The Changing System of Industrial Relations in Great Britain. by H. A. CleggReview by: A. W. J. ThomsonIndustrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Oct., 1981), pp. 128-129Published by: Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labor RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2523148 .

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128 INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS REVIEW

The Changing System of Industrial Relations in Great Britain. By H.A. Clegg. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1979. xi, 479 pp. N.p.

This is the third in a series of magisterial text- books on British industrial relations, the first having been edited in 1954 by Allan Flanders and Hugh Clegg and the second produced by Clegg alone in 1970. Like the others this book is, and will long remain, by far the best textbook in its field, as befits its author's personal standing. Clegg was not only a cofounder with Flanders of the "Oxford School," which has dominated the academic approach to the subject of industrial relations in Britain, but is also the foremost practitioner and influence on public debate in a period of continual trauma. As the main author of the Donovan Report, a member of the Na- tional Board for Prices and Incomes, chairman of the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal, a Council Member of the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service, and, most recently, chairman of the Comparability Commission, Clegg has been a direct participant in the whole series of institutional endeavors to reformu- late British industrial relations. As a result he knows more about industrial relations than any- body else in Britain, and the book manifests that fact. No one can read this book without learn- ing: it is massively comprehensive, authoritative, and informed, reflecting Clegg's unique position in Britain. Its comprehensiveness is within the existing traditions of the subject, however, and one wonders whether these should not be widened to encompass the changing role of in- dustrial relations in the economy.

The book consists of essentially two parts, one dealing with collective bargaining institutions at the lower levels and the other with industrial relations issues at the national level. The under- lying thesis is structuralist, with the central theme the consolidation and impact of work- place bargaining as the main driving force within the system. While this emphasis is cer- tainly acceptable, the process of change and the main instigators of change within the system are not adequately identified or analyzed, and this in a book that emphasizes the word "changing" in its title. It is arguable that whereas in the 1960s the main forces for change were those of the workgroup and shop steward, the 1970s have seen a reaction in which the initiative has been taken by management and the state. The main criticism of this book is that it lacks any real theory of management or the state.

At the local level, although many items of institutional change are discussed-such as the spread of formalization, the increased impor-

tance of the company level as a focus for bargain- ing, the spread of the checkoff, the vastly in- creased number of full-time conveners, and so on-there is little consideration of the cumula- tive impact of all this against the goals the Dono- van Commission set or of the implications for change in the future. A particular problem is the way management is treated. Most of the emphasis of the Donovan Report had been put on the need for managements, and especially boards of directors, to develop coherent policies for industrial relations, and one might ask how far this has gone. Yet there is virtually no dis- cussion of the company as a unit. Companies are examined basically in relation to their member- ship or non-membership in employer associa- tions. There are only three pages dealing with the non-federated companies, and although it is noted that "centralised negotiations and control over plant industrial relations has permitted some of these companies to make advances," the policy behind these "advances" is not pur- sued. Instead Clegg simply notes that the dif- ferences between such firms and federated firms has diminished and does not pursue the all- important issue of company strategy.

Clegg accepts that most of the changes are the result of company initiatives but just what their strategy has been or indeed might be in the future is not taken up, either descriptively or prescriptively, except for approval of a quota- tion urging employer solidarity. There is a chap- ter on managers and managerial techniques, but this is primarily concerned with the growth and numbers in personnel management and the range of techniques used by management; there is again only some three pages on management styles, attitudes, behavior, or goals in industrial relations. Clegg is not alone in avoiding the centrality of managerial strategy to the changing British system. The discipline is only now be- ginning to move away from its overconcentra- tion on unions and workshop organization as the focus of industrial relations, and much re- mains to be done.

