(ELECTIVE : HR)

The study is led by Timothy Gubler, assistant professor of management in UCR’s School of Business Administration, together with Ian Larkin from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Lamar Pierce from Washington University in St. Louis.

For years, researchers have studied the unintentional side effects of monetary rewards that tie pay with performance. Such rewards can reduce employees’ intrinsic motivation, cause workers to focus less on tasks not recognized financially, and lead to a tendency for employees to play or “game” the system. Conversely, non-monetary recognitions and small nominal awards like gift cards are widely believed to avoid these unintended consequences and present a costless way to motivate employees.

“The common knowledge is that non-monetary awards can subtly motivate people in ways that are fundamentally different to financial reward programs, such as by increasing organizational loyalty, encouraging friendly competition, or increasing employees’ self-esteem,” Gubler said. “In fact, past research has focused almost exclusively on the benefits of these programs, and the costs have been considered negligible.”

To explore the potential downsides of award programs, the researchers used field data from an attendance award program implemented at one of five industrial laundry plants in the Midwest United States. With the plant relying heavily on worker efficiency for overall productivity, the program was designed to recognize all employees with perfect attendance — defined as coming on time to work and not having any unexcused absences. Each month, employees with perfect attendance were recognized at a plant-wide meeting, with one person receiving a $75 gift card through a random draw.

They found:

• Reward-motivated employees responded positively to the awards by reducing tardiness, but gamed the system to maintain eligibility using sick days and reverted back to poor attendance behavior when they lost eligibility in a given month.
• The awards crowded out intrinsic motivation in internally-motivated employees, who were already performing well by coming on time in the absence of rewards. These employees had increased tardiness after the program was implemented and they lost eligibility.
• The awards decreased motivation and productivity for internally-motivated workers, suggesting these employees were unhappy because of fairness and equity concerns.
• In total, the award program cost the plant 1.4 percent of daily productivity, mainly because of the lost productivity by internally-motivated employees.

Gubler said the research is among the first to show that motivational awards can be costly to firms, rather than beneficial.

“Conscientious internally-motivated employees who were performing well before the award program was introduced felt the program was unfair, as it upset the balance of what was perceived as equitable or fair in the organization. So their performance suffered — not just in terms of their attendance but also through a motivational spillover that affected other areas of their work — including productivity,” he said.

Gubler said firms should carefully consider not only the benefits but also the costs of implementing such programs, and realize an award can cause the same issues as a bonus or other compensation.

“Employees value workplace fairness and they care about how they’re perceived relative to others in the organization. To be effective, companies offering award programs need to consider not only the group they are targeting — such as those that are coming late to work — but also those that are already doing the right thing, as there is a possibility of demotivating some of their best employees.”

Answer the following questions                                           ( 7.5 marks for each)

a. Does the role of reward power motivate employees to perform better? Express your views.

b. Awards are cheap and can provide a subtle way to motivate employees, these programs might be reducing firms’ overall productivity; Will the scenario be different in Indian context? Comment.

·         Include the development and promotion of standards for national legislation to protect and improve working conditions and standards of living.

·         The ILO also provides technical assistance in social policy and administration and in workforce training; fosters cooperative organizations and rural industries; compiles labour statistics and conducts research on the social problems of international competition, unemployment and underemployment, labour and industrial relations, and technological change (including automation);

·         And helps to protect the rights of international migrants and organized labour.

·         In its first decade the ILO was primarily concerned with legislative and research efforts, with defining and promoting proper minimum standards of labour legislation for adoption by member states, and with arranging for collaboration among workers, employers, government delegates, and ILO professional staff.

·         During the worldwide economic depression of the 1930s the ILO sought ways to combat widespread unemployment. With the post war breakup of the European colonial empires and the expansion of ILO membership to include poorer and less developed countries, the ILO addressed itself to new issues, including the social problems created by the liberalization of international trade, the problem of child labour, and the relationship between working conditions and the environment.

·         National representatives meet annually at the International Labour Conference.

• Intelligence• Physical Features• Inner Motivation• Maturity• Vision & Foresight• Acceptance of Responsibility• Open-Minded and adaptability• Self-confidence• Human Relations Attitude• Fairness and Objectivity

Workers are given the right of self-expression and an opportunity to communicate their views on framing the polices of the company.

In industrial democracy, worker are treated as responsible partners of the enterprise and are allowed to participate in the decision -making process through different methods.

