This perspective sees conflict as something unavoidable and a legitimate impact of the varying interests at the workplace Lewin, Mitchell, Sherer and Industrial Relations Research Association, The pluralistic theory is built on the assumption that the workplace is composed of unique aspects, including different values, attitudes, and beliefs. The theory also holds that organisations have divergent sources of leadership which are opposing in nature.
Organisations also have different kinds of attachments. According to pluralism, conflicts must exist in organisations because competing interests are present. Conflicts that come up in organisations can be beneficial to the organisation. This is especially when these conflicts are identified and put under control by using institutional responses.
The management acts as a mediator between the perceived competitors. Trade unions have legal backing in the representation of workers as they aid employees in emphasising their power in decision making Colling and Terry, The pluralist form of management emphasises the fact that conflict in organisations can be resolved by way of using effective industrial relations.
The management uses consultative approaches in reacting and providing solutions to conflicts. This perspective also considers alternative processes that can be used in decision making Edwards, Under this perspective of management, conflict is not overlooked or ignored, but it is managed effectively through the participation of stakeholders of the firm. Therefore, conflict can be used in the understanding of the deep-seated tensions to identify and adequately address them.
It is worth noting that this framework utilises conflict management strategies in engaging conflicting groups in the organisation to find solutions which are then implemented Hills, This perspective embraces a wide range of policies related to employee relations. Under this management strategy, companies can adopt non-union policies, especially when there are employee organisations in existence.
Other firms can choose to allow trade unions. The level of employee relations in pluralism makes it appropriate for diverse organisations and national cultures.
This perspective is also best suited for collective industrial relation systems. This is because it values labour unions and their roles in managing conflicts between employers and employees Balnave, A significant shortcoming of this perspective is that it puts a lot of emphasis on guidelines and procedures.
In this case, the view disregards the processes which contribute to the resolution of conflicts. For instance, workplace conflict resolution rules or laws can be established through industrial relations Grady, This perspective views the place of work as being integrated and a harmonious entity which exists to serve a common purpose.
The perspective sees unions as being competitors who compete for the loyalty of employees as well as their commitment. Therefore, unions are disliked. The philosophy suggests that conflict is not an inherent factor in the place of work.
According to this perspective, conflict is an indicator of faulty communication in the organisation Collins, Towards the end of the 20 th century, a shift in the management of worker relations has been experienced. The current focus emphasises the strategic and integrated frameworks based on the commitment of workers and the shared interests at the place of work Collins, In the unitarist framework of management, authority in an organisation only emanates from a single source.
Management is the source of power. There are no opposing leaders in the organisation. Leaders act to promote the commitment and fidelity of employees to the organisations. Also, firms are seen as composing teams which work together to reach mutual goals. Therefore, conflict appertaining to interests does not exist between employees and management Hyman and Mason, The unitarist framework holds that workers and managers can pull together to achieve common objectives, values and interests.
The management has to show strong leadership to meet the goals set by the organisation. The other point that forms the basis of unitarism is that the activities of trade unions are not legitimate. Therefore, trade unions are not seen as essential elements in managing employees and conflicts in the organisation. In this case, conflicts are negatively portrayed as they are regarded to be dysfunctional and a sign that there is a lack of loyalty which is harmful to organisational success.
Last but not least, unitarism holds that the state is an autonomous entity and plays a significant role in shaping industrial relations Giri, This perspective tries to integrate the interests of managers and employees to enhance the commitment of employees as well as their loyalty. This can be critical in managing stakeholders in which case employees are regarded as essential aspects of the organisation.
This perspective emphasises the management role, which entails attaining a win-win situation for both workers and the firm in general. Therefore, managers are made to go out of their way and show their management and leadership prowess. If the managers become convincing and influential, the need for trade unions can quickly be done away with Giri, There is an assumption by this perspective that all stakeholders in the organisation are rational and thus confides in finding common interests.
Such a belief gives a steady argument for focusing on the commonality of goals to achieve a stable employee relations system. Unitarism is essentially individualistic in the way it approaches employee relations. This can work well for individualistic systems of industrial relations Martin and Fellenz, Unitarism fails to realise the existence of power inequalities between managers and workers.
This generates different kinds of constraints. The unitarist perspective holds that workplace conflicts are avoidable. According to unitarists, managers may avoid workplace conflicts by bringing all the stakeholders together and making sure that an organisation is managed from a single source of power.
On the other hand, pluralists hold that workplace conflicts are inevitable. According to pluralists, managers ought to convert the conflict into profitable initiative rather than criticising it. This paper aims at analysing the unitarist and pluralist managerial perspectives. Besides, the writer will decide on the best perspective based on the findings of the analysis.
Unitarists base their arguments on postulations that workplace conflict is an avoidable feature of relationships between employees and their managers. They claim that as long as managers continue interacting with employees, they are likely to quarrel. Hence, the conflict that emerges between the parties is a result of personality muddle, poor communication, poor promotion practices, or inappropriate recruitment.
