The Elements of Industrial Relations

* I. Basic Premise of Industrial Relations * II. Key Elements * A. Management Efficiency/Cost Discipline * Definition of Cost Discipline * Deliberate planning, control and supervision of organizational decisions according to some cost profit standard. * Its about the use of scarce organizational resources. * If efficiency can be achieved the result is profit maximization. * Direct Effects on Labor-Management Interactions * Employee compensation vs. Labor cost control * Indirect Effects on Labor-Management Interactions * Economies of scale, technology, organizational divisions * Economies of scale: driven by cost discipline * Technology: what technology to use in the production process, driven by cd, and it also threats jobs and it can change the nature of the job. * Organizational divisions: how they are going to be organized have real implications in workers. * Any decision management takes is driven by cost discipline. * Resulting Tensions * Exploitation: in terms of wages and salaries * alienation, monotonous work * subordination: hierarchal divisions in the organization * competitiveness, uncertainty
* the employment relations can develop the different tensions listed above.

* B. Work Society and Union Protectivism * Definition of the Work Society: (this can give rise to union protectiveness) the construction of a group of people creating a community of interest, they identify each other, have relative positions, they identify themselves as a group, unique from the others, demands of them at work. Selected by identity. It is basically a protective organization, it is informal and it exist in the mere realization that they share a commonality, it predates unionism. * You cannot have a union without a work society. * PEEP: Four elements of work that the people place high value to. price – compensation that the person receives for their work, effort – the amount of mental or physically exertion that is required for your job (price-effort exchange is really important), equity –how fair they are treated relative to others in the organization or relative to others that have similar jobs in other organizations, and power – two elements: 1. Voice: how able are you on your job to affect the nature of your work, can you make suggestions, they are responsive to you, etc 2. Mobility in the labor market: the easier it is for you to find a job similar to the one you have. * Employee shurking: when you give less than 100% when you're working. * Sanctions: * The right to strike * Similarities and Differences with Unions * Similar with the work society in its protectiveness * Goals and sanctions that it employs in order to achieve its goals. * Informal vs. formal * Identifiable boundaries and rules * Difference: * Unions are formal organizations. When a union firm there’s no question you have collective organization. * The union has formal boundaries and structure, it has officers that perform certain functions, and it has rules to manage the union. * C. Management Counter Protectivism * Management understanding that the tension arise, it engages counter protectivism. * Rules and procedures that companies put in place, employee policies. * Expectations are known, in addition you are told clearly what would happen if violating this policies. * Companies put these policies in order to make the workers get their job done more efficiently. * Management also has its biggest sanction: the ability to withhold demand