The Role of the State in Industrial Relations Personal Statement

The Role of the State in Industrial Relations - Personal Statement Example In France, the ‘Collective Agreements Act’ of 1950 provided an all-inclusive official framework for collective bargaining (p. 103). In Britain, until the 1970s IR system was less synchronized by law than other Western countries since there was an enduring practice of ‘voluntarism’ and self-sufficiency by the parties which had become part of the British cultural inheritance (p. 103). As Ron (1994) suggests most IR theory recognizes the limitations on state actions due to the power of other ‘actors’. Independent power can be achieved either through high degrees of concentration through a small number of large firms and large unions (in Germany) or potentially low independent power can be compensated through a large number of small and medium-sized employers (as in Germany) and unions (in Britain) acting through associations to compensate for their relative individual powerlessness (The State, p7). There are perhaps some desires to use the comparative studies for practical experience, or to use the IR systems of particular country which can demonstrate lack of higher success possibilities within the society – by means of rapid ‘rates of economic growth’ or an absence of serious industrial conflict – as ‘models’ to follow and possibly adopt (p.5). Today’s involvement recalls the historical influence of Hugh Clegg, Bill McCarthy, and Allan Flanders when industrial relations were a striking option for academics (Acken & Wilkinson 2003, p. xv). This shows a strapping return of unions although, thanks to the recent slump in these economies, some special effects of Employment relations remain at risk (p. xv) – as unions are united under a single restoration policy, that is, worn to shreds between the claims of adversarial management mixture and agility in bridge-building way of business and management (p. xv).

Economics of Labor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Economics of Labor - Essay Example Strikes can also divide the workforce of a given organization into two factions thus reducing their ability to work as a team towards common organizational objectives. In the event that a strike is organized and some of the workers do not co-operate due to the fear of consequences that may follow, an enmity is created between these two groups of workers. The arising element of distrust will hinder future collective bargaining by the employees resulting in poorer working conditions. It is thus important to note that an effective management of a given organization or government department requires the development of good relations between all the stakeholders of an organization. The employees of the organizations need to have a union that advocates for theirs. The union acts as a link to the authority that ensures a formal procedure in addressing the issues. The employees should be loyal to the union and abide by its provisions. Besides, the management principles as defined in economic s require that the managers give room to the needs of the employees of the organization, and this is the key to effective management. The managers should address the issues as they are raised by the worker's unions to avoid the future negative reactions by the employees. On the other hand, the employees need to adopt the organizational cultures that require the formal solution of arising issues. The fact that all these fail to take place and a strike are witnessed means an irresponsible behavior by either the management or the employees.... The educators calling for a salary increase can simply decide to put pens and chalks down while going to the learning institutions as usual or they may intensify it and take to streets. The nurses in public hospital may decide to boycott their duty to attend to patience. Alternatively, an authoritarian manager of an organization can be forcefully evicted out of office by the angry employees. The effects of such strikes are adverse on the economic development of a given region (Addison & Teixeira, 2006, p.4). Common causes of strikes There are different factors that often lead to strikes by employees in a given organization. The strikes by the workers through the unions are geared towards streamlining the monopoly that might be exercised by the management of organizations. Achieving this requires a union made of leaders with the capability of managing teams and can deal with various emerging issues (Griffin & Stacey, 2005, p.29). One common cause of strike is poor working conditions a t the work places coupled with a lot of workload leading to job depression and stress. The employees often complain of long working hours and workload imposed on them probably due to understaffing. This is followed by a pressure from the management to meet strict deadline leading to job stress. Related to the poor working conditions is the cry for salary and wages that are proportional to the tasks that are carried out by the employees. This, however, takes different directions depending on who determines the wages of the employees (Addison & Teixeira, 2006, p.5). The employees often complain that despite the long working hours and the heavy workloads, they are not provided with remunerations