Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Assignment No. 01
Q. No. 01:
There are two broad categories of labor law. First, collective labor law
relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer and union.
Second, individual labor law concerns employees' rights at work and through
the contract for work. The labor movement has been instrumental in the enacting
of laws protecting labor rights in the 19th and 20th centuries. Labor rights have
been integral to the social and economic development since the industrial
revolution.
o 1. Contract of employment
o 2. Minimum wage
o 3 Working time
o 4 Health and safety
o 5 Anti-discrimination
o 6 Unfair dismissal
o 7 Child labor
Contract of employment
The basic feature of labor law in almost every country is that the rights and
obligations of the worker and the employer between one another are mediated
through the contract of employment between the two. This has been the case
since the collapse of feudalism and is the core reality of modern economic
relations. Many terms and conditions of the contract are however implied by
legislation or common law, in such a way as to restrict the freedom of people to
agree to certain things in order to protect employees, and facilitate a fluid labor
market. In the U.S. for example, majority of state laws allow for employment to
be "at will," meaning the employer can terminate an employee from a position for
any reason, so long as the reason is not an illegal reason, including a termination
in violation of public policy.
Minimum wage
There may be law stating the minimum amount that a worker can be paid
per hour. Australia, Canada, China, Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, India,
Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Paraguay,
Portugal, Poland, Romania, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United
States and others have laws of this kind. The minimum wage is usually different
from the lowest wage determined by the forces of supply and demand in a free
market, and therefore acts as a price floor. Each country sets its own minimum
wage laws and regulations, and while a majority of industrialized countries has a
minimum wage, many developing countries have not.
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Working time
Other labor laws involve safety concerning workers. The earliest English
factory law was drafted in 1802 and dealt with the safety and health of child
textile workers.
Anti-discrimination
Unfair dismissal
Child labor
• Article 11 of the Constitution prohibits all forms of slavery, forced labour and
child labour;
• Article 18 proscribes the right of its citizens to enter upon any lawful
profession or occupation and to conduct any lawful trade or business;
• Article 25 lays down the right to equality before the law and prohibition of
discrimination on the grounds of sex alone;
• Article 37(e) makes provision for securing just and humane conditions of
work, ensuring that children and women are not employed in vocations unsuited
to their age or sex, and for maternity benefits for women in employment.
Labour Legislation
Pakistans labour laws trace their origination to legislation inherited from India at
the time of partition of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. The laws have evolved
through a continuous process of trial to meet the socio-economic conditions,
state of industrial development, population and labour force explosion, growth of
trade unions, level of literacy, Government’s commitment to development and
social welfare. To meet the above named objectives, the government of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan has introduced a number of labour policies, since its
independence to mirror the shifts in governance from martial law to democratic
governance.
Contract of Employment
While Article 18 of the Constitution affords every citizen with the right to enter
upon any lawful profession or occupation, and to conduct any lawful trade or
business, the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders)
Ordinance was enacted in 1968 to address the relationship between employer and
employee and the contract of employment. The Ordinance applies to all
industrial and commercial establishments throughout the country employing 20
or more workers and provides for security of employment. In the case of workers
in other establishments, domestic servants, farm workers or casual labour
engaged by contractors, their labour contracts are generally unwritten and can be
enforced through the courts on the basis of oral evidence or past practice.
The services of a permanent worker cannot be terminated for any reason other
than misconduct unless one month’s notice or wages in lieu thereof has been
furnished by the employer or by the worker if he or she so chooses to leave his or
her service. One month’s wages are calculated on the basis of the average wage
earned during the last three months of service. Other categories of workers are
not entitled to notice or pay in lieu of notice.
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All terminations of service in any form must be documented in writing stating the
reasons for such an act. If a worker is aggrieved by an order of termination he or
she may proceed under Section 46 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002,
aimed at regulating the labour-management relations in the country, and bring
his or her grievance to the attention of his or her employer, in writing, either him
or herself, through the shop steward or through his or her trade union within
three months of the occurrence of the cause of action. Forms of termination have
been described as removed, retrenched, discharged or dismissed from service. To
safeguard against any colorful exercise of power, victimization or unfair labour
practices, the Labour Courts have been given powers to examine and intervene to
find out whether there has been a violation of the principles of natural justice and
whether any action by the employer was bonafide or unjust.
