Employment Relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employment Relationship - Essay Example What above discussion suggests is the fact that the conflict is an inherent and often permanent element in the equation of employment relations as despite being agreed on trading off the job security with the loyalty to be shown to the employers, employees still consider a degree of conflict in their relationship with employers. This however, further depend upon the relative degree of conflict in the employment relations as such conflict may between the different layers of employees as well as the employers/management. The term industrial relation potentially defines the relationship between the workers/employees and the management of the organization. Earlier efforts on defining the industrial relations concentrated on defining the industrial relations in terms of "processes of control over work relations" (Hills). This definition therefore set up the tome of industrial relations in terms of the defining as to how the work relations are controlled within an organization. The emergence of the term Industrial Relations happened during the decade of 1920s due to enormous increase in industrial activity in US and UK. However, over the period of time, its interpretation as well as name has changed from Industrial Relations to Personnel Management and from Personnel Management to Human Resource Management. Despite such change, it is critical to understand that the basic theoretical thrust behind the concept has remained same i.e. management of people. (Edwards). Edwards is also of the opinion that sinc e the industrial relations are basically responsible for the employment management therefore a better representation of the term Industrial Relations can also be Employment relation. The representation of the workers is achieved through the formation of a collective bargaining agent or unions which often negotiate the nature of relationship between workers and the management of the firm. It is also critical to understand that the degree of industrial relations may vary at everyone functional level i.e. they may have different dynamics when viewed at the shop/floor level whereas the intensity and significance may greatly vary when the same is dealt much higher level of employment relations. Further, the degree and variability of industrial relations also depend upon the relative technological strengths of the employers as with the advancement in technology, many jobs may be rendered as redundant and many workers may loose their jobs due to technological change. Employment Relations Employment relationships need to be viewed in two perspectives i.e. from the point of view of the employee and the employer. For an employee, employment is an obvious source of income and a way to achieve the social recognition and identity. Thus the term employment relations not only have the economic influence, but it also carries a social orientation due to the different softer issues involved in the process. (Bamber,