Essay on Conflicts in Employment Relations: Theories and Analysis

This essay delves into the multifaceted realm of conflicts within employment relations. It begins by defining the field as a multidisciplinary study encompassing the relationships between employers, employees, trade unions, and the state. The core argument revolves around the inherent presence of conflicts, primarily viewed through the lens of the pluralist perspective, which acknowledges the diverse interests of various groups within an organization, leading to inherent conflicts. The essay contrasts this with the unitarist perspective, which posits a homogeneity of interests and downplays the role of trade unions. It explores Dunlop's system theory, which highlights the importance of rules, contexts, and ideologies in shaping employment relations. The analysis underscores the positive and negative aspects of conflicts, emphasizing the need for negotiation and compromise to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes for both employees and employers. The essay concludes by highlighting the significance of recognizing differing interests and the role of trade unions in facilitating constructive dialogue and agreements.

Running head: CONFLICTS IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
CONFLICTS IN EMPLOYMENT REALTIONS
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CONFLICTS IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
Employment relations are a multidisciplinary field that studies the relations between the
employers and employees of the organization, between the employers and state and also the trade
unions. The main aim of the paper is to argue on the conflicts in employment relations (Abbott,
Mackinnon and Fallon 2016).
According to the Pluralist point of view, there are different groups of people in the
organization and therefore there are different interests of the people belonging to these groups
and as a result conflict will occur (Mzangwa 2015). Therefore this theory focuses on the
assumptions that conflicts are inherent in the employment relations. This theory is based on
collective bargaining and compromise between the different groups which have different interest
and that ultimately leads to conflicts in the organization and it primarily occurs between the trade
unions and management. This approach also considers the existence of trade unionism in the
industry in order to solve conflicts. This theory is of the view that conflicts and negotiations are
important in employment relations. The companies that follow this approach consider
negotiation as an important part of employment relations because it helps in reaching an
agreeable solution between the different groups of people engaged and therefore provides
benefits to both the employees and the employers. The Dunlop’s theory also recognized the
existence of a set of rules to be implemented by the government and also the existence of three
groups in order maintain appropriate employment relations and recognized the existence of
different contexts, factors and an ideology that binds all the group together.

2CONFLICTS IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
Figure 1: Dunlop’s System theory
Source: (Dunlop and Segrave 2016)
On the other hand, the Unitarist theory is based on the assumption that all the groups of
the organization have same interest and therefore there exists homogeneity in their practises also.
According to this theory, the trade unions are not required by organizations because there is
already mutual cooperation between the employees and the employers. The theory assumes that
there are some common gaols that determine the activities of the organization and the loyalty of
the employees and the employers towards the organization determine their activities. All those
companies follow the Uniatarist view create their organization culture based on the sense of

3CONFLICTS IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
cooperation and coordination and therefore it allows thee employees to focus on the common
gaols. However, this approach fails to recognize the existence of conflicts in organizations. Since
this approach fails to understand the differences in interest between the different groups therefore
there are chances of misunderstanding between the employers and the employees.
Therefore from the above discussion, it can be concluded that conflicts in the
employment relations have their own positive and negative sides. If conflicts are not there in the
organization then it means the existence of some common goals, in such cases employees may
feel that their interests are not bring considered by the organization. If too much of conflict is
there in an organization then it may have a negative impact on the work since the two groups
may fail to reach any agreement. However, the existence of conflicts in employment relations
emphasises on the fact that there are different groups and these different group have different
interests and a trade union can help in negotiating that can be beneficial to both the employees
and the employers.

4CONFLICTS IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
References
Abbott, K., Mackinnon, B.H. and Fallon, P., 2016. Understanding employment relations. OUP
Catalogue.
Dunlop, J. and Segrave, M., 2016. The theory of wage determination. Springer.
Mzangwa, S.T., DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS. CORPORATE OWNERSHIP & CONTROL, p.184.