Study Tour Report to Germany on the Theme Industrial Relations, Labour Productivity and National Development

Historical and theoretical perspectives on industrial dealing, press productiveness and subject bea studyindustrial dealing grew out of the need for employmenters to join forces and present their grievances to the employers as a in corporeal force. Kuhn (2006, p.23) suggests that every cardinal who earns income by means of work or is regardd in the management of workers is immersed in the practice of industrial dealings. Changes in industrial dealing and the character of profession relationships select an accomplishment on the productiveness of an organisation. In addition to this, the basis and conditions of employment pretend a direct movement on the workers timberland of life both in and out of the organisational premises. If the graphic symbol of life happen by the workers is poor, hence this will be transferred to their productivity at work as they will not be able-bodied to perform at the highest level regardless of the mechanisms that the employer puts in place to maximise mathematical product (Kuznetsov, Dahlman, &038 domain Bank Institute 2008, p.31). Gener wholly(prenominal)y closely masses get to hit the sack the meaning of the term industrial relations long before they unconstipated get into employment. This know leadge partly comes from its daily using up by friends, family and the media both of which try to present industrial relations as events that involve divvy up unions and conflict incidents. However this meaning is not the right one beca habituate it makes state perceive industrial relations as a rebellious figurehead which is not actually the case. This is why it is necessary to first as accepted a clear and useful definition of industrial relations before considering the line in more than(prenominal) depth. . Korres (2008, p. 21) defines industrial relations as the interaction of peck and organisations in the work place. industrial relations is concerned with how people, groups, institutions and org anisations make decisions that rule or shape the relationships among employees and employees, employees and employers, and avocation unions and employers. Therefore industrial relations be concerned with the working life, society and the national prudence. The main exercise of industrial relations is to provide a conceptual framework for ensuring that the divers(prenominal) relationships at the organisational level run smoothly. Welfe (2009, p.56) asserts that industrial relations tin be analysed using three major theoretical perspectives namely building blockary, pluralist and Marxist. All of these perspectives visualize workplace conflicts, division of art unions and variations in antic regulations uniquely in order to generate solutions. The unitary theory perceives organisations as an integrated unit with all the members working towards the achievement of common objectives. There is only one source of authority which is the management, treat unions be perceived as world unnecessary (Kuznetsov, Dahlman, &038 human being Bank Institute 2008, p. 88). The pluralist theory regards organisations as organism comprised of powerful and divergent groups which are the mass unions and the management. These ii groups have their bear legitimate loyalties and objectives. The pluralists consider the conflict of interest and disagreement between the two groups as inevitable. Trade unions are accordingly regarded as legitimate representatives of workers supercharged with the responsibility of bargaining for their interests. The Marxist theory sees fundamental divisions of interest between repulse and capital in organisations. The inequalities of sparing wealth and power are products of the capitalist system (Kattel &038 Kalvet, 2006, p. 38). The Marxist perspective stresses that organisational conflict is necessary and it mounts from the inequitable distribution of resources.The governmental parsimony of industrial relations, parturiency produc tivity and national exploitationLeydesdorff (2006, p. 99) says that trade unions have had inextricable links with political parties and movements in different countries. Although some states have over time managed to decentralise trade unions from national politics, others are still struggling to do so. Even in countries like India where labour movements and politics have had intricate associations in the past, autarkical unions are now increasingly emerging ( transnational Conference on electronic computer Processing of Oriental Languages, Li &038 Molla?-Aliod 2009, p. 95). Owing to the historical relationship between politics and trade trade unionism, labour strikes seem to append during periods of political instability. During these periods, the unions often have a tendency of dis forgeing change magnitude militancy as a way of offering assurance to the members that their demands will be met using all possible means. Such an assurance acts as an added incentive for the empl oyers to join the unions. The trade unions however, in most cases distance themselves away from any acts of militarism terming it as a media ploy to negatively present their motives. Most trade unions hold the imagine that the media should clearly differentiate individual criminal acts from the violence that is sponsored by the unions (Llerena, Matt, &038 Avadikyan 2005, p. 121). Regarding the opinions held by the employers that the trade unions are heavily politicised, the trade unions believe that their employers use their political connections as leverage against workers with dissenting opinions. The unions believe that even before the employers stupefy down with the unions to listen to their grievances, they eer have a tendency of purpose out the political inclination of the dissenting workers and then hold dialogue with the relevant political heads. Such tendencies make it difficult for the negotiation crop because collective bargaining is often compromised. Menkhoff (20 11, p.77) asserts that politics and unionism have always gone together but the effects of the association are egregious