May/June 2016
CRITICALLY ANALYSE AND DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON LABOUR
RELATIONS AND THE ROLE OF TRADE UNION MOVEMENTS (25)
Differentiate between the various perspectives on LR
There are four prominent perspectives that exist on labour relations as outlined below:
5. The Pluralist Perspective
Views the organisation as a combined force of individuals with diverse objectives, values and perspectives
The underlying assumption of this perspective is that individuals within the organisation combine into
various distinct groups with their own interests, objectives and leadership – these groups can either be formal
or informal.
These groups are competitive in terms of leadership, authority and loyalty
6. The Unitarist Perspective
Views the organisation as a homogeneous group of people with a unified authority structure that has
common values, interests and purpose.
Conflict is regarded as unnecessary and employees are expected to be loyal to their management and
organisations
The underlying assumption is that conflict is undesirable and mainly the result of communication
problems
Trade unions are regarded as unnecessary
7. The Radical Perspective
Gets its roots in traditions related to Marxist thinking
The underlying assumption is that workers are oppressed due to capitalist interests
Trade unions play an important role from this viewpoint as they enhance the power of the working class
8. Corporatism
Seen as an extension of pluralism
The underlying assumption is that business and labour are no longer viewed as interacting on a purely
competitive basis
Conflict and common ground are blended and are seen as mutually gainful
, DISCUSS THE VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOLGY IN LABOUR RELATIONS, WITH SPECFIC
REFERENCE TO THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT WAYS OF BRIDGIN THE UNION-INDUSTRIAL
PSYCHOLOGY GAP, INCLUDING SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT CAUSE THE ROLE OF THE
INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY TO BE NEGLECTED IN LABOUR RELATIONS (25)
Explain the direct and indirect ways of bridging the union-industrial psychology gap
Direct Ways of Bridging the Gap
Needs to start from within the IS camp = ensure goodwill. Such action should be accompanied by aggressive
marketing and professional behaviour from the IS
Developing strategies to increase participation in union activities
Training union officials in bargaining and negotiation techniques, management skills for their own office staff
and conflict resolution and grievance handling
Training shop stewards in the handling of their duties
Developing leadership training programmes for union members
Providing counselling with respect to career planning
Research on enhancing union effectiveness and assisting in the implementation of the findings
Improve communication between union leadership and members; union leadership and management
Assisting unions to enhance public image
Assisting unions in efforts to improve quality of work life
Conducting survey of union members
Assisting in reducing work related stress of union members
Indirect Ways of Bridging the Gap
Continue to emphasis and remind orgs of the value of their HR resources and ensure that employees are
treated accordingly
Further research into the following areas:
Why unions function
Ways in which unions influence members
Reasons why members join unions
Member commitment to unions
Union attitudes towards relevant workplace issues
Value in raising acceptability of IS’s among unions
What are the main reasons for the neglect of the role of industrial psychology in labour relations?
3. There is a tendency of industrial psychologists to ignore trade unions, reasons for this include:
Institutional Naivety – viewing Labour Relations (LR) primarily as interpersonal relations
Inadequate Exposure to the problems of the working class – poor sensitivity and understanding to problems
of the labour
Developments in Organisational Psychology – such as job enrichment etc. which can run counter to the
traditional goals of labour
Problems of application – behavioural science interventions showing poor results
Misconceptions about the nature of industrial conflict
Research problems – lack of opportunities for research , inadequate communication of research results etc.
Preoccupation with the scientific method – thereby ignoring controversial issue of LR and instead
researching theoretically and technically safe areas.
Strong association with management
Treatment of unions as dummy variables
Inappropriate models of human behaviour in the work situation
4. There is a tendency of unions and specialists in LR to underplay the importance of Industrial Psychology (IS)
CRITICALLY ANALYSE AND DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON LABOUR
RELATIONS AND THE ROLE OF TRADE UNION MOVEMENTS (25)
Differentiate between the various perspectives on LR
There are four prominent perspectives that exist on labour relations as outlined below:
5. The Pluralist Perspective
Views the organisation as a combined force of individuals with diverse objectives, values and perspectives
The underlying assumption of this perspective is that individuals within the organisation combine into
various distinct groups with their own interests, objectives and leadership – these groups can either be formal
or informal.
These groups are competitive in terms of leadership, authority and loyalty
6. The Unitarist Perspective
Views the organisation as a homogeneous group of people with a unified authority structure that has
common values, interests and purpose.
Conflict is regarded as unnecessary and employees are expected to be loyal to their management and
organisations
The underlying assumption is that conflict is undesirable and mainly the result of communication
problems
Trade unions are regarded as unnecessary
7. The Radical Perspective
Gets its roots in traditions related to Marxist thinking
The underlying assumption is that workers are oppressed due to capitalist interests
Trade unions play an important role from this viewpoint as they enhance the power of the working class
8. Corporatism
Seen as an extension of pluralism
The underlying assumption is that business and labour are no longer viewed as interacting on a purely
competitive basis
Conflict and common ground are blended and are seen as mutually gainful
, DISCUSS THE VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOLGY IN LABOUR RELATIONS, WITH SPECFIC
REFERENCE TO THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT WAYS OF BRIDGIN THE UNION-INDUSTRIAL
PSYCHOLOGY GAP, INCLUDING SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT CAUSE THE ROLE OF THE
INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY TO BE NEGLECTED IN LABOUR RELATIONS (25)
Explain the direct and indirect ways of bridging the union-industrial psychology gap
Direct Ways of Bridging the Gap
Needs to start from within the IS camp = ensure goodwill. Such action should be accompanied by aggressive
marketing and professional behaviour from the IS
Developing strategies to increase participation in union activities
Training union officials in bargaining and negotiation techniques, management skills for their own office staff
and conflict resolution and grievance handling
Training shop stewards in the handling of their duties
Developing leadership training programmes for union members
Providing counselling with respect to career planning
Research on enhancing union effectiveness and assisting in the implementation of the findings
Improve communication between union leadership and members; union leadership and management
Assisting unions to enhance public image
Assisting unions in efforts to improve quality of work life
Conducting survey of union members
Assisting in reducing work related stress of union members
Indirect Ways of Bridging the Gap
Continue to emphasis and remind orgs of the value of their HR resources and ensure that employees are
treated accordingly
Further research into the following areas:
Why unions function
Ways in which unions influence members
Reasons why members join unions
Member commitment to unions
Union attitudes towards relevant workplace issues
Value in raising acceptability of IS’s among unions
What are the main reasons for the neglect of the role of industrial psychology in labour relations?
3. There is a tendency of industrial psychologists to ignore trade unions, reasons for this include:
Institutional Naivety – viewing Labour Relations (LR) primarily as interpersonal relations
Inadequate Exposure to the problems of the working class – poor sensitivity and understanding to problems
of the labour
Developments in Organisational Psychology – such as job enrichment etc. which can run counter to the
traditional goals of labour
Problems of application – behavioural science interventions showing poor results
Misconceptions about the nature of industrial conflict
Research problems – lack of opportunities for research , inadequate communication of research results etc.
Preoccupation with the scientific method – thereby ignoring controversial issue of LR and instead
researching theoretically and technically safe areas.
Strong association with management
Treatment of unions as dummy variables
Inappropriate models of human behaviour in the work situation
4. There is a tendency of unions and specialists in LR to underplay the importance of Industrial Psychology (IS)