* Working hours
Under the Factories Act, 1934 no adult employee, defined as a worker who has
completed his or her 18th year of age, can be required or permitted to work in any
establishment in excess of nine hours a day and 48 hours a week. Similarly, no
young person, under the age of 18, can be required or permitted to work in excess
of seven hours a day and 42 hours a week. The Factories Act, which governs the
conditions of work of industrial labour, applies to factories, employing ten or
more workers. The Provincial Governments are further empowered to extend the
provisions of the Act, to even five workers.
* Paid Leave
As provided in the Factories Act, 1934, every worker who has completed a period
of twelve months continuous service in a factory shall be allowed, during the
subsequent period of twelve months, holidays for a period of fourteen
consecutive days. If a worker fails in any one such period of twelve months to
take the whole of the holidays allowed to him or her, any holidays not taken by
him or her shall be added to the holidays allotted to him or her in the succeeding
period of twelve months.
The Factories Act, 1934 allows for the employment of children between the ages
of 14 and 18 years provided that each adolescent obtains a certificate of fitness
from a certifying surgeon. A certifying surgeon, per section 52 of the Act, shall on
the application of any child or adolescent who wishes to work in a factory, or, of
the parent or guardian of such person, or of the factory in which such person
wishes to work, examine such person and ascertain his or her fitness for such
work.
Equality
Pay Issues
sum payable for want of a proper notice of discharge, but excludes the value of
accommodations i.e., supply of light, water, medical attendance or other
amenities excluded by the Provincial Government; the employer’s contribution to
a pension or provident fund, traveling allowance or concession or other special
expenses entailed by the nature of his or her employment; and any gratuity
payable on discharge.
The employer is responsible for the payment of all wages required to be paid to
persons employed by him or her. Similarly any contractor employing persons in
an industry is responsible for payment of wages to the persons he or she employs.
The persons responsible for payment of wages must fix wage periods not
exceeding one month. Wages should be paid on a working day within seven days
of the end of the wage period, or within ten days if 1,000 or more persons are
employed. The wages of a person discharged should be paid not later than the
second working day after his or her discharge.
* Labour Courts
Section 33 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2002 permits any CBA or any
employer to apply to the Labour Court for the enforcement of any right
guaranteed or secured by law or any award or settlement. The Provincial
Government derives its authority to establish as many Labour Courts as it
considers necessary under section 44 of the Ordinance. Each Labour Court is
subject to jurisdictional limitations derived by its geographical parameters or
with respect to the industry or the classes of cases allocated. Each Labour Court
consists of one Presiding Officer appointed by the Provincial Government.
The IRO 2002 abolished the Labour Appellate Tribunal. Any party aggrieved by
an award or a decision given or a sentence passed by the Labour Court may now
submit an appeal to the High Court (Article 48 of the IRO 2002). The High Court,
may vary or modify an award or decision or decision sanctioned by the Labour
Court. It may, on its own motion at any time, call for the record of any case or
proceedings in which a Labour Court within its jurisdiction has passed an order,
for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the correctness, legality, or propriety of
such order, and may pass such order, in relation thereto as it thinks fit, provided
that the order does not adversely affect any person without giving such person a
reasonable opportunity of being heard.
Official Gazette
The Federal Laws of Pakistan are published by the Government in a document
called the Gazette of Pakistan. The Ministry of Justice, Law and Parliamentary
Affairs in addition publishes individual Acts through the Official Gazette.
7
Q. No. 2
A “model” is a mental construct with which people organize their thoughts about
a topic. When we consider labor management relations, we usually think
about a single company dealing with a single local union. This is of course a
model. The figure below show the management of a company.
Management of a company
This company is dealing with local No. 100 which represents company A’s
employees. The line between the company and the union has arrows pointing
both ways and indicates that each side influences the other. Also, the absence
of any other organizations or lines indicates that the relationship between
company A and local No. 100 is all there really is to know about the system of
labour management relations indicated here. The above figure represents a
model, in that is identifies the parties involved, indicates their relationships
as insignificant.
