Background to Industrial Relations

8/4/2019 Background to Industrial Relations

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GIREESH.Y.M.

Background to Industrial

Relations.


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Understanding/ Appreciating IndustrialRelations/Employee Relations

Work dominates the lives of most men and womenand management of employees, both individuallyand collectively, and remains a central feature of

organizational life. Blyton and Turnkoll. The truth of this is asserting itself due to fast-

changing business skylines and industrial land- -scapes which forces adjustment and readjustment of

parameters of employee relations.


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ER has become more strategic and more sensitivebecause it is this culture of relationships in theorganization that creates symbiotic working and

unleashes organizational synergy. The concept of Employee Relations requires proper

appreciation. Generally, the term used is IndustrialRelations,denoting relationships between

management and workers in the industry


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By IR has its roots in the economic and socialchanges caused by the Industrial Revolution.

The early exploitative processes and practices led to

inevitable conflict between labor and capital. The rise of trade unionism, the creation of

demarcation lines between managers and managersand an atmosphere vitiated by restricted practices,

mistrust and credibility- gaps


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This createdadverasarial,confrontational,mechanistic andlegalistic relationships characterized by animosity,divergence irreconcilable aims and disparity.

Such a relationship continued for long and this hangover of history has a left bitter aftertaste

having a legacy of a narrow passive and limited vision

of Industrial Relations.


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The sole focus of IR has been skewed in favour ofdispute resolution,maintainance of relations and onmeeting legal requirements.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: DEFINITIONS. The term industrial relations refers to the complex

of human relationship which emerges in worksituations.

IR is the art of living together for the purposes ofproduction.-J.Henry Richardson.


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The subject of Industrial Relations deals withcertain regulated and institutionalized relationshipsin industry.-Allan Flanders

The field of industrial relationships includes the

study of workers and their tradeunion,management,employersassociations the stateinstitutions concerned with the regulation ofemployment.

The regulation of relationship is from within, for theparties have to learn to live together by a process ofaccommodation and adjustment


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According to Dale Yonder ,Industrial Relations dealswith the problems which arise in the context ofhuman relationships when the workers submitthemselves to being controlled by the employers.

Problems of human relationship arising from thesale of services for a wage and working on thepremises of employers and under their control form

the subject matter of industrial relations.


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Like a coin it has two faces cooperation andconflict. The relationship, to use Hegel s expressionundergoes change from thesis to antithesis and then

back to synthesis.

The relationship between labor and management isbased on mutual adjustment on interests and goals.It depends upon economic, social ,psychological

satisfaction of the parties. Higher the satisfaction.healthier the relationship. In

practice however


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It is found that labour and capital constantly strive tomaximize their preffered values by applying resources toInstitutions.

In their efforts they are influenced by and are influencingothers.

Both of them augment their respective incomes andimprove their power position.

The major issues involved in the industrial relationsprocess are terms of employment viz,wages,dearness

allowances,bonus,fringe benefits, working conditionsviz., leave, working hours, health,safety and welfare,nonpayment-related situations such as jobsecurity,manning,and employment


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Impact of work changes personnel issues sush asdiscipline, promotional opportunities and amongothers,recogniton of trade unions .

Enclopaedia Britannica underscores the fact that

industrial relations covers both individual andcollective relations. 'The subject of industrialrelations , therefore individual relations and jointconsultation between employers and people at the

place of work, collective relations between employersand their organizations and the trade unions and thepart played by the state in regulating the relations.


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Industrial Relations is a set of phenomena,operating both within and outside the work place,connected with determining and regulating theemployment relationship.


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HRM DIMENSIONS TO EMPLOYEERELATIONS

It may be reiterated that in a new economicenvironment ,only those companies which wouldfollow human resource development welfare oriented policies will have healthy industrialrelations.


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Sl.

