1. INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
MGMT 329
INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

2. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORK
The changing world of work
Regular part-time work
Casual work
Contract work
Home-based work
The changing workforce
Diversity
Changing expectations of employees

3. WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS?
Interdisciplinary
Economics
Law
Business management
Psychology
Attempts to analyze and propose solutions for workplace problems

4. WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS? (continued)
Relations between unions and management
Impacts employees, organizations, taxpayers and consumers
Balancing efficiency and equity between the interests/needs of management and workers

5. THEORIES OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Dunlop’s Systems Theory
Analytical subsystem of industrial society
Composed of “actors”
Managers
Workers
Government

6. THEORIES OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (continued)
Dunlop’s Systems Theory (continued)
Has a context
Market (economy)
Technical
Power (political)
Changes in context product shifts in balance of power
Context has greatest impact on subset of rules

7. THEORIES OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (continued)
Dunlop’s Systems Theory (continued)
Rules, such as pay, hours of work, are outcomes of IR system
Labour legislation is a set of procedural rules for behaviour in unionized workplaces
Employment standards legislation applies to all workers

8. THEORIES OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (continued)
Dunlop’s Systems Theory (continued)
Criticisms of systems theory:
Unable to test theory
Minimizes other environmental impacts
No distinction between functional and dysfunctional conflict
No indication if conflict is or is not inherent in workplace
Views managers as giving orders and workers following those orders

9. THEORIES OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (continued)
Strategic Choice Model
IR strategies linked to firms’ global strategies
Does not assume that conflict can be worked out
Provides fuller and more accurate explanation of IR developments

10. PERSPECTIVES ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Neoclassical - extreme right
Economics view
Goals are different but compatible - little conflict
Believe in the free and unfettered operation of markets
Labour-management relationship is a free and equal exchange between two parties
Primary focus is on labour markets

11. PERSPECTIVES ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (continued)
Managerial - near right
No inherent conflict between employee and management
Main concern is motivation of workers
Seek to motivate through positive incentives, not fear
Believe that if intelligent and progressive human resource management practices are used, unions would not be necessary
Interested in employee involvement

12. PERSPECTIVES ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (continued)
Institutional - middle
There is conflict between employee and management
Individual workers are unable to resist the demands of powerful employers
Unions needed to create level playing field
Government intervention needed to establish and administer labour relations legislation

13. PERSPECTIVES ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (continued)
Reformist - near left
Collective bargaining and labour relations legislation could work
Odds weighted in favour of rich and powerful employers
Seek major economic redistribution to correct inequality

14. PERSPECTIVES ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (continued)
Radical/Political Economy - far left
Widespread inequality integral part of capitalist society
Can’t be overcome under existing arrangements
Two classes of society--workers and capitalists
Workers produce goods and services of far greater value than their wages