2023. Last but not least, unitarism holds that the state is an autonomous entity and plays a significant role in shaping industrial relations (Giri, 2008). The managerial relations are the most crucial in an organisation as they determine its success. In this case, workers are forced to accept management decisions. A central assumption in the application and practice of soft human resource management is that the firm is unitarist. Different models and perspectives have been adopted by various organisations to manage employees. It has been identified that stakeholders are rational. Ferner, A and Hyman, R, 1998, Changing industrial relations in Europe. 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. Along with that, maintaining work efficiency is required to maintain loyalty in the workplace. According to the pluralist managerial perspective, the management can and should play a central role in coming up with minimum standards and designing other policies to rectify the imbalance in the bargaining power and foster equity. 1 August. These scholars have suggested that the pluralist framework of management is better and should be used instead of the unitarist framework. Mabey, C, Salaman, G, and Storey, J, 1998, Human resource management: A strategic introduction. Unitarism view conflicts as dysfunctional whereas pluralism acknowledges conflicts and view them as desirable. Therefore, many organisations are shifting from this kind of management and lean towards adopting the pluralistic form of managing employee relations in organisations (Wilkinson, 2008). The pluralist theory is accommodative in nature. The management has the duty to portray rational leadership during the recruitment process and when instructing employees. These features are the managerial relations and the market relations. The experts of unitarism call it as 'a unitary outlook'. Starbucks Corporation's Global Marketing in Italy. Wilton, N, and Wilton, N, 2011, An introduction to human resource management. According to the unitarists, organisations ought to have a single source of authority. This cuts across organisations that prevailed in ancient days and the organisations in the modern days (United States, 2011). Nonetheless, the validity of human resource management does exist, putting in mind that human resource management theories are formed basing on unitarism as the core assumption (Radcliffe, 2005). This perspective views the place of work as being integrated and a harmonious entity which exists to serve a common purpose. Cape Town: Juta. This aspect underlines why the unitarist managerial perspective calls for common interests among the employees. Your privacy is extremely important to us. Employee relations and management is an essential aspect of organisations. This assertion underlines the reason why pluralists advocate for trade unions to act on behalf of the employees when bargaining for stable working conditions. The management has the duty to conduct a free and fair promotion and recruitment exercise, come up with quality communication systems that are capable of showing the employees where their interests fall, and deal with people susceptible to personality disorders (Bacon & Blyton 2007). Under this perspective of management, conflict is not overlooked or ignored, but it is managed effectively through the participation of stakeholders of the firm. This perspective explores the behaviour of the capitalistic society, which has a division of interests that exists between capital and labour (Bendix, 2000). Modern organisations continue to adopt and use modern forms of management and administration. However, it is difficult for any employer to follow each employment law. Unitarism view conflicts as dysfunctional whereas pluralism acknowledges conflicts and view them as desirable. Unitarist and pluralist paradigms differently see the conflict and ways to resolve it. Conversely, the pluralist managerial approach would accommodate for a range of employee relations policies. It does not have descriptions of how individual employee interests and sentiments can be fully integrated into the objectives of the firm. The pluralist managerial perspective offers the best solution for dealing with contemporary organisations. In the other context, pluralism has suggested employees do not have similar interests and goals. 3. Unitarism and Pluralism are two terms or concepts that differ from each other in their definitions and approach. Conflict must be accepted as being part of what defines organisations in this modern economy. Since the different employees have different interests, the management ought not to run away from conflicts. Besides teamwork, conducting employee performance appraisal would go a long way to encourage cooperation between employees. Based on this perspective, pluralists believe that it is hard to do away with different sources of power within a business institution. In the end, the employees end up resisting the decisions leading to conflicts. According to them, trade unions are illegal interruptions to management objectives. 3a : a theory that there are more than one or more than two kinds of ultimate reality. Unitarism is a more of a straightforward concept, which says that all the employees and those working in an organized management should always work for the welfare of the organization not just for their personal benefits or growth. However, in modern days, the meaning of the word has expanded to include the manufacturing firms and other sectors of the economy that do not deal with manufacturing. In return, it motivates employees since they feel empowered (Bacon & Blyton 2007). Pluralism noun. Furthermore, it combines all the attributes mentioned above with the complicated vision of relations in employment characterised by conflict (Mabey, Salaman and Storey, 1998). Moreover, unitarists believe that employees do not need having trade unions, as the unions add to workplace conflicts. The management uses consultative approaches in reacting and providing solutions to conflicts. The unitarist is likened to utopic or authoritarian regimes. It is also claimed that unitarism has been used in management in western countries. Employee relations emerged from industrial relations in Europe in the early 1900s. This has not been fully proved. In this paper, see the writer will explore the advantages and disadvantages of both concepts, explaining their meaning, similarities and differences. IvyPanda. February 20, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/unitarist-and-pluralist-perspectives-in-management/. The assumption that workplace conflict is avoidable, as the unitarists believe is not true. This can work well for individualistic systems of industrial relations (Martin and Fellenz, 2010). (2022, August 1). Consequently, it is hard for any organisation to circumvent workplace conflicts. Other firms can choose to allow trade unions. The approach acknowledges the potential benefits of workplace conflicts. Therefore, the unitarist perspective calls for the establishment of a single source of power and integration of organisational and employee interests. Conflicting objectives are seen as abnormal in this perspective. Managers follow different reference points when executing their management exercises. Rather than trying to curb workplace conflict, which is hard to do away with, organisational leaders ought to bring back sanity by sharing the control of the organisation. However, it has been identified that conflict has been considered abnormal in this approach. Conflicts that come up in organisations can be beneficial to the organisation. The firm works closely whereby the management and employees share common objectives or purpose. @media (max-width: 1171px) { .sidead300 { margin-left: -20px; } } Therefore, trade unions are not seen as essential elements in managing employees and conflicts in the organisation. In the unitarism framework, the firm is perceived as being an integrated and harmonious whole. In a research that was conducted in organisations in Germany, it was found out that some United States firms utilise a unitarist Human Resource Management Strategy. 