ir ch 1

Copyright 2005 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PowerPoint Slides t/a Industrial Relations 3e by Bray, Deery, Walsh and Waring 1–1

Part oneThe nature and context of

industrial relations

CHAPTER ONETHE STUDY OF

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS


What is industrial relations? Distinguishing different approaches to the study of the

employment relationship A pluralist perspective: Neo-institutionalism A unitarist perspective: HRM A radical perspective: The labour process Final observations Summary

Overview


What is industrial relations? Definition important—setting the scope of study. Many attempts at definition:

– from job regulation to social relations at work. Challenges to the discipline:

– rise of non-unionism– growth of human resource management (HRM)– revival of labour economics.

A broad definition:‘industrial relations is about the behaviours and interaction of people at work’.


What is industrial relations? (cont.) Industrial relations (IR) assumes the employment

relationship is conflictual:– power relations at work.

Traditionally, it focused on ‘collective’ aspects of employment.

It has expanded to incorporate ‘individual’ aspects. IR is interdisciplinary by nature.


Distinguishing different approaches to the study of employment relations There are three distinct ideological perspectives to origins

and nature of industrial relations, each leading to a distinct approach/analytical tool to explain industrial relations:1. a pluralist perspective, leading to ‘neo-institutional’

approaches2. a unitarist perspective, which informs human resource

management (HRM)3. a radical perspective, which enables a ‘labour process’

approach.


A pluralist perspective: neo-institutionalismPluralism First, what is the pluralist perspective?

– Conflict is inevitable: competing interests between the parties.

– Power is diffused among the main bargaining groups within the employment relationship: no-one dominates.

– Trade unions are viewed as providing a mechanism that legitimates employees’ rights to bargain within the workplace.

– The state is regarded as an impartial entity, whose primary function is to protect the ‘public interest’.


What are the criticisms of pluralism?– Theory of pluralism is unclear.– Power is not evenly diffused:

it is is typically weighted towards management in the workplace.

– Emphasis upon rational approach to conflict management:

a form of managerialist thinking that obscures.– The emphasis on rules and regulations neglects process.

A pluralist perspective: neo-institutionalism (cont.)Pluralism (cont.)


Neo-institutionalism is an extension of pluralist thinking about the role of ‘rule-making’ in the employment relationship.

It sees that the employment relationship is governed by two types of rules:1. formal/informal rules2. substantive/procedural rules.

These rules are made in a broader context: as a result of the forces and imperatives of capitalist social relations, in society and in the workplace.

A pluralist perspective: neo-institutionalism (cont.)Neo-institutionalism


Other features of the neo-institutionalist approach: – the open-endedness of the employment relationship– understands the present in terms of the past– seeks to describe and understand the ‘real’ world– is not concerned with developing grand theory—develops

theory through induction.

A pluralist perspective: neo-institutionalism (cont.)Neo-institutionalism (cont.)


What is the unitarist perspective?– Assumption of a common purpose and shared goals, with no

fundamental conflict of interest between labour and capital.– Conflict is an aberration, the result of:

poor communications poor management.

– Unions are seen as an unwelcome intrusion: complete loyalty of employees.

– Role for strong management.

A unitarist perspective: HRMUnitarism


Approaches within unitarism:– scientific management (Taylorism/scientific

management): work study/‘one best way’ establishment of work rules.

– human relations (Mayo/the Hawthorne experiments): emphasis on work groups and social relations at work less importance given to economic incentives.

A unitarist perspective: HRM(cont.)Unitarism (cont.)


Approaches within unitarism (cont.):– neo-human relations (McGregor/Likert/Herzberg):

importance of individual needs of workers creating satisfaction from the nature of job.

– human resource management: emphasis on the management of commitment integration of employees into organisational strategy.

A unitarist perspective: HRM (cont.)Unitarism (cont.)


What are the criticisms of unitarism?– A narrow approach that neglects causes of conflict.– Fails to explain the prevalence of conflict within

organisations.– Does not account for uneven distribution of power among

employees and employers in the decision-making process.

A unitarist perspective: HRM (cont.)Unitarism (cont.)


