The take-up of human resource management by mainstream companies: key lessons from research

Drawing upon a major British study involving over 300 interviews in fifteen case organizations from the private and public sectors, this paper draws out the essential elements of recent changes in industrial relations. In particular, it examines the significance of human resource management initiatives for the practice of industrial relations. The main thrust of the paper examines the ways, and the extent to which, mainstream organizations have transposed and absorbed concepts and practices from the highly publicized ‘lead cases’ into their own routines.

The central argument has three component elements: a whole array of managerial initiatives was launched in the period covered by the research; many of the more far-reaching of these were devised and driven from outside personnel or industrial relations management; cumulatively, these initiatives have impacted on the conduct of industrial relations.

A key concept which is identified and explored is that of HRM/IR ‘dualism’. This is the attempted bolting-on of HRM techniques and language alongside prevailing, albeit to some extent diluted, IR proceduralism. Many of the significant changes in labour management practices stemmed from initiatives taken by general managers, manufacturing directors and line managers. Transformative initiatives in the guise of culture change and structural change often carried profound implications for industrial relations even though these initiatives would not traditionally be regarded as part of industrial relations proper.     

The Geometry of Comparative Industrial Relations: Efficiency,Equity and Voice

This article focuses on John Budd’s efficiency, equity and voice concepts. The discussion considers the concepts’ utility as a framework for analyzing different national patterns of industrial relations in a comparative perspective. The article considers eight forms of employment relationships: social partnerships, sectoral bargaining, centralized awards, enterprise unionism, exclusive representation, codetermination, the US new deal system and voluntarism. The author concludes that this is a useful framework for such purposes, and that it is following the industrial relations tradition of pluralism.     

Gender: the missing link in industrial relations research

This article extends the critique of how industrial relations research continues to be gender‐blind and argues that it is in part a result of early definitions which relegated ‘personal’ relations as outside the boundaries of the field and in part a result of a simultaneous strategy of acknowledgement and abdication, acknowledging that gender is important while at the same time arguing that gender does not need to be addressed. In order to demonstrate how gender is central to industrial relations, the article uses Antonio Gramsci’s concepts of ‘hegemony’, ‘ideology’, ‘good sense’ and ‘common sense’ to illustrate how patriarchal common sense is drawn on by both managers and trade unionists in negotiations over hours of work in a manufacturing firm in the North ‐west of England. It is argued that in order to include gender as a central feature of industrial relations research, it is necessary to analyse how the interests of capital, labour and patriarchy are embedded in negotiations on the shopfloor.     

Enthusiastic Embrace or Critical Reception? The German HRM Debate

This paper discusses the reception of human resource management (HRM) in Germany. A review of the German HRM debate shows that this is dominated by business administration academics specializing in this field. In the past, these scholars as well as practitioners have generally embraced the techniques as well as the ideology of HRM. This finding can be explained by a relatively low emphasis on empirical research, a neglect of industrial relations issues, and a strong impact of theories and concepts developed in the USA. Today, however, there appears to be a change towards a more critical appreciation of the US HRM model and a more positive assessment of the German HRM model.     

Towards a microscopic analysis of industrial innovations: From diffusion curves to technological integration through participative management

This paper traces the development of ever more microscopic analyses of the industrial innovation process and presents these as progressive stages in a gradual coming to terms with the real-life complexities of this process. Begining with the macroscopic, diffusion perspective inherited from rural sociology, it reveals how more user-centred models have emerged. The changing image of the user is traced from “passive adopter” to “managerial problem solver” and finally, to “innovative designer”. The paper then turns to the difficulties involved in understanding the nature of the firm's infrastructure and the implications it has for innovation management and industrial relations problems. Research in this area is identified as a crucial source of the new management tachniques that are required to solve the growing problems of resistance to technology implementation. A socio-psychological analysis drawing upon the concepts of the ethogenic approach is proposed and seen to recommend a participative management style similar to that used so successfully by the Japanese.     

Economic flexibility and society in Italy

There is a positive and stimulating aspect to the current attitude towards social solidarity, especially in a context of economic and social change. Where once the concepts of interest and solidarity were contrasted, micro-level developments of a corporatist nature are contributing to ways of achieving a link between economic flexibility and social solidarity. A greater amount of negotiation is occurring on a range of key industrial issues compromises are being made due to the awareness of a ‘common danger’. In Italy, developments along such lines point to a need to reassess the assumed language used for understanding the politics of industrial relations.     

The Evolution of Indian Industrial Relations: A Comparative Perspective

This article examines the evolution of Indian industrial relations in an historical and structural context. In India, the evolution of industrial relations has been ‘incremental’ and ‘adaptive’ and not ‘discontinuous’ and ‘revolutionary’. The relationship between changing industrialisation strategies and industrial relations institutions and practices in India is considerably more subtle than is often supposed in comparative industrial relations narratives, especially when detailed endogenous political economy considerations are taken into account.     

