Model Of Industrial Relations Research Articles

Estado e economia na Coreia do Sul - do Estado desenvolvimentista à crise asiática e à recuperação posterior

The article focuses on the institutions of South Korean capitalism and on the interactions between the state and the economy. The economic model in South Korea was characterized by a very interventionist state, which played a very active role in the process of industrialization. However, South Korea suffered a severe crisis in 1997, attributed by many authors to the distortions inherent to strong state intervention. The article shows that the crisis was a result of the combination between internal economic fragilities and a rapid process of financial deregulation, which undermined the states capacity of control. The crisis, nevertheless, does not disqualify the role of the national institutions in the very successful process of industrialization. Despite the reforms, the Korean capitalism conserves much of the previous model of business organization and industrial relations. The state continues strong and played active role in the process of economic reforms. There are, nevertheless, doubts about the impacts of the reforms and the new configuration of Korean capitalism. They will depend on the current transformations in world economy and in the East Asian countries. JEL Classification: P16; P52; O53; N40; N45.

Managing Reward in Developing Economies: The Challenge for Multinational Corporations

Reward has been, and continues to be, subject to significant changes in developing economies; the industrial relations model prevalent being driven by the complex socio-economic and cultural paradigms and the increasing demands of globalisation. The issue of reward in developing economies is therefore central and dependent on numerous contextual factors. The research presented in this article focuses on emerging trends in reward management practices in a developing economy, like Nigeria. Nigeria, with a population of about 140 million people and the economic opportunities derivable from its oil wealth, provides substantial opportunities for industrialisation. Consequently, the country continues to attract investment by multinational corporations. However, because of its evolving industrial relations setting, reward management is complex. This can be seen in the context of the interlocking roles of national institutions, culture, socio-economic factors and employee engagement in developing an appropriate framework. The framework of the research is based on both qualitative and quantitative analysis of data collected from 11 companies, through interviews and questionnaires. The conclusion points at the significant role industrial relations must assume. In particular, it highlights how essential contextual factors and employee engagement are in generating a supportive framework for the challenges facing multinationals in reward management.

Union impact on the effective adoption of High Performance Work Practices

This paper examines the literature and research on unions relevant to the effective adoption of High Performance Work Practices. It demonstrates that unions that have a cooperative relationship with management can play an important role in overcoming barriers to the effective adoption of practices that have been linked to organizational competitiveness through the development and application of human capital. In particular, unions have the unique advantage of delivering independent voice that cannot be substituted by management. Not only can unions make a contribution to organization competitiveness but they can also ensure that employees benefit from High Performance Work Practice adoption and in doing so secure their own relevance. The contribution that unions can make is inhibited by management and union's reluctance to engage in an integrative relationship and an institutional context that does not value unions. Organizations that want to capture the value that unions can add must move away from a pluralist model of autocratic management, hostile unions and adversarial industrial relations, beyond a unitarist model that sees no role for unions, to a cooperative partnership with unions that shares the gains of implementing High Performance Work Practices.

Beatrice and Sidney Webb and the intellectual origins of British industrial relations

PurposeThis paper has the aim of revisiting the works of Beatrice and Sidney Webb in the field of industrial relations and assessing their intellectual contributions to the study of the labour market, unions and collective bargaining in Britain.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the Webbs' studies of trade union history and union organisation, policy and methods that were first published at the end of the nineteenth century.FindingsIn refuting critiques of unions in the market economy by English classical and neo‐classical economists, and drawing on the ideas of the German school of historical economics, the Webbs incorporated organised labour into mainstream economic and political thought. Their major theoretical propositions were to set out an “agency model” of trade unions and an advanced system of democracy, in politics and at work, which unions would play a major part in promoting. In justifying the collectivisation of the employment relationship, the Webbs provided the intellectual foundations of the pluralist‐institutional model of industrial relations, which was built upon by other scholars following the end of the World War II. Their prediction that collective bargaining would decline in importance, as democracy matured, and be replaced by legal regulation, has taken place for reasons unforeseen by themselves.Originality/valueThe value of this paper is its reassessment of the Webbs' contribution to theory in the field and to the British collectivist tradition of industrial relations.

The Danish Model of Industrial Relations: Erosion or Renewal?

