The three popular approaches to industrial relation are as follows: 1. Unitary Approach 2. Pluralistic Approach 3. Marxist Approach.
Like other behavioural subjects, both the scenario of IR and factors affecting it are perceived differently by different behavioural practitioners and theorists. For example, while some perceive IR in terms of class conflict, others view it in terms of mutual co-operation, yet others understand it related to competing interests of various groups and so.
An understanding of these approaches to HR helps the human resource manager in devising an effective human resource strategy. Based on these perceptions, the behavioural theorists have developed some approaches to explain the IR dynamics.
Among them, the popular approaches to IR are:
1. Unitary Approach
2. Pluralistic Approach
3. Marxist Approach
These are discussed one by one
1. Unitary Approach:
The Unitary approach to IR is based on the assumption that every one-be it employee, employer or government-benefits when emphasis is on common interest. Alternatively speaking, under unitary approach, IR is founded on mutual co-operation, team work, shared goal, and so.
Conflict at work place, if any, is seen as a temporary aberration resulting from poor management or mismanagement of employees. Otherwise, employees usually accept and cooperate with management. Conflict in the form of strikes is disregarded as destructive.
Alwar plant of Eitcher Tractors represents one such example of unitary approach. Nonetheless, unitary approach is criticised mainly on two grounds. First, it is used as a tool for keeping employees at bay from unionism. Second, it is also seen as exploitative and manipulative.
2. Pluralistic Approach:
In fact, pluralistic approach is a departure from unitary approach of IR. This approach war evolved and practiced in mid 1960s and early 1970s in England. Later, this approach was developed by me British scholars in particular by A. Fox the approach perceives that organisation is a coalition of competing interest groups mediated by the management. At times, it may so happen that management in its mediating role may pay insufficient attention to the needs and claims of employees.
In such a situation, employees may unite in the form of trade unions to protect their needs and claims. As a result, trade unions become the legitimate representatives of employees in the organisation. Thus, the system of IR gets grounded on the product of concessions and compromises between management and trade unions.
Conflict between employees and management understood as competing interest groups, is considered as inevitable and, in fact, necessary also. Normally, employees are not that much forceful in negotiation process as much management is. Hence, employees join trade unions to negotiate with management on equal terms to protect their interests.
Like unitary approach, pluralistic approach also suffers from certain limitations. The basic assumption of this approach that, employees and management do not arrive at, an acceptable agreement do not hold good in a free society. This is because a society may be free, but power distribution is not necessarily equal among the competing forces.
The experience of England where this approach was involved and developed in mid sixties and early seventies faced widespread strikes substantiates that pluralistic approach is a costly affair, at least, in short run if not in long-run.
3. Marxist Approach:
Like pluralists, marxists also view conflict between labour and management as inevitable. But marxists unlike pluralists, regard conflict as a product of the capitalist society based on classes. According to marxists conflict arises because of division within society in terms of haves i.e., capitalists and have not’s i.e., labour. The main objective of capitalists has been to improve productivity by paying minimum wages to labour. Labour views this as their exploitation by the capitalists.
The marxists do not welcome state intervention as, in their view, it usually supports management’s interest. They view the pluralistic approach is supportive of capitalism and the unitary approach as an anathema. Therefore, the labour-capital conflict, according to marxist approach, cannot be solved by bargaining, participation and cooperation.
In such situation, trade union comes in picture and is seen as a reaction to exploitation by capitalists and also a weapon to bring a revolutionary social change by changing capitalistic system. For this, coercive powers such as strikes, gherao, etc. are exercised by the labour against capitalists.
Such systems of IR have been very much observed in most of the socialist countries like erstwhile USSR. The marxist approach is mainly practised in communist bloc. Hence the scope of marxist approach remains limited to the countries based on socialism.