Companies in which
Employees of Union Local No. company A has plants or
Company A 100 offices
This is more accurate model of the relationship of company A to local No. 100
because it shows that the company must also deal with these other groups on
issues that affect local No. 100. for example in considering where to give into
wage demands by local No. 10 or to take a strike, company A must consider
the impact of its choice on its customers, it stock holders, the communities in
which it operates, its non unionized employees, and the other unions with
which it deal. Often the strong preferences of one or more of these groups will
determine company A’s decision.
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Community in which
Union Local 100 the local is located
Other companies
with which local
deals Political friends of
the local union
The model in figure 01 may be referred to as a “one to one” model. The few
situations in which it applices in reality are not difficult ones to analyze. Most
often, however, labour relations are of the type diagramed in figure 02 and
03.
Q .no. 2
Diversity issues related to race, gender, age, disabilities, religion, job title,
physical appearance, sexual orientation, nationality, multi culturism,
competency, training, experience, and personal habits are explored in these links.
The bias is toward valuing diversity.
Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they
perceive others. Those perceptions affect their interactions. For a wide
assortment of employees to function effectively as an organization, human
resource professionals need to deal effectively with issues such as
communication, adaptability and change. Diversity will increase significantly in
the coming years. Successful organizations recognize the need for immediate
action and are ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the
workplace now.
Increased adaptability
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Variety of viewpoints
Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without
its challenges. Some of those challenges are:
Resistance to change - There are always employees who will refuse to accept
the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The
“we’ve always done it this way” mentality silences new ideas and inhibits
progress.
be the beginning structure of your diversity in the workplace plan. The plan must
be comprehensive, attainable and measurable. An organization must decide what
changes need to be made and a timeline for that change to be attained.
Q No. 03
economic and legal systems of a country as they relate to the industrial workplace
and the relationships among employees and managers.
Social Economic
system System
Industrial
relation
Legal system
system
Employers: Employers possess certain rights vis-à-vis labors. They have the
right to hire and fire them. Management can also affect workers’ interests by
exercising their right to relocate, close or merge the factory or to introduce
technological changes.
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SCOPE:
The concept of industrial relations has a very wide meaning and connotation. In
the narrow sense, it means that the employer, employee relationship confines
itself to the relationship that emerges out of the day to day association of the
management and the labor. In its wider sense, industrial relations include the
relationship between an employee and an employer in the course of the running
of an industry and may project it to spheres, which may transgress to the areas of
quality control, marketing, price fixation and disposition of profits among others.
The scope or industrial relations is quite vast. The main issues involved here
include the following:
1. Collective bargaining
2. Machinery for settlement of industrial disputes
3. Standing orders
4. Workers participation in management
5. Unfair labor practices
The healthy industrial relations are key to the progress and success. Their
significance may be discussed as under –
good industrial relations. Strikes, lockouts, go-slow tactics, grievances are some
of the reflections of industrial unrest which do not spring up in an atmosphere of
industrial peace. It helps promoting co-operation and increasing production.
Thus, it is evident that good industrial relations is the basis of higher production
with minimum cost and higher profits. It also results in increased efficiency of
workers. New and new projects may be introduced for the welfare of the workers
and to promote the morale of the people at work. An economy organized for
planned production and distribution, aiming at the realization of social justice
and welfare of the massage can function effectively only in an atmosphere of
industrial peace. If the twin objectives of rapid national development and
increased social justice are to be achieved, there must be harmonious relationship
between management and labor.
These actors together determine the output of the system, which we may
describe as a set of arrangements, understandings or rules about terms and
conditions of employment. Described in this way the system seem simple
enough but unfortunately, there are many complications for example there is
not one government in any country but many governments, with different
levels of government (e.g) federal, state and municipal) and many branches of
government (executive, legislative and judicial). We refer to this separation as
the “balance of powers” or “separation of power” doctrine. Because of this
separation , the many agencies of government are each, to a degree separate
actors in our industrial relations system. the actors in our industrial relations
system interact with one another to develop the basic output of the system,
including a set of rules or understanding about working conditions and
standards of employment.