The Danish model represents one of the most solidly-based industrial relation (IR) systems in Europe, and is today internationally regarded as an exemplar owing to its effective combination of flexibility and security in labour-market regulation. But in an increasingly globalized world even this model has come under pressure. The pressure comes from three different directions: (1) from EU regulation; (2) from the national political system; and, (3) from the parties at enterprise level. The organized or centralized decentralization of the collective bargaining system that was seen as the answer to the increased competitive pressure of internationalization would appear to have reached its limit and to have been replaced by a trend towards multi-level regulation. Whether this trend will lead to renewal or erosion of the Danish model will be revealed over the coming years. There are signs that indicate the model's continued robustness, but there are also signs of weakening. The outcome is not only of national interest, but also has international relevance, since Denmark can be seen as the IR model par excellence. As a critical case the development of the Danish model is an indicator of the traditional IR system's future prospects in general.

Beyond WorkChoices: Negotiating a Moment

Australian industrial relations was a curious beast for much of the twentieth century. For many it was the institutional equivalent of a marsupial — native to the Australian environment. It developed in the economic and social circumstances of the nineteenth century. Indeed the development and elaboration of the arbitral model of Australian industrial relations was one of the major social experiments of a vibrant, young and successful Australia.

From industrial relations to manpower planning: the transformations of Singapore's industrial relations

This paper applies the strategic choice model of industrial relations to the transformations of industrial relations in Singapore and to their progression from ‘industrial relations’ to ‘manpower planning’. The usefulness of the strategic choice model for explaining the transformations of Singapore's industrial relations is formulated as a research question and the paper demonstrates the model as having greater utility than the conventional systems model. The three transformations are from colonial administration to regulated pluralism, 1960–67; from regulated pluralism to corporatism, 1968–78; and from corporatism to corporatist paternalism, 1979–86. The progression to manpower planning has been since 1997. Transformation is defined as morphological change in which elements of the transformed are retained in the new form. A progression, in this case, is a development of the pre-existing form rather than its transformation. The data, which were collected by interviews and from secondary sources, are presented as a historical case study and subjected to analytical induction.

Remuneration in the German Broadcasting Sector: The Employers' Perspective

This article focuses on the managerial perspective in wage formation. The study concentrates on two questions: 1) Why do employers want more autonomy at the expense of collective agreements? 2) What do employers gain from a more or less autonomous system of remuneration? After a brief description of the wage formation framework, in particular the framework within the broadcasting sector, I will present the results of interviews with the management of private and public broadcasting stations. In matters of wage formation the study illustrates a clear division between companies with collective agreements and companies without collective agreements. All the managers interviewed for this article express an increasing need for autonomy, but some are convinced that autonomy can be achieved within the framework of collective agreements. Other companies demand absolute autonomy for the management and totally reject being bound by collective bargaining. Most of the companies without collective agreements refuse to undergo or accept the results of collective bargaining, citing that collective agreements could hamper their efforts to create their own remuneration system, which they say should be linked directly to the individual performances of each employee. Contrary to the assumptions of the German model of industrial relations, these employers see the individual conflict over remuneration as an opportunity to motivate employees and to preserve the management's future flexibility. Another interesting result emerges in respect to the role of labor law. Contrary to the assumption that German labor law hinders flexibility, employers in this study do not see the process of wage formation extremely restricted by labor law.

Convergentie en kwaliteit van arbeidsverhoudingen in Europa

Convergence and quality of industrial relations in Europe Convergence and quality of industrial relations in Europe Quality of industrial relations is increasingly recognised as a key issue at European level. This contribution intends to explore the whats and whys: what is meant by quality and why is it high on the European agenda? It is argued that it has to do with an instrumental view on quality in the first place: in how far industrial relations can contribute to the realisation of the Lisbon objectives? In the second place a certain notion of Europeanisation of industrial relation is considered to be important, a notion that mainly refers to the Rhineland or (neo-)corporatist model of industrial relations. Taking into account the effects of internationalisation and globalisation the question is raised whether or not this model will be sustainable.