The concept of industrial democracy is a complete departure from the traditional concept of autocratic management or one-man governance. “It means the application of democratic principal in managing industrial units.”

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS)

The degree to which members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group. Some work groups are cohesive because the members have spent a great deal of time together or group’s small size facilities high interaction or group has experienced external threats that have brought members close together

Tuck man’s five stage model of group formation and development

1. Forming:  Individuals during the initial stage are not clear of the purpose. This stage is characterized by uncertainty and confusion. This stage is the initial source for intra-group conflicts as individuals feel that individual preferences shadowed by those of the group as well as other members of the group. Members are confused of the hierarchy and the control points.

2. Storming: This stage is characterized by conflict among.  The group members, confusion over relationship, hierarchy, purpose and direction. There would be conflict over the leadership objectives.

3. Norming: During this stage members are clear of their leader, group hierarchy, purpose of the group and group relationships. So members settle start cooperating and collaborating with each other develop close relationship among them and prefer to identify themselves with the group. Members formulate common goals and expectations of the group.

4. Performing: Group members during this stage exert all their energies towards functioning and performing the tasks in order to attain the group goals. They share their ideas, skills, knowledge.

5. Adjourning: Temporary groups like committees, teams reach this stage after completing their task which is purely temporary setup. This causes loss of friendship and effective leaders. Informal groups reach this stage rarely and that too in the long run.

How employees learn culture?

Culture is transmitted to employees in a number of forms the most potent being stories, rituals, material symbols, and languages.

Stories: Nike has a number of senior’s executives who spend much of their time serving as corporate story tellers. And the stories they tell are meant to convey what Nike is about. When they tell the story of how co- founder Bill Bower man went to his workshop and poured rubber into his wife’s waffle iron to create a better running shoe, they’re talking about Nike’s spirit of innovation.

Rituals: Rituals are respective sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key value of organization what goals are most important which people are important and which people are expandable. One of the better known corporate rituals is Wal – Mart’s company chant. Begun by the company’s founder Sam Walton as a way to motivate and unite his workforce “ gimme a W, gimme an A, gimme an L, gimme a squiggle, give me an M, A, R, T !” has become a company rituals that bounds Wal – Mart workers and reinforces Sam Walton’s belief in the imporantance of his employees to the company success. Similar corporate chants are used by IBM, Ericsson, Novell.

Material Symbols: The headquarters of Alcoa doesn’t look like your typical head- office operation. There are few individuals’ offices, even for senior executives. It is essentially made up of cubicles, common areas, and meeting rooms. The informal corporate headquarters conveys to employees that Alcoa values openness, equality, creativity, and flexibility. The layout of corporate headquarters the types of automobiles top executive are given and the presence or absence of corporate aircrafts is a few examples of material symbols. These material symbols convey to employees who are important the degree of egalitarianism desired by top management and the kinds of behavior that are appropriate.

Languages: Many organization and units within organization use languages as a way to identify members of a culture and in so doing help to preserve it.

Training

The first step to passing along your organizational culture is through training. With an effective teacher and strong written materials, the employee will immediately find himself immersed. Your selected trainer should reflect the best qualities of your organization. He should be able to accurately and effectively begin to pass the culture along to new hires. Your written material should be equally as strong, written in a tone that highlights the culture you want to pass along to new recruits.

Guidance

Early on, an employee may understand the culture of your organization, but he may be unsure of how to embrace it. Talk to your employees about what you expect from them, especially if it extends beyond their primary duties. If you expect your employees to get involved in the community, don’t just tell them — show them. Give them examples of ways they can contribute that will promote your company’s culture.

Incentives

At first, a new employee is not fully invested in promoting organizational culture. Initially, he will be in a period of adjustment, feeling out his new responsibilities. Providing incentives and rewards for participating in activities that foster organizational culture will have a two-fold effect. It will encourage him to better understand the organizational culture while giving him an example of exactly how it works. He will see that your organization promotes a culture that rewards employees for their work. Hopefully, he will pass this along to others while remaining in your employ.

Primary strikes are generally against the employer with whom the dispute exists. They are :

(i) Stay Away Strikes: In this strike workmen stay away from the work place. They organize rallies, demonstrations, etc.

(ii) Stay-in or sit Down Strikes : In this strike, workmen come to the place , they stay at the work place but they don‘t work.