Unitarists hold that to avoid such conflicts, the management team ought to identify the actions that might lead to conflicts and avoid implementing them. Unitarists position on employee management draws from a number of theories. The theory holds that for managers to come up with productive employee management strategies, they have to start by assuming that the employees are likely to avoid work whenever they get a chance, they have limited knowledge about the work, and are prone to pursuing personal interests.
Therefore, to address these problems, the managers ought to come up with rigid and direct mechanisms that would help to control all the activities the employees undertake. The management has the duty to portray rational leadership during the recruitment process and when instructing employees.
According to the unitarists, organisations ought to have a single source of authority. Managers are supposed to treat employees in a manner that tries to suppress internal conflict over power by ensuring that it does not allocate powers to individual employees. Another theory from which unitarists draw their position regarding employee management is the human relations theory. They believe that for an organisation to curb organisational tension, it has to make sure that it establishes a working environment that promotes self-fulfilment.
Therefore, whenever workers are deprived the opportunity to make decisions in the organisation, the unitarists believe that they will definitely look for ways to resist the management system that enforces these conditions.
Organisations need to handle their employees with great care since they are the most critical resource in production. The management has the duty to design workplace relations in ways that promote self-satisfaction within the employees. Moreover, they are required to work on employee development as a way to show that they are committed to improving the wellbeing of all employees.
In whichever way, the ultimate goal of this managerial approach is to curb internal conflicts by promoting self-satisfaction through involving the employees in running the organisation. Unitarists do not believe in the role of trade unions in the organisations Dzimbiri According to them, trade unions are illegal interruptions to management objectives. Trade unions tend to neutralise the power of organisational leaders in making all the crucial decisions in an organisation.
In a way, there appears to be a second source of authority within an organisation. Unitarists believe that this second source of authority, which is the trade union, is to blame for tension that arises between employees and managers. They make it hard for an organisation to solve internal differences harmoniously. Apart from the scientific management and the human relations theories, the Unitarists draw their inspirations from the human resource management theory.
The management theory holds that, for an organisation to surmount tension it has to foster a psychological contract rooted on cooperation. Hence, the management ought to work on the forces that unite it with the employees by establishing a working environment that promotes autonomy.
The management needs to treat the issue of workplace relations as a hole. In a bid to encourage cooperation between the management and employees, the management needs to create a corporate culture that brings parties together, use an insidious and strong leadership style, and have a clear revelation of the organisational goals.
Workplace social classes are a major hindrance to organisational success. They lead to the breakdown of communication across the different departments. Unitarists maintain that for an organisation to succeed, it has to have a management system that discourages establishment of social classes, establishes open communication, and champions for the interests of all parties to the organisation.
Such a system is achievable by encouraging teamwork within the organisation. Teamwork promotes cooperation between employees, therefore, avoiding chances of conflict of interest. Besides teamwork, conducting employee performance appraisal would go a long way to encourage cooperation between employees. Pluralists perceive business organisations as intricate social constructions that comprise of groups of people with conflicting interests.
Employees and the management form part of these groups Giles Based on this perspective, pluralists believe that it is hard to do away with different sources of power within a business institution.
For this reason, organisations cannot overcome conflicts. By acknowledging that organisations are incapable of overcoming conflicts, the pluralists consider conflict to be of significant benefit to an organisation Giles In other words, it believes that management and workforce are all working for the welfare of the company.
Unitarism perceives the entire organization as one big family where everyone shares common goals and purposes. Conflicting objectives are seen as abnormal in this perspective. Moreover, this stance has a paternalistic approach and expects the loyalty of the employees. Pluralism is the belief that the way to achieve good industrial relations is to acknowledge that various groups of employees have different requirements, and make different demands.
Thus, management has to reach compromises. This belief also acknowledges conflicts and consider them as desirable. Pluralism does not believe in the power exercised by the management. These types of restrictions can be imposed in several different ways, each of which have benefits and drawbacks to society. Through the use of legislation, these government and regulatory bodies are able to force companies to make decisions they otherwise would not have made.
This, as a result means that true economic freedom does not exist in our modern capitalism driven world. To lead into the…. Unconstrained controlism disables organizational energy. Notwithstanding, autonomy is of equal importance. Pluralism is basically interest group competition, meaning as long as there is the interaction of diverse interest, the public interest is served by the competition of groups in policy making.
This is a conflict where the public interest is served, meaning democracy is at work. Some of the pluralist views include relativism, openness, individualism, divided authority, and it assumes that mass opinion and ignorance are not necessarily the same as public interest.
Although I do believe in some of the majoritarian views, I think the pluralist view is a more accurate view when it comes to stopping police cruelty. One reason that some people are so against unions is because unions have a tendency to eliminate competition and provide protection to people who do not contribute to the company or society.
Based on the definition of Capitalism unions would inhibit a capitalist economy because it eliminates the concept of a free market. Supply and demand and a free market are two reasons that Capitalism is great.
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