Action Research and Trade Unions

This article presents three cases: (I) the employment development and assistance program (EDAP) at the Ford Motor Company; (2) participation and change at 3M's Gorseinon production plant; and (3) confronting change at the Yorkshire Water Company. The cases provide an illustration of the action research involvement of the Trade Union Research Unit (TURU) at Ruskin College, Oxford. In particular they show the importance of understanding the contextual forces shaping the action research space in the realpolitik of industrial relations. The critical importance of taking 'the question ' and not a theory as point of departure come to the fore. The studies point to the primacy of dialogue for building the understanding necessary for effective joint action.