Jatiya kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University

Trishal, Mymensingh

Assignment on
Models of Industrial Relations
Course Name: Industrial Relations
Course Code: HRM-309

Submitted to
Razuan Ahmed Shuvro
Associate Professor
Department of Human Resource Management
Jatiya kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University

Submitted by
Ajit Chandra Das
ID: 18133008
Seassion:2017-18
Department of Human Resource Management
Jatiya kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University

Date of Submission: 15-06-2021

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 Acknowledgement
I am really pleased to complect the assigned task. I am greatly indebted to Razuan Ahmed
Shuvro Sir, Department of Human Resource Management, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam
University, for providing this task which help us to learn Models of Industrial Relations.

This assignment is an essential part of BBA program as one can gather practical knowledge as
well as theoretical knowledge within the short period of time by observing and doing the works
of chosen topic.

However, to complete task, I have gone through books as well as browsing internet to learn
thoroughly regarding the assignment. Sir, Thank you so much for this kind of assignment.

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 Table of Content

SL No Topics Page No

01 Executive Summary 04

02 Models of Industrial Relations 05

03 The Dunlopian Model 06-07

04 07-08
Conflict Model

05 08
Social Action Model

06 09
The Human Relations Model

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 Executive Summary

This assignment topic is “Model of industrial relation”. Here, we discuss about 4 types of models
in industrial relation Such as-

▪ Dunlop’s Model
▪ Conflict Model
▪ Social Action Model
▪ Human Relation Model

First, John T. Dunlop has given a model on industrial relations. Dunlop’s model showing that
analytical subsystem of industrial society. Composed of actors among managers, workers &
government. conflict model is showing that inevitable between the owner of labor and user of
labor. Social actor model explains that the way in which an individual influence the social structure
and makes the society. Human relation model has its origin in the Hawthorne experiment as it
highlights certain policies and technique to improve the moral and efficiency of employees.

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 Models of Industrial Relation

Introduction:
Basically, relations between management, workers, trade unions. Industry relations contain of
two words-
▪ Industry
▪ Relation

Model means an informative representation of an object, person or system. In general, all

model has an information processor and output of expected results.

Background:
Different authors and specialists have offered a number of models. We showed that 4 types of
models in the below:

Model of IR

Human Relation
Dunlop's Model's conflict Model social action Model
Model

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The Dunlopian Model
This model has been developed by Dunlop. In this model Dunlop has identified the Actor
management, workers, and government. These three actors take part in making Plans, formulating
polices and taking decisions. An industrial relations system at any Particular time is regarded as
combination of certain above-mentioned actors which binds the IR system together and a body of
rules created to govern the actors at the workplace.
These their actors such as mentioned above on the basis of similar type of ideology make many
rules for the industry and develop and excellent IR system.
a) Management: the management pattern may be of various types as follows:
1. The exploitative authoritarian system. This style of management was introduced in
Bangladesh by the colonial elite who set up modern industries, during the nineteenth century. To
this colonial elite labor was nothing more than a commodity.
2. Benevolent authoritarianism. This style of management gave place to what may be called
benevolent authoritarianism. The typical Bangladesh business magnate finds this style of
management congenial to his way of thinking.
3. Consultative style. This is foreign concerns operating in the public limited companies in
foreign concerns operation in Bangladesh and in the public sector enterprises.

b) Workers’ unions: The workers’ unions assume the following roles in different socio-economic
systems.
1. Sectional bargainers. This is the most widely accepted role of the trade unions. They represent
the interests of the workers and bargain with the management.
2. Class bargainers. In some countries e.g., France where national bargaining takes place
covering all industrial occupations, trade union or their federations play this role. In France,
farmers have their own nation-wide union, so do the civil servants.
3. Agent of the state. This is the role of the tread unions in socialist countries like the USSR. Here
the trade union is identified with the state apparatus and has wall-defined role in ensuring the
fulfillment of targets of production at the enterprise level.
4. Partners in social control. This type is exemplified in the system of co-determination in West
Germany. Under this system, the representatives of the workers sit on the boards of management
nod participate in all kinds of decision making. There is a beginning of this in Bangladesh.
5. Enemy of the system. In all democratic countries there are unions which subscribe to the
Marxist theory of class war. Trade unions are not merely a form of economics but are designed to
bring a wholesale change in the existing economic system.

c) The government: The third actor is the government. The government may assume of the
following roles.

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1. Laissez-faire philosophy: Under this system the government follows a laissez-faire attitude to
labor-management relations. The idea is to leave labor and management alone to settle a dispute.
2. Paternalism: Owing to the revolutionary ideas of men lick Ruskin, Owen and other in UK and
agitation by social reformers in UK and Bangladesh, government assumed a paternalistic attitude
towards labor.
3. Tripartism: Even before India attained independence tripartite from of consultation with
employer, workers government-had started. After independence government encouraged
consultation with all interests before taking any policy decision.

4. Voluntarism: Voluntary arbitration is officially encouraged but has not taken root in
Bangladesh. The Government evolved a series of codes to regulate labor- management relations
on a voluntary basis.
5. Interventionism: Along with tripartism and voluntarism, government intervened in labor
disputes through the process of conciliation and adjudication. Industrial strike leads to loss of
production which the Government can hardly afford to ignore and so it came forward with its
legislative machinery to prevent industrial disputes.

