INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONSMultidisciplinary field Many also equate IR to labour relations and believe that IRonly studies unionized(forming a group) employment situations, but this Is an oversimplification(more simpler)

Human relations refers to the whole field of relationship that exists bcoz of the necessary collaboration of men and women in the employment process of modern industry. It is that part of mgt which is concerned with the management of enterprise whether machine operator, skilled worker or manager. It deals with either the relationship btwn the state and employers & workers organisation or the relation between the occupational organisation themselves.Employment relationsImportance of non-industrial employment relationshipsIR

1.part of the social sciences 1. IR seeks to design 1. IR contains strong policies and institutions to normative principles help the employment relationship about workers & work better employment relationship,2.Understand employment relationship & especially the rejection its institutions through high-quality, rigorous of treating the labour research as a commodity in favor of seeing workers as3.IR scholarship intersects with scholarship human beings in in labor economics, industrial sociology, democratic communities labor & social history ,HRM, political science, entitled to human rights law, & other areas

Science buildingProblem SolvingEthicalHISTORY RootsIndustrial Revolutioncreated the modern employment relationshipproducing free labor markets & large-scale industrial organizations with thousands of wage workersmassive economic and social changesLabour problemsLow wages, long working hours, monotonous and dangerous work, and abusive supervisory practiceshigh employee turnover, violent strikes, and the threat of social instabilityHISTORY Intellectual & InstitutionalIndustrial relations - end of the 19th century - as a middle ground btwn classical economics & Marxism, with Sidney Webb and Beatrice Webbs Industrial Democracy (1897) being the key intellectual work. IR thus rejected the classical econJohn R. Commonsacademic industrial relations programUniversity of Wisconsin in 1920HISTORY Financial Support (Financial support)John D. Rockefeller, Jrprogressive labor-management relationsaftermath of the bloody strike at a Rockefeller-owned coal mine in ColoradoHISTORY ChairsMontague Burton(Britain)another progressive industrialistendowed chairs in industrial relations@ Leeds, Cardiff & Cambridge in 1930Allan Flanders & Hugh Clegg formation of the Oxford School Formalized in 1950HISTORY Cont..Formed with a strong problem-solving orientation that rejected both the classical economists laissez faire(Noninterference in the affairs of others) solutions to labor problems & the Marxist solution of class revolution. It is this approach that underlies the New Deal legislation in the United States, such as the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.Workplace Relations - the relationship btwn an employer & its employees that governs the employment & non-employment elements such as terms of employment, working condition, welfare, rights and obligation to each other, and so on.Purpose - unite the group of employees and employer as one big, happy family.Principle -behind the IR is the collective bargaining between the employees union and the employer to achieve a collective agreementIR is not the same as the Employment Act in the sense that the interaction process btwn an employer & the employees is not much bound to legal & technical aspect of an employment, but rather to achieve a compromise agreements and stands.

IR executives & managers act as the middlemen btwn the union & the employers, and in an ideal world, they strike a balance between the two.

Sometimes, the union fights hard and in response the employer would take a tough stance. As a result, negotiation stalls and the outcome can be potentially unhealthy. Its true they say strong workers union can make the employers life miserable and cripple the companys operation.

Employee RelationsInvolves the body of work concerned with maintaining employer-employee relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, and morale.

Employee Relations is concerned with preventing & resolving problems involving individuals which arise out of or affect work situations.

Relationship of employees with the organization and with each otherAdvice to supervisorscorrect poor performance & employee misconductprogressive discipline and regulatory requirements disciplinary actions and in resolving employee grievances and appealsInformation to employees promote a better understanding of management's goals & policiesto employees to assist them in correcting poor performance, on or off duty misconduct, and/or to address personal issues that affect them in the workplace.applicable regulations, legislation, and bargaining agreementsabout their grievance and appeal rights and discrimination and whistleblower protectionsAdvise to employeesDeveloping,implementing,administering & analyzing the employer-employee relationship;performing ongoing evaluation of it; managing employee performance; ensuring that relations with employees comply with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations; resolving workplace disputes

IncludeHR careers,communications, legal and regulatory issues,technology, metrics and outsourcing in the employee relations field, as well as effective employee relations practices and global employee relations issuesDoes not include matters involving union organizing,union elections, collective bargaining and ongoing union-management relations, which are encompassed in the Labor Relations Discipline.Theories of IRSystem Theory

Oxford Theory

Structural Contradiction Theory

Gandhian Theory

Human Relations TheorySystem Theory (by John Dunlop)Focuses on

Participants in the processEnvironmental forcesOutput And their inter-relationship.

