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Trade unionisation and industrial productivity
Trade unionisation and industrial productivity
Trade unionisation and industrial productivity
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Due to the industrial revolution in countries, there has arisen a need for industrial relations. There are regions that are viewed to posses the biggest economy globally. The largest economy globally being the European economy since they control a big percentage of the global market. Germany is believed to be the Europe’s largest economy. According to Euro found (2009), the largest sector in Germany is the service sector which comprises of about 68% of the labor market. The state has transformed into a service society and hence generates about 70% of Gross Domestic Product from this sector. This was slightly less than the average Gross Domestic Product of the 15 European Union members before the enlargement (Britannica, 2010).
Germany has a five model principle that uses in the industrial relations. This system was shaped in the post World War II period in the federal state and later extended to the East Germany state after the unification (Lazlo Goerke, 2007). The five models consist of; relative centralization of collective bargaining, extensive juridification, dual structure, collective representation of all employees and ‘intermediary’ character of collective bargaining institutions (Manfred Weiss ‘et al’, 2008).
According to Etui.com (2009), the Germany industrial relation model, unions are to be organized at the industry level. It also recommends co-existence of the unions with work councils at the plant and company levels. The German dual system of industrial relations has gained a unique status in international comparative studies because of the level of exclusiveness of the two pillars of interest representation (Peter Mayer ‘et al’, 1998). This is unique among the European and the Western countries. The states that ha...
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Sage Journals Online, 2010, Economic and Industrial Democracy. Retrieved from:
http://eid.sagepub.com/content/24/3/39.abstract
Sage Journals Online, 2011, Employee Relations in Germany, Multinationals I an Anglo-Saxon
Setting: Towards A Germanic Version of the Anglo-Saxon Approach? Retrieved from:
http://ejd.sagepub.com/content/9/3/327.abstract
SBU, 1996, The German System of Industrial Relations-A Model for Britain? Retrieved from:
http://bus/sbu.ac.uk/resources/CIBS/european-institute-papers/papers1/197.PDF
TUTBNewsletter, 2004, The Role of German Trade Unions in the National and European
Standardization Process. Retrieved from:
http://hesa.etui-rehs.org/uk/newsletter/files/BTSO12EN_12-15.pdf
Warren Grimes, 1969, The Changing Structure of the East German Industrial Enterprise.
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http://www.jstor.org/pss/838314
The Industrial Revolution was a booming age for the United States that, though it brought many improvements in technology, caused many controversial events to take place.. Through the story Life in the Iron-mills, Rebecca Harding Davis proves the negativity of the factories from the Industrial Revolution. She proves this from personification, symbolism/metaphors, and also visual imagery. Rebecca Harding Davis proves through her writing, that the effect of industrialism in not pretty.
Brody’s argument towards collective bargaining post WWII between employers and unions implemented the workplace rule of law. The collective bargaining agreements help resolve workplace disputes between employees and their employers along with a union organization (if present). Weber’s theory of bureaucratic authority is a rational authority where the rule is distributed and no one person is in charge. The workplace rule of law is a bureaucratic form of authority; throughout the hierarchical organization chart no one is in charge of making the decision instead, the rule is what guides the organization. For many workers in the 1940’s the increase in wages and their incentives drove them towards joining unions and striking for equality, “…postwar enthusiasm for incentives derived partly from effective union policing…” (Brody, 175) Industrial workers saw both a loss in wages in the late 1940 is compared to ten years later when they finally saw a better life for themselves; union contracts provided them a life towards the middle class. Previously employers would hire those within their family to be managers and hold positions higher up in the chain, which would take away chances from the employees when they try to move up from their current position, “The management of the office follows general rules, which are more or less stable…” (Weber, 198) Many emplo...
During the Gilded Age activists tried improving the conditions of workers and the poor in many ways. In a few ways they were moderately successful but mostly philanthropists didn’t succeed. Between 1875 and 1900 the organized labor, overall, didn’t improve the position of the workers, making them unsuccessful.
Following the Second World War, Germany was rebuilt out of practically nothing into one of the richest countries of the world. This well-known transformation is known as the "Wirtschaftswunder" (wonder of economics). Yet in the recent reunification of West and East Germany, German leadership has ignored crucial lessons from this successful period of transformation. Three problems highlight this claim:
Factories were known for their ill treatment of their employees, long hours and dirty and unsafe conditions. In 1866, unions started to form to improve working conditions for the workers. A fundamental problem faced by democratic societies is as long as people live their lives individually and go their separate ways and be selfish individuals, they are unlikely to meet collectively to resolve issues. There needs to be meaningful unity among people to alleviate this problem to get people obliged to one another, so there is a willingness to sacrifice for shared goals. Bonding of its citizens creates a democracy. Unions seemed to offer the middle class a chance to become a crucial part of fostering institutions of constitutional democracy. The unions have went through several transitions, but have always worked for the working force. I will discuss the history of the various unions, their wins and losses, and the struggle of the employee to achieve democracy in the workplace.
Internal disagreements are prevalent among labor unions, and even within the union there remains to be debate about how unions engage. Early ...
