Difference Between Pluralism And Unitarist Theory

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Register to read the introduction… In pluralism the organization is perceived as being made up of powerful and divergent sub-groups, each with its own legitimate loyalties and with their own set of objectives, interests and leaders. Fox (1966) argued that this gives rise to “a complex of tensions and competing claims which have to be “managed” in the interests of maintaining a viable collaborative structure”. 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. There will therefore inevitably be continuous tensions within the organisation arising from conflicts of interest and loyalties which requires management by a variety of role players or representatives, procedures, processes and specialist institutions. In contrast to the unitarist theory, pluralism views conflict as a naturally occurring phenomenon in organisations. It is seen as both rational and inevitable. It is accepted as a characteristic of organisations which arises from different perspectives and interests between the different groups and individuals in a society. Trade unions are recognized as legitimate representatives of employees which can enable groups of employees to influence management decisions. Conflict is dealt by collective bargaining, which, if managed successfully, can in fact be channeled towards evolution and positive change. Therefore ‘greater stability is given to IR by Collective Bargaining than by shackling and outlawing trade unions’ (Clegg 1975). In the past in Southern Asia the focus was on achieving economic efficiency and less on achieving better rights for workers. Unions were viewed as potential obstacles that could get in the way of economic development and little emphasis was placed on industrial …show more content…
The unitarist theory is unrealistic in its outlook. It assumes that organisations will be ‘harmonious and integrated’ and views conflict as abnormal whereas in today’s society conflict is seen as a naturally occurring phenomenon. One of the major weaknesses of this theory is that it does not acknowledge the fact that employees and employers will have different objectives which is one of the main reasons for industrial conflicts. The Marxist theory is considered to be outdated as the whole nature of the class conflict has changed, as a result of contemporary society, ‘with its mixed economy and welfare state, is now more open and socially mobile’, (Wallace, Gunnigle and McMahon 2004). The theory which in my opinion is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory of industrial relations is the Pluralist theory. This theory has been in pole position in western societies for over thirty years. In today’s environment it is the most realistic theory as it assumes conflict is inevitable and recognizes that both employees and employers will have different objectives unlike the unitarist theories beliefs. It is now recognized that better managed industrial relations programmes and cooperation with trade unions can seriously impact on the prevention of disputes, increase productivity, quality and the motivation of workers within organisations and help to align employee objectives with the organisations

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