(iii) Tools Down, Pen Down Strike : Here the strikers lay down their tools in case of factory workers , office workers lay down their pens,

(iv) Token or Protest Strikes : It is of very short duration and is in nature of signal for the danger ahead. In this strike workers do not work for an hour or a day.

(v) Lightening or Wild cat strike : In this strike, the strike is done without any prior notice or with a shortest notice.

(vi) Go –Slow : In this strike, the workers intentionally reduce the speed of work.

(vii) Work to rule : In this strike, the strikers undertake the work according to rules or job description.

(viii) Picketing : It is an act of protesting by the workmen in front of the premises of the employer.

(ix) Boycott: It aims at disrupting the normal functioning of the enterprise.

(x) Gherao : It is a physical blockade of a target either by encirclement, intended to block from and to a particular office, workshop etc.

(xi) Hunger Strike : This type of strike is resorted to either by the leaders of the union or by some workers all at a time for a limited period or up to the period of settlement of disputes.

 Secondary Strike : Secondary strikes are against a third party. These strikes are sympathetic strikes.

National Commission on Labor was established by Central Government under the Labor Act 2003, Act 651, the Industrial Relations Act, 299 of 1965 and the Labor Decree of 1967 for the betterment of the labor forces in the country. All the laws which governed the industrial relations were brought into its ambit while a step was taken for the Commission formation.

Justice P.B. Gajendragadkar was the chairman of the first National Commission on Labor which was setup on December 24, 1966. The then National Commission on Labor submitted its report to the government in August 1969. The report it had submitted were mainly to deal with the factors which could examine various aspects and issues of the labor force especially the problems they would have faced. This Commission suggested mechanisms for both organized and unorganized sectors for which effective steps were taken.

Main purpose of setting up the National Commission on Labor was that country’s industrial relations come at the more organized manner and all sorts of disputes for settlements etc. are taken care of under the proper legal system. This Commission has causal relation with the Ministry of Labor and reports its Labor Department to improve the conditions of all labor forces.

Mandate

·         National Commission on Labor has been mandated to work and suggest all types of measures that could make things easier for the labor force.

·         The Commission has been given the powers to explore, evaluate and suggest measures which could prove worthwhile to make the life of the labor force worthwhile.

·         This Commission submits its reports to the Chief Labor Officer in the Ministry of Labor.

·         Some of the important mandates that are prescribed for National Commission on Labor include developing an effective process after thorough consultation with the various authorities concerned for development purpose to initiate a workable and effective national level voice of the labor force under the law which tackles all the issues concerned to them.

·         National Commission on Labor advises the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare as well for thorough assessment of the conditions and welfare of the labor force in the entire country. Consultations continue and newer steps are taken for the betterment of system and governance.

·         As National Commission on Labor had been given the status of a statutory body which recommended changes in the labor laws its impact is powerful for the sustainable labor related reforms.

Stage1: potential opposition      Stage2: Cognition &      Stage3: Intentions      Stage4: Behavior      Stage5:Outcomes

From a practical point of view, it is probably easier to list those items that don’t precipitate grievances than to list the ones that do. just about any factor involving wages, hours or conditions of employment has and can be used as the basis of grievances.

An employee is dissatisfied and harbors a grievance when he feels that there has been an      infringement of his rights, that his interests have been jeopardised.This sense of grievance generally arises out of misinteretation of company policies and practices.

Calhoon observes.”Grievances exits in the minds of individuals are produced and dissipated by situations, are fostered or healed by group pressures, are adjusted or made worse by supervisors, and are nourished or dissolved by the climate in the organization which is affected by all the above factors and by the management.”

(1)Concerning wages

àdemand for individuals adjustment; the worker feels that he is underpaid

àcomplaints above incentives; piece rates are too low or too complicated

àmistakes in calculating the wages of a worker

(2)Concerning supervisor

àcomplaints against discipline; the foreman picks on him; inadequate instructions given for job performance

àobjection to having a particular foreman; the foremen playing favorite; the foreman ignores complaints

àobjections to the manner in which the general methods of supervision are used; there are too many rules; regulations are not clearly posted; supervisor indulge in a great deal of snooping.