Satisfaction of Textile Workers with Awards/Settlements: An Empirical Analysis

The Indian industrial relations model is based on the free enterprise-cum-planning-cum-growing public sector-cum parliamentary democracy model of growth. For the purpose of securing peace in industry and to give a fair deal to the workers, Indian industrial relations system has also designed different organs for the settlement of industrial disputes. Two methods are generally followed in the state of Punjab as well as in the country as a whole to deal with the industrial disputes viz., (1) Direct settlement, and (2) Third party settlement. A number of studies have been carried out to evaluate the performance of dispute settlement at the state and national levels. However authors feel that efficiency is not the only criterion to analyse the performance of dispute settlement machinery. Effectiveness, i.e., whether it makes parties, especially the workers, satisfied with those awards/settlements, can be another criterion to evaluate the performance of dispute settlement machinery. The present study has been carried out to address this question. For this purpose an attempt has been made to identify the factors which discriminates the satisfied/dissatisfied group of workers with awards/ settlements. Stepwise discriminant analysis has found that out of thirteen variables only three variables, i.e., marital status of workers, awareness about past agreements, and preference for the method of settlement, have emerged as significant variables to predict the profile of satisfied workers in textile industry of Punjab. Hence, the null hypothesis that no significant difference exists in the profile of two groups in regard to their satisfaction level is rejected.

Knowledge-Intensive Organisations: Women's Promised Land? The Case of the Irish Software Companies

This article investigates the contention that the organisation of work and the model of industrial relations in knowledge intensive companies are less iniquitous for women than in other industries. It does so by analysing a series of biographical interviews conducted with a number of women working in the Irish software sector. In contrast to bureaucracies, knowledge intensive companies promote time flexibility, collaborative work environments, immediate human relations, autonomy and performance-related career progression. These features are generally deemed to be less prone to the reproduction of gendered practices and values and to facilitate women's dual role in society. The findings of the empirical investigation suggest that the process of feminisation of the Irish software companies has not been matched by a distinctive process of recognition of the gendered nature of workplaces; as a consequence, they are failing to accommodate female presence in the industry. Whilst no clear discriminatory behaviours and practices emerge in the sector, new and different forms of inequality have come to surface in the industry.

Partenariat social. Le modèle allemand dans l’impasse

After having been referred to as a model for decades, both nationally and internationally, the German model of industrial relations now seems to be breaking down. The loss of members in both trade-unions and employers federations has surely led to a decrease in their legitimacy. It is not however the possibly higher potentiality or frequency of conflicts that is the most worrying, but rather the repeated failure of unions and employers’ federations to solve them. From the stalemate which has now been reached arises the question of whether the German consent of past decades was not more the result of a booming economy than of real assent between the concerned parties.

Paying for Professionalism: Industrial Relations in Australian Rugby Union

Rugby union in Australia, since the advent of professionalism in 1995, has found itself adopting a collectivist model of industrial relations. That is, wages and employment conditions have been determined by collective bargaining between the various Australian sport unions (the employers) and the Rugby Union Players’ Association. Two collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated in Australian rugby union. This review examines the rise of player associations in professional team sports, both in Australia and overseas, the peculiar circumstances which combined to produce Australian rugby union's collectivist model, and the contents of the two collective bargaining agreements.

Alternative Ways of Organising: Asian Labour’s Response to the ‘New’ Globalisation: Introduction