13/20System Theory (contd.)Market or Budgetary Restraints

Technology

Distribution of Power in SocietyUnion Management

GovernmentRules of the WorkplaceEnvironmental ForcesParticipantsOutputs15/20System Theory : ParticipantsThe main participants are

Workers and their organisations

Management and their representatives

Government agencies16/20System Theory :EnvironmentThree types of environments

Technological characteristics of workplace(Technological sub-system)

The market or economic constraints(Economic sub-system)

The locus and balance of power existing in society (Political sub-system)17/20System Theory : Output Output is the result of interaction of the parties/actors of the system which is manifested in the network of rules, countrys labour policy and labour agreements etc. that facilitate a fair deal to workers.18/20System Theory (contd.)

(Set of Ideas and Beliefs)14/20The Oxford TheoryFlanders Conflict is inherent Collective bargaining required CB central to IR system determined thro rule making process of CB r = f (b) or r = f (c) where r rules governing IR b collective bargaining c Conflict resolved thro CBCriticism too narrow (comprehensive for analysing IR) overemphasis political process of CB insufficient wt deeper influence in determination of rulesEmphasis rules, job regulation, institutions of job regulation as indicative of order orientation organisationLiberal-pluralist approachSTRUCTURAL CONTRADICTION THEORY - Hyman(1971) Marxian analysis of IR + Trade union = Pessimistic & Optimistic approach

Both represent structural contradictions

Pessimistic approach Lenin, Michels, Trotsky limitations of trade union consciousness Working class + intellectuals = New social orderOptimistic approach Marx & Engels role of working class not only maintenance & enhancement of wage level but also carry class struggle against capital class thrust creating classless society

Trade unions represent workers response to the deprivations inherent in their role as employees within a capitalist economy opposition & conflict cant be divorced from their existence & activityCont..Inherent deprivation cause conflict of trade unions with employers in politico-economic structureAnalysis focus on not only structure but also deprivations & socio-economic inequalities (inherent components of capitalist mode of production)

Gandhian ApproachTruth, Non-violence, Non-possession, Non co-operation (Satyagarah), trusteeship...

Workers right to strike.

Concept of equality

There is no room for conflict of interests between the capitalist and the labourers.

But what IF conflicts occur...?Should they go for strikes/lockouts...!

Two things that Gandhiji expect from workers

AwakeningNurturing faith in their moral strengthAwareness of its existence

Unity

Gandhiji advocates

Demands should be reasonable and through collective action.Avoid strikes as far as possible.Avoid formation of unions in philanthropic organisations.Strikes should be the last resort only.In case of organising a strike, workers should remain peaceful and non-violent.

Human Relations Theory KEITH DEVISHuman are not inanimate or passive.

Human are very complex to understand i.e. to manage.

Integration of people into work-situation that motivates them to work together productively, cooperatively, &with economic, psychological & social satisfactions

Goals to get people to produceTo cooperate through mutuality of interestTo gain satisfaction from their relationships Highlights policies & techniques improve employee morale, efficiency & job satisfactionEncourages small work group to exercise considerable control over its environment & in the process helps to remove a major irritant in labour-management relation.What Influences Human To Work

Style of leadershipAutocratic styleDemocratic style

Motivation (satisfy the dissatisfied needs)Physiological needs (food, water, clothing, shelter)Safety needs (physical, finance and job security)Social needs (belonging, affection)Egoistic needs (self-esteem and esteem from others)