(3)Concerning individual advancement

àcomplaint that the employee’s record of continuous service has been unfairly broken

àcomplaint that the claims of senior person have been ignored; that seriously has been wrongly determined ;that younger worker have been promoted ahead of older and more experienced employee

àcharges are made that disciplinary discharge or lay-off has been unfair; that the penalty is too severe for the offence that is supposed to have been committed, that the company wanted to get rid of the employee; hence the charges against him

(4)General working conditions

àcomplaints about toilet facilities been inadequate; about inadequate and/or dirty lunch rooms;

àcomplaints about working conditions; dampness, noise, fumes, and other unpleasant or unsafe conditions, which can be easily corrected; overtime is unnecessary; an employee loses too much time because materials are not supplied to him in time

(5)Collective bargaining

àthe company is attempting to undermine the trade union and the workers who belong to that union; the contract with labour has been violated; the company does not deal effectively or expeditiously with union grievances

àthe company does not allow the supervisors to deal with, and settle, grievances of the employee

àthe company disregards precedents and agreements already arrived at the workers trade union.

In study undertaken by S.Chandra,the following causes have been given employee grievances

(1)promotions,(2)amenities.(3)continuity of service.(4)compensation,(5)nature of job.(6)disciplinary action,(7)fines,(8)increment,(9)leave,(10)medical benefits,(11)payment of wages,(12)acting promotion,(13)recovery of dues,(14)safety appliances,(15)superannuation,(16)supersession,(17)transfer(18)condition of work

Two American experts are of the view that there are three main factors which contribute to the grievances of the employee-management policies and practices, trade union practices and personality traits

NEED FOR A GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

The adaptation of the grievance handling procedure is essential for a variety of reasons for example:

·         Most grievances seriously disturb the employees. This may affect their morale, productivity and their willingness to co-operative with the organization.

·         It is not possible that all the complaints of the employees would be settled by the first-line supervisors, there may be personality conflicts and other causes as well.

·         It serves as an outlet for employee gripes, discontent and frustrations. It acts like a pressure value on a steam boiler. The employees are entitled to legislative, executive and judicial protection and they get their protection from the grievance redressal procedure, which also act as a means of upward communication. The top management becomes increasingly aware of the employee problems, expectations and frustrations.

·         Trade union or the employees do not like the way the management functions, they can submit their grievance in accordance with the procedure laid down for that purpose.

1]Labor Welfare Officer : Section 49 (1) and (2) of the Factories Act, 1948 specifies that every factory wherein500 or more workers are ordinarily employed at least one welfare Officer must be appointed, where the number of workers are in excess of 2500,the assistant and / or additional welfare officers are required to be appointed to assist the Welfare Officer .

The functions of Labor Welfare Officer includes :

(I) Labor Welfare Functions :Advice and assistance in implementing legislative and non-legislative provisions relating to :

(a)Health &Safety(b)Working conditions(c)Sanitation & Cleanliness(d)Recreation(e)Welfare Amenities(f) Workers Education(g)Services like Co-operative grain shops, housing cooperatives.(h)Formation of welfare committees.(i) Housing(j) Implementation of welfare Acts.

(II) Labor Administration Functions :These may cover:(a)Organizational Discipline(b)Safety & Medical administration(c)Wage& salary administration(d)Administration of Legislation covering Industrial Relations

(III) Labor Relations Functions: These may consist of :(a)Administration of standing orders.(b)Settlement of Grievances.(c)Settlement of Disputes through statutory procedures.(d)Trade unions& union management relations(e)Steps to increase productivity efficiency.

2]Tripartite and Bipartite Bodies :Industrial relations in India have been shaped largely by the policies and practices of Tripartite and Bipartite bodies. The purpose of consultative machinery is to bring the partners together for mutual settlement of differences in spirit of cooperation and goodwill. Bipartite consultative machinery comprises two parties i.e. employees and employer, the important bipartite body is works committees.

Works Committee : Works committees greatly contribute in prevention of industrial disputes. It is represented by an equal number of representatives of each party and the method of their appointment are also laid down in agreements or enactments. Objectives and Functions :(a)To promote industrial goodwill.(b)To secure cooperation from employers and employees.(c)To ensure the cooperation of private concerns.(d)To provide for a popular agency for supervising the management of nationalized undertakings.

For the successful working of the works committee, the employers are required to abstain from doing anything that is likely to hamper various facilities to workers. The Trade unions on the committees also have to abstain from doing things that upset the operations of the undertaking.

Standing Orders : Majority of the industrial disputes are related to conditions of employment. To prevent this, Standing orders are formulated. It was made obligatory that standing orders should govern the conditions of employment under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders ) Act of 1946. The Standing Orders regulate the conditions of employment from the stage of entry to the stage of exit.