NoDimension TIR EER

1 Nature of Relations Pluralist Unitarist

2 Contract Emphasis on terms of contract definedrules, contract

Beyond contract, innovative ways

3 Conflict Institutionalized De-emphasized, is pathological

4 Union Legitimacy Unions are acceptable Not considered desirable

5 Managerial task in relation tolabour

Monitoring Nurturing

6 Key relation Labour management customer

7 Pay Standardised,based on job evaluation Performance related

8 Basis of labour managementrelations

Collective Bargaining Contract Individual Contract

9 Job design Division of Labour Team Work

10 Conflict handling Research temporary truce, reactive Managing climate and culture-proactive

11 Key People PM/IR Specialists Line People

12 Focus of attention Personnel procedures Various culture and structure-andstructure- related personnelstrategies

Difference Between Traditional Relations and Emerging EmployeeRelations


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Dimension IndustrialRelations

HRM

PsychologicalContract

Compliance Commitment

Behavioral

References

Norms, customs

and Practice

Values and

missionRelations Low

trust,Pluralist,collective

Hightrust,unitarist,individual

OrganizationDesign

Formal roleshierarchy,division oflabour, managingcontrol

Flexible roles,flatstructure,teamwork,autonomy,self-control


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APPROACHES TO INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

The terms industrial relations is used to denote aspecialist area of organizational management andstudy which is concerned with a particular set ofphenomenon associated regulating the humanactivity of employment.

It is, however, difficult to define the boundaries ofthis set of phenomenon, and therefore, the term

itself-in a precise and universally accepted way.


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Unitary Perspective.

The unitary perspective is based on the assumptionthat the organization is or if it is not ,then it should

be an integrated group of people with a singleauthority/loyalty structure, and a set of common

values ,interests, and objectives shared by all themembers of the organization.

Managements prerogative (it is right tomanage,make decisions) is regarded as a legitimate,

rational and accepted and any opposition toit(whether formal or informal, internal and external)is seen as irrational.


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The organization is not, therefore regarded as a themand use situation.

There is no conflict between the interests of thosesupplying capital to the enterprise and their managerialrepresentatives, and those contributing their labortheowners of the capital and labor are .but complementarypartners to the common aims of production, profits, andpay in which every one in the organization has a stake.

The underlying assumption of this view, therefore is thatthe organization system is in basic harmony, conflict isunnecessary and exceptional.


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IMLPICATIONS

Conflict: This has two important implications:Theexpression of employee dissatisfaction anddifferences with management is perceived as anirrational activity.

Trade Unions are regarded as intrusion into theorganization from outside which compete with themanagement for loyalty of employees.

The unitary perspective is found predominantlyamongst manager particularly line management


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Amanager who heads a revenue-generatingdepartment and is responsible for achieving anorganization'smainobjectives byexecutingfunctions such as policymaking, target setting,decision making.
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It legitimates its authority role by projecting theinterests of management and employees as being thesame and by emphasizing managements role ofgoverning in the best interests of the organization,as a

whole. It reassures managers by confirming that conflict

(dissatisfaction).where it exists , is largely the fault of thegovernment rather than management.

It may be projected to the outside world as a means ofpersuading them that managements decision and

actions are right and the best in the circumstances andthat may challenge to them is, at best guided or, at worstrebellious.


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PLURALISTIC PERSPECTIVE

This perspective is based on the assumption that theorganization is composed of individuals who unite

Into a variety of distinct sectional groups, each with its

own interest, objectives, and leadership.The organization is perceived as being multi-

structured and competivive in terms ofgroupings,leadership,authority and loyalty and this

give rise to complex of tensions and competingclaims which have to be managed in the interests ofmaintaining a viable collaborative structure.


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The underlying assumption of this approach is thatthe organization is in a permanent state of dynamictension resulting from the inherent conflict ofinterest between the various sectional groups andrequired to be managed through a variety of roles,institutions and processes. The implications of this

view for the nature of conflict and the role of trade

unions are very different to those of the unitaryapproach.


