The limits of 'the new industrial relations (original) (raw)

Critical Realism and Industrial Relations Theory

This discussion looks at the possible application of Bhaskarís brand of philosophical realism to the development of industrial relations theory and inquiry . It argues that methodologies that rely solely on the manufacture of experimental conditions of closure must be held to be limited in their ability to explain industrial relations phenomenon and/or produce law-like statements in the form of theories or models . It thus questions orthodox methods commonly employed at the periphery of industrial relations scholarship, namely, in industrial psychology, labour and employment law, labour history, industrial sociology, labour politics, human resource management, economic geography and labour economics. In fields at the core of industrial relations scholarship, where research is typically multi-disciplinary and focused on the institutions and processes that govern employment relationships, it is argued that Bhaskarís realist ontology seems capable of validating and guiding the way in w...

Industrial Relations Theory: Painting by Numbers

Journal of Industrial Relations, 1984

Academic writers frequently aver a lack of a coherent theory of industrial relations and thus a lack of academic respectability for the discipline. An alternative emphasis is taken here, and the very idea of a single best theory rejected. The question of what is theorizing is addressed. In this, theory is considered as a process used to capture the practice of industrial relations and present it as an academic dialogue. The test of any theoretic account of practice is shown to be the extent to which it aids in understanding the practice. This is developed in a review of Australian and overseas literature. The criticisms of institutional writing by Marxists and of Marxist writing Australia and Hagen's History of the ACTU. 6 Hagen stresses the need for a 2. There is a predilection to lump critical writings together as some undifferentiated 'Marxism'; there are obvious shortcomings to such an unscholarly practice, but for present purposes, the repeated use of 'quotations' becomes tedious. 3. Geare's study in this journal some years ago being a very typical example: A.

Rethinking Industrial Relations: Appraisal, application and augmentation

Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2018

This extended introduction to the special issue on John Kelly’s Rethinking Industrial Relations comprises three sections. First, reflections on the changes in employment relations and the way employment relations have been studied since Rethinking Industrial Relations was published in 1998. Second, a critical reading of the initial reviews and reception to Rethinking Industrial Relations. And, third, a commentary on the articles in this special issue in terms of the significance of their contributions and their inter-linkages. The introduction ends by suggesting a revised and updated edition of Rethinking Industrial Relations would make a further very welcome and substantial contribution to the understanding of contemporary employment relations.

FRAMEWORKS OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ANALYSIS: A RE-VISIT TO INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS THEORY

The search for a theory of Industrial Relations has led to the emergence of a plethora of frameworks, of analysis of Industrial Relations. Making sense of the diverse perspectives involved has become as problematic as the original search itself. This paper re-visits the search for a theory of Industrial Relations by imposing an order on some dominant schools of thought in the literature, starting with the subject-matter and approach debate. The paper concludes that the subject-matter of Industrial Relations has evolved from being unions, to institutions of job regulation (rules), and then to conflict; and these correspond with the Union, Rules, and Conflict frameworks of Industrial Relations analysis suggested here. Consequently, it is the view of this paper that these should be seen as the components of the subject-matter of Industrial Relations; and given its multidisciplinary nature, a web-of-discipline approach is more appropriate in Industrial Relations theorizing.

Why Labour Economics is Inadequate for Theorizing Industrial Relations

Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, 2014

This article challenges the assumed superiority of neo-classical labour economics as a means of theorizing labour unions by applying a critical realist critique to methodologies typically applied in the field. For this purpose, the critique draws on the work of Roy Bhaskar and other critical realists by first situating critical realism within two broad philosophical traditions: classical empiricism and transcendental idealism. It points out the failure of these traditions to acknowledge the possible existence of autonomous structures and objects which are beyond empirically based calculation and conceptualization, arguing instead that such structures and objects can only truly be revealed through research methodologies that make reference to a layered ontology. The discussion then advances on this by outlining the main features of critical realism’s three-way ontology, before providing an example of how this ontological reasoning diminishes the validity of research of labour unions ...

ephemera special issue: The politics of workers' inquiry

This issue brings together a series of commentaries, interventions and projects centred on the theme of workers’ inquiry. Workers’ inquiry is a practice of knowledge production that seeks to understand the changing composition of labour and its potential for revolutionary social transformation. It is a practice of turning the tools of the social sciences into weapons of class struggle. It also seeks to map the continuing imposition of the class relation, not as a disinterested investigation, but rather to deepen and intensify social and political antagonisms.

A Contemporary Model for Industrial Relations: Relook from Global Perspective

This article attempts to inquire what industrial relations (IR) is and analyzes the ways in which it has been defined and interpreted since its inception. Various scholars ranging from system theorists, pluralists, Marxists and neo- Marxists to the modern HR and strategic choice perspectives have added, modified or questioned its subject matter. An attempt has been made to propose a model for IR so that it can involve all the addressed as well as unaddressed issues. This model is then tested with what have been the scholarly opinions of how IR should change and respond to the contemporary realities. The article concludes by proposing empirical testing of this model in the service economy of post-industrial age when we have knowledge workers instead of blue-collar workers, flat team-based structures instead of hierarchy and participative control rather than bureaucracy. The possibility of IR, given its experience and time-tested understanding of managing workers of huge strength, to borrow the concepts from contemporary disciplines like HRM and behavioural sciences and develop new theories and frameworks that can add meaning to the new realities is also explored.

Labour Law as Social Questioning: The Contribution of the 'Labour Conventions Approach' to a Different History of Socio-Economic Institutions

Starting from the product as a manifestation of a “world of production,” the “labour conventions approach” leads to analysing the legal institutions as references from which the actors question the nature of the interactions that they themselves establish in the course of their productive activities. Conversely, the difficulties identified through raising questions on the basis of this legal framework in turn further an analysis concerning its relevance, occasionally leading to its reorganization. This therefore opens the way for a different social history, in which the actors’ initiatives contribute to the transformation of their worlds of production and to the evolution of the institutional framework within which they grasp its characteristics. The company and the employee are no longer timeless categories in the history of capitalism, but become the objects of an approach linking economic and institutional history.