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Some union management agreements are very brief and treat only a few
matters. Main contents are as under:-
• Local working conditions
• Contracting out (i-e subcontracting)
• Recognition and union member ship
• Rates of pay
• Job classifications and incentives
• Hours of work and overtime
• Holidays
• Vacations
• Seniority
• Adjustment of complaints and grievances
• Discharge of employees
• Management functions
• Safety and health
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Q. No. 04
Labor union
History
In the eighteenth century, much of Western society witnessed the world’s first
Industrial Revolution and the abandonment of an agrarian culture with craft
based production. The young industrial environment provided much of the
momentum for the establishment and advancement of the labor union.
The start of the Industrial Revolution sparked a rising fear in the craft
associations of the time, who feared encroachment on their established jobs,
wage changes, and workforce restructuring. The rapid expansion of the industrial
society quickly drew large numbers of women, children, rural workers, and
immigrants into the work force to labor for meager wages in appalling conditions.
These working environments would later prove to be an important arena for
change.
Early History
Trade unions have sometimes been seen as successors to the guilds of medieval
Europe, though the relationship between the two is disputed. Medieval guilds
existed to enhance their members’ livelihoods, through controlling the
instructional capital of artisanship, and the progression of their members from
apprentice to craftsman, journeyman, and eventually to master and grandmaster
of their craft. Guilds also facilitated mobility by providing accommodation for
their members traveling in search of work. Though guilds exhibited some aspects
of the modern trade union, they also exhibited aspects of modern professional
associations and corporations.
Unlike modern labor unions, guilds were highly selective and offered
membership to only those artisans practicing a specific trade. Labor unions seek
to incorporate a broad array of laborers, to increase membership numbers and
union leverage as a whole.
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Since the 1894 publication of Sidney and Beatrice Webb’s History of Trade
Unionism, trade unions have been defined as a collection of employees working
to negotiate pay rates, working conditions, and member benefits. Others,
however, have put forth the view that trade unions are part of a broader
movement to benefit society, to be conceived of along the lines of freemasons,
friendly societies, and various fraternal organizations.
Later History
In the eighteenth century, most countries deemed labor unions illegal, and
constructed severe penalties, including execution, for the attempt to organize
such affiliations. Despite these measures, labor unions succeeded in forming, and
acquired political powers resulting in the passage of legislation which legalized
organizing efforts. Despite the awarding of legal stature, trade unions continued
to face generations of opposition.
The right to join a trade union is contained within the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights in Article 23, subsection 4. This clause states that “Everyone has
the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests”
(1948). This article also prohibits the forcing of a person to join or form such a
union body. The forcing of an individual to enter into a union, whether by a
government or a business, is generally considered a human rights abuse. Similar
allegations can be leveled against any employer found to be discriminating
against employees based on union membership.
Structure
There are three major structures of union organizing: craft unionism, general
unionism, and industrial unionism. Craft unionism is defined by the organization
of a particular section of skilled workers. An organization of a cross-section of
workers from various trades is known as general unionism. Attempting to
organize all workers within a particular industry is defined as industrial
unionism.
Labor unions are often divided into branches, or locals, and are united through
national federations. These federations are affiliated with international
organizations, such as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
Union Operations
Companies that employ workers with a union generally operate on one of several
models called shops. Within the United States, unions can operate under a closed
shop or a union shop. Under a closed shop, a union will employ only those who
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are already union members, and employers must recruit directly from a union
pool of applicants. A union shop employs non-unions workers as well, but
establishes a time limit within which new hires must become union members.
An agency shop requires non-union workers to pay a fee to the union for its
services in negotiating their contracts. This is sometimes referred to as the Rand
formula. In certain situations regarding U.S. government employees, fair share
laws make it easy to require these sorts of payments.
During the 1980s, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the United Kingdom
was introduced to a series of laws directing the government to restrict all closed
and union shops. All agreements requiring a worker to join a union have since
been deemed illegal. In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act outlawed the operation of the
closed shop union in the United States, but permitted the existence of the union
shop.
Political Relationships
Unions may also engage in broader political or social struggles. Social unionism
defines the many unions that use their organizational strength to advocate for
social policies and legislation considered favorable for their members. In some
countries, unions maintain close alliances with political parties. In many
countries, labor unions may be closely linked to, or may even share leadership
with, a political party intended to represent the interests of the working class.
Often times, these parties include left-wing politicians or socialists.
