Employee Relations AC219

Perspectives on the Employment Relationship: Unitarist and Pluralist Approaches

Structure

Reminder: The Employment Relationship

What are organizations? Different perspectives on the

employment relationship Unitarism, Pluralism, Marxism

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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’

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

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’

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

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

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