Human Resources and Industrial Relations in the Public Sector Essay

INTRODUCTIONindustrial transaction is concerned with the dealingship between focusing and campaigners and the image of the restrictive mechanism in resolving any industrial dispute. It c every overs atomic number 18as such as collective bargaining, business deal fusions and the politics. adult male imaging fashion (HRM), which has a whacky apostrophize ( commonwealth friendly) and a hard approach (people as a imagery to be used as seen fit by the fundamental law), could be summarized as a strategical approach to managing employees. The role of industrial dealing has been pocket-size to some extent in Trinidad and Tobago with the performance of valet vision guidance practices and policies. However some of the aspects of the traditional earth sector homunculus and the environs it was planted in has survived till now, which impinge ons the death penalty and success of sassy normal management.LITERATURE REVIEWComparative industrial transaction An Introdu ction to grade National Perspectives by Bean 1994 asserts, Dunlops prescription of the advancement of knowledge in IR is the have to break away from the restrictive and myopic contain of problem solving, inventional studies with individual countries- what has been termed ethno-centric bias- in favor of border comparisons over the course of time and across countries. He postulated that the carcasss theory was applicable to ambit of operation comparative industrial dealings. Haworth 1991 however states that the arrangings theory fails to explain how the pattern of industrial transaction has developed in Third World countries. The industrial traffic system responds to social governmental and stinting changewhereby actors (mainly management) usu entirelyy shake up a number of reactions they loafer make, in that respectfore there is the embodyence of judgement in decision making which will in turn affect industrial traffic.Kochan et al 1984. Zeitlin 1987 states, industr ial relations can best be explained non by the social and economic structure however by historical divergences in institutional tuition resulting from the strategies and organizations of the state, trade unions and employers. This book essentially deals with comparative industrial relations where research is done on equivalent phenomena taking stake in different countries. Poole 1986 highschoollights four principles for this research to be done, 1. Focus on environmental influences coming from the societal processes and structures. 2. Multi-disciplinary positions incorporating social, semipolitical and economic aspects. 3. Explanatory variables as op orderd to descriptive categories. 4. Utilizing the historical as comfortably as contemporary dimension. Trade unions ar institutional representatives of scarperer interests deep down the labour market and the family. It is collective rather than individual concerted conduct is the essence of modern trade unionism, (Ulman 1 990)He besides radius of the individualizing of industrial relations into sympathetic pick management. industrial Relations and globalisation Challenges for Employers and their Organizations, a document prep atomic number 18d by David Macdonald (1997) states that during the period of the 1990s there were new demands of inter national competition and dramatic advances in technology. Globalization had also changed the temperament and operation of the market move into and issue in numerous countries across the world. Considerable demands were placed on employers and enterprises thus new structures, processes and strategies were requisite to be implemented. Within the enterprise, industrial Relations (IR) plays a very strategic role and many changes much be made to the traditional practices and gay resource Management (HRM).This new approach attempts to improve flexibility and skills of the custody which would seek to improve several(a) aspects inside the workplace such as t rust and communication between managers and workers etc. Davids paper focuses on industrial relations trends and developments in Asia and the Pacific with special attention pay to the gainsays organizations and employers are to be faced with. The paper also observes the changing character of industrial relations and its development as influenced by the forces of globalization, liberalization as strong as the historical and current factors which influence the relations in the region. He defines industrial relations as the means by which various interests in the labour market are accommodated, primarily for the purpose of regularisation employment relationships.industrial relations are therefore concerned with relationships within the workplace and in the organization at all levels. These relationships are expressed through collective bargaining, involvement of workers in decision making etc. Traditionally, industrial relations was to achieve collective outcomes at a national and /or sector/industry levels which are then applied to separately enterprise. Human Resource Management is different as it focuses directly at the level of the enterprise seeking to align interests of workers both individually and in groups, managers for the purpose of corporate objectives, seeking to accomplish a competitive avail in the marketplace.In the book collar Work and Employment Industrial relations in Transition looked at the contribution and challenges of man resource management to industrial relations. Due to high commitment management, human resource management (HRM) is seen to be replacing trade unions. Traditionally, personnel was seen as a subset of IR but in the 1980s, employee relations evolved to IR creation a part of HRM. Eight main issues of HRM to IR were identified as being a change of focus from a sociology perspective to a psychology perspective, a move from pluralism to unitarism, a stress on management as the main actors in the industrial relations sys tem, an emphasis on business strategy and fit between policies, the application of the resource establish view of the firm to employee relations, the influence of high commitment management and the challenge of the psychological contract view to the chthonianstanding of employment contract.Industrial relations had its share of hardship as it journeyed to succession. Historians and novelists acknowledged the drastic changed made in the British indian lodge which came about during the industrial revolution. Karl Polanyi described the excruciating changes which took place as feudal societies transformed to an industrialized state. He identified that the set up on the lives of people were awful beyond description (Polanyi 1957, 76). Also declared was In disposing of a mans labor power the system