In the United States, labor unions have historically aligned with the Democratic
Party, though their allegiance to the party is by no means steadfast.
In the United Kingdom, the relationship between the labor movement and the
labor party has disintegrated over the party’s support of privatization plans, a
position at odds with the movement’s perception of worker interest.
Employment Laws
International Operations
Poland
South Africa
The history of South African trade unions dates back to the 1880s. At that time,
unions were viewed as a reflection of national racial disunity, as the earliest
unions were established only for white workers. Through the turbulent years of
apartheid, trade unions played an important part in developing political and
economic resistance, and were a driving force in the establishment of a South
African democratic government.
United Kingdom
19
British labor unions were often subject to severe repression until the mid-
nineteenth century, but continued to exist throughout the city of London. During
that period, workplace militancy often erupted, as in the 1820 rising in Scotland,
where 60,000 workers attempted a general strike. In 1834, a significant attempt
to set up a national labor union came in the form of Robert Owen's Grand
National Consolidated Trades Union, which attracted a range of socialists and
revolutionaries. However, facing severe pressures, the organization would later
collapse.
In the 1840s, trade unionism was overshadowed by the political activities of the
British parliament, though the establishment of less radical trade unions would
take hold in the 1850s. In 1860, the London Trades Council was founded,
followed by the establishment of a Royal Commission on Trade Unions in 1867
and the Trades Union Congress in 1868. Three years later, legal status would be
awarded to British trade unions under the 1871 Trade Union Act.
United States
Other Countries
Some Nordic countries including Belgium, Sweden, and Finland have strong,
centralized labor unions, where each industry represented has a specific union
and together comprises a national union confederation. The largest Swedish
union confederation is Landsorganisationen (LO), and has approximately two
million members totaling more than one-fifth of Sweden's population. Finland's
equivalent, the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), has about
one million members out of a total country population of 5.2 million.
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France is thought to have one of the lowest union densities within Europe,
encompassing an estimated 10 percent of workers. Several unions can be
represented inside large companies or administrations, with one from each of the
main national confederation of unions. Union membership tends to be
concentrated in specific areas, including the public sector.
Australia’s labor movement has a long history of craft, trade, and industrial
unionism. As of 2005, however, union numbers have declined due in part to the
actions of Australian politicians and the effects of liberal governments, which
introduced the 1996 Workplace Relations Act.
Q . No. 05:
Ans: workplace should be defined as ”the environment (as place, tools, social
connections, physical well being) enabling work to be done”. This broader
definition, will lead workplace development to include the determination of:
· what physical environment will support the work (such as office design
and layout, furniture, equipment, temperature, light, etc.)
The eventual realization that few benefits of automation were flowing back to
assembly workers except in higher wage rates, and that workers were absorbing
the bulk of the psychological and physical punishment of monotonous work,
generated a discontent that unions expressed. But in recent decades changes in
the business environment, in technology, and in the expectations of employees
have compelled companies to begin moving away from the scientifically
engineered workplace.
and most of the power and authority in the hands of management, there was little
opportunity for workers to relieve the stresses of production except on them
selves.
The eventual realization that few benefits of automation were flowing back
to assembly workers except in higher wage rates, and that workers were
Modern working practices and technologies are typically designed to shape the
nature of work and affect employees’ behavior. They include, for example, lean
manufacturing, advanced manufacturing technology, total quality management,
call centres, supply-chain partnering and knowledge management. Surveys show
that these practices are increasingly in unintended ways, have deleterious effects
on employees and not produce the hoped for improvements in employee and
organizational performance. Indeed, changing working practices often creates
problems for employees at all levels in the organization. It is therefore essential
that we understand the nature of modern working practices, the extent of their
use, and the effects that they have on employees and organizational performance
so that they can be more effectively designed and managed.
Most of us are now fairly well versed in the changes occurring in the
economic, political and social landscape. These include: the internationalization
of the economy; a reduction in trade barriers between countries; the deregulation
of markets; privatization and the ending of state monopolies; increasing demands
for greater accountability and efficiency in the public sector; and changing
consumer demand (e.g. a desire for more customized products or better quality.
