The term human relations lays stress upon the processes of inter-personal relationships among individuals as well as the behavior of individuals as members of groups. The term industrial relations is used widely in industrial organizations and refers to the relations between the employers and workers in an organization, at any specified time. Thus, while problem of human relations are personal in character and are related to the behavior of individuals where moral and social element predominate, the term industrial relation is comprehensive covering human relations and the relations between the employers and workers in an organization as well as matters regulated by law or by specific collective agreement arrived at between trade unions and the management. However, the concept of industrial relations has undergone a considerable change since the objective of evolving sound and healthy industrial relations today is not only to find out ways and means to solve conflicts Continue reading
Industrial Relations Management
Collective Bargaining Goals of Trade Unions
Trade unions have a wide range of economic and non-economic goals. All goals of them can not be won in one instance. All collective bargaining goals of trade unions are in conflict with each other since employers are willing to make only limited number of concessions at any particular bargaining session. Therefore, unions have to determine priorities, are five factors which affect the priority of collective bargaining goals. Economic conditions relevant to the bargaining relationship Precedent of recent major agreements, Inter-union rivalry, Influence of international situation, Intra-union influence. The relative importance of these factors varies from one bargaining situation to another. 1. Economic Conditions The cost of living is used by trade unions as an argument for higher wages during periods of rising prices. Although unions generally give more attention to money wages than real wages, a decline in real wages, resulting from cost of living, is always used as Continue reading
Different Approaches to Industrial Relations
The industrial relations scenario has been perceived differently by different practitioners and theorists. Some have viewed it in terns of class conflict; some have viewed it in terms of mutuality of interest of different groups; some have viewed it as a consequence of interaction of various factors both within an organization and outside it. Based on these orientations, several approaches to industrial relations have been developed. One researcher has stated industrial relations in his research report as, “An economist tries to interpret industrial conflict in terms of impersonal markets forces and laws of supply demand. To a politician, industrial conflict is a war of different ideologies — perhaps a class-war. To a psychologist, industrial conflict means the conflicting interests, aspirations, goals, motives and perceptions of different groups of individuals, operating within and reacting to a given socio-economic and political environment”. Most important approaches to industrial relations are discussed as follows: Continue reading
Role of Different Parties Involved in Industrial Relations
Role of Government in Industrial Relations In recent years the Government has played an important role in regulating industrial relations but the extent of its involvement in the process is determined by the level of social and economic development while the mode of intervention gets patterned in conformity with the political system obtaining in the country and the social and cultural traditions of its people. The degree of Government intervention is also determined by the stage of economic development. For example, in a developing economy like ours, work-stoppages to settle claims have more serious consequences than in a developed economy and similarly, a free market economy may leave the parties free to settle their relations through strikes and lockouts but in other systems varying degrees of Government participation is required for building up sound industrial relations. In India, the role played by the Government is an important feature in the Continue reading
The Process of Employee Counselling
The process of employee counselling has three phases: rapport building, exploration and action planning, these are discussed below: Rapport Building: Initially the counselor-manager should level himself with his employee and tune himself to his orientations. General opening rituals like offering a chair, closing the door to indicate privacy, asking the secretary not to disturb are all important in demonstrating the manager’s genuine interest in employee’s problems. The counselor must listen to the feelings and concerns of the employee carefully and attentively. Leaning forward and eye contact are important signs of active listening. The employee must feel that he is wanted and the counselors is interested in him genuinely. Exploration: Besides active listening, the counselor should help the employee find his own weaknesses and problems through open and exploring questions. He should be encouraged to open up fully and talk more on the problem. This would enable both parties to uncover Continue reading
Types and Methods of Employee Counseling
Types of Employee Counseling In attempting to help an employee who has a problem, a variety of counseling approaches are used. All of these counseling approaches, however, depend on active listening. Sometimes the mere furnishing of information or advice may be the solution to what at first appeared to be a knotty problem. More frequently, however, the problem cannot be solved easily because of frustrations or conflicts that are accompanied by strong feelings such as fear, confusion, or hostility. A manager, therefore, needs to learn to use whatever approach appears to be suitable at the time. Flexibility is a key component of the employee counseling process. Directive Counseling: It is full counseling. It is the process of listening to an employee’s problem, deciding with the employee what should be done and telling and motivating the employee to do it. This type of counseling mostly does the function of advice, reassurance Continue reading