.

My focus at the moment is threefold:

• whether diffusion of computers has induced a mismatch between the skills employers demand and workers possess
• whether workers' wages are positively affected by the presence of participative management practices
  
• whether organizations have become smaller and less bureaucratic over time, with fewer management and supervisory layers, as predicted by theories of an emerging "post-Fordist" or "post-bureaucratic" dominant organizational form

PUBLICATIONS

BOOK

The Sociology of Organizations: Classic, Contemporary, and Critical Readings (2002)
edited by Michael J. Handel, available from Sage Publications

The Table of Contents is available in Word and Pdf formats.

This anthology includes readings I use for an upper division course in the sociology of organizations that is a broad survey of the field. The readings are primary sources, most of which are either classics or widely used and cited, which have been condensed for this anthology to permit coverage of most subjects normally included in a one-semester course. The readings represent a wide range of theoretical perspectives and substantive topics.

I have also written section introductions that are overviews of the topics and provide background, empirical illustrations, additional concepts, and summaries of debates to give readers context and fill in any gaps left by the readings. The intention is to render complex ideas easily understood with a wide range of examples and accessible prose.

Because of its coverage and use of both primary sources and substantial commentary, the book can be used as either a supplementary reader for a course using a textbook or as a stand-alone text in which the section introductions substitute for a textbook.

PAPERS

"Is There a Wage Payoff to Innovative Work Practices?" with Maury Gittleman, forthcoming in Industrial Relations
Word or Pdf format

This paper examines whether high performance work practices are associated with higher wages for employees.

"Skills Mismatch in the Labor Market," forthcoming in Annual Review of Sociology (2003)
Word or Pdf format

This paper reviews the debate over whether there is a mismatch between the level of skills workers possess and the level of skills jobs require. A longer version of this paper will be published by the Economic Policy Institute.

COURSES

• Sociology 632 Sociology of Organizations syllabus in Word or Pdf format
• Sociology 652 Sociology of Economic Institutions syllabus in Word or Pdf format
• Sociology 919 Understanding Job Quality: Skills, Technology, and Organizational Restructuring in the New Economy syllabus in Word or Pdf format

Questions or comments:
Email Michael J. Handel