Besides, the social classes lead to regular conflicts due to contradicting interests (Bacon & Blyton 2007). of Illinois Press. Workplace social classes are a major hindrance to organisational success. Unitarism and pluralism are two terms often used in the sphere of human resources development. The definition of industrial and employee relations covers all forms and kinds of employment (Barry, 2011). In a study conducted in organisations within the United Kingdom in the year 1992, it was discovered that both pluralism and unitarist perspectives of industrial relations exist in organisations. The radical perspective is sometimes referred to as the Marxist view. Hills, SM, 1995, Employment relations and the social sciences. 1 no.1, pp. Singh, P & Loncar, N 2010, Pay satisfaction, job satisfaction, and turnover intent, Industrial Relations, vol. Pluralism noun. To gain support from the public, Madison and the other authors explained in these papers the benefits of the . By acknowledging that organisations are incapable of overcoming conflicts, the pluralists consider conflict to be of significant benefit to an organisation (Giles 1998). The employer-employee relations can be said to have two crucial but different features. This perspective sees conflict as something unavoidable and a legitimate impact of the varying interests at the workplace (Lewin, Mitchell, Sherer and Industrial Relations Research Association, 1992). 3, pp. In the modern organisations, the workforce comprises of people with different cultural backgrounds. According to this perspective, conflict is an indicator of faulty communication in the organisation (Collins, 1998). Such employees would stop being productive subjecting the organisation to retarded growth (Ackers 2002). This is a bit strange as the parent companies back in the United States are known to use the unitarist form of human resource management (MichaeL, 1999). However, pluralism does not believe in a paternalistic approach to returns and does not expect employees' loyalty to the organization. This is because it values labour unions and their roles in managing conflicts between employers and employees (Balnave, 2007). ]: Sage. The unitarists advocate for employers to have absolute powers in running the organisation. This case study on Unitarist Perspective vs. Pluralist Perspective Case Study was written and submitted by your fellow Nevertheless, the perspective does not advice on how managers can come up with mutual interests or how to share mutual interests across the business institution. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright 2010-2018 Difference Between. "Unitarist and Pluralist Perspectives in Management." In return, the management would be able to come up with measures to mitigate their potential effects or address them before they happen (Bacon & Blyton 2007). Retrieved from https://studycorgi.com/unitarist-and-pluralist-perspectives-in-management/, StudyCorgi. Author James Madison wrote several of the Federalist Papers to support the new United States Constitution and explain how it accounted for the most ideal system of government. 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). This aspect underlines why the unitarist managerial perspective calls for common interests among the employees. These perspectives are different in their explanation, understanding and analysis of relations at places of work. The theory treats industrial relations as constituents of a wider social system (Kessler & Purcell 2003). This assumption makes the perspective weak, since it is hard for individuals with differing opinions to come up with an agreement without following a particular guideline. Pluralists assert that learning that trade unions and shop stewards are likely to cause trouble in an organisation leaves the management at a better position to address the issues of employee relations in a holistic manner. Even the Hewlett Packard Company, which is broadly acknowledged for pursuing human resource management in an excellent manner, has never been described in the sense of being a model for unitarist management. The unitarist approach holds that workplace conflicts are avoidable. In this case, human resource management, which has been adopted by many organisations these days, addresses the needs of employees in a significant way. 1 : the holding of two or more offices or positions (such as benefices) at the same time. IvyPanda. All rights reserved. The firm works closely whereby the management and employees share common objectives or purpose. For this reason, organisations cannot overcome conflicts. Workplace conflict, if managed effectively, would promote innovativeness in an organisation, which underlines the reason why pluralists advocate for the management to manage the conflict but not rebuke and criticise it. Giri, LY, 2008, Human Resource Management: Managing People at Work. However, the strategies it gives appear more intimidating to employees. New York: McGraw-Hill. In this approach, the conflict has been used to understand employees' identities and address practical aspects (Kramar et al., 2021, p. 567).
Each of these perspectives has specific workplace relations perceptions. 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. Management is the source of power. Unitarist and Pluralist Perspectives in Management. Unitarism is a perspective that emphasizes the shared interests of all members of an organization. Unitarist holds that workplace conflict is avoidable. As evidenced by Kramar et al., (2021, p. 567), Unitarian addressed individual employees' interests in the workplace. It recommends the power to be nicely dispersed rather than concentrated in the hands of a few individuals. Pluralism has helped maintain appropriate diversity in the organization by maintaining nations' cultures. Nonetheless, the organisations still witness workplace conflicts between the different groups of employees or within the management team. In the end, the employees end up resisting the decisions leading to conflicts. Overlooking some interests and addressing others might lead to the demoralisation of employees whose interests are overlooked. Unitarists base their arguments on postulations that workplace conflict is an avoidable feature of relationships between employees and their managers. Oxford: Blackwell. 3a : a theory that there are more than one or more than two kinds of ultimate reality. Employment laws have been set based on different subjects with common goals for protecting workers' rights. Therefore, these approaches can set the rules and regulations based on industrial relationships. Since the different employees have different interests, the management ought not to run away from conflicts. Unitarists believe that this second source of authority, which is the trade union, is to blame for tension that arises between employees and managers. In this paper, see the writer will explore the advantages and disadvantages of both concepts, explaining their meaning, similarities and differences. The key difference between unitarism and pluralism is that the unitarism is a perspective that emphasizes the shared interests of all members of an organization whereas the pluralism is a perspective where an organization is perceived as being made up of divergent sub-groups having their own legitimate interests. The management has to show strong leadership to meet the goals set by the organisation. It has been identified that stakeholders are rational. StudyCorgi. This argument is based on how it has been applied in Germany, where the pluralism framework of management is dominant, particularly in several large companies. Since