Labor unions have been in America for a very long time. There are many unions in a myriad of different fields. Labor unions were and are used to allow for equal treatment of workers. Employers always want to maximize their profits and they try to give the least to get the most in return. For reasons such as this is why unions were formed. Generally a union boss is appointed or hired to protect the rights and privileges of the employees. The union boss is generally very representative of the demographics of the workers. The leader of the employees needs to know what they want and what is fair for them and this is why he tends to represent one type of work force, such as the teachers union. This type of representation is made easier when most of the workers come from the same background. Background meaning family size, education, race, etc. Labor unions have helped shape the American work force, as have the backgrounds of the men and women who have worked in them. America was founded on diversity and the freedom to choose. Many different backgrounds have found their way into America and labor unions. As stated earlier, labor unions have people of the same background in them. America’s first settlers were generally of the same background and because of that, so were the members of the first labor unions. As the United States expanded so did the work force and the diversity in it. Diversity and understanding the challenges and benefits is what enables America to be great. In the pages of this paper we are going to look at the change in the make-up of labor unions by the entrance of African-Americans and how they have influenced America and the labor unions for the better. This paper is and expansions on my paper “A Shield Against the Power of Industrial Capitalism”.
Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).
The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease, starting in the 1960’s on to today. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries. The objective of this paper is to shine light upon labor unions, taking a closer look at the disputed issues of union ethics, concerns of union diversity, and the opposing viewpoints of labor unions.
The 21st Century has witnessed Asia’s rapid ascent to economic prosperity. As economic gravity shifts from the Western world to the Asian region, the “tyranny of distance [between states, will be] … replaced by the prospects of proximity” in transnational economic, scientific, political, technological, and social develop relationships (Australian Government, 1). Japan and China are the region’s key business exchange partners. Therefore these countries are under obligation to steer the region through the Asian Century by committing to these relationships and as a result create business networks, boost economic performance, and consequently necessitate the adjustment of business processes and resources in order to accommodate each country’s employment relations model (Wiley, Wilkinson, & Young, 2005). Cognizant of the fact that neither Japan nor China has given up on its external (protectionism or parity) adjustment tools, it is posited that they can nonetheless coexist since both “produce different things and in different ways” and as such avoid the cited perilous US and Mexico competition; but due to globalization, the operating environment portends a convergence or divergence of Industrial Relation (ER) strategies between China and Japan (Lipietz, 1997; Zhu & Warner, 2004).
A collective bargaining agreement collectively sets the terms on which an employer offers individual work contracts to each of its employees in the bargaining unit. A bargaining agreement, also herein referred to as a labour agreement, is a legally enforceable written commitment, which states the rights and duties of all parties involved. The labour agreement should be made in good faith and is intended to be observed and not violated. The National Labour Relations Act obligates employers and unions to bargain in good faith concerning terms and conditions of employment, including hours and wages. Like any normal contract, competent parties must enter into a labour agreement. However, a labour agreement is unique from other legal contracts in that there is no consideration involved and nothing tangible is exchanged. Many, but not all, unions require formal ratification of a new labour contract by a majority membership acceptance, which is determined through vote by the members. Until majority approval of those voting in a ratification election is received, the proposed labour contract is not final. While each labour agreement is unique to the needs of an organization and its employees, most agreements include five issues: (1) Management Rights, (2) Union Security, (3) Wages and Benefits, (4) Individual Security (Seniority) Rights, and (5) Dispute Resolution. Management Rights “Management” is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals by making the best possible use of money, time, materials and people. The management process, when properly executed, involves a wide variety of activities including planning, organizing, directing and controlling. It is management’s role to perform all of these functions in order to maximize results.
The pluralistic approach accepts the legitimacy of workers forming themselves into trade unions to express their interests, influence management decision and achieve their objectives. The pluralistic approach sees conflicts of interest and disagreements between managers and workers over the distribution of profits as normal and inescapable. The role of managers/management would lean towards enforcing, controlling, persuading and coordinating. Trade unions play an important role in this approach, being that employees can join unions to protect their interests and influence decision making by the management. Trade unions balance the power between management and employees, hence its an important factor in this approach and industrial
The laws and regulations surrounding Industrial Relations since the 1900’s have, at each reform, placed tighter constraints on the amount of power unions are able to exert. The reforms have also radically increased managerial prerogative, through an increased use of individual bargaining, contracts and restrictions imposed on unions (Bray and Waring, 2006). Bray and W...
Industrial Relations is a multidisciplinary field dealing with the study of employment relationship in union and non-union organizations. There have been various theories of industrial relations in place, but the first and most influential theory was put forward by John Thomas Dunlop. Dunlop, as a labor economist, remodelled the work of sociologists and developed a framework of industrial relations system. He developed the System’s Theory which stressed on the interrelationship of institutions and behaviors that enables one to understand and explain industrial relation rules.
There are many different approaches and theories regarding industrial relations nowadays. In order to mount an opinion on which is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory of industrial relations, each theory will have to be analyzed. The three most prevalent theories of industrial relations which exist are The Unitarist theory, The Pluralist theory and The Marxist theory. Each offers a particular perception of workplace relations and will therefore interpret such events as workplace conflict, the role of trade unions and job regulation very differently. I will examine each of these theories in turn and then formulate my own opinion regarding which is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory.