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Chapter
1 Background
to
Industrial Relations
1-1 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Emerging Paradigms (2nd Edition) B D Singh Excel Books
Background to Industrial Relations
"Work dominates the lives of most men and women and management of employees,
both individually and collectively, and remains a central feature of organisational life"-
observed Blyton and Turnkoll (1994). The truth behind these words is fast becoming
reality because of the rapid-changing business skylines and industrial landscapes
which force adjustment and readjustment of parameters of Employees Relations,
more frequently.
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Background to Industrial Relations
The term ‘industrial relations’ refers to the complex of human relationships which
emerges in work situations.
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Background to Industrial Relations
The present is only a part of a continuum linking the past with the future.
Consequently, current industrial relations owe much to their past and the
participant's goal and expectations for the future. At the micro level, the time-context
may be evident in two ways:-
a) Today's problem stems from yesterday's decision and its solution will, as the
environments change, become a problem in the future, and
b) The attitudes, expectations and relationships manifest, led by the participants,
are at least in part, the product of their past individual and collective
experiences.
"A distinctive approach of employment management is the need of the hour which
seeks to achieve competitive advantage through strategic development of a highly
committed and capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural
and personnel techniques." - John Storey, (1995).
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
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Background to Industrial Relations
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Background to Industrial Relations
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
HRM – IR - INTERFACE
The relationship between an MANAGEMENT
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Background to Industrial Relations
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Background to Industrial Relations
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Background to Industrial Relations
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
SYSTEMS
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Background to Industrial Relations
Unitary Perspective
The unitary perspective is based on the assumptions that the organisation is, or if it
is not, then it should be, an integrated group of people with a single authority/loyalty
structure and a set of common values, interests and objectives shared by all
members of the organisation.
The unitary perspective is found predominantly amongst managers – particularly
line-management-and, therefore, is often regarded as a management ideology. Fox
has argued that management clings to this view because:
i. It legitimises its authority-role by projecting the interests of management and
employees as being the same and by emphasising management's role of
'governing' in the best interests of the organisation, as a whole;
ii. It reassures managers by confirming that conflict (dissatisfaction), where it
exists, is largely the fault of the government rather than the management;
iii. It may be projected to the outside world as a means of persuading them that
the management's decisions and actions are right and the best in the
circumstances
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
Pluralistic Perspective
Fox believes that this view of the organisation "probably represents the received
orthodoxy in many Western societies" and is often associated with a view of society
as being 'post-capitalist', i.e., there is a relatively widespread distribution of authority
and power within the society, a separation of ownership from management, a
separation of political and industrial conflict, and an acceptance and
institutionalisation of conflict in both spheres. This perspective is based on the
assumption that the organisation is composed of individuals who coalesce into a
variety of distinct sectional groups, each with its own interest, objectives and
leadership (either formal or informal). The organisation is perceived as being multi-
structured and competitive in terms of groupings, leadership, authority and loyalty
and this, Fox argues, gives rise to 'complex of tensions and competing claims which
have to be 'managed' in the interests of maintaining a viable collaborative structure'.
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
Radical Perspective
The radical perspective, which is also often referred to as the Marxist perspective,
concentrates on the nature of the society surrounding the organisation. The Marxist
general theory of society argues that:
1. Class (group) conflict is the source of societal change-without such conflict the
society would stagnate;
2. Class conflict arises primarily from the disparity in the distribution of, and
access to, economic power within the society -the principal disparity being
between those who own capital and those who supply their labour;
3. The nature of the society's social and political institutions is derived from this
economic disparity and reinforces the position of the dominant establishment
group, for example, through differential access to education, the media,
employment in government and other establishment bodies, etc.;
4. Social and political conflict in whatever form is merely an expression of the
underlying economic conflict within the society.
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Background to Industrial Relations
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Background to Industrial Relations
4. Industrial Democracy
5. Liaison Functions
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Background to Industrial Relations
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Background to Industrial Relations
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Background to Industrial Relations
Basic Postulates of IR
EQUITY and FAIRNESS
Equity refers to equal treatment to one and all under comparable circumstances.
Equity and fairness are used synonymously in industrial relations. The concept of
fairness is an objective when one applies a technical yardstick like market forces
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
Focus on fairness;
Empower people;
Be transparent
Cont….
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Background to Industrial Relations
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Background to Industrial Relations
The Choices
Labour and management have six options;
Coerce: Only one side gets what it wants.
Conflict: While both sides spend more energy while only one side usually has
marginal gains.
Compete: One party wins and the other loses.
Compromise: No one gets what they want.
Co-opt/cooperate: It is usually possible for the initiator to walk away with a
larger slice of the cake.
Collaborate: Both parties evolve an option that provides for mutual gain.
Obviously, collaboration is the most preferred mode. Collaborative collective
bargaining can lead to win-win situations and mutual gains for both, the worker
and the management.
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