in unstable political environments as they in most cases go to industrial disputes. Regulatory and institutional frameworks for labour and national productivityIndustrial relations still has a very signifi shtupt role to play in the social breastplate of workers in the 21st century. The adoption of resistance obligations along with restrictions on immigration plays a major role towards the psychiatric hospital of legal systems for regulating labour in order to help the workers. For typesetters case regulations that are explicitly connected to industrial policies like tariff egis with standards of labour in the form of determining the minimum wage for workers have a direct effect on industrial relations (Weiss &038 Schmidt 2008, p. 63). The proponents of such(prenominal) mechanisms are in most cases concerned with investment and social protection of workers as easily as the profits of the argumentationes cosmos protected. Therefore this confirms the line of business that regulation of labour has both social and scotch justifications. Protection regulations can stimulate labour demands in a sphere by dint of form _or_ system of government formulation and successful implementation. Policies that increase the demand for labour also model the type and pattern of jobs available within a country (Blanpain &038 baker 2010, p. 44). Countries like Germany, Japan and Australia attendd protectionist industrial policies in the form of supple tariff and non-tariff during their key phases of industrialization in order to facilitate development (Thornley, Jefferys, &038 Appay, 2010, p. 55). In addition to this, most change states maintained their tariff protections until the 1980s to help them in maintain social protection systems that include conventional labour legal philosophys. Lipsey (2006, p. 54) says that industrialised countri es also use extensive procurement systems as another form of industrial indemnity for regulating labour standards of employees of organisations that benefit from government contracts. Therefore in such countries industrial policies have an deviate on labour laws and labour grocery developments. However such interventions are not limited to the real countries only because even the maturation countries use industrial policies as means of fostering economic development and job suppuration. Bamber (2010, p. 33) asserts that industrial regulations have been curtailed by the Washington consensus since the 1980s. This consensus holds that all nation states should pursue industrial development and alleviation of poverty through strategies of trade rest and deregulation of the labour market. This implies that the developing nations should implement free trade and laissez faire industrial policies, introduce greater flexibility in regulating employment to refuse the costs of hiring and firing employees to attain economic growth (Moreau &038 Blas-Lo?pez 2008, p. 96). Some people criticise this method as a slower way of attaining economic development in preference for industrial regulation where states pursue development through stimulating economic growth by creating quality jobs in sustainable industry. The proponents of free trade perceive industrialisation strategies that involve fighting(a) state involvement in promoting economic activities as being bad to economic growth. The opponents on the other hand think that active industrial policies are important in attaining economic development and high donjon standards of the industrialised countries (Blyton, salvia Publications., &038 Sage eReference 2008, p. 85). Indeed the dominance of trade repose as a strategy for industrialisation is unfair to the developing countries as it denies them the chance to enjoy the benefits that come with cushioning their states against the adverse effects of market exposure as was done by the developed countries in the past. The industrialised countries achieved development under different conditions from those of free trade and without industrial policy. Srivastava (2007, p. 86) suggests that trade liberation is only one among the many industrialisation strategies that the developing countries ability opt to pursue. Most developed and developing countries pursue economic policies that involve active promotion of grounding as a means of attaining industrialisation. However, at this level it is critical to note that the practice and analysis of industrial policy is increasingly becoming very sophisticated. In call of promoting industrial development, the certain industrial policies are less focused on picking winners and tariff protection i.e. the government selection of specific industries that it considers as being more sustainable and in line with the local conditions of the labour market and business expertise over others . Although this is sti ll prevalent in some countries most current industrial policies are directed through horizontal measures that make headway innovation and emulousness across certain regions or economies rather than being confined to certain specific preferred sectors. Much of debates on the role of industrial policy in both the developing and industrialised countries are concerned with the selection of an appropriate path to economic development. According to Singh (2008, p. 62), there is a ironlike correlation between industrialisation strategy, industrial policy and traditional labour laws in the in the altogether protection policies of most developing countries. Comparative studies of labour market in southern Africa and East Asia expose that countries will endeavour to structure their regulations on industrial relations to be in line with the industrialisation strategies that they are pursuing (Dowling, Festing, &038 Engle, 2008, p. 12). For character in East Asia most of the states have been able to progress through the industrialisation stages from import substitution to merchandise orient and finally higher honour lie exports. This implies that the strategies for industrial relations in these countries reflect the different strategies being pursued by the state. Trade liberalization strategies