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Radical Marxist Perspective

The radical perspective which is also often referredto as the Marxist perspective, concentrates on thenature of the society surrounding the organization.It assumes and emphasizes that the organizationexists within a capitalist society ,where theproduction system is privately owned .,profit isthe key influence on company policy.,control overproduction is enforced downwards by the ownersmanagerial agents. The Marxist general theory ofsociety argues that


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1.Class (group) conflict is the source of societal change without such conflict ,society would stagnate.

2.Class conflict arises primarily from the disparityin the distribution of and access to the economic power

within society-the principal disparity being betweenthose who own capital those who own capital and those

who supply their labor.3.The nature of the societys social and political institutions

is derived from this economic disparity and reinforcesthe position of the dominant establishment group, forexample, through differential access to education, themedia,employment,in government and otherestablishment bodies.


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Social and political conflict in whatever form ismerely an expression of the underlying economicconflict within the society.


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Objectives of IR

1.To develop the healthy employer-employee relations.

2.To maintain industrial peace and high productivity.

3.To develop the growth of industrial democracy.

4.To improve the economic conditions of workers. 5.State control on industries for regulating production

and promoting harmonious industrial relations.

6.Socialization or rationalization of industries by making

state itself a major employer. 7.Vesting of the proprietary interests of the workers in

the industries in which they are employed.


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1.Employer to Individual Employee Relationships.

2.Labour Management Relations.

3.Industrial Peace and Productivity.

4.Industrial Democracy. 5.Liasion Functions.


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Forms of Industrial Relations

1.Managing by Contending:

2.Managing by Conceding:

3.Managing by collude:


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Theories of Industrial Relations.

Several systematic attempts have been made byIndustrialists., sociologists, and industrial relationstheorists to develop the theoretical perspectives toanalyze industrial relations and trade unionism.

DUNLOP SYSTEM THEORY:(1958).

The credit for applying the systems concept toindustrial relations goes to Dunlop.

It within this perspective that Dunlop analyzesindustrial relations systems as a subsystem ofsociety.


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Dunlops System Model.

IR=f(a,t,m,p,i).

A= actors, Employers,Workers,and Government.

T=Technological Context

M=Market Context, P=Power Context,

I=Ideological context that helps to bind themtogether.


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A refers to the undernoted actors in The IR drama. 1.A hierarchy of managers and their representative in

supervision.

2.A hierarchy of workers(non managererial)and any

spokesman and, 3.(Specialized Government Agencies created by the first

private Agencies.).

The significant aspects of the environment in which theactors interact are:

1.The technological characteristics of the organization, themarket budgetary constraints, which impinge on the actors,

2.The locus and distribution of power in the larger society.


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The actors in given contexts,establish rules for theworkplace and work community including thosegoverning the contacts among the actors the actorsin an industrial relations system.

If further element is required to complete theanalytical system an ideology or a set of ideas and

beliefs, commonly held by the actors, that to helps to

bind or to integrate the system together as an entity.


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The Pluralist theory of Flanders.

This theory is also known as Oxford Model.According to Flanders ,conflict is inherent in anindustrial system.Hence,Collective Bargaining iscentral to the industrial relations system.The rules ofthe system are viewed as being determined throughthe rule making process of collective bargaining

which is regarded as a political institution involvingin a power relationship between the employers andemployees.


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The Oxford approach can be expressed in the formof an equation;

r=f(b) or r=(c).

Where r=the rules governing industrial relations b = collective bargaining.

c= conflict resolved through collectivebargaining.


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Evolution of Industrial Relations

In order to understand the issues and problemsassociated with industrial relations, it is desirable tostudy its various evolutionary phases. Practicallyspeaking, the growth of industrial relations in India

is no way different from that of other parts of theglobe. This is capitalism.

The emergence of tripartite consultative system andvoluntary and statutory to industrial

relations,immensely contributed to the growth of aparticular system of industrial relations in ourcountry.


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The ever-growing and fast achanging scientific andbrought forth in the industrial world a unique type ofemployer- employee relations replacing thetraditional master-servant relationship.

For a proper theoretical perspective of industrialrelations, it seems essential to have a historicalreview of industrial relations in a few countries.

Background to Industrial Relations

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