The changes have intensified competition and achieving a competitive advantage
will depend on the simultaneous pursuit of cost minimization, quality, innovation
and customization. Similar demands for cost efficiencies, quality and customized
services are evident in the public and not-for-profit sectors (e.g., in universities;.
In addition, the creation, ownership and management of knowledge-based assets
is increasingly recognized as a basis for competition for the implications of
knowledge management for organizational learning processes, the co-ordination
of distributed cognition and top team behavior). Organizational change is
undoubtedly taking place in response to these general economic and societal
changes and in the expectation of such changes (Sparrow & Cooper,
2003).
1). This implies that “the new workplace” can be defined as comprising an
“historical new”, i.e., the presence of new working practices, types of HR practices
or bundles of practice, and an “experiential new”, i.e., the presence of
qualitatively different managerial and employee orientations and experiences of
self and work. However, we must exercise some caution when applying these
categories to the real world. First, a substantial proportion of organizations have
not adopted many modern working practices, nor are modern working practices
necessarily accompanied by high-involvement HRM. Second, “old workplace”
ideas are still influencing how “modern” working practices are designed and
managed, as is illustrated by the influence of Taylorism in some call centers and
other service organizations.
2 Two caveats on this are that much of the available data comes from the US
and the UK, and that not all changes are in the direction of new working
practices, as some firms may be introducing practices for the first time or
reformatting those associated with Taylorism.
3 It is probable that all four types of workplaces will exist, but we might also
speculate that it is likely that a sizeable proportion of contemporary workplaces
will be a mixture of “old” and “new” and employees’ experiences will mirror this.
Just as there are questions about the extent and nature of workplace change,
questions are also being asked about whether the effects of change are as
beneficial as many imply. Modern working practices and high involvement
human resource practices are often portrayed as leading to a win–win situation
for the employee and the organization. But, while there is research that
demonstrates that the introduction of modern working practices can lead to more
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interesting work, more skilled work and lower levels of employee stress, there are
also studies that show that the introduction of modern working practices can
intensify work, de-skill employees and reduce well-being
Historically, the main focus of job design research has been on the
psychological consequences of work simplification brought about through the
pervasive adoption of Taylorist and Fordist approaches to work organization.
Two approaches, job characteristics and socio technical theories, have been
particularly influential. In particular, autonomy affects experienced
responsibility, feedback affects knowledge of results, and skill variety, task
identity and task significance affect the experienced meaningfulness of work.
Collectively, these critical psychological states affect the level of work satisfaction,
internal work motivation, performance, absence and labour turnover. Research
has generally demonstrated that the core job characteristics all predict affective
outcomes such as satisfaction and motivation, but evidence for their affects on
employee behaviour, performance, turnover and absence, is less consistent. The
motivating potential of job design has been a central issue within this research
tradition as it also has been within debates on modern working practices and
high-commitment human resource practices. control-demands model is another
job characteristic approach that has been influential. It predicts that “high-strain
jobs” are those characterized by high work demands and low control.
3. The strategic fit between HRM systems and organizational strategy. The
discussion of internal fit centers on the idea that some HRM practices combine
better than others, and that coherent bundles of practice will have synergistic
effects. A corollary of this is that any difference in organizational performance
between organizations will be partly explained by the differential usage of
bundles of practice. Two main bundles of HRM practice are normally identified,
at least as ideal types, that correspond to the high-involvement (or high-
commitment) approach and low-involvement approach The rationale of the high-
involvement approach is that a particular bundle of HRM practices is needed to
recruit, develop and maintain a workforce with the high-level technical, cognitive
and interpersonal skills that are assumed to be necessary if organizations are to
deal with rapidly changing demands, to provide a high quality service or product,
and, crucially, to realize the full potential of complex modern working practices .
A basic assumption of this book is that job design and human resource
management are fundamental to an understanding of modern working practices.
However, much job design and HRM literature neglects the issue of why a
25
particular practice takes its current form. Neither does it have much to say on the
active role that employees play in shaping practices.
In contrast, interpretive research has illuminated how the political and social
assumptions of those involved in the design and introduction of new technology
become embedded within the technology, in the form of prescriptive design
rationales that prescribe a particular view of how work is undertaken. The
configuration of a technology and the social practices that surround them can be
seen, at any one point in time.