Grievance Procedure : Grievance generally arise from day – to- day working relations. Grievances of the employees are readdressed by the management. Management can prevent the occurrence of industrial disputes by solving the individual problems.

Collective Bargaining :Collective bargaining helps for settlement of issues and prevention of industrial disputes. It occurs when representatives of a labor union meet management representatives to determine employees wages and benefits, to create or revise work rules and to resolve disputes or violations of the labor contract.

Strong Trade unions :Trade union is the most suitable and effective agency to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the workers. A powerful bargaining may be achieved by strong trade unions, which enable the workforce to maintain harmonious relations with the management.

Labor Co-partnership and profit sharing :Good industrial relations can be maintained through proper partnership and profit sharing; employer gives a portion of total profits to workers in addition to their normal wages. This sort of attitude of management would create psychological conditions favorable for industrial peace.

Joint Consultation : Joint Consultation involves a continuous relationship between labor and management and expects willingness of management and the participation of workers in discussing common problems of interest. This is the result of collective bargaining relations on a stable basis when parties know each other well and have a mutual trust.

Collective Bargaining:

Collective bargaining helps for settlement of issues and prevention of industrial disputes. It occurs when representatives of a labor union meet management representatives to determine employees wages and benefits, to create or revise work rules and to resolve disputes or violations of the labor contract. The bargaining is collective in the sense that the chosen representative of the employees (i.e. union ) acts as a bargaining agent for all the employees in carrying out negotiations and dealings with the management. On the employer side, it is collective in those common situations in which the companies have joined together in an employer association for the purposes of bargaining with a union.

Since Industrial Psychology is the study of people at work and is concerned with the entire spectrum of human. Its scope is the entire process of management dealing with people at work. There is hardly a field in industry where human understanding is not required; there is hardly a problem in industry and business where human aspect is not involved and hence there is hardly an area in which industrial psychology cannot play its role. Industrial psychology is a useful aid to the efficient management of people at work. The principles and techniques of industrial psychology may be applied to the following areas of management:

(1) Recruitment—Appropriate matching of job requirement with the employee’s abilities lead to reduction in the cost of hiring, supervision and production. Accurate job analysis, standardised application forms, scientific screening of applications, use of psychological tests for vocational fitness, final overall rating and continuous review and check-up of the entire programme are some of the spheres where the psychologist can make an important contribution several psychological tests may be developed for the proper screening of the people. In this way, psychology may help in recruiting the right man to the right job.

(2) Selection and Placement-Right man should be selected for the right job and industrial psychology helps in this effort also. It develops various devices such as interviews and psychological tests in order to achieve the objective of the selection. It also helps the placement of workers at different jobs scientific assignment of job is possible only with the help of industrial psychology.

(3) Executive Development and Training—A psychologist by studying and investigating managerial problems like delegation, communication and supervision vitalises the already practiced managerial psychology. Individual differences can well be measured by psychological study of the people for training purposes. Continuous and effective use of the capabilities of workers necessitates training of the workers and supervisors. Psychology determines what type of training should be given to the workers.

(4) Promotional Schemes—Why should a man be promoted or transferred or demoted or discharged. These employment situations should be based on abilities, usefulness and seniority. Performance appraisal is one of the psychological techniques to recognise the peoples’ ability mere seniority should not be the guiding principle for promotions.

(5) Motivation—The psychologists assume that the causes of different types of human behaviour in industry and business are the needs or the motives that drive an individual to behave in a particular way. Industrial psychology problems into behaviour of people at work to determine the conditions in which an individual or people at work to determine the conditions in which an individual feels motivated and is willing to work whole-heartedly to maximise the productivity. Industrial psychology has identified the financial and non-financial incentives which are used by the management to motivate the personnel.

(6) Attitude and morale—The psychologists have established the relationship between the attitudes of the employees and their performance. Psychological studies outline the major factors favourable or detrimental to good morale and give some class as to the steps which can be taken to give further understanding of needs, perceptions, satisfaction and motivation of people in relation to their working situations.

(7) Wages and salary administration-The wage rates in the industry should be fixed on some suitable and scientific formula. The psychologists have developed the techniques of job evaluation, merit-rating and job analysis as basis for rational wage and salary structure. Job evaluation and merit-rating are the techniques which evaluate the worth of the job and of the man respectively. Merit-ratings technique evaluates the men while the job analysis determines the job description and worth of the job.