407-428. They do follow a non-union labour policy. Disclaimer: Services provided by StudyCorgi are to be used for research purposes only. Besides, it has to have clear knowledge of the diverse interests held by the workforce and work on modalities to harmonise them. The theory cites the states role as being that of guarding public interests; protection of the weak; and restraining power for the strong. By acknowledging that organisations are incapable of overcoming conflicts, the pluralists consider conflict to be of significant benefit to an organisation (Giles 1998). There is an assumption by this perspective that all stakeholders in the organisation are rational and thus confides in finding common interests. Hence, the management ought to work on the forces that unite it with the employees by establishing a working environment that promotes autonomy. Oxford: Blackwell. Modern human resource management has come to realise that employees are the most critical assets of the organisation. London: SAGE. However, in modern times characterised by management dynamics, organisations may choose to use more than one style of management though in an integrative way. 44 no. Under this management strategy, companies can adopt non-union policies, especially when there are employee organisations in existence. Unitarism is a perspective that emphasizes the shared interests of all members of an organization. b : a theory that reality is composed of a plurality of entities. This can be critical in managing stakeholders in which case employees are regarded as essential aspects of the organisation. Incidentally, workplace conflict does not only help the management to come up with strategies for institutionalising employment regulations but to also promote a level ground for all parties since employees are able to stand their ground when negotiating on contract terms (Bacon & Storey 2000). What is Pluralism Unitarists believe that using a single source of power might help to curb conflict, which may apply for small institutions (Abbott 2006). IvyPanda. Yes you are right Unitarian are individual members interested in the organization. StudyCorgi, 20 Feb. 2023, studycorgi.com/unitarist-and-pluralist-perspectives-in-management/. Highland Commons. "Unitarist Perspective vs. Pluralist Perspective Case Study." Unitarianism has defined conflict as dysfunctional aspects, while pluralism has acknowledged conflict as the most desirable. These are known as unitarism and pluralism. These perspectives are different in their explanation, understanding and analysis of relations at places of work. Unitarian has clearly defined individual employees who share common interests and goals. Michael, M, 1999, Unitarism, Pluralism, and Human Resource Management in Germany. The theory treats industrial relations as constituents of a wider social system (Kessler & Purcell 2003). These theories include the unitarist theory or framework; the pluralist perspective; and the radical perspective. Unitarism is a perspective that emphasizes the shared interests of all members of an organization while pluralism is a perspective that perceives an organization as being made up of divergent sub-groups having their own legitimate interests. Balnave, N, 2007, Employment relations in Australia. Pluralists view business organisations as plural societies that hold numerous related but separate goals and interests, which the managers ought to establish some form of equilibrium to maintain them. "Unitarist and Pluralist Perspectives in Management." Need a custom Case Study sample written from scratch by 1, pp. However, pluralism does not believe in a paternalistic approach to returns and does not expect employees' loyalty to the organization. This itself has a significant effect on managers and employees who carry out their work under human resource management practices in their pluralistic organisations. Hence, management and the nature of employment are some of the issues that trigger heated debates. Pluralism suggests that employment relationships in organisations are open-ended and in a way, indeterminate, which creates structural antagonism. This button displays the currently selected search type. 38 no. Embracing numerous policies would imply having numerous sources of power or a wide range of options to select from, which might lead to conflicts. Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. Web. Pluralists view workplace conflicts in a positive dimension. Unitarism perceives the entire organization as one big family where everyone shares common goals and purposes. Similarly, it has defined management and workforce as working for company welfare. Hence, it is illogical to claim that trade unions are the root cause of conflict witnessed in organisations (Kessler & Purcell 2003). ]: Univ. * Hyperlink the URL after pasting it to your document, Business Core Competencies and Competitive Strategies, Service Quality Factors in the Airline Industry, Using One Thousand Dollars to Develop the Handball Team, Ethical Leadership Model in Organizations, Proctor and Gamble and Unilever Companies Marketing, Effective Procurement Activities Added Value, Our site uses cookies. Such a belief gives a steady argument for focusing on the commonality of goals to achieve a stable employee relations system. However, it was noted that the perspective that dominates the Japanese and several other Asian firms, is the unitarist perspective. From the research, it was deduced that the administration of Germany gives preference to the pluralist form of human resource management. What is a unitarist and pluralist approach? 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. Hills, SM, 1995, Employment relations and the social sciences. Unitarist Perspective vs. Pluralist Perspective Case Study. Managers ought to convert them into profitable initiatives rather than criticize them. Sample question: Compare and contrast the unitary and pluralist perspectives of industrial relations and provide some typical examples of unitarist and pluralist features in workplaces. In such an instance, employees only work because they need money and they leave the organisation upon getting the first chance. Abhyudaya Pragati: Nirali Prakashan. 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