The under-utilization of human resources in industrial relations theory and practice

Industrial relations, as a theoretical and practical system of work arrangements between employees, unions, management and governments, have come under substantial pressure in recent decades, but neither theory nor practice has fully adjusted to the new circumstances. The article describes the changing conditions in relation to one aspect of the industrial relations (IR) system, namely influence and power sharing outside the sphere of collective bargaining. The analysis is based on two theoretical models derived from an accumulation of social science research evidence since the 1960s and further supported by recent comparative studies of countries with significant different IR philosophies.

The application of the human resources and motivated competence models to IR leads to the conclusion that long-term interests of employees and management as well as governments are best served by having a dual system of influence and power sharing, only one of which is adversarial.     

The theory and practice of strategic HRM and participative management: Antecedents in early industrial relations

A diversity of opinion exists about the definition, intellectual boundaries, and major premises of the fields of human resources management (HRM) and industrial relations (IR). To help provide a common frame of reference for discussion and debate on the symposium topic, I endeavor in this paper to flesh out a consensus position on these matters. The method used is largely historical. Based on a review of the origins and evolution of the two fields from the early 20th century to the present day, I show that human resources (HR) up to the early 1960s was typically considered to be a subfield of IR. In more recent years, however, HR has largely severed its links with IR and now is widely regarded as a separate, sometimes competing and sometimes complementary field of study. In the last part of the paper I use this historical analysis, together with a review of the literatures in the two fields and the findings and conclusions of the other papers in this symposium, to identity both the commonalities and differences that distinguish the two fields in terms of their approach to science building (research) and problem solving (policy/practice).     

关于城市治理的理论与实践

我国亟待建立一个符合国情的城市综合治理的理论体系 ,这将对我国城市的高质量发展具有深刻的现实意义。文章探讨了恒常综合治理、临时综合治理与专项治理的关系 ,并提出城市综合治理的基本要求 ,即 ,规范教育预防与依法严治相结合、法治与德治相结合以及国际对接、国际认证与中国国情相结合。     

The dark side of solidarity: social norms and social relations in the aftermath of strikes

This paper studies how employees anticipate change in social relations after a strike in their organisation. We hypothesise that two group norms affect employees' fear that a strike deteriorates the social relations with their colleagues. We distinguish between two different norms associated with a collective action problem such as a strike. A ‘solidarity norm’ prescribes that workers should participate in collective protest when called for. A ‘free rider punishment norm’ describes whether and how violators of the solidarity norm should be treated. While the former itself theoretically does not impact intra‐group social relations, the latter one does. We test our hypotheses on a data set of 468 Dutch union members. Adherence to the free rider punishment norm significantly increases a fear for deterioration of social relations with colleagues after a strike, while adherence to the solidarity norm does not. We also find a moderating effect of expected proportion of strikers. The results are discussed with reference to industrial relations theory and mobilisation theory, further probing into mechanisms that relate social norms to the (anticipated) costs of participation and the quality of social relations after a strike.     

Industrial relations in British local government

Local government is at present the subject of much criticism and legislative attention. Unfortunately the debate centres more around emotion than factually based reason. This article presents new survey findings on remuneration and industrial action in the sector which has good and bad news for supporters and opponents alike.     

Building relations between educational establishments and local business

Schools, colleges and universities are rapidly realising that, by building better relations with local business, they are in a particularly advantageous position when competing with other charitable bodies. By the very nature of their existence, they possess facilities that can be utilised as bargaining tools in the constant competitive search for sponsorship deals. This paper describes the experience of one independent school which has been successful in obtaining funding from local businesses both from philanthropic and sponsorship sources. It suggests that educational establishments have a distinct advantage over other charitable organisations in their negotiating ability as they have at their ‘fingertips’ the sort of facility that businesses require for both their recreational and their academic needs.     

The impact of EU accession on Turkish industrial relations and social dialogue

This article examines whether the European Union membership process is transforming the ‘deep structure’ of Turkish industrial relations. We make an attempt to illustrate this through the prism of Turkish experience in social dialogue regarded as an indispensable tool of the European social model. Turkish industrial relations is characterised by restrictive labour laws, employer hostility to unionisation, a large informal economy and labour market, and strong state intervention, which have historically constituted the main elements of ‘the deep structure’ of Turkish industrial relations. In procedural terms, the institutions for social dialogue have been established but the influence of the social partners is limited because of the dominance of the state and the weakness of labour. The existing attempts at developing social dialogue rest on shaky foundations emanating mostly from the state's and employers' disrespect of basic labour rights.     

Industrial relations policy and managerial custom and practice

This article, using evidence from the air transport industry, extends the concept of managerial and supervisory custom and practice to management's industrial relations policies. It offers an understanding of management's role in industrial relations and the relationship between actions and rules.     

The method of endogenous gridpoints in theory and practice

The method of endogenous gridpoints (ENDG) significantly speeds up the solution to dynamic stochastic optimization problems with continuous state and control variables by avoiding repeated computations of expected outcomes while searching for optimal policy functions. I provide an interpolation technique for non-rectilinear grids that allow ENDG to be used in n-dimensional problems in an intuitive and computationally efficient way: the acceleration of ENDG with non-linear grid interpolation is nearly constant in the density of the grid. Further, ENDG has only been shown by example and has never been formally characterized. Using a theoretical framework for dynamic stochastic optimization problems, I formalize the method of endogenous gridpoints and present conditions for the class of models for which it can be used.     

The memory of practice and the mirror of theory

An act of leadership is always an act of practical theory. We lead because we hold visions of the world as it ought to be, because of the not yet, because of the potential that we see in ideas and people. Yet, there still exists a perceived binary between leadership theory (in the strong sense) and leadership practice, a binary that divides organizations, classrooms, and the differing bodies of leadership literature. In this Symposium, Duncan Waite and his colleagues discuss the barriers they have faced in bringing theory to the educational leadership classroom, as well as the promise they feel theory holds for more productive, equitable, and humane schooling organizations.