Pluralism as a View of Industrial Relations

Since the days of the Industrial Revolution some two centuries ago, the face of industrial relations in every nation of the world has been in a state of constant change. Because of the great migration of people during that time as well for social, political, religious and economic reasons, the industrial aspects of society have become multicultural melting pots.In the midst of this mixing, the concept of pluralism emerged, which held that people of many different ethnic and religious backgrounds were placed in aggressive competition against each other for advancement and opportunity, quite by circumstance rather than design or on purpose (Ghandchi, 1993). To be more exact, in the pursuit of equal opportunities, different classes of people sought equal treatment, opportunity, and compensation through a means of accommodating everyone’s backgrounds and needs-a plural system of industrial operation-hence the term pluralism and the practice of the same.Within this context, many accommodations were forced into the industrial complex in an attempt to pacify the many cultures present in a given area or industry, and as such, formed the basis of industrial relations. In the present day, however, there is compelling evidence to indicate that pluralism is an outdated view of industrial relations.

In this essay, this evidence will be presented and discussed so that definitive proof of the outdated nature of pluralism will be clearly seen. This essay will focus primarily on the situation in the United Kingdom from the end of World War II to the present.Pluralism at the Dawn of Modern Industrial Development In order to properly understand pluralism overall, it is important to both define it and place it into historical context. Our modern interpretation of pluralism first emerged in Britain following World War II, and can is typically viewed as a post capitalist, widespread distribution of power; a separation of industrial ownership from management as Europe recovered from the devastation that the war had brought. In other words, when ownership and management were separated, a “plural” system was created.The advent of this new pluralism caused cultural changes that challenged established ideas of authority coming as a by-product of wealth and ownership of capital and equipment.

All of the established systems of authority and power were questioned and the general belief was that unitary theory had lost credibility in light of the new post-war economy (Fox, et al, 1973). Traits of Pluralism Pluralism is based on several key traits that define how it is carried out; overall, pluralism holds that conflict between labour and management is rational and permissible, as it leads to creativity and healthy debate.Moreover, it holds that consensus can be gained in the workplace through collective negotiation, thereby validating the positive role that trade unions play in industrial relations. In the midst of all of this, management is the hub of the wheel so to speak, standing in the middle of the different interests, with the ability to resolve disputes.

From the viewpoint of the workers, pluralism was embraced because under collective bargaining, the workers had fair pay, reasonable working hours, and a way to meet their goals through gainful employment.The Dangers and Myths of Pluralism Pluralism has some pitfalls and myths that deserve identification. Although it is true that pluralism in its purest form places the worker in a position to collectively bargain with the management of a firm to gain fair compensation and working conditions, the myth exists that pluralism is designed to oppose management, but this is untrue. Rather, pluralism allows workers to cooperate with management for the mutual achievement of goals that benefit both parties.

Pluralism’s Relationship to Anarchy As an aside, an interesting relationship to consider when discussing pluralism is its place on the family tree of anarchy. In order to clearly see this relationship, one can take a look at one of the classic battles of pluralism versus singularity which occurred when the debate over the embrace of Christianity versus the polytheism that had ruled the religious cultures of ancient Greece and Rome for centuries. The civil unrest and ensuing bloodshed that resulted from this divide led to what would eventually become known as anarchy- a total rebellion against the establishment, laws and customs.The ancient philosopher Heraclitus noted that in opposition to anarchy, there were those who sought “what was common to all” (Geertz, 2000), hence the advent of pluralism.

Eventually, in an effort to quash anarchy, a change to pluralism took place in many areas of civilization, and thereafter, pluralism, especially in industrial relations, was found to be ineffective simply due to the complexity that the acceptance and embrace of all cultures and traditions simply would not work in this setting.The Beginning of the End of Modern Pluralism The pivotal time when pluralism truly started to come apart at the seams in Britain was during the rule of the Conservative government under Prime Minister Thatcher, when collective bargaining was affected to the point where pluralism began to decline. At this point as well, up to the present day, the government in the United Kingdom views it as a hindrance to the development of a global economy, which is critically important in the present day due to the rise of the European Union.The current labour government in the UK has passed legislation that reduces the power of the labour unions and gives more power to workers through employment tribunals and other avenues of negotiation that have made pluralism unnecessary for the most part.

Also, legislation that provides for the payment of fair wages and employee relations has done a great deal to allow the government to make improvements in the conditions for the average worker without having to rely on collective bargaining and trade unions to represent their best interests.Improvements in the practice of Human Resource Management since the end of World War II have also watered down the power of pluralism, as management has learned a wide variety of effective techniques to build relationships with employees that make the importance of trade unions as representation less important than they were in previous decades. As time has changed the face of the economy in Britain and its role in the world economy, changes such as a turn away from pluralism have taken place. A Balanced View of PluralismIn fairness, while pluralism as a whole is outdated and the evidence suggests that ultimately it will fade into extinction, due to the nature of some of the parts of the world even at this late date seems to also suggest that pluralism must be allowed to continue in some parts of the world for the good of those societies. There are sources that hold the belief that pluralism should be seen through the eyes of syncretism, which is to say that some elements of it are appropriate in some settings, but not in all (Arts, et al, 2003).For example, many of the nations of Asia which are now in the process of becoming industrialized, much like many of the world’s industrial giants went through decades and even centuries ago, the political and industrial circumstances are such that there are very few areas of recourse for workers to protect their well being and best interests, nor do business owners have much governmental protection for their businesses in terms of worker’s responsibilities and managerial rights.

Therefore, in order for the industrial machine of those nations to be able to continue to move toward modernization, it will remain necessary for pluralism to continue in these nations at least for the foreseeable future. However, if history holds true, these nations, as in the case of Britain, will eventually come to abandon pluralism as an outdated practice that simply no longer fits their needs. Conclusion In this essay, evidence has been presented to illustrate that while pluralism as a whole is outdated in industrial relations, there are isolated cases where it still needs to exist, at least for the moment.However, as international industry evolves, it is conceivable that pluralism will disappear altogether. Presently, the practice is rapidly dwindling, but in fairness, still plays a role for some nations to progress to the level of their more advanced neighbors in the world economy.

Specifically, in Great Britain, pluralism found a home with the workers who sought to improve their lot as the nation rebuilt from the crushing blows of World War II. In pluralism, the workers found a way to gain an advantage and fair compensation for a day’s work.As the industrial outlook improved in Britain, and governmental opinion changed, pluralism in that nation became less favorable because other more attractive options emerged and workers found ways to communicate effectively with management for mutual benefit. Past pluralism, there also exist opportunities for Britain to play a role in the global economy.

While only time will tell what will happen economically, from an industrial relations standpoint, many options exist beyond traditional pluralism.