Globalisation--when defined as the 'linking of distinct localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring miles away and vice versa' (Giddens 1990: 64)--is nothing new. However, the most recent wave of globalisation has distinctive features. Rather than being linked to the activity of identifiably imperialist powers such as Britain or France, post-1960s globalisation is driven by often faceless investment interests using vehicles other than the nationstate. These include transnational corporations who have no clearly identifiable home country base, and global structures such as the WTO (World Trade Organization), which have erected a 'boundaryless world' that prioritises capitals' interests over those of the nation-state or labour. This 'new globalisation' is modelled on an American style of neoliberalism under which the conduct of individuals, groups and nations is clearly dominated by economic imperatives. American neo-liberalism promotes a minimalist approach to social obligations while maximizing economic interests; it differs from the Ordo neo-liberalism practised in Europe, which combines free market ideas with the need for social welfare provisions (Emy 1993). However, both forms of neo-liberalism have had significant effects on society. Not only does neo-liberal ideology seek to eliminate restrictions and regulations such as tariffs, quotas and other tariff and non tariff barriers, it also seeks to actively construct an enterprise culture (Peters 1996), or enterprise mentality, that prioritises market or economic interests above social needs. Individualism not collectivism, user pays not social justice, become the dominant values guiding the conduct of individuals, groups and nations operating within this framework of governance as each person, group, or community of persons, aims to carve out their own 'best deal'. These principles drive the export-oriented model of industrial development (EOI) that now dominates the economies of Asia. EOI advocates argue that a reassertion of the primacy of economic growth and market interests reduces poverty and generates prosperity in newly industrialising environments (NIEs) (see Balassa 1981; Krueger 1985). The International Monetary Fund's promotion of EOI, along with the rapid growth achieved~by Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, encouraged other Asian countries to adopt EOI policies. As a result, EOI has become the industrial development model of choice in the region, even in previously closed or centrally managed economies such as India, Vietnam and now of course China. This pathway has been pursued with relative ease because most Asian NIE economies were governed by authoritarian or single party democratic regimes, which erected legislative and regulatory frameworks to proactively promote EOI even when social costs were incurred. Asian governments' commitment to export-driven economic growth has had serious implications for labour. Exchange controls, guarantees concerning repatriation of investment, taxation and general industry assistance schemes to attract investment were complemented by an industrial relations model characterized by restrictions on freedom of association, collective bargaining and the right to strike. These governments tightly controlled remuneration and workplace conditions to match the needs of international capital, as opposed to broader community needs. In summary, the Asian labour-management model has heightened the vulnerability of Asian workers in comparison to those working in more industrialised environments. Collective resistance is not only difficult to co-ordinate within this paradigm; it is also difficult to stimulate. However, the papers in this symposium suggest that the harsh regimes of labour control characteristic of Asia's EOI economies have not been able to eliminate labour collectivity altogether. Rather, they have encouraged novel forms of labour activism both within the tradition of unionism and beyond it. …

The Transformation of Ownership Policy and Structure in Sweden: Convergence towards the Anglo-Saxon Model?

We investigate the dramatic transformation of ownership policies and ownership structure in Sweden during the postwar period. After WWII, Swedish ownership policies were guided by a socialist vision where the ultimate goal was abolition of private ownership. These policies came to an end in the early 1980s. Since then a large number of Swedish firms have been acquired by foreign owners or merged with foreign firms and the foreign ownership share on the Swedish Stock Exchange has increased rapidly. A central question is whether this fast transformation is merely a logical consequence of current globalization, or whether this tendency has been reinforced by economic policies vis-a-vis the business sector in Sweden. We show that until the late 1980s, Swedish economic policy – aimed at discouraging wealth accumulation among households and favoring institutional ownership and debt financing – effectively precipitated the rapid takeover of the Swedish business sector by foreign owners that gained momentum in the 1990s. Policy measures intended to create a system of “capitalism without capitalists” can be said to have “packaged” large Swedish corporations in terms of ownership and financing structure, so that foreign takeover was facilitated. The article ends with a discussion as to whether the dramatic change in ownership structure in the Swedish business sector may result in the demise of the old corporatist model of industrial relations, giving way to a new trend towards a liberal market economy of the current Anglo-Saxon variety. JEL Classification: M13, N24, O38, P16.

The Rise and Rise of Market Relations in the British Public Sector: Implications for Industrial Relations

AbstractHaving outlined a traditional model of British public sector industrial relations, this article focuses on developments from the 1980s to 2001. It argues that there has been a reorganisation of the state through privatisation and an historical shift in employment relations, from the state as a ‘model’, administrative employer to an increasingly managerial employer. In effect, a depoliticisation of employment relations has taken place, with the withdrawal of central government from direct control over operational and organisational activity in the public services. As part of these processes, the public services in Britain have been marketised, with the creation of a public service sector, no longer defined by ownership but by the service provided. These developments are reflected in the changing patterns of industrial relations activity in the public services, with profound implications for trade unionism.

A woman’s place is on the picket line

This paper argues that a new theory of community industrial relations is needed that recognises fewer boundaries between work and family. The theory needs to recognise a mutual exchange between the traditional “actors” in the industrial relationship (unions, employers and the government) and “interactors” in the community rather than continue to assume a separation between the external and internal industrial environment that has underpinned traditional industrial relations theory. More importantly the theory needs to be gender inclusive and recognise the important role played by women as a link between industrial actors and the community. The paper presents examples of community‐union activity to illustrate the reality of the decrease in separation between community and industrial parties. In so doing the paper draws on the experiences of female partners of male unionists in traditional male workplaces. The paper proposes a new gender inclusive model of community industrial relations. Based on this model the paper proposes a new theory of community industrial relations in which interchange occurs between the traditional industrial relations actors and various groups of interactors within the community within the broader social/cultural, economic, political, and legal environment, for mutual advantage of all parties. This theory is in its formative stage and this requires further testing before it can be claimed as a general theory.