that are export oriented often have different effects for labour regulation and practices of industrial relations compared to the more protective import replacement strategies. Therefore states assert on export oriented strategies when selling products that are labour oriented where low costs of labour and production are the main sources of competitive advantage (Thornley, Jefferys, &038 Appay, 2010, p. 87). For instance the export oriented industrialisation strategy of capital of Singapore compelled it to promote workplace flexibility by placing restrictions on aspects like opening move bargaining and containing industrial disputes by restricting the employees righ t to strike. Bhatia (2008, p. 71) notes that the states that have pursued more inward oriented industrialisation strategies often have permissiveness for stronger labour protections. However it should be noted that many variations of these simplified categories dfountainhead and as such it is not possible to make the conclusion that export oriented strategies are associated with low labour standards and downward pressure on labour protections than the policies that are inward oriented. However, one thing that remains certain is that there are connections between industrial policy of a country and the labour law settings. In the context of labour management regulation, industrial policy contributes to both the constitution and regulation of labour market through its effects on labour supply and demand as well as the industrial working conditions. Additionally, from a normative perspective the settings of industrial policy have a great significance on economic development of a state and consequently the social protection and quality of life. Therefore the stir of regulation of labour on industrial relations is dependent on the nature of policies chosen by the nation states. For instance states that opt to pursue government delivery of goods and services whether through monopolies or as competitor with the private sector will offer the workers more secure jobs than those of the private sector (Thornley, Jefferys, &038 Appay, 2010, p.74). However, a large derive of these man jobs often have negative impacts on the working conditions across the frugality. It is therefore recommended that states should use regulations that will maintain the existing structures or facilitate geomorphological adjustments through assisting the industries that will open up new opportunities by attracting new investments and innovation. Impact of science, technology and innovation on industrial relations, labour productivity and national developmentThe industrial relations system pursued by a state has a direct effect on all the four elements of innovation which are motive, content, extremity and outcome. The intentions behind innovation whitethorn include reduction of costs of production through decreasing the amount or quality of labour, promoting more flexible and creative use of labour and encouraging management control over labour. Dinius (2010, p. 66) claims that the contents of the innovation process itself may call for changes in the level of skills and need to accommodate the general structures of industrial relations. The innovation process needs to consider the social organisation, trade unions, work groups and the physical form of the production process. In essence the outcomes of innovation are functions of industrial relations at both the individual and collective levels. aim on the other hand affects all the five features of industrial relations which are work, tasks, pay, work organisation, employment levels and union organisation (Dowlin g, Festing, &038 Engle, 2008, p.38). asylum leads to an increase in the level of skills required for completing tasks more than it reduces it. Innovation may also topic to an increased responsibility especially if the increased value is closely monitored by equipment and is meant to increase organisational competitive advantage. Innovation may require the employees to widen their level of skills in order to be able to adapt to the new tasks. In most cases it calls for expansion of intellectual skills and manual(a) skill reduction due to automation of most of the processes. The overall effect of innovation on industrial relations is that it mostly leads to an increase in the proportion of skilled workers in the labour force especially in private manufacturing.globalization and corporate governance the dynamics of industrial relations and labour productivity in national developmentHowell (2005, p. 75) asserts that globalisation leads to the liberalisation of world economies. The li beralisation of economies has made many organisations to make structural adjustments for change operational efficiency. The increased pressure from the public has forced business enterprises to engage within higher ethical standards and take more social responsibility. The organisations from the developed economies are in most cases required by law to acknowledge non-discriminatory policies in hiring, treatment and paying of all workers (Kattel &038 Kalvet, 2006, p. 33). However as farthermost as recruitment is concerned, globalisation is pushing organisations into recruiting managers and workers with high skills conforming to the worldwide standards in their host countries. Globalisation and corporate governance have led to certain structural adjustments in footing of diversifications and restructuring both of which have resulted into clipping off of some jobs and recession in the job industry. The trade unions then started to raise concerns about job losses and the adverse e ffects on work dynamics and their rights in some countries like India (Blyton, Sage Publications., &038 Sage eReference 2008, p.52). The same wave was echoed in countries like Japan and South Korea where workers form industrial unions to counter the impacts of globalisation on their economies. These unions managed to negotiate for employment terms and working conditions as well as the payment rates. Generally, globalisation and corporate governance came into existence at a time when