British industrial relations and the European Community

The purpose of this paper is to review the influence that Britain's membership of the European Community has had on industrial relations in Britain. More specifically the so-called ‘Social Dimension’ of the 1992 internal market is assessed. The conclusion is that British industrial relations will continue to be influenced by developments in the European Community for the rest of the 1990s and beyond. However, it is more likely that there will be a weaving of a European dimension into national industrial relations systems rather than the imposition of a new EC-wide model.     

Some reflections on industrial relations

James Prior, Secretary of State for Employment, argues that, although the responsibility for improving industrial relations in Britain rests primarily with employers and trade unions, limited legal changes can achieve a more balanced framework of legal rights and obligations within which trade unions can operate, improve the operation of industrial relations.     

STRIKE PRONENESS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEMS AT THE ORGANIZATION LEVEL: A DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS [1]

Strike proneness is analyzed through the industrial relations system conceptualization. The actors, rules and ideology components of 60 industrial relations systems, of which 15 exhibited a low propensity to strike and 45 a high propensity to strike, are compared via a discriminant analysis procedure. Strike-vulnerable establishments as compared with harmonious units tend to include more strikers and have a more complicated structure of labour representation. In highly strike-prone organizations, negotiations are usually handled by representatives equipped with limited authority. These organizations tend to be less prepared rulewise for a strike situation, and their ideology is less critical of promoting union leaders to managerial positions and less favourable of opening recruitment to out-of-plant competition. The comparison of the technological, economic and power constraints of the two strike propensity groups indicates that the conflictual units, as compared with organizations with a low strike propensity, tend to be larger units and service organizations; they are mostly budget controlled and publically owned. A comprehensive industrial relations system analysis indicates that the internal components of the industrial relations system take priority in discriminating between the two strike groups. Theoretical and substantive conclusions conclude the analysis.     

Evaluating change in European industrial relations: research evidence on trends at organizational level

This paper uses evidence from organizations with more than 200 employees in several countries across Europe to explore the proposition that industrial relations in Europe is becoming more convergent around a non-union HRM model. The evidence indicates that, although there are some similar moves taking place, national patterns remain distinctive, the IR/HRM distinction may not be sustainable in Europe and there are significant elements of continuity in industrial relations in Europe alongside the changes that are taking place.     

European industrial relations in 1999: chronicle of events

This article chronicles industrial relations developments throughout the European Union (EU) during 1999. The information is gleaned from articles published by the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). The text therefore contains numerical references to records contained in the EIRO database in order to allow the reader easy access to the relevant records. The article is divided into five sections. The first contains an overview of political, economic and legislative events at EU‐level, the second looks at EU‐level developments in employee representation, the third looks at the impact of European economic and monetary union (EMU) on industrial relations and collective bargaining and the fourth and fifth give a more detailed country‐by‐country analysis of main trends in key industrial relations areas—collective bargaining and industrial action; and employment creation, working time and new forms of work.     

Participatory management and industrial relations climate: a study of Chinese,Japanese and US firms in Taiwan

This study examines the relationship between industrial relations climate and the employee attitudes towards participatory management in Chinese-, Japanese- and US-invested electronics firms in Taiwan. Among the findings, Chinese firms tended to have a higher level of participatory management and more effective participatory management than US-invested firms in Taiwan. It was also confirmed that the harmony and openness aspects of industrial relations climate had a positive and significant correlation with the effectiveness of participatory management, including the personnel, operational and social matters. It was concluded that multinational corporations (MNCs) which need centralized control of their overseas operations will be less willing to encourage participatory management in their local operations. Finally, it was revealed that the effectiveness rather than the level of participatory management could better predict industrial relations climate.     

The importance of small differences: the effects of research design on the comparative study of industrial relations reform in Australia and New Zealand

The aim of this paper is to explore the limitations associated with a most similar case research design. It argues that by adopting a most similar case research design, comparative work on industrial relations reform in Australia and New Zealand during the 1980s and 1990s has systematically ignored important historical differences between the two countries, underestimated the similarities in recent reforms and privileged organizational and institutional explanations for changes in industrial relations systems, at the expense of those which are based on systemic factors and material interests. More generally, this paper argues that methodological choices have significant consequences for the types of explanations generated by comparative research and that more serious attention needs be given to the epistemological assumptions embedded in research designs that are taken up by industrial relations researchers.     

Does unionization lead to corporate changes in productivity practices?–insights from Singapore

This paper explores the role of trade unions in influencing corporate change towards productivity improvement for a newly industrialized country– Singapore.Empirical analysis of a sample of firms found unionization to be positively associated with certain productivity practices.The more significant and stronger correlations being the sharing of productivity gains, role Specialization (productivity manager) and productivity as part of corporate policy. Implications of these findings are discussed.

