BUIRA-WhatsthePointofIndustrialRelations教程.pdfVIP

z VI WHATS THE POINT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS? A Statement by the British Universities Industrial Relations Association * Introduction Industrial relations has been a subject of scholar ly ana lysis (and also publi c policy debate) since the end of the nineteenth century, when the Webbs published their classic studies of the regulat ion of employment in Britain. The first British university professorships in the subject were created in 1930, with an endowment by the industrialist Mon tague Burton. The British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BU IRA) was founded in 1950 and subsequent decades saw a rapid expansion in departments and (ourses in the subject. But some critics argue that academic industrial relations is now outdated; e ither the problems of the human factor in work have all been solved, or they are better addressed by new approaches such as human resource management (HRM) or organisationa l behaviour (OB). We strongly disag ree; and in thi s paper we explain the intellectua l, moral and also po licy arguments for ou r distinctive approach to work and employment, and the reasons why our research and teaching are indee d more important than ever in the twenty-first centu ry. Teac hi ng and research in industrial relat ions involve the study of work and employment relation ships in all th ei r forms. These relationships involve managements and empl oyees but are shaped by forces well beyond the individual workplace: for example the policies of the state, t he patterns of internationa l trade, the dynamics of capital markets, the lin kages between paid work and other aspects of peoples life experiences . The study of industrial relations entai ls a wide-ranging analysis of the past, the present and the future of work _ It