(8) Human relations—Human relations may briefly be described as the relations or contacts among individuals in an organisation and the group behaviour that emerges from these relations. The modern industrial psychologists treated people in industry as human being and have made significant contribution to industrial management by developing concepts and techniques of effective leadership. They suggest the possible ways and means to solve the industrial strife.

(9) Human engineering-It is designing and laying out equipment in order to get the greatest efficiency of man-machine system. The industrial psychologists working in human engineering provides data on which management can decide to improve the design and the product for the comfort and to increase the sale to the satisfaction of customers. It also helps in reducing machine breakdowns, wastage of raw materials and training time to workers, to minimise accidents and introduce better performance and job satisfaction. Industrial psychology has humanised the management and opened the way to a much fuller utilisation of the human factor in industry.

(10) Accident prevention—The psychological studies show that 98% of the accidents in industry are preventable. It means personal or psychological factors play an important role in any programme of accident prevention. Monotony and fatigue studies help in minimising the accidents. Psychologists have made the contribution of signals to the development of safety programme and the preservation of human factor in industry.

encompasses a set of phenomena, both inside and outside the workplace, concerned with determining and regulating employment relationship Relationship between management and employees or among employees and their organization that characterize and grow out of employment.

Objectives

·         To enhance economic status of worker

·         To avoid industrial conflicts and their consequences

·         To extend and maintain industrial democracy

·         To provide an opportunity to the worker to have a say in the management decision making

·         To regulate production by minimizing conflicts

·         To provide forum to the workers to solve their problems through mutual negotiations and consultations with management

·         To encourage and develop trade union in order to develop workers collective strength

Approaches To Industrial Relations

 Unitary Approach

is grounded in mutual cooperation, individual treatment, team work and shared goals. Work place conflict is seen as temporary aberration, resulting from poor management Employees who do not mix well with organization culture Unions cooperate with the management. Management’s right to manage is accepted because there is no ‘we they” feeling Underlying assumption is that everyone benefits when the focus is on common interest and promotion of harmony. Based  on reactive strategy. Direct negotiation with employees. Participation of Govt, tribunals and unions are not sought or are seen as being necessary for achieving harmonious employee relation

Pluralism (Conflict Approach )

Pluralism is belief in the existence of more than one ruling principle, giving rise to a conflict of interests. The pluralist approach to IR accepts conflict between management and workers as inevitable but containable through various institutional arrangements ( like collective bargaining, conciliation and arbitration etc) and is in fact considered essential for innovation and growth. It perceives organizations as coalitions of competing interests , where the management’s role is to mediate among the different interest groups. It perceives trade unions as legitimate representative of employee interests It also perceives stability in IR as the product of concessions and compromises between management and unions. Employees join unions to protect their interests and influence decision making by the management. Unions thus balance the power between management and employees. In pluralistic approach a strong unions is not only desirable but necessary

Marxist Approach

Marxists like pluralists also regard conflict as inevitable but see it as a product of capitalistic society where as pluralist believe that the conflict is inevitable in all organizations For Marxists IR has wider meaning. For them conflict arises not because of rift between management and workers but because of the division in the society between those who own resources and those who have only labor to offer. Marxist approach thus focuses on the type of society in which an organization functions. Industrial conflict is thus equated with political and social unrest. Trade Unions are seen both as labor reaction to exploitation by capitalists, as- well-as a weapon to bring about a revolutionary social change. Wage related disputes as secondary For them all strikes are political and they regard state intervention ( via legislations and creation of Industrial Tribunals ) as supporting management’s interests, rather than ensuring a balance between the competing groups.

Systems Approach

a social sub-system within the economy &  contexts (influences actorspoliticalsystems Components& constraints on decisions &  rules – regulatory elements i.e. the terms ideology – beliefs affecting actor views – shared or in conflictaction e.g. market, technology, demography, industrial structure) & nature of the employment relationship developed by IR processes

Other Approaches Of Industrial Relations ( Different Schools Of Thought )

Psychological Approach Differences in the perceptions of labor and management with factors influencing their relations i.e. wages. Benefits, services and working conditions etc Dissatisfaction compels workers to turn aggressive and resort to strike, lockouts and gherao etc.

Sociological approach Sociological factors such as value system, customs and traditions etc affect the relations between labor and management

Human Relations Approach Human behavior is influenced by feelings, sentiments and attitudes. As per this approach humans are motivated by variety of social and psychological factors like economic and non-economic awards to be used.

