Principles of Employment Relations - Literature review Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: Principles of Employment Relations Course: Institution: Introduction Employment relations characterizes a legal nation which is widely applied in different countries across the globe, to refer to the existing relationship between employees who are obligated to perform certain work within identifiable conditions, in return employers pay remuneration. It is therefore, through employment that relationships are created and the reciprocal rights and terms of employment by both employee and the employer emerge. The phrase industrial relations first come into use by Britain and North America in the early 1920’s. It has since been joined by personnel management and human resource management. However, the field of industrial relations in the recent days has remained in decline in most countries across the globe. Industrial relations have in principle on no account has been restricted for a longer period, until recently where much attention has been directed towards certain parts of the economy. Employment relations involve factors that are put into considerations in ensuring that the relationship between employers and employees are maintained. The relationship contributes to satisfactory production, motivation and self-confidence. Basically, the concept is mainly concerned with taking care of the problems involving individuals and which are likely to affect the level of productivity. Information is given to the supervisors on how to correct poor performance and indiscipline among the employees. In such cases, the right disciplinary action based on the stipulated rules and regulations is considered in resolving employee complaints as well as appeals. According to Purcell (2001), the field is much embraced when compared to manufacturing, when including the public sector for instance, however, there still neglect of smaller firms and a huge parts of the private sector. Whether for good or bad reasons in regard to neglect, the situation has since changed, with most of research conducted addressing the certain growing areas of the economy, a good example being the call centres. Industrial relations are sufficiently embedded considering that it involves relations between administrator and workers in all areas of economic doings. While discussing issues of industrial relations, focus is driven on forms of economic activity through which an employee work accordance to the authority of an employer and is rewarded through wage in return for labour services. Industrial relation therefore, excludes domestic labour, self-employed and professionals working on their personal accounts (Monks and McMackin, 2001). Management Practices Monks and McMackin (2001) argue that changes in labour relations, for any given organization are normally influenced by management practices. This draw the basis to why approaches in regard to industrial relations has to be understood in terms of the background of theories and practices that do relate to management of enterprises and organizational actions. Current trend on labor relations and human resource management is created to place greater emphasis on employee participation, pleasant employer-employee relations and mechanism and practices which elevate both employees and employers relationship. Most enterprise has resorted to different ways to achieve the much needed employee-employer relationship in two ways. To start with, technology is believed to be among the first impressive things that have responsibly created a wider worker skills base, compared to the yester years, most of these scholar point at technology to be behind the success of significant changes witnesses in employment relations, considering that it has enhanced business capability to adapt to the ever changing market condition. On the contrary, there are other literatures that paint a dire picture in relation to industrial relations. There are several reasons to why; the pronounced decline of industrial relations as field surfers the consequences, in actual sense, the most critical factors highlighting the declining effects, is the steady and increasingly rigorous erosion in union density in many of these countries. Most literature on industrial relations regard trade unionism, joint employee bargaining and labour-management relations and national policies on labour laws to the extend by which is embedded, as the main subjects of the field. This thesis provides an overview of events, which have influenced or are currently influencing development of industrial relations. Labour relations have to demonstrate essential parts of the management classification and techniques, rather than a discipline that falls out of management. All these aspects are examined from different perspectives, theoretical points of view regarding national experiences, given that the industrial relations study involves diversity (Purcell, 2001). Discussing industrial relations, it is important that one has to recognize the fact that contingent work, work-family balance and dispute resolution are part of the great intellectual dialogue in this field. However, the indisputable facts remains that the research on trade unions and labour-management relations is the critical aspect of industrial relations. Discussions conducted on future industrial relations has to always cut across almost the entire regions of the world, the field of industrial relations has suffered its own long-term decline. Considering the current state, when it regards decline in the unions, the future of industrial relation remains gloomy and fraught with crisis. There are many countries that are currently engaged on industrial restructuring, which to some extend has heavily damaged or strained relationships among employers and workers, and ultimately the trade unions. Another warring feature regards changes occurring in the workforces, at varying degrees in both industrialized market economies and developing economies. A great majority of countries have witnessed emergence of workforces recording higher level of education and skills, which require management in a manner that is different from the way, particularly the blue collar employees are managed. This kind of workers assumes more critical proportions in future considering the service sector impotence is ever growing, and further growth needed for knowledge intensive industries. In this case, it is evident; therefore, interests of employers and employees converge. As a result, there is a huge requirement for corporative and participative systems of industrial relations now when compared to the previous IR systems. In today’s world, there is a high possibility that we are faced with two possibilities and strategic choices. The first possibility being the collective worker voice commonly referred to as trade union, which is used in staging resurgence, bringing about renewed interest in all traditional subjects of industrial relations, for instance collective wage