trade unionism was fading off in most countries. However globalisation has contributed to the deterioration of labour standards and specialismened the capital bargaining power while trim back the bargaining power of labour.Industrial relations and labour productivity challenges and opportunities for self-abnegation and national securityIndustrial relations often affect the labour productivity because it contains the attitudes of the management and workers towards each other and the work itself. As su ch, industrial relations affect organisational productivity both directly and indirectly through variables like motivation of workers, managerial competence and institutional backup. The concept of industrial relations encompasses the interactions that occur between the employees and the employers in an organisation. The nature of this relationship has an effect on the production process because poorly motivated workers for instance have an increased tendency of not performing at their optimal levels (Kuznetsov, Dahlman, &038 serviceman Bank Institute 2008, p. 61). McCallum (2008, p. 72) claims that organisational productivity is a function of the morale of the workers. For this productivity to remain on the higher side, it is important that the morale of the workers be kept at the highest possible level. Failure to motivate the morale of the workers will result in a drop in both quality and bar of organisational productivity. In fact Hardy (2011, p. 13) supports this position b y suggesting that employee morale and productivity always go together. Therefore industrial relations as a factor that affects organisational productivity influences the production process in many ways. For mannikin during times of industrial disputes or when the employees are on a go slow, productivity will not be affected in terms of loss of labour alone because there are other everlasting work stoppages, machines and other variable and fixed capitals will not be fully utilised and this will result in low level of output and raise the average cost. The refusal to work in overtime by the trade unions also results in loss of revenue because overtime is meant to increase organisational production capacity. Strength, wanness, opportunities and threats of GermanyThe fig up analysis is a strategical management shaft of light used for identifying and categorising the significant internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) factors that face an organi sation, territory, city or even a country (Bhatia 2008, p. 55). The analysis provides strategic data that can be used in matching organisational resources with the competitive environment in which it is operating. This matching is of importance in making strategic decisions for optimising organisational performance. Struck (2011, p. 31) suggests that the SWOT analysis is important in helping the organisations to direct their actions to match the strengths with opportunities presented by the environment and ward off the threats as well as taste ways of overcoming the weaknesses. Then analysis id not a foresight attempt but just a good starting point for strategic decision making which organisations can use in designing and perspective products and services . The following section analyses the SWOT of Germany. The findings expose that despite its strength in areas like ability to innovate, great willingness to engage in sovereign training and good infrastructure, the country still has some serious weaknesses to overcome. These problems arise mainly from the program line sector such as schools adoption and use of new information and talk technology tools and high levels of unemployment. Germany has its own strong areas especially regarding the implementation of knowledge in the society. The country has a flexible, well trained and innovative workface. In addition to this the society has very scant(p) income disparities and good quality of life. However because of the aforementioned weaknesses, the country runs the risk of having a poorly educated custody in the future which could negatively impact its innovation ability and economic strength. Furthermore, the high rates of unemployment will have-to doe with to prevent economic growth.Strengths Ability to innovate Good access to wideband Flexible terms of work which is acceptable to manyWeaknesses A weak training system that is lagging behind in terms of adapting and using new information technology tool s Rising rates of unemploymentOpportunities Good quality of life Flexible and well trained workforce Little income disparitiesThreats lavishly rates of unemployment is limiting economic growth The new generation workforce is poorly educatedConclusionThis paper has discussed the importance of industrial relations and its effects on the production process and the economy of a country. The findings reveal that good industrial relations are a prerequisite for industrial development because in its absence, the workers will lack the necessary motivation and the morale that they require to be able to produce at the optimal levels. Globalisation and corporate governance are changing industrial relations across the globe and as such it is wise for countries to invest in education and innovation so that their employees can meet the demands of the international labour standards. testimony and implementation strategiesWith the continued advancement of the effects of globalisation, past mechan isms like labour regulations are increasingly being rendered irrelevant. Therefore countries need to invest in empowering their workforce with the appropriate skills required for innovation and productivity through their education systems. The school system should be well integrated with information and communication tools so that the students engage actively with technology and in the process be able to innovate and bring forward ways of improving the production process.ReferencesBamber, G. (2010). Regulating Employment Industrial Relations and Labour constabulary worldwide Co. Kluwer Law Intl.Bhatia, S. K. (2008). 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