HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

APPROACHES TO INDUSTRIAL RELATION:
Industrial conflicts are the results of several socio-economic, psychological and political factors. Various lines of thoughts have been expressed and approaches used to explain his complex phenomenon. One observer has stated, “An economist tries to interpret industrial conflict in terms of impersonal markets forces and laws of supply demand. To a politician, industrial conflict is a war of different ideologies – perhaps a class-war. To a psychologist, industrial conflict means the conflicting interests, aspirations, goals, motives and perceptions of different groups of individuals, operating within and reacting to a given socio-economic and political environment”.

Psychological approach

The problems of IR have their origin in the perceptions of the management, unions and the workers. The conflicts between labour and management occur because every group negatively perceives the behaviour of the other i.e. even the honest intention of the other party so looked at with suspicion. The problem is further aggravated by various factors like the income, level of education, communication, values, beliefs, customs, goals of persons and groups, prestige, power, status, recognition, security etc are host factors both economic and non-economic which influence perceptions unions and management towards each other. Industrial peace is a result mainly of proper attitudes and perception of the two parties.

Sociological approach

Industry is a social world in miniature. The management goals, workers’ attitudes, perception of change in industry, are all, in turn, decided by broad social factors like the culture of the institutions, customs, structural changes, status-symbols, rationality, acceptance or resistance to change, tolerance etc. Industry is, thus inseparable from the society in which it functions. Through the main function of an industry is economic, its social consequences are also important such as urbanization, social mobility, housing and transport problem in industrial areas, disintegration of family structure, stress and strain, etc. As industries develop, a new industrial-cum-social pattern emerges, which provides general new relationships, institutions and behavioural pattern and new techniques of handling human resources. These do influence the development of industrial relations.

Human relations approach

Human resources are made up of living human beings. They want freedom of speech, of thought of expression, of movement, etc. When employers treat them as inanimate objects, encroach on their expectations, throat-cuts, conflicts and tensions arise. In fact major problems in industrial relations arise out of a tension which is created because of the employer’s pressures and workers’ reactions, protests and resistance to these pressures through protective mechanisms in the form of workers’ organization, associations and trade unions.

Through tension is more direct in work place; gradually it extends to the whole industry and sometimes affects the entire economy of the country. Therefore, the management must realize that efforts are made to set right the situation. Services of specialists in Behavioural Sciences (namely, psychologists, industrial engineers, human relations expert and personnel managers) are used to deal with such related problems. Assistance is also taken from economists, anthropologists, psychiatrists, pedagogists, tec. In resolving conflicts, understanding of human behavior – both individual and groups – is a pre-requisite for the employers, the union leaders and the government – more so for the management. Conflicts cannot be resolved unless the management must learn and know what the basic what the basic needs of men are and how they can be motivated to work effectively.

It has now been increasingly recognized that much can be gained by the managers and the worker, if they understand and apply the techniques of human relations approaches to industrial relations. The workers are likely to attain greater job satisfaction, develop greater involvement in their work and achieve a measure of identification of their objectives with the objectives of the organization; the manager, on their part, would develop greater insight and effectiveness in their work.

Occupational Hazards
A worker may be exposed to five types of hazards, depending upon his/her occupation: * Physical Hazards * Chemical Hazards * Biological Hazards * Mechanical Hazards * Psychosocial Hazards * Physical Hazards 1.Heat and Cold
In India, the most common physical hazard is heat. The direct effects of heat exposure are burns, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and heat cramps; the indirect effects are decreased efficiency, increased fatigue and enhanced accident rates. Many industries have local “hot spots” – ovens and furnaces, which radiate heat. Radiant heat is the main problem in foundry, glass and steel industries, while heat stagnation is the principal problem in jute and cotton textile.
Important hazards associated with cold work are chilblains, erythrocyanosis, immersion foot, and frostbite as a result of cutaneous vasoconstriction. General hypothermia is not unusual. 2. Light
The workers may be exposed to the risk of poor illumination or excessive brightness. The acute effects of poor illumination are eye strain, headache, eye pain, lachrymation, congestion around the cornea and eye fatigue. The chronic effects on health include “miners’s nystagmus”. Exposure to excessive brightness or “glare” is associated with discomfort, annoyance and visual fatigue. Intense direct glare may also result in blurring of vision and lead to accidents. There should be sufficient and suitable lighting, natural or artificial, wherever persons are working. 3. Noise
Noise is a health hazard in many industries. The effects of noise are of two types: (i) Auditory effects - which consist of temporary or permanent hearing loss (ii) Non-auditory effects – which consist of nervousness, fatigue, interference with communication by speech, decreