Approaches and Causes of Industrial Relations

Approaches and Causes of Industrial

1. DR KUMAR J ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES SRM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RAMAPURAM CAMPUS INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND LABOUR LAWS Approaches and Causes for Industrial relation

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3. Systems Approach John Dunlop gave the systems theory of industrial relations in the year 1958. He believed that every human being belongs to a continuous but independent social system culture which is responsible for framing his or her actions, behaviour and role.

4. 2. Unitary Approach As the name suggests, the unitary approach can be seen as a method of bringing togetherthe teamwork, common objective, individual strategy and mutual efforts of the individuals. This theory believes that the conflicts are non-permanent malformations, which are result of improper management in the organization .

5. The pluralist theory also called the ‘ Oxford Approach’, was proposed by Flanders in the year 1970. This approach explained that the management and the trade unions are the different and robust sub-groups which unanimously form an organization. Collective bargaining was considered to be a useful technique for resolving organizational conflicts. Due to this, the management’s role has transformed from imposition and control; to influencing and coordinating with the workers.

6. 4. Marxist Approach Lenin came up with the concept of a Marxist approach in the year 1978, where he emphasized the social perspective of the organization. This theory perceived that the industrial relations depend upon the relationship between the workers (i.e., employees or labour ) and the owners (i.e., employer or capital). There exists a class conflict between both the groups to exercise a higher control or influence over each other .

7. 5. Sociological Approach The industries comprise of different human beings who need to communicate with the individuals of other organizations.Due to the difference in their attitude, skills, perception, personality, interests, likes and dislikes, needs, they are usually involved in one or the other conflict. Even the social mobility and other aspects including transfer, default, group dynamics, stress,norms, regulations and status of the workers influence their output and the industrial relations

8. 6. Gandhian Approach The Gandhian approach to industrial relations was proposed by the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi or Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was also a well-known labour leader .

9. 7. Psychological Approach The psychologists perceived the problem of the industrial relations as a result of the varying perception and mindset of the key participants, i.e., the employees and the management. The ‘ thematic application test’ was conducted by Mason Harie to understand the behaviour , mindset and perception of the two significant workgroups, i.e., executive and the union leaders, in a particular situation.

10. 8. Human Relations Approach The person behind the concept of the human relations approach is Keith Davis. The organization and the society comprise of human beings who vary in various aspects as their behaviour , emotions, attitude, mindset and personality. But, they have come together toachieve common organizational goals and objectives.

11. Causes of Poor Industrial Relations: 1. Economic Causes:- Poor wages & poor working conditions are the main reason for unhealthy relations among managements & labour . Unauthorised deduction from wages,lack of fringe benefits, absence of promotional opportunities; dissatisfaction with jobevaluation & performance appraisal methods, faulty incentive schemes are other economic causes.

12. 2. Organisational Causes: Faulty communication system, dilution of supervision & command, non-recognition of trade unions, unfair practices, violation of collective agreements & standing orders & labour laws are the organisational causes of poor relations industry. 3. Social Causes:- Uninteresting nature of work is the main social cause. Factory system & specialization have made worker a subordinate to the machine. Workers has lost sense of pride & satisfaction .

13. 4. Psychological causes:- Lack of job security, poor organisational culture, nonrecognition of merit & performance, authoritative administration & poor interpersonal relations are the psychological reason for unsatisfactory employeremployee relations 5. Political Causes: Political nature of trade unions, multiple unions & interunion rivalry weaken trade union movement. In the absence of strong & responsible trade unions, collective bargaining becomes ineffective. The union’s status is reduced to a mere strike committee.

14. Objectives of Industrial Relations Industrial relations have significant stake and it is part of strategic human resource management, it is mostly about addressing the industrial disputes in an organization and other important practices are as follows: 1.Handling Grievance: Intension to maintain cordial relations between management and employees by setting up appropriate mechanism to address the grievances.

15. 2. Mental Revolution: Emphasize on transformation in line of thinking for the management and the employees. It is necessary that the management must respect contribution of workers for organization and the employees also respects the management and its decisions. 3.Employees Rights Protection: There are various labor laws enacted for benefits and betterment of working employees with intension to safeguard the rights and interests of the employees, therefore effective implementation is necessary

16. 4.Contract Interpretation: It emphasizes on providing necessary trainings to the supervisors and managers on the labor laws and contracts to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation. 5.Boosting Morale: Emphasize on building employee’s confidence and boosting their morale to perform better.

17. 6.Collective Bargaining: It is right of the employee provided by Constitution of India, it helps decision making by discussions , the representative of workers and management can discuss their proposal with each other, negotiate and conclude. It will reach to mutual decision and may be written in collective bargaining agreement. 7.Increasing Productivity: It aims to improve efficiency and productivity of the organization, also it helps to ensure employees long-term retention.