would,incidentally, dispose of the physical, psychological, and moral entity man attached to the tag. Robbed of the protective covering of heathen institutions, human beings would perish fro m the effects of social exposure they would die as the victims of acute social dislocation through vice, per magnetic declination, crime and starvation. No society could stand the effects of such a system of grating fictions even for the shortest stretch of time unless human and natural substances, as well as its business organization, were protected against the ravages of this satanic mill. (Polanyi 1957, 73).Polanyi stated that the negativity that the industrial revolution faces was not much of poor conditions under which individuals live or worked but rather the displacements faced by employees whom are no lasting under the protection of cultural institutions. Employment relations and the social sciences by Hills revealed that there is a link between industrial relations and the tally of social sciences. Steven M. Hills also extended the search of systems analysis by Dunlop where he established a structure to put in order the alteration of concepts, of which many never was fu lly known, which comprise the study of industrial relations. Hills, in his explanation for choosing the employment relationship rather than labor union as his reference point, are because his attention was focused on the controls that govern employer-employee relationships. correspondence these controls is an important aspect in order to express appreciation toward the implicit in(p) forces of industrial relations systems according to Hills. He also shows the closeness these controls compel by the government, labor unions and social classes. In Hills analysis, he showed the difficulties faced in all employment relationships, whether they are well-thought-out as pre-industrial, industrial or alleged(a) post-industrial citizens where unions are strong, weak or nonexistent.TRADITIONAL IR SYSTEM INCLUDING intervention OF THE TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SECTOR MODELIndustrial relations produces and organizes knowledge, it is funny and has its own theories, concepts, techniques, practices and ideological commitments. Industrial relations was born in the get together Stated in the 1910s. It was a reaction to the waste, human suffering, the social immorality as well as the employer- power in the nineteenth and early ontwentieth century capitalism. It also arose because it was viewed that relations between bosses and workers could be improved. Industrial relations in terms of academia is the study of labor problems but gave priority to specific areas like a strategy or institution for solving problems for example the trade unions or collective bargaining. The early version of industrial relations emphasized inherent conflict of interest which exist between the employer and employee, that there is superior bargaining power of the employer and the autocratic nature of workplace governance in the traditional firm.With the globalization of industrial relations there was the spread of industrialism, market economics, trade union movements, protection of human rights and polit ical democracy. in that location was a decline in industrial relations because of the decrease in trade union density, major forma of labour unrest, political power in many countries, the rise in human resource management, the rise in neo-liberalism, national and world politics etc. Industrial relations is centered around fostering stability, efficiency cooperation, peace and positivity. In the 1960s there began to be a slow decline in industrial relations. There was a narrowing of the intellectual domain and the field was becoming marginalized. Numerous universities in the 1990s dropped the term Industrial Relations and adopted employment relations or human resources. Over the geezerhood industrial relations had made attempts to establish itself as a self- contained pedantic discipline but move to fail (Kaufman 2004).There was the shrinking role of collective bargaining as well. The traditional industrial relations model is concerned with a particular set of phenomena associat ed with regulating the human activity of employment. It focuses on the implementation of rules within the work place and factors outside of the work place which influences the process. It is concerned with collective bargaining, trade unions, employers, managers and payments. John Dunlop originated the systems approach to industrial relations which is basically an integrative model which seeks to provide tools of analysis to reckon and gain an understanding and how and why particular rules are established in particular Industrial Relations systems and how and why they change in response to changes which affect the system.John Dunlop (1991) applied the systems theory which embodies a set of actors, rules, scene and ideology. Flanders (1979) and the Oxford Approach defined industrial relations as thestudy of institutions of furrow regulation. Flanders states that the institution and job regulation can be categorized into the internecine and external factors he insists that collec tive bargaining is central to the industrial relations system. Flanders agreed with Dunlop (1958) that rules are also essential but continued that rules are exactly a generic description which can be give to these various instruments of regulation. Heyman (1957) a critic of industrial relations scholars agrees that rules are a mandatory aspect as well. He however, criticizes the Oxford school and Dunlop for not acknowledging the importance of informal rules in the industrial relations system.Heyman (1975) takes the view of the Marxist perspective and views industrial relations as the process of control over work relations, or as the political economy of waged labour. The three perspectives of industrial relations are as follows the Marxist perspective, the unitary perspective and the pluralist perspective. Fox agrees that industrial relations provided the foundation for Human Resource Management. Concepts and practice of industrial relations are as follows, collective bargaining, trade unions, models of trade unions, the voluntarist tradition, compulsory system and the adversary system. The first four decades of the 1930s in the English- speaking Caribbean was dominate by political unionism. The shift was largely influenced by globalization. There was fast expansion of enterprises in almost all aspects.The three phases which affects the Caribbeans memorial were, the colonial phase and the colonial administrator, the post- colonial phase and the globalization phase. There was a social division between labour and capital in Trinidad and Tobago. During the 1930s