Four Schools of Thought

There are four different broad views about how we should engage in the labor relations process. These are referred to as schools of thought. Each school of thought is based on a series of assumptions about the importance of the three goals of the labor relations process, how to achieve those goals, the purpose of work, and the level of and locus of workplace conflict. 

The four schools of thought are the following:

• the neoliberal school of thought (also referred to as the mainstream school of economics),
• the human resource management school of thought,
• the industrial relations school of thought, and
• the critical industrial relations school of thought.

 

The Neoliberal School of Thought

This assumes that the role of work is simply to produce goods and services as efficiently as possible and to create profit and growth. The value of an employee lies in what they can contribute to that process. They assume that all interests in the labor relations process are balanced through a competitive marketplace—in particular the labor market.

 

The Human Resource Management School of Thought

This school recognizes the value of employees beyond what they contribute to their workplace. This school of thought assumes that there is no real inherent conflict between employees and employers. While this school of thought recognizes that the labor market does create the labor problem, it believes that the source of this problem is bad management. It believes that good management can always resolve these problems but also believes that unions might need to exist to address the bad managers/companies. It recognizes employee voice as being important and  believes that this is best accomplished through open-door policies of good management.

 

The Industrial Relations School of Thought 

This school of thought most clearly matches the legal system of labor relations in the United States. Those who follow this school of thought recognize an inherent conflict between workers and management. The view of this conflict is that it is pluralistic, with some shared interests and others that are in conflict. For those who follow this school of thought, they see the primary locus of conflict at the organizational or firm level. They believe that worker voice is important and that collective bargaining is the best means of ensuring such voice and resolving conflicts.  

 

The Critical Industrial Relations School of Thought 

The critical industrial relations school of thought is often aligned with socialism or Marxism. Those who follow this school of thought believe that workers have commonly shared interests that are in conflict with the ownership or management class. Those who follow this school of thought believe that the best way to resolve the labor problem is through worker ownership of the means of production. 

 

Test the Assumptions

We can test these assumptions through outcomes.

Are nonunion workers’ problems solved, or does the labor problem persist? Are there still issues around wages, benefits, safe working conditions, hours, job security, and other terms and conditions of employment? Has the marketplace resolved these issues? Does good management or the presence of HRM resolve these issues? 

Do labor unions resolve these problems?