HRM is the modern form that a unitarist approach to IR typically takes, that is: – the management of the employment relationship primarily

from the perspective of the employer. This can be seen in the main focuses of HRM:

– plan human-resource requirements– recruit and select employees– train and manage employee performance– reward employees– dismiss or retire employees.

A unitarist perspective: HRM(cont.)The analytical tools of HRM


HRM as a scholarly concept is relatively imprecise. What is its scope?

– Is it a study of employer labour-management practices, or

– is it concerned with the optimal allocation of labour to achieve management’s goals?

A unitarist perspective: HRM (cont.)The analytical tools of HRM (cont.)


The two main schools within the HRM approach are:1. ‘soft’ HRM—‘developmental humanism’ 2. ‘hard’ HRM—instrumental integration of employees into

firm objectives. ‘Best practice’ approach vs ‘contingency’ approach.



‘Soft’ HRM:– focuses on individual employees and the management

strategies needed to increase employee satisfaction, organisational commitment, motivation and work performance

– employees have universal needs, best identified and met using techniques drawn from psychology and organisational behaviour

– the techniques of management, aimed at achieving these goals, are considered to be ‘best practice’, the ‘best’ ways to develop employees towards organisational goals.



‘Hard’ HRM:– focuses on the better integration of HR strategies into

business strategy– employees are seen as a commodity to be better

allocated, in order to assist the achievement of business strategies

– decisions about the adoption of specific HRM policy becomes increasingly about cost–benefit analysis.

Management’s aims are to achieve ‘best fit’ between HR strategy and business strategy.



Criticisms of HRM approaches:– both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ HRM lack empirical evidence

confirming prescriptions.– ‘soft’ HRM has fundamental contradictions:

individual performance and development, and team-based cooperation

implementing organisational flexibility can undermine the stability, trust and long-term development needed to achieve organisational goals

HR’s championing of organisational culture can conflict with the desire for flexibility.



A radical perspective:The labour processRadicalism

What are the common features of radical perspectives?– Fundamental and inherent conflicting interests between

management and workers.– Uneven distribution of power between bargaining

groups, within the workplace and society.– The role of trade unions—to challenge managerial

control.– The state protects the interests of capitalists.


What are the criticisms of a radical perspective?– Preoccupied with conflict:

obscures any cooperation or shared goals between management and workers.

– Class struggle not part of modern capitalism.– Capital is not homogenous:

competition among capitalists.– Under-estimates the independence of the state.

A radical perspective:The labour process (cont.)Radicalism (cont.)


A radical perspective:The labour process (cont.)Class struggle and control in thelabour process Marx argued that capital social relations are based on a

fundamental divide between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

Labour possesses labour power—the potential effort that each employee offers.

Potential labour does not always equal actual labour. Management’s task is to convert this labour power into actual

work and effort, in order to make a profit.


This gives rise to the central theme within the labour-process approach: How does management maximise the conversion of ‘potential’ labour into ‘actual’ labour?– Labour is not always compliant in this process, resulting

in conflict between management and labour. – As this relationship is open-ended, management seeks to

establish methods for ensuring control, to maximise ‘actual’ labour effort.

A radical perspective:The labour process (cont.)Class struggle and control in thelabour process (cont.)


The labour-process argument: How does management maximise the conversion of labour power into actual labour?– Braverman (1974) argued that management seeks

control and improved performance through deskilling labour.

– Friedman (1977) argued that management could use either:

direct control or ‘responsible autonomy’ based approaches.

A radical perspective:The labour process (cont.)Class struggle and control in thelabour process (cont.)


Final observations Chapter has highlighted three perspectives to the

employment relationship: – unitarist– pluralist – Marxist.

Each of these approaches are competitors in seeking to explain the nature of the employment relationship:– each approach is based on different value judgments.– each approach emphasises different aspects of the

employment relationship. This text adopts a pluralism/neo-institutionalist approach.


Summary The ‘commonsense’ approach to industrial relations

highlights conflict between trade unions and employers: – Need to move beyond this limited view.– Theory provides a guide to understanding the

relationship between the parties in the employment relationship.

Three types of theories are introduced in this chapter:– pluralist/neo-institutionalist– unitarist/HRM– radical/labour-process theory.

ir ch 1

Business