pluralism realises that conflicts are one of the essential tenets of organisations, it puts in place conflict resolution mechanisms that can be used in the management of conflicts. This is because it allows for a participatory aspect of management. In an environment where employees have to wait for commands from their leaders (like the one unitarists advocate for), they get demoralised and fail to commit themselves (Schmidt 2009). What is Unitarism Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. Pluralists perceive business organisations as intricate social constructions that comprise of groups of people with conflicting interests. This perspective also considers alternative processes that can be used in decision making (Edwards, 2007). They claim that as long as managers continue interacting with employees, they are likely to quarrel. Power in this perspective is distributed among major bargaining groups in the organisation so that no party takes advantage or manipulates the other. In comparison to the unitarist theory where there is only one source of loyalty and authority which resides with management, the pluralist theory has many sources of loyalty and authority to management, trade unions and other interests groups. 2. Collins, D, 1998, Organizational Change: Sociological Perspective. It acknowledges the use of collective bargaining in the negotiation process to resolve conflicts. 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. Employee relations and management is an essential aspect of organisations. The management has the duty to design workplace relations in ways that promote self-satisfaction within the employees. This mostly works for blue-collar jobs. @media (max-width: 1171px) { .sidead300 { margin-left: -20px; } }
Generally, people have two different perspectives of interpreting managerial practices that take place at workplaces. The results were that a number of entrepreneurs and employers have begun to make attempts to de-unionise their firms. This perspective emphasises the management role, which entails attaining a win-win situation for both workers and the firm in general. This frame of reference is the dominant one of contemporary employers. Also, the unitarist perspective regards conflict negatively. Similarities Between Federalist 10 And 51. Contemporarily, employee empowerment is one of the strategies used in unleashing the employees potential. Copyright 2023 - IvyPanda is operated by, Unitarist Perspective vs. Pluralist Perspective Case Study, Improving the Creativity of Organizational Work Groups, Advantages and Disadvantages of Performance-Related Pay Systems, The Management of Employee Industrial Relations, Organisational Conflict: Unitarist v Pluralist Views, The Etihad Airways Theoretical Perspectives, Boeing Company's Employee Relations Strategy, The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union's Strike, International Relations: Mainstream Theories, Total Quality Management and Organizational Culture, Critically assess the extent to which HPWP relies on the intensification of work, Stakeholder Management and the Effect on Increasing Its Efficiency of Work in Public Sector Entities. 3, pp. The theory also holds that organisations have divergent sources of leadership which are opposing in nature. Kessler, I & Purcell, J 2003, Industrial Relations: Theory And Practice, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. ensure the integrity of our platform while keeping your private information safe. According to pluralists, it is hard for organisations to curb workplace conflicts. Under this perspective of management, conflict is not overlooked or ignored, but it is managed effectively through the participation of stakeholders of the firm. Modern human resource management has come to realise that employees are the most critical assets of the organisation. Need a custom Case Study sample written from scratch by This is the key difference between unitarism and pluralism. This can work well for individualistic systems of industrial relations (Martin and Fellenz, 2010). The key difference between unitarism and pluralism is that the unitarism is a perspective that emphasizes the shared interests of all members of an organization whereas the pluralism is a perspective where an organization is perceived as being made up of divergent sub-groups having their own legitimate interests. In a unitarist managerial approach, the management would be caught unprepared by challenges posed by workplace conflict. Hence, the management ought to work on the forces that unite it with the employees by establishing a working environment that promotes autonomy. This aspect arouses the feeling of co-ownership of the organisation in employees, and thus they commit to enhancing its growth. Instead, it needs to embrace workplace conflicts and look for ways to turn the conflicts into productive undertakings. Different employees and organisational leaders hold different opinions and have competing interests (Gennard & Judge 2002). it is the major difference between the Unitarian and Pluralism approaches. Cheltenham [u.a. Unitarist and pluralist paradigms differently see the conflict and ways to resolve it. b : a theory that reality is composed of a plurality of entities. Numerous well-known firms have been brought out as having applied the unitarist perspective in human resource management. 10. 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. Organisations also have different kinds of attachments. Employees and the management form part of these groups (Giles 1998). For instance, workplace conflict resolution rules or laws can be established through industrial relations (Grady, 1993). This includes the three United States companies that have been mentioned above. 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. The pluralist perspective understands this aspect and that is why it advocates for collective bargaining as the alternative method to help in bringing the personal and organisational interests together. 1 August. Therefore, it is easier to find similar interests. The pluralistic theory is built on the assumption that the workplace is composed of unique aspects, including different values, attitudes, and beliefs. StudyCorgi. Similarities and differences between unitary theory and pluralist theory: Unitarism is a perspective that emphasizes the shared interest of all employees of the organization. Schmidt, S 2009, Employee demographics and job training satisfaction: The relationship between dimensions of diversity and satisfaction with job training, Human Resource Development International, vol. Two of such reference points are the unitarist and the pluralist managerial perspectives. 407-428. These firms included the United States Pharmaceutical, United States Chemical and the United States Merchant Bank. The philosophy suggests that conflict is not an inherent factor in the place of work. Each approach offers a different practice to resolve conflict in the workplace. 1, pp. In the other context, pluralism has suggested employees do not have similar interests and goals. a more recent variant, the neo-unitarist perspective; conflict theory, including the Marxist and pluralist perspectives; systems approach and the contrasting social action perspective. Unitarian has clearly defined individual employees who share common interests and goals. If the managers become convincing and influential, the need for trade unions can quickly be done away with (Giri, 2008). However, it has had constraining factors that undermine it. Actually, conflict is endemic within the workplaces. 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