Conflict Model
Conflict model exemplifies the structuralism (technological, economic and political forces)
explanation of industrial relations. Here the starting point is that industrial relations occur within
a dynamic conflict situation which is permanent and unalterable so long as the structure of society
remains unaltered. The conflict situation is viewed as a product of the labor market in which on
the one hand there are workers who have to sell labor power in order to subsist. While on the other
hand there are buyers of labor who own the means of production and purchase labor power. These
two interests are irreconcilable. They are engaged in a perpetual conflict over the distribution of
revenue. The two interests have a common purpose in increasing total revenue and so they
have. But the conflict over distribution is in no sense lessened by this for the actual distribution
of additional increments of revenue is determined by the power situation. Workers with no power
may get nothing. There is no automatic distribution based on equity. Shares have to be fought for
sometimes bitterly.
The concept of alienation also played a crucial role in Marxian model on industrial
conflict. Alienation arises from the fact that in the capitalist system labor is sold; it is bought by
the capitalist and used to satisfy his needs rather than those of the workers. Thus, the worker is
estranged from the things he creates and thus, in turn violates the essential nature of man.
Alienation is most vividly seen in modern industrial labor. Two aspects are particularly
crucial. The first is the division of labor which is seen by Marx as a means of promoting wealth
for the capitalist but restricting even more closely the freedom of the worker.
Therefore, conflict is endemic in the industrial situation for the Marxist-it is an inevitable part of
the wage system. Alienation plays a crucial role in this line of thought. Labor is alienated in the
capitalist system because it is treated as a commodity, to be bought and sold. Other writers have
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adopted a different approach to alienation and have defined it in a different fashion. Weber
believes that alienation (or dissatisfaction) was a consequence of industrialization and bureaucracy
rather than capitalism while Blauner relates it to the kind of technology used.

Social Action Model

The social action model has its origins in Weberian sociology. The social action model is one in
which actors' own definitions of the situations in which they are engaged are taken as an initial
basis for the explanation of their social behavior and relationships. In contrast to approaches which
begin with some general and normative psychology of individual needs in work, an action frame
of reference directs attention systematically to the variety of meanings which work may have for
industrial employees.
The social action model has been contrasted with the systems approach: while the systems
approach regards behavior as a reflection of the characteristics of a social system containing a
series of impersonal processes which are external to actors and constrain them, the action approach
stresses the way in which man influences the social structure and makes society. The social action
model can be viewed as the opposite side of the coin to the Dunlopian model and it clearly deals
with one of the major criticisms of systems approach that it does not pay sufficient attention to
behavioral influences.
It is contended that much of the social action approach, is an over-reaction against
positivism. Such an over-reaction creates the danger that structural influences will be ignored
which means that the views and definitions of actors may be treated as a sufficient explanation of
the social situation being investigated.
This theory points out the reciprocal nature of the relationship between social structure and
behavior. Social structure limits social action. Thus, a worker's ability to take strike action or an
entrepreneur’s ability to invest may be limited by his personal and more general economic.
conditions. When the worker takes his decision on strike action and the entrepreneur takes his
decision on investment, they will help to determine the environment for future similar
decisions. One of the most important features of the action model is the attitude it adopts towards
social theory. It can better be viewed as a method of analysis rather than a theory. Essentially it
tells you where and how to look to explain social action-it does not tell you what the answer will
be. The action approach suggests that general explanations of social action are not possible simply
because
of the nature of the subject of the social sciences-men do not react to the stimuli in the same way
as matter in the natural sciences.

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The Human Relations Model
The Human Relations School which has adopted an essentially functionalist view of an industrial
society has its origins in the Hawthorne experiments and the research of Elton Mayo. His work,
‘The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization (1946) contains his research findings.
Industrial conflicts are due to poor social relations such as inadequate communications. One of the
most important findings of the Hawthorne studies was the crucial role played by informal social
groups in the workplace. Although the informal social group can help to create a climate which
will frustrate the aims of management it can also provide workers with outlets for their emotions
and sentiments. Absence of informal group therefore, may be a cause of frustration and
dissatisfaction: ultimately, they may be a cause of industrial conflict.
Scott and Homans in their study highlighted the importance of good communications. They argued
that especially in large scale organizations, poor communication meant that when workers felt that
they consider important is not in fact being treated as such by people in authority. The importance
of the role of the foreman has been noted in a number of other studies. If he learns to function
flexibly the foreman can be one of the major influences for reducing conflict within the
organization.
More recent human relations studies are frequently referred to under the heading of the neo-human
relations school. Its followers still expect that workers look for certain well-defined satisfactions
from their employment and stress that these satisfactions may not be only monetary reward. For
more than just social satisfaction from their employment: many argue that employees look for and
are motivated by intrinsic satisfaction (i.e., self-actualization) in their work. Thus, Hertzberg
argues that we need to adopt a two-factor approach: we need to recognize that satisfaction and
dissatisfaction are not merely the opposite side of the same coin. Absence of what Hertzberg refers
to as 'hygiene factor' (such as good wages and working conditions) will promote dissatisfaction
but their presence will not lead to satisfaction. Workers will only be motivated by different factors
such as recognition, responsibility and interesting work which he calls 'satisfiers'. Similarly,
Maslow has argued that workers have a hierarchy of needs, ranging from those concerning simple
survival to those which enable them to make full use of all of their resources; once the most basic
needs have been met, a worker will look to the next stage of the hierarchy and so on.
This kind of thinking has led to suggestions that many problems of worker satisfaction, morale
and conflict could be solved if work were structured better to fit in with what is termed the "craft
ethic". The craft ethic implies that a worker should be free to control the time and pace of work,
should feel that he has some commitment to his work and should be able to see the final
product. As a result, a number of attempts have been made to modify modern industrial work to
bring it more close to these characteristics. Thus, attempts have been made to introduce job
enlargement, job enrichment and flexible working hours.
It is no doubt desirable to improve cooperation and-to increase the freedom of workers to make
more decisions in the workplace. Yet many would argue that they are no sufficient in themselves,
they cannot be seen as a complete explanation for poor morale, work dissatisfaction and industrial
conflict.

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