CORRUPCIÓN DEL AMOR Y DEL MATRIMONIO ENTRE LOS CRISTIANOS CARÁCTER DE LA LUBRICIDAD MODERNA
50 ha sido separado del matrimonio, y que por otra parte uno de los cónyuges, o por impotencia o
dispersed and numerous franchisees. Much of the research which has been done
overseas has been funded by franchisors. In Australia, the Bureau of Industry
Economics conducted a study of franchising in the retail industry in 1989. This study
was based on franchisor interviews due to the difficulty of obtaining information from
franchisees. This survey showed that franchising was concentrated into a few product
areas. It estimated that 60% of franchises were accounted for by retail, restaurants and
take-away food, automobile products and services industries (BIE, 1989a: 10). Overall
the numbers of business format franchises (those most prevalent in retailing) rose by
10% between 1987 and 1988 (BIE, 1989a: 12). Almost half of the total employment in
franchised outlets is in the fast food and restaurant 'trade' which is labour intensive.
These outlets are staffed 80% by part-time employees. While the proportions of part- time employees in other types of franchises are much lower, the size of the fast food sector as an employer results in a high rate of part-time employment overall for franchising ( B E , 1989a: 15-16).
One tendency which has been documented is that franchisees are more likely to survive the first few years of operation than independent small businesses. A survey conducted between 1973 and 1985 found that nearly 80% of franchisees survived compared with 45% of independent small businesses (Williams, 1986 :219). This difference may be a result of franchisor intervention in transference of ownership of failing outlets. It may be reduced as the established franchisors become less concerned to create an image of stability around franchising. One survey of franchisees in the oil business, in Australia, found franchisees to have personal characteristics typical of other small entrepreneurs. They worked long hours (an average of 66 per week) and few had formal qualifications above technical college level. Many had been in their present business for 14 years or more indicating a high degree of tenure. It appears that while the franchisee appears to work long hours, supply is not restricted by high qualifications or skill requirements (Hunt and Mukhi, 1986: 73-93).
Many franchising arrangements are made because of a shortage of capital. On the franchisor's part a shortage of capital prevents established companies from expanding as fast as they would like. Australian banks encourage franchising by giving better terms on loans to franchisees, approved by accepted franchisors, than to independent small business starters (McCosker, 1989: 11). Banks in Australia have recognised the advantages of lending to franchisees in established chains and have targeted adverdsements to such potendal debtors (The Australian 24.5.90 : 29ff; BIE 1989a: 21- 3). In other cases potential small business people have capital but no experience in the business world. A franchise often offers management and organisation back-up as well as economies of scale in purchasing, market research, and advertising.
As indicated in Chapter 2, the legal status of the franchise relationship in Australia is still somewhat confused. In Australia, contracts are usually of short duration, five years is common in comparison with 20 years in the United States (McCosker, 1989). There is c u r r e n d y no minimum period of tenure, nor are there legal requirements for compensation for non-renewal of tenure. The exception is in the petroleum industry. The Petroleum Retailing Marketing Franchise Act 1980 guarantees petrol station franchisees nine years tenure and goodwill payments on termination of a franchise contract (Vic Retailer Sept. 1988: 4).
Franchising is not restricted to the small business sector, it also affects the operation of large chains and large stores. David Jones provides an example: in the 1970s the hairdressing salons in David Jones were let to a well known overseas franchise organisation. The advantage of this to David Jones was that they could avoid responsibility for apprentices, whose engagement and training was time-consuming for administrative and personnel staff. The leasing of the hairdressing salons to a franchisor was successful for David Jones and, as a result, many other departments have now become operated by franchisors. China departments are leased to franchisors to cut down on costs associated with breakages; jewellers are leased to franchisors to cut down on security requirements; Sheridan sheets are operated on a franchise arrangement to ensure regular supply; cosmetics stands and departments selling particular brands of clothes, such as Country Road and Weiss, are also leased by franchisors. Thus many of the staff working in a David Jones Store are not David Jones employees. They are franchisees of the lessee of the space provided by David Jones (McGovem, 1988).
From the manufacturer's point of view the shop-within-a-shop structure enables them to display their merchandise as they wish, to train and use their own staff, ensure that the corporate identity of the supplier/manufacturer is maintained, while not having to finance real estate acquisitions. While some manufacturers have set up their own chains operating outside of the largest retailers these have tended to be taken over by the large retail groups more rapidly than they are overseas (Aust. Business 17.12.1981: 82-3; Marketing World 1(4) July-Sept. 1984: 19-20).
The employment consequences of this shop-within-a-shop structure are two-fold. One of the major impetuses for the franchising arrangement is that a large store is able to divest itself of responsibility for training. This is most obvious in the case of apprenticeships which in the hair salons are then the responsibility of the franchisee. However, in a less dramatic form it also occurs in other areas. For example, in the cosmetics area, particular franchisors take on the task of training franchisees in one particular product. This means that training is restricted to one particular brand rather than an employee obtaining experience with a wide range of brands. Thus a broad general training may be replaced with a specialised and specific training. The extent to which such a process occurs has not yet been documented. The compartmentalisation of sales staff into one department appears to have increased throughout large stores and is not restricted to the franchised areas (Blanthom, 1989).
In summary, trends in the Australian retail industry in the 1980s which are likely to affect job tenure in the 1990s are: the introduction of information technologies, including scanners; changes in the nature and strength of links between banks and retailers;