Trinidad and Tobago suffered the effects of the worldwide depression. There were unjust labour practices and the proceeds were exceptionally low. The colonial era in Trinidad and Tobago was basically one in where there was unilateralism in rule making by employers, voluntarism and non-involvement of the state and there was the social and economic exploitation of the people. During the post-colonial eras, there was the adversarial system, state control, it was pluralist to a certain extent and was unitary.ANALYSIS AND FINDINGSThe globalization period brought drastic changes to the public sector andindustrial relations. There were structural adjustment programs, free trade, abroad aid, investment as well as reforms in the labour market. grayness (1998) describes globalization as the worldwide spread of modern technologies of industrial production and communication of all kinds. The consequence was that solutions for the contemporary Caribbean were no longer the akin as the ones in the past. There was a missing link and a burning need for a Human resource management approach to step in. It was the approach where a human workplace menaing the company looks afterwards their employees and the employees look after their company. The human resource management function was now an integral part of management. It can be said that the role of industrial relations, policies and practi ces have diminished in comparison to the earlier years under the traditional model after human resource management was introduced.During the 1930s in Trinidad and Tobago, the industrial relations paradigm was quite dominant. There was a severity in struggle with respect to the working class as the country had experienced periods of enslavement and indentureship, workers had no rights and there was no place for grievances. This period was controlling and dominant and there was the Royal Commission of shaper Moyne (1938) which was to investigate the labour and social conditions in the British West Indian Colonies. In Trinidad and Tobago there was hardly any political representation and all power and responsibility was centered on the governor. Trade unions had to fight for political and social status, industrial politics political unionism and trade unions- base political parties are rooted in the tradition of Caribbean societies. This legacy has continued even until today in the Tr inidad and Tobago public sector.However, it is safe to say that the implementation of human resource management policies and practice has reduced the influence and popularity of industrial relations to the public sector and society as a whole. With the implementation of various departments in organizations, including human resource departments, managers are taking are not only reducing the need for certain aspects of industrial relations but also deal with problems. Therefore the connection between employee and the trade union or government organizations are being wiped out. This may be because it fosters an environment that shows the employee that the organization cares, but may also reduce the guess of negative stories or problem leaking outside of the organization, preventing badreputations from being created.Human Resource Management includes conducting job analyses, planning personnel needs, recruiting the right people for the job, orienting and training, managing wages and salaries, providing benefits and incentives, evaluating performance, resolving disputes, and communicating with all employees at all levels. Examples of core qualities of HR management are extensive knowledge of the industry, leadership, and effective negotiation skills. Human resource management is formerly called personnel management. Although high commitment as stated by some scholars, it reaps the most rewards for the organization itself.CONCLUSIONHuman resource management is seen as the new way forward. Industrial relations still has a connotation of trade union struggles and equality battles. Industrial relations still play a major role in organizations in Trinidad and Tobago. While human resource management is increasingly dealing with the issues and concerns of employees, there is still a need for government intervention. At the conciliation unit of the Ministry of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise increment Limited, there are a thousand trade disputes reported on average per year. When management may be the problem, industrial relations and its components are of use. However, HRM is still a developing concept in Trinidad and Tobago. HRM could be seen as a developed countrys take on employee relations and Trinidad and Tobago is still developing.Aspects of the traditional public sector still exist. Since industrial relations still play a major role in Trinidad and Tobago society, it would be wise to adopt a more(prenominal) employee relations approach. In the past, HRM was not entirely successful in Trinidad and Tobago. It is still a relatively new concept and field to the developing world. Due to the circumstances and nature of Trinidad and Tobago, HRM may not be the best policy to implement in society at this time. Human Resource Management can also pose as a challenge for Industrial relations as it can undermine the role of trade unions at enterprise level. Realistically however, human resource management and industrial relations policies and pra ctices can be harmonical to benefit each other.As society changes and more are demanded from employer, employee and theorganization, adopting the more common soft approach to human resource management shows development on the part of the industrial relations system. There is a need for industrial relations in society, but by adding more roles that may have diminished due to human resource manage, it ensures not only survival but the ability to survive in a society where west is viewed as better, and human resource management is the way of the west.ReferencesAckers, Peter, and Adrian Wilkinson. Understanding work and employment industrial relations in transition. Oxford Oxford University Press, 2003.Bean, Ron. Comparative industrial relations an introduction to cross-national perspectives. 2nd ed. London International Thomson, 1999.Collings, David G., and Geoffrey T. Wood. Human resource management a critical approach. London Routledge, 2009.Employment Relations and the societal Sc iences. Google Books. https//encrypted.google.com/books?id=lTIS5L5JbD0C&printsec=frontcoverv=onepage&q&f=false (accessed November 21, 2013).Mac Donald, David. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND globalisation CHALLENGES FOR EMPLOYERS AND THEIR ORGANIZATIONS . Asia-Pacific in the Twenty-First Century Turin, Italy ILO Workshop on Employers Organizations, 1997.