Industrial Relations? Comparative Industrial Relations?

…Theories & Perspectives

MGMT3112
 What is Industrial Relations
o The concept is a combination of two key terms; industry and relations.
Industry refers to an area of business in which groups of people operate
and Relations speaks to relationships within the context of the people
in the Industry; the people being the employer and the employees and
their Union.
o Industrial Relations is therefore that special affiliation that exists
between these parties and how their roles and actions impact on the
effectiveness of the other.
o IR within any organization is important for specific reasons ………
Pertinence of Industrial Relations
 Keeping Staff Engaged: Engaged employees are those who are
committed to the business and its goals. It sees the job as more than
a monthly salary and approaches the job function and company goals
accordingly. It is most likely to occur when staff morale is high and
staff feel appreciated, respected and sufficiently compensated.

 Achieving Company Targets: Companies have targets set for each

fiscal year….financial targets, marketing targets and output targets’
whether material or service driven. Proper treatment of the IR
process facilitates the accomplishment of these goals. It can be
linked to the engagement of staff as well as minimized interruptions
for the various areas.
Pertinence of Industrial Relations (cont’d)
 Effective Industrial Relations therefore improves welfare
for employees creating staff commitment to company
goals and fostering high productivity, reduced waste and
overall better business relationships between management
and staff.
Objectives of Industrial Relations
The practice of Industrial Relations in the business world
serves to
 Minimize the occurrence of strikes and protests.
Committed and satisfied staff are more interested in
keeping the business functioning effectively.
 Maintain good and mutual business relations between the
staff and management.
 Strengthen business productivity
 Improve the social and economic standing of employees
with a view of ensuring the best possible standard of
living.
 What is Comparative Industrial Relations

 Yoon (2009) purports that the concept of IR is inherently comparative

as by nature it attempts to identify and maintain the ideal balance
between the players involved in the varied sectors.
 Cross-national and cross-cultural views ultimately influence the
treatment of industrial relations. As such, IR treatment in the US
would be invariably different from how it is treated in the Caribbean
or Japan.
 CIR therefore analyses the treatment of Industrial Relations;
ascertaining how this may be different or similar across social,
economic & cultural divides.
Importance of Comparative Industrial
Relations
 Kaufman (2009) purports that among the primary reasons for the
growth of comparative industrial relations is the rise of
globalization. With globalization enabling mass interconnection
across the globe, their will indubitably be a change in the nature
of employment relations and the supporting systems.
 e s &
o r i es
Th e c t iv
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Approaches to Industrial Relations
 Psychological Approach
This approach tackles IR from the view that any issue in business relationships
stem from how each party involved perceives an interaction with another. The
perception is also believed to be influenced by the socio, economic, educational
and cultural development of the involved parties. An attempt to discuss adjusted
working hours, for example, could be viewed as an attempt to reduce salary from
the employee’s point of view, while management may be seeking to minimize the
burdensome workload currently borne by employees.
 Sociological Approach
IR from this approach views the industry as a society by itself; governed and
dictated by external social factors. From this approach the attitude of the
employer and the employee as well as company goals and targets are all dictated
by factors such as status, culture and what is deem acceptable and tolerant. The
growth of new industries, brings new social patterns which will again dictate any
change in how IR is viewed and dealt with.
Approaches to Industrial Relations
 Human Relations Approach
The Human Relations approach acknowledges the humanity of
employees. It purports that the best approach to IR is
acknowledging the thoughts, right to voice concerns and demands
of employees and addressing these accordingly. Tensions and
conflicts between management and staff would be drastically
reduced if expectations and requests are handled respectfully.
Failing this, the feelings of hurt will be replicated in society;
affecting the development and growth of sectors across the
country.
Theories of Comparative Industrial Relations
Marxist Theory
Approaches CIR from a societal perspective. It purports that IR itself exists as a source of
contention between the players (employees vs employers) but is unavoidable. Those who
support this perspective argue that the struggle will continue to exit as each player attempts to
exert his or her position and power over the other; hoping to emerge on top. An example offered
by Rose (2008) presents the position of the employer working for improved production and
profits through frozen wage and benefits to workers. Workers vehemently reject this stance and
the result is conflict within the organization. This, they argue, is what creates the need for IR

Social Theory
This CIR theory argues that the industrial relations system, its stakeholders and rules of
operation facilitate efficiency and congruence of the social order. It purports that these players
are all part of the larger system and must establish compatibility to enable a efficient system.
**Additional reading
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3a29/7a999d9e097613a0d4f007f7485c9f38e808.pdf

.
Theories of Comparative Industrial Relations (cont’d)

 National Culture
This CIR theory purports that culture dictates how comparative industrial relations is viewed. It
posits that it is in understanding the variations in the cultural value of industrial relations that an
accurate comparison can be done (Black 2005).
**Additional reading http://www.bollettinoadapt.it/old/files/document/18080BLACK_2007.pdf

 Institutionalism/ Neo-Institutionalism
This CIR theory purports that it is our social and economic systems that facilitate the
development of a country’s economy. This dictates how the employee relations stakeholders
work together and how it becomes possible for conflicts to arise and either escalate or be
addressed.
**Additional reading
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f3e4/e1eb81952069a2a6c79097ee5a9a72a666ff.pdf