negotiations, national bargaining structures and proportional labour law. The trade unions are believed to stop the crisis by replenishing industrial relations with new scholars, a new set of current events for these kinds of studies on policy making new inflow sustaining funding from government and private foundations. Therefore, it remains important that the best strategic choice for the field might emphasized through maintaining union-related measures to keep relationship on check. Often, the choice made are basically aimed at restructuring and repositioning industrial relations in regard to subject matter, theories and policy issues, which is critical in creating a prosperous and intellectual place at the same time, reducing the dependence of employee on the trade union movement. The repositioning cannot adopt any form or direction, for which is already claimed by other disciplines for instance management among other disciplines. All the same such repositioning cannot go so far as drop some of the fundamental intellectual ethical principles that govern industrial relations, considering that the field may possibly loss its very identity and intellectual coherence. Nevertheless, repositioning does not specifically create possibility of decline of trade unions or adoption of neo-liberal agenda (Redman and Wilkinson, 2001). The structure and operation of a System of employment relations The origin of industrial relations is believed to have stated in a century ago in England and USA. Most of writers who have developed literature on industrial relations, have either been inspired from a range of European sources that include Marx a Germany economist historical source, from sociologists among other advancing movement on the continent in regard to labour law and so forth. In England, where it is believed to be the founding figure of industrial relations is believed to have immerged from Sidney and Beatrice Webb and their great foundation for future grounds on industrial relations. Model of Strategic Management On a descriptive view point, strategic management is believed to appear as s cycle through which several activities go through following the sequence, employment relations is involved in every aspects of management process, this process can be typically broken to five different levels. These levels include: organization mission and objectives, Environmental analysis, Strategy formulation, strategy implementation and strategy evaluation. The five stages have to interact constrictively, for an organization to functions in its rightful position. At the commercial level, the strategic management process, it may take account of activities, which vary from improving organization mission and objectives to a strategic evaluation. In this sense, the first step involves strategic management model starting with senior managers’ evaluation of their own positions in regard to organizations, operating missions and goals. The environmental analysis refers to the internal organization’s strength and weaknesses, for external environmental issues, the analysis look at opportunities and possible threats that organization faces (Redman, Wilkinson, 2001). Choices on identifiable strategies are often formulated at different functional levels. While involving theory of organizations in strategic management, it is critical that one recognizes the significance process in which challenges and opportunities that present the functions of power, which is important for the role of decision makers in developing light for ideological values. For organizations that adopt political model, in regard to strategic management, it is of equal significance to consider the power allocation within the ranks of the organization. This plays a critical role, considering that power flow and how it is linked to organization management and ultimately performance. Strategic implementation, on the other hand, refers to the area of activity responsible in developing techniques used by organization managers to realize their strategies. This deals with aspects of leadership style, the organization structure, human resource management among other elements in the business. Strategy evaluation involves an activity, where the extent of actual change and performance match the desired change and performance. Strategic management model, therefore, is developed from the five critical activities involved in creating rational and linear process, it therefore explains the theoretical gap created between the theoretical model and reality. An Analysis of the issues that arise from the management of the employment relationship Within any given workplace, the variations in relation to management and employees they are in charge have to be clear. The relationship built among the management and the employees may well define the working relations of every aspects from organization analysis to sanctions, which may prove complex, if there are no appropriate relations (Kamoche, 1996). The paradigm of IR is not found in one literature, regardless to whether it is a book or article. However, it remains possible to canvas the earlier work, distilling from a synthetic portrait of main ideas and principles which collectively define the real vision held in the introduction of industrial relations. To start with, it is important to define subject matter and intellectual boundaries as developed in the industrial relations. A better development on the field of industrial relations can be revealed in the 1928 report prepared by social science research council in USA. The focus on this report is driven on the field of employer-employee relations. Based on this report one can conclude that industrial relations, emerges from the relationship created due to the connection held between employees and their employers. This is the behaviour, outcomes among other employment related aspects that impinge on employment relations. It is therefore, evident that industrial relations defines a wider aspects of employment, when compared to trade unions, labour law among other related field. It’s rather evident that the field of industrial relation covers all critical aspects of employment relationship, hence, involves all field of employment relationships of all types. Industrial relations was not unilaterally developed in terms of research and practice but rather the concept was developed as part of the intellectual project, part of applied program relevant in solving the labour reform and partly as an ideological commitment relevant within the management strategies. This can be looked at as three faces of industrial relations. The tools applied in science-building are of theory and research tactics. Often, this involves mathematical techniques that are applied to give rise to useful generations and insight in regard to employment relationship (Heery and Salmon, 2000). Institutional Economics Industrial relations is one instrument that is looked at as a labour branch in institutional economics. Based in concepts drown in the institutional