Giri Approach Collective bargaining and joint negotiations be used to settle disputes between labor and management. Outside interference to be avoided.

Gandhian Approach workers right to strike but cautioned that this right be exercised in just cause and in a peaceful and non- violent manner for minimum wages etc like ‘satyagrah’- Non violent non- cooperation

A properly designed programme has, thereof to be utilized to test the morale of individuals. The most commonly used methods for measuring morale are :

i)                   observation

ii)                 attitude or morale surveys

iii)              company records

iv)               counseling

i)                   Observation – by this method executives observe the behaviour of their employees listen to them they talk and note their actions the shrugging of shoulders a change in facial expression a shuffling of feet a nervous futtering of hands a change in work habits or avoidance of company. Any departure or deviation from the normal is likely to tell them that something is wrong and needs to be set right.

ii)                  Attitude of morale surveys –

a)      Interview method – by this method employees are interviewed so that a judgment may be arrived at about their feeling and opinions about different aspects of their jobs and company for which they work. An interview may be face- to –face affair; it may be oral; may be in the form of an evaluation that is put down in writing. If interview are to be relied upon, they must be employer – oriented.

b)     The Questioner method – this method is generally used to collect employees opinions about the factors which affect morale and their effect on personal objectives. Morale attitude surveys are generally conducted with a view to :

1.      finding out what employees really think.

2.      finding out about the kind of education and information they need.

3.      improving morale and keeping a check on the effectiveness

4.      determining the training needs of employees

5.      finding out what employees really like.

iii)              Company records and reports: these are usually prepared by the personnel department at regular intervals with the assistance of supervisors and department heads. The records and reports provide the following information:

Examples :(a)the number of workers who quit their jobs or are released every month or year in relation to the total work force-that is, labour turnover;

(b)the number and kinds of worker grievances communicated to supervisors or other  personnel, besides the suggestions received from employees for changes or improvements in company policies;

 (c)the quantity and value of spoilt goods and rejects, and the complaints of tht customer resulting from the substandard quality of products because of the carelessness on the part of workers; and

(d)personal interviews, ratings by supervisors, and information gleaned

iv)               Counseling: this method is used to find out the causes of the dissatisfaction of the employees and to take personal matter.

Warning signs of low morale

Perceptive managers are, therefore, constantly on the lookout for clues to any deterioration in the morale of the employees.

Among the more significant of the warning signals of low morale are:

1) Absenteeism

2) Labour turnover

3) Strike

4) Lack of pride

5) Wastage and spoilage

IMPROVING MORALE In the first place, it is essential to change the policy or to correct it immediately. Employees do not there respect for the boss who admits his mistake; but they cannot respect one who makes to many. Second, misconceptions should be removed, and the position should explained to be employees. Third, a reasonable attempt should be made to educate and convince the employees. Fourth, a morale-building programme should be based on a clear conception of the theory that underlines it. For example

1) Leadership

2) Policies and conditions

3) Effective communication channels suitable, consistent, equitable reward.

4) Training for employees

5) Specific performance goals

6) feed- back

Positive measures for high morale

1)      creation of whole jobs: job should be enlarged-that is, the complexity of a job should be increased so that it may appeal to their higher needs.

2)      Job enrichment: this involves a greater use of the factors which are intended to motivate the worker rather than to ensure his continuing satisfaction. Job enrichment also opens up for the employee and opportunity for greater recognition, growth, advancement and responsibity.

3)      Building responsibility into a job: employees should be encouraged to take risk decision. This can be ensured by delegating authority to them.

4)      Modifying the work environment: this involves the use of teams of work groups; developing the social contact of the employees; the use of

5)      Music;  regular rest breaks.

6)      Flexing working hours: that is, introducing flextime and flexible working hours so that an employee may have enough time look his children and his family as well as after his personal affairs. In this manner, the rate of absenteeism can be reduced.

7)      Job sharing or twinning: under this system, two workers divide a full-time job between themselves, splitting not only the hours of work but also the salary. Husband and wife, are old persons may prefer this procedure for sharing the job.

8)      Rotation of jobs: job rotation helps to reduce an employee`s boredom which arises out of the monotonous nature of his work. By the adoption of his procedure, jobs may also be found for mentally retarded and physically handicapped persons.

Imaginative managers can develop many more ways of making a job interesting for their jobs.

To ensure the success of morale-building techniques, it is essential to have top management support for them. Supervisors and employees are generally educates people. A climate of trust an understanding should, therefore, be created.