The other half of the book deals with indus- trial relations issues above the company level. Again, there has been a great deal of change here, notably in the vast expansion of legislative inter- vention and more rounds of incomes policy. The chapter on the role of the state (which curiously includes descriptions of the roles of the Trades Union Congress and Confederation of British In- dustry) starts with the abstention of the law and the primacy of voluntary action, and the inter- ventionist policies in the legal and incomes policy areas are then seen as an attack on volun- tarism and a move away from the preferred norm. There is nothing approximating the theory or strategy of the modern state in indus-

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BOOK REVIEWS 129

trial relations, and there surely should be. The industrial relations system has become in- creasingly involved in the wider political and economic systems, and it is the implications of this that have forced intervention. The explana- tion of much of modern British industrial rela- tions requires a corporatist framework of the type put forward by Crouch of a weak state forced into negotiating with strong industrial parties. Incorporation has in fact become a positive if re- luctant governmental strategy for both main political parties in dealing with industrial relations, to be set alongside law, incomes policy, and promoting voluntary reconstruction. More- over, insofar as they are identified, these policies are seen as separate and treated as self-sufficient, whereas in practice the four have interacted with each other, often detrimentally.

In other words, industrial relations in Britain now needs a new framework of analysis, and there is nobody better placed than Clegg to de- velop this. He should, therefore, at least have included a chapter pulling together the various threads of the book, evaluating the overall ex- tent of change, and looking to the future.

A.W.J. Thomson Professor Department of Management Studies University of Glasgow

Creative Academic Bargaining: Managing Conflict in the Unionized College and Uni- versity. By Robert Birnbaum. New York: Teachers College Press, 1980. xviii, 270 pp. $19.95.

Despite its flaws, this book deserves a place in the library of all those with a serious interest in creative academic bargaining. Following a foreword by Clark Kerr, Birnbaum explains the potential for destructive conflict inherent in the context, antecedents, persons, and situational aspects of academic bargaining. The theme of the book emerges as the desirability and feasibility of creative academic bargaining. Part one con- cludes with a review of studies of groups in con- flict and cooperation.

Part two emphasizes practical applications. It begins with an evaluation of the tools of dispute resolution, including mediation, factfinding (the author is unfamiliar with the emerging use of mediation in factfinding), and arbitration. The book considers the tactics of creative bargaining and what Birnbaum terms the strate- gies of creative bargaining as they affect prob- lem-solving potential, third-party intervention, and structural approaches. Although these latter

chapters have an underlying strategic concept, they are operationally a compendium of tactical interventions, which include: (1) suggestions for improving bargaining and its environment de- rived from experimental work, and (2) a review of the meaning and possible application of num- erous approaches ranging from relationships by objectives and organization development to the work of such groups as the Armour Automation Committee and the Human Relations Commit- tee in basic steel. Birnbaum notes that readers may be inclined to turn to the section on applica- tions before reviewing the material on the the- oretical underpinnings to creative bargaining. He urges those who choose to move ahead to take the time to return to the conceptual orientation.

The value of this book lies in the wide-ranging coverage of its theoretical and applications con- tent. An opportunity is provided readers to understand the contributions of theorists who have studied conflict management and to adopt or adapt from the many tactical approaches discussed. The book successfully brings together a great variety of information relating to creative bargaining. Although its orientation is collec- tive bargaining in higher education, the book has considerable value for other bargainers.

Birnbaum is prescriptive and makes useful suggestions to facilitate creative bargaining. Problems arise occasionally when his ideas are unrealistic or his statements inaccurate. For example, Birnbaum rightfully points out that administration opposition to a faculty attempt to organize may prejudice the future relation- ship between the parties. He is aware that we are in a post-Yeshiva world in academia and that management generally is increasingly resistant to unionism; nevertheless he suggests that ad- ministrations routinely adopt a hands-off approach to faculty unionization attempts. This is simply not likely. Birnbaum also notes that theory indicates the desirability of some dis- sension among the members of a bargaining team. He then suggests that academic bargain- ing, with its tradition of joint governance activi- ties on many campuses, could be more effective if the administration were able to name some faculty personnel to the union bargaining com- mittee and the union were able to name a few helpful administrators to the management bar- gaining committee. Although Birnbaum quali- fies the suggestion by permitting the parties to select from a list supplied by the other side, the idea is unworkable in most cases. One note- worthy error occurs on page 107 where Birnbaum mentions that the National Labor Relations Board rather than the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is the source of mediation services. Although the book would have bene- fitted from a careful reading by a knowledgeable

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