economics, establishment of a harmonized industrial relations system is viewed as a central theme for workers, employers and the governments or even other representatives as they play role in meeting their economic and social achievements. There are several changes on the international arena that have been effectual in presenting influence on major element and on how the industrial relations has to be perceived. Business internationalization is one aspect that has in the recent years influenced business, in terms of competition, employment relationship among other related aspects. Most markets have increased the need for economies and enterprises to gain a more competitive trend, which have in turn developed a better reliance than it was previously viewed in terms of skills, productivity and corporation aimed at achieving competitiveness. HRM concept and models Regardless of the ever increasing volume on research, a clear-cut meaning of strategic HRM and industrial relations strategies remains a problematic. It therefore, remains unclear on which one of these two terms that relate to the outcome or process (Heery and Salmon, 2000). SHRM is believed to be a process by which firms use means of linking the human resource, social, and academic capitals of the organization to the strategic needs of the business. The HR strategy is depicted in the out come, where by the mission, vision and priorities of the HR work consistently with the views of the models of the HR strategy as an outcome. Conflict, Power and Framework of Reference Understanding the nature of workplace rules is developed into three perspectives on rules, which is usually termed as frames of reference. The unitary view on this is presented in the identity of interest among employees and employers and conflict that may arise, due to misunderstanding. These elements when underplayed can be under rated by management. Unitary indicates the old-fashioned and unrealistic ideologies, however, recent survey indicate that managers still believe in harmony of interests clearly showing the resurgence of administrative self-confidence and reassertion of market individualism which under pins the revival of unitary. At the analytical level, there are areas where shared interest, for instance, at time when workers are opposed to their managers way of doing things, workplace relations would simply be reduced, by considering some deeper analysis in regard to organizations analogy (Heery and Salmon, 2000). Industrial relations covers broader subject of employment relationship is not enough, although, the analysis of the employment relationship provides a unified, protective and intellectual and normative framework in order to give this field a coherent and value-added. The industrial relations discard the conventional model of competitive demand and supply in labour markets and its respective complementary proposition, which regard the presumption of employment relationship. Grimshaw et al, (2001), suggest that the only fruitful place to rely on is the theory of organizational economics, when combined with other contemporary theories of, for instance, socio-economics. This kind of theories generates detailed information for existence of employment relations, which may involve elements of collective bargaining and defensive labour laws. The institutional economics is responsible in generating theoretical and policy rationale for a selective, balance and cost effectual administrative regimes that regulate institutional regulation and institution emerging from unwanted impediments to organizational efficiency. In today’s organizational development, labour market regulations have predominantly adopted institutional interventions needed to carry excessive, but with elements that fundamentally supersee the industrial relations, suggesting capitalism free markets, which would not only self-destroy without clear institutional structures involvement of democratization and balances (Grimshaw, Ward, Rubery and Beynon, 2001) Conclusion The growth of interest in regards to international HRM is comparatively linked to globalization to business. The employment relationship for along period has gone through some profound changes, which are currently witnessed at the world of work. To be more particular, the labour markets is arguably responsible for the new forms of employment relationship, which at certain point fail to fit within the industrial relations parameters. While an employment relation has certainly gained flexibility within the ranks of labour market, it is responsible for the growing number of employees whose employment status remains unclear, and as a result placed outside the scope of employment protection. This remains an unfortunate case, considering employee protection is an element that is associated with employment relationship. Therefore basing on comparative industrial relations, it is hence defined as methodical procedure of examining in relation to more than two or rather two countries that are characterized by analytical rather than descriptive implications. Thus the involvement of activities that seek to embrace patterns and variations experienced in cross-national HRM as opposed to description of HRM avenues and HR traditions in the selected nations. This is simply a “touristic approach” in which the individual is hereby presented immensely with diverse selection of ports of call and given the stage upon which he is to draw his own conclusion. This is in consideration of its relevance and significance to the traveller. Bibliography Grimshaw, D., Ward, K. G., Rubery, J. and Beynon, H. 2001: Organizations and the Transformation of the internal labour market in the UK, Work, Employment and Society, 15 (1), 25–54. Kathy Monks and John McMackin 2001. Designing and aligning an HR system. Human Resource Management, 11(2), pp. 57–72. Clark, T., Grant, D. & Heijltjes, M. 2000. Researching comparative and international human resource management, International Studies of Management, 29(4), 6–23. Kamoche, K. 1996. Strategic human resource management within a resource-capability view of the firm, Journal of Management Studies, 33(2), 213–33. Monks, K. & McMackin, J. 2001. Designing and aligning an HR system, Human Resource Manage-ment Journal, 11(2), 57–72. Purcell, J. 2001. The meaning of strategy in human resource management, In J. Storey (ed.), Human resource management: A critical text (pp. 59–77). London: Thompson Learning. Heery, E., and Salmon, J. 2000: The insecurity thesis. In E. Heery and J. Salmon (eds), The Insecure Workforce. London: Routledge. Scullion, H. 2001. International human resource management, In J. Storey (ed.), Human resource management: A critical text (pp. 288–313). London: Thompson Learning. Brewster, C. (2001). HRM: The comparative dimension. In J. Storey (ed.), Human resource manage-ment: A critical text (pp. 255–71). London: Thompson Learning. Redman, T., and Wilkinson, A. 2001: Contemporary Human Resource Management. London: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Read More