Striking a Bargain: Work and Industrial Relations in England, 1815-1865 (review)

One of many merits of James Jaffe's Striking a Bargain is that it reminds us that we know less about history of work than we think we do. In this important study, Jaffe takes aim at Webb-inspired orthodoxy that collective bargaining did not exist before 1860s. The first half of nineteenth century is still often held to be a period when primitive trade unions, labouring under legal restrictions, had to learn the rules of (in Eric Hobsbawm's phrase). At a more profound level, Jaffe is unhappy with market-based models of industrial relations in early industrial period. In a manner that reminds me of early work of William Reddy, Jaffe demonstrates how cultural as much as economic forces shaped trade union behaviour. Contrary to view that industrial relations were formless or devoid of institutions that would shape bargaining in later nineteenth century, Jaffe portrays a world of informal or semi-formal wage bargaining between industrial employers and employees that was frequently sophisticated and effective. In this twilight world, categories that mattered were not those of class or market so much as custom, honour, fairness, reciprocity, discretion, manliness, and an acknowledgement of interests. The key words for artisans in negotiations were fair play. Why has this form of bargaining been ignored? In part, evidence is scattered and anecdotal (problems dealt with by thoroughness of Jaffe's research). However, ifJaffe is correct, we suffer from a distorted view of labour process created by industrial novelists of 1840s and 1850s who did not bother to consider complexities of workplace. Not that economists do much better in Jaffe's account. Adam Smith certainly recognised wage bargaining but other contemporary economists failed to appreciate its importance in labour market.Jaffe, by contrast, explores work relations in a theoretically sophisticated way, importing ideas from game theory, intellectual history, political science, and postmodernism. Employers and workers, we discover, frequently bargained over wages before 1860. For example, price lists were employed to avoid dangers of competitive rate-cutting as part of a system of wage regulation that assisted both sides. Courts of Requests often dealt with disputes between management and labour, thus coming informally to regulate employment relations. Jaffe finds evidence of sophisticated bargaining amongst Macclesfield silk spinners, Coventry ribbon trade, Staffordshire potters, and northern coal miners (all of whom receive detailed case studies). For Jaffe, industrial relations in this period were not only highly ritualised but constituted a form of theatre. He is particularly interesting on dramaturgical structure of negotiations in which participants in effect played out different kinds of roles (a splendid example of author's interdisciplinary approach). Jaffe examines strikes and other breakdowns in employer/employee relations but does not see them as examples of class conflict. His theme is really that of social cooperation. Wage bargaining was a ritual in which people knew their lines in script. He considers ways in which power of employers was mediated by cultural considerations, leading to his reconsideration of labour relations (following Marcel Mauss) as a gift relationship. Such a view, which both sides bought into, did not mean, however, that workers saw themselves as subservient. What sustained labour relations was notion of reci-

Realising “Partnership” in Employment Relations: Some Legal Obstacles

The UK Government’s policy on economic and social renewal, the ultimate goal of which is to improve living standards for all, emphasises the importance of adopting a partnership model of industrial relations. Government perceives this model of employment relations as essential to achieving continued competitiveness in a globalised economy, especially where productivity, however measured, does not match that of other major industrialised countries. Narrowing the gap in competitiveness is thought to require businesses and individuals to acquire new skills and knowledge essential to provide higher value-added goods and services. Although there are divergent conceptions of precisely what partnership might entail, at its broadest level it would seem to require a cultural change that encourages greater mutuality and respect for employees. This is offered in exchange for enhanced motivation, 'flexibility' and innovation on the part of employees. Partnership might thus address the manner in which employees are treated, their opportunity to contribute to the workplace, and their commitment to the success of the enterprise.

Trade unions and the British model of industrial relations in a fragile period of transition

Trade unions and the British model of industrial relations in a fragile period of transition