Peter Hasle
'The trouble with small enterprises – in research and everyday life'
Wednesday 21 October, time: 14.00-14.45, location: Conference hall.
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Small enterprises are talked about and in many means also treated as an entity – despite the fact that small enterprises are marked by heterogeneity. They comprise a very few persons and most often are dominated by an owner-manager. The aims, the structure and the culture are therefore in many respects more different between small enterprises than between larger enterprises. Small enterprises are also volatile – many businesses close and many new ones open every year. They are informal and avoid formalities and bureaucracy, and it is very expensive to reach out to a considerable share of small enterprises due to the vast number of units.
It is to no surprise that both research and society have difficulties in dealing with small enterprises. Research has several constraints. One is to compile proper statistics to catch peculiarities for this volatile group of enterprises and at the same time to understand the variety behind the numbers. A second one is the qualitative case study approach which often reflects the strong personalities of the owner-managers but at the same time makes it difficult to generalize concepts and theories. Another is the separation of small enterprise research in scientific disciplines having only small cross disciplinary contact.
Small enterprises have a strong ability to utilize the porosity of society and identify possibilities for businesses, but it is from the societal perspective difficult to develop systems and opportunities that are sufficiently flexible to fit the needs small enterprises. However, these constraints are also being recognized, and we can observe more and more examples of research grasping both the general peculiarities of small enterprises and the heterogeneous nature of individual firms. Positive examples of flexible arrangements tailored to small enterprises are found in public regulation. The prospects for a better understanding which can be used to the benefits of small enterprises and there employees are therefore quite positive.
Contact: Peter Hasle, National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lerso Parkallé, DK-2100, Denmark, tel: +45 39 16 52 00, e-mail: pha@nrcwe.dk
CV
▪ Born 1953
▪ Senior researcher, National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark, and Head of DAVID – Centre for Research in Production, Management and Working Environment in Small Enterprises, Denmark (conference-organiser)
▪ Ph.D. in Technical Development and Working Environment, Technical University of Denmark
Since 2006 senior researcher and coordinator for the research group Management, Organisation and Working Environment at the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Denmark and Head of DAVID research Centre.
2002 - Associate Professor at Department of Engineering Manufacturing and management (IPL), Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
1990 - 2002 Research Director at Centre for Alternative Social Analysis (CASA).
1993 - 1994 Part time teacher at the Danish TUC training centre.
1987 - 1990 Occupational Hygienist at the Occupational Health Centre for the Municipality of Copenhagen.
1989 Advisor to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on training programmes for SMEs in occupational health and Safety in Thailand.
1985 - 1987 Advisor to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on an ILO/UNDP project on establishment of an institute on occupational health and safety in Thailand.
1982 - 1985 Occupational Hygienist at the Occupational Health Centre for the Municipality of Copenhagen.
1979 - 1982 Research Assistant at the Department for Construction, DTU on a project on technological development and work environment at construction sites.
Selected publications in English
O. H. Sørensen, P. Hasle, E. Bach: Working in Small Enterprises - is there a
Special Risk? Safety Science. 2007. Vol. 45 (10), p. 1044-1059
P. Hasle: Fragmentation of the employer concept in service industry outsourcing – a case study of the Danish public transport sector. Relations Industrielles - Industrial Relations. Vol. 62, no. 1, p. 96-117. 2007
Kabel, P. Hasle, H. J. Limborg: Occupational health services in Denmark – the rise and fall of a multidisciplinary and preventive approach. Policy and Practice in Health and Safety. Vol. 5, supl. p. 25-38. 2007
L. P. Andersen, P. Kines, P. Hasle: Owner Attitudes and Self Reported Behavior Towards Modified Work After Occupational Injury Absence in Small Enterprises. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. Vol. 17, 107-121. 2007
P. Hasle, H. J. Limborg: A Review of the Literature on Preventive Occupational Health and Safety Activities in Small Enterprises. Industrial Health. Vol. 44 , no. 1, p 6-12 2006.
P. Hasle, P. L. Jensen: Changing the internal health and safety organisation through organisational learning and change management. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing. Vol 16, No. 3, 2006. 269-285.