industrial relations

industrial relations

Table of Contents

Introduction
Worker, manager, and society
- Conceptions of the worker
  - 19th- and 20th-century views
  - The advent of industrial relations in the United States
  - Studies of worker behaviour
    - Scientific management
    - Industrial psychology
    - Human relations
    - Behavioral science
- Conceptions of the manager
  - Specialized management
  - Participative management
- Responsibility to the worker
  - Laissez-faire
  - Paternalism
- Responsibility to the community
  - Plant closings
  - Demographic changes
  - Stakeholder versus stockholder
The changing work force
- Interests, values, and expectations
  - Assessing workers’ interests
  - Voicing workers’ interests
    - Individual and collective action
    - Participative decision making
- The work careers of managers and workers
  - Managers
    - Training and promotion
    - Competitive pressures
  - Blue-collar workers
    - Career structure
    - Attitudes toward work
- The work careers of service workers and technical professionals
  - Service-sector workers
  - Technical professionals
  - Interests and concerns
    - Career paths
    - Organized research and development
Organizational design
- Specialization of function and separation of authority
- Participatory management and flexible work systems
Union–management relations
- Union organizing
- Collective bargaining
The workplace in different cultures
- The United States
- Japan
  - Prewar industrial relations
  - Industrial relations after World War II
    - Enterprise unions
    - Labour–management cooperation
    - Employment security
- Germany
  - Industrial unions
  - Consultation and codetermination
  - Education and training
- Common challenges

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industrial relations

Also known as: labour relations, organizational relations

Written by Michael T. Hannan, Thomas A. Kochan, William Foote WhyteSee All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jul 25, 2023 • Article History

Sidney and Beatrice Webb

Sidney and Beatrice Webb

Category: Money

Key People:: William Morris Hughes Andrew Fisher

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industrial relations, also called organizational relations, the behaviour of workers in organizations in which they earn their living. Scholars of industrial relations attempt to explain variations in the conditions of work, the degree and nature of worker participation in decision making, the role of labour unions and other forms of worker representation, and the patterns of cooperation and conflict resolution that occur among workers and employers. These patterns of interaction are then related to the outputs of organizations. These outputs span the interests and goals of the parties to the employment relationship, ranging from employee job satisfaction and economic security ...(100 of 12920 words)

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