employee relations ac219

1. Employee Relations AC219 Perspectives on the Employment Relationship: Unitarist and Pluralist Approaches

3. What are Organizations? What is Employment Relationship? Generally happy and harmonious places, people work towards common goal, work is seen as fulfilling Generally sites of come conflict, people have different interests and goals depending on group membership, class or professional status, work is necessary Generally sites of exploitation, where interests of capital owners are served, work is alienating

4. Unitarism and Pluralism Complex terms with long histories Offer very different perspectives on organizations and employment relationships Often seen as opposite ends of a continuum In practice many shades within each approach Different positions within unitarism can be located on a continuum

5. Unitarism Work organizations are an �integrated and harmonious whole existing for a common purpose� (Farnham and Pimlott 1991) Absence of conflict between capital and labour � members of the same team Conflict is �pathological� Organisation single source of authority, unitary in structure and purpose Employees loyal to the organization Emphasises organizational culture, organizational values, norms and common interests

6. Unitarism Assumed to be perspective most commonly held by many managers See reflected in focus on �managerial prerogative� Managers� �right to manage� emphasises managers acting in the interests of all in the organisation because they know best See Purcell�s work on corporate management styles � differences within unitarism (traditional, paternalist, sophisticated paternalism) and Guest and Hoque�s (1994) classification of non-union companies � good, bad, ugly and lucky

7. Unitarism Public policy issues State to support and reinforce managerial prerogative Removal of rights/power base to trade unions through legislation Restore property and decision-making rights to managers Removal of support for collective bargaining to widen basis of support for managerial decision-making More active role for legislation to curb and in extreme cases outlaw strikes and other industrial action

8. Unitarism and �New Right� In 1980s unitarism associated closely with �New Right� Commitment to free markets and removal of obstacles to the operation of free markets � market imperfections Trade unions, collective bargaining - major market imperfections Restrictive legislation to restore power of employers and managers Managers to be allowed to manage their enterprises as they see fit

9. Unitarism But Why should managers� values be accepted unquestioningly? Why should we assume values of organisation = those of individuals and groups? Values of unitarism are superficially appealing but much more difficult to turn into practice How sensible is an approach which assumes an unquestioning acceptance of managerial prerogative? Problems with more active role of law in ER We know that conflict does exist in organizations, how do unitarists explain this?

10. Pluralism For many (particularly academics) pluralism represents more appropriate and accurate description of organizations and employment relationships Fox (1966) organization defined as; �a democratic state composed of sectional groups with divergent interests over which the government tries to maintain some kind of dynamic equilibrium�

11. Pluralism Organizations characterised by competing interests Conflict inevitable and legitimate and structured into employment relationship For pluralists conflict is manageable and resolvable Focus on resolution of conflict � order, stability � rather than how generated Tends to assume balance of power between parties with different interests Legitimacy of trade unions as representing employee interests and countervailing power to management

12. Pluralism Major influence on Public policy in employment relations Legalisation of trade unions and rights to ensure that independent unions can operate to defend and further employee interests Encouragement and legal support for collective bargaining New Deal in US in 1930s Donovan Commission in Britain in 1960s and influence of �Oxford School�

13. Pluralism Traditionally, pluralism linked to economic interests � employees, employers Interests more complex and identity linked to age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality Increasing wish to extend pluralism beyond the workplace (work of Ackers 2002) Stakeholder model a classic example of pluralism � different interest require means to resolve interest differences

14. Pluralism But Balance of power rarely exists in employee relations Assumes some common ideology and an acceptance of �Marquis of Queensbury� rules � willingness to �trust� institutions and a moral duty to compromise Assumes all conflict is manageable and resolvable Assumes that parties are rational Assumes a consensus on �truth� and the values of outcomes

15. And Finally? Fox�s Journey Alan Fox � leading pluralist IR academic in 1960s member of �Oxford School� Research report for Donovan Commission (1966) By early 1970s � major questioning of pluralist position Questioned legitimacy and sustainability of outcomes where �agreed� in context of major power imbalances Argued that trust and commitment to agreements only possible under a radically different economic system Moves closer to radical and Marxist position