A Sunday Times commentary 2 suggested that, drawing from the Singapore industrial relations experience, trade unions could play a positive role in generating economic growth. If that is seen to be occurring from the macrolevel, it will naturally be interesting to inquire further what effects unionization can have on internal organizational practices, such as in productivity improvement. There may also be practical benefits from having insights into the dynamic forces that are at work when trade unionism is present.

A perspective on the direction (whether positive or negative) and scale of change in the emphasis on productivity improvement practices could help multinational enterprises formulate more effective employee relations policies when operating in Singapore –where tripartite co–operation is the key industrial relations philosophy. Corporations that are in the process of

being unionized may be able to appreciate that resulting change to their operating environments as a consequence of unionization need nor always be unfavourable.Management operating in unionized contexts could rethink their industrial relations strategies in light of the findings here –that it is quite possible to work with trade unions to enhance corporate productivity.

Most significantly, such findings could foster a greater determination by both the management and unions in engendering a co-operative industrial relations climate.This is particularly relevant for corporations operating in countries such as Britain, where industrial relations are traditionally less harmonious.To survive in the increasingly global competition of the 1990s and beyond, Western businesses will need co-operative industrial relations that help to foster productivity improvement efforts. This theme isfurther explored in the last section of the paper.     

Collectivism and the Management of Industrial Relations In Greenfield Sites

Patrick Gunnigle examines management approaches to industrial relations in newly established (‘greenfield’) companies in the Republic of Ireland. He focuses particularly on recent empirical findings on trade union density and recognition and on the role of employer organisations. the evidence presented points to newly emergent patterns of industrial relations management which diverge from the pluralist model. However, in only a minority of cases could these be classified as ‘soft’ human resource management. Indeed a number of organisations studied adopted industrial relations styles which more closely approximated to ‘hard’ HRM. It would appear that the emerging pattern is one of higher individualism and constrained collectivism. the findings also point to the emergence of a vibrant non-union sector among greenfield companies. It is argued that this trend is likely to be accentuated by the increasing number of companies successfully pursuing the non-union route. Equally, the current national industrial policy focus on high technology industries and internationally traded services is also likely to reinforce growth in the non-union sector. A number of factors which may help to arrest this trend are identified, particularly the corporatist structures characteristic of Irish industrial relations and the traditional acceptance of trade unions as legitimate bargaining partners.     

Comparative industrial relations theory: the role of national culture

This paper explores the use of national culture in comparative industrial relations theory to explain the cross-national pattern of industrial relations institutions. A critical review of the existing body of theory argues that it has not adequately explained cross-national differences in the main industrial relations variables. The review also establishes that, with few exceptions, national culture is currently given negligible weight as an explanatory variable. It is argued that a cultural theory of cross-national difference is required. Following a critical assessment of the work of Hofstede, a cultural model is developed based on his definition and specification of culture. Some hypotheses linking Hofstede's dimensions of culture with our industrial relations variables are derived. As an empirical test of the model, industrial relations variables are regressed on Hofstede's cultural indices. National culture is found to be significantly associated with all the major characteristics of industrial relations systems investigated. The paper concludes that national culture is the primary determinant of cross-national variations in industrial relations institutions and that culture is likely to be a force for ongoing diversity in labour market systems.     

MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND THE REDESIGN OF WORKRULES

The redesign of workrules is rapidly becoming the most important issue in the industrial relations of the US. The arguments that follow present a taxonomy for understanding workrule changes and a series of propositions which explain the success of efforts to change workrules as a function of the general business that managements pursue in the product market and in their general approach to employees. Finally, the interaction between changes in different types of workrules is considered, as are the overall effects of a more flexible system of workrules on industrial relations at the firm.     

Moving beyond adversarialism: industrial relations and change in the Australian shearing industry

The shearers have always played a prominent role in industrial relations in Australia. This article examines the transition from a long history of adversarial industrial relations to a new found cooperation and uses the case study to reflect upon current developments in Australian industrial relations.     

Obstacles to transnational trade union cooperation in Europe—results from a European survey

This article analyses obstacles to transnational union cooperation within Europe. It is based on a survey of unions in 14 European countries and all members of the European Trade Union Confederation. The result shows that ‘hard’ industrial relations factors are generally more important obstacles to transnational cooperation than ‘softer’ factors such as cultural, linguistic, ideological and religious differences and that there are sectoral differences in experiences of obstacles to transnational union cooperation: unions in the manufacturing sector tend to emphasise differences in industrial relations and a lack of organisational resources for transnational union cooperation, whereas low organisational priorities are held to be of more importance in the services sector and for unions for professional workers.