In this essay, I shall analyse the above statement, approaching the unitary frame of reference from both a positive and a negative viewpoint. Comparisons will then be made between the unitary frame of reference and other frames of reference (pluralism and radical frames of reference). The real world application of each of these frames of reference shall be discussed and theories to either support or disprove the above statement shall be analysed. I will then form a conclusion as to whether I agree or disagree with the above statement.
Dunlop(1958) argues that in the system of industrial relations, there are 3 major components in the system. There are the actors, the context and the common ideology. The actors consist of the employers and their organizations and employees and, if present, the groups that represent them and the state or government agencies. The second major component, the context, is the situation or environment that influences any decision or activity, this is usually technology, market constraints or distribution of power in the wider society. The common ideology, under which the purpose of this essay falls, can be seen as a binding idea or theory which the actors share for the purpose of stability in the system. Under the common ideology component, there are various conflicting theories or frames of reference.
A frame of reference can be described as a viewpoint from which one sees employee relations and based on which problems encountered during such relations are approached and subsequently solved. “Perception.........determines judgements which in turn determine subsequent behaviour.” (Fox A.1966). Frame of reference is also defined as a “conceptual structure of generalizations or contexts, .........assump...
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...d coordinating it towards a satisfactory compromise that is positive for the company.
Works Cited
• Fox, Alan (1966), Industrial sociology and Industrial relations. Royal Commission on trade Unions and Employers Association. Research Papers 3, HMSO, London
• Willy McCourt & Derek Elridge (2003), Global Human Resource Management, pp 311 - 315. Edward Elgar publishing.
• Thelen, Herbert and Withall, John (1949). “Three frames of reference: The description of climate” Human Relations 2(2): 159 -76
• John W. Budd & Devasheesh Bhave (2006). Sage Handbook of Industrial and Employment Relations. Industrial Relations Center, University of Minnesota. Chapter 5.
• Bullock, Alan and Trombley, Stephen (1999) The Norton Dictionary of Modern Thought, 2nd revised edition. New York : W.W. Norton & Company
• Influences from kevinmorrell.org.uk: Fox’s frames of references
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2014). Fundamentals of human resource management (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Deery, S. , Plowman, D. and Walsh, J. (2000), Industrial Relations, A Contemporary Analysis, McGraw Hill, Roseville.
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.
When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister the first thing she wanted to do was limit union power. She felt that union power applied to nationalized industrial monopolies resulted in poor service at exorbitant cost to the taxpayers. She pointed to inefficient work practices, over employment and restrictive employment conditions such as the all union “closed shop”. The Thatcher government declared its unwillingness to put further public money into an industry which had little chance of being able to recover its place in a competitive market.
Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human resource management (13th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomas/South-western
Noe, Raymond A., et al. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010. Print.
Our four-frame analysis (Figure 3 above) reveals that TM, like any other modern large corporation, places heavy emphasis on the structural frame. Other frame elements are also present, for example, career development and training programmes are evidence of HR frame use, as well as deployment of a re-branding exercise and other symbolic rituals to provide symbolic frame elements. We may also make inferences that the political frame is also in play from agenda-setting, ambiguity and uncertainty caused by the rationalization and reorganization leading to scarcity of resources and internal conflict, and signing of a collective agreement to denote bargaining and negotiation.
The political frame relies on the assumption that organizations are alliances of unique people and interest groups. The people are unique due to their different views of the world, their morals, faith and activities and the information they have given these characteristics. The political frame also assumes that all key decisions arise from the need to allocate scarce resources such as time, money and information. These scarce resources and differences amongst people are what make conflict the core of organizational dynamics and make power such a crucial asset. Finally, the political frame assumes that all objectives and conclusions are e...
Byars, L. L. (1997). Human Resource Management. Chicago, IL: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Mills, D. Q. (1994).
Trade unions are widely known as one form of employees’ representation which aims to translate employee’s interests in relationships with employers. The presence of trade unions in many countries is relatively associated with attempts to improve employment conditions. While some unions are concerned to assist employees and employers in resolving employment relations problems, the others may involve political activities in campaigning unions’ objectives on government policies. Despite the fact that it could be formed by voluntary or laws, some economists argue that trade unions could reduce economic efficiency. On the other hands, the existence of unions are also believed could relatively improve employee’s performance. In the contention of
Union renewal depends largely on increased member participation, generating and maintaining strong collective identities and mobilization of union resources. It was further contended that collective identities are not given, but constructed and sustained through narrative framing and engagement of individuals. These processes highlighted the importance of trade union leaders’ ability to construct and sustain workers’ collective identity and interest via strategies which seek to broaden the relevancy of trade unionism. In a time when worker collectivism is in a decline, the relevant question is to what extent is this possible? According to Muckenberger (1995), the decline of trade unionism in terms of density and the importance of trade unions as socio-political actors are often interpreted as representing the decline of worker collectivism. The underlying assumption that were put forth of the decline from literature has been the ascendancy of individualization over collectivism. There has a socio-cultural transformation whereby working class values of collectivism have given way to more individualistic orientations (Hyman 1999). Trade unions were formerly built on pre-existing solidarities such as the principle of collective identity that predated capitalist employment relationships. Collective experience at work was complemented by domestic life in nearby shared recreational, cultural and religious pursuits. In a nutshell, trade union was an institution embedded in an encompassing social landscape (Hyman 2002). The shift from collectivism to individualism was the result of the growth in affluence, skills level and geographical mobility, which enable acquisitive individualism overriding collective interests (Brown 1990). It was fu...
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...
Suffield, L., & Templer A. (2012). Labour Relations, PH Series in Human Resources Management, 3rd Edition
The role of the government on industrial relations is very important as it sets the legal framework that industrial relations operates in. Appropriate industrial relations legislation should recognize the requirements of both employers and employee’s. Both the employee and the employer want to profit from each other but are also reliant on each other. This means that the equal bargaining power of employers and workers must be recognized (Peetz, David. 2006). Appropriate industrial relations laws should address any imbalance of power and give both groups an equal degree of control. Appropriate industrial relations should not only allow a mixture of both collective and individual bargaining but also facilitate employee participation in day to day workplace decisions. After all it’s the structure and framework of the employment relationship, which is governed by legislation that leads to good Industrial Relations.
We will look at the employment relations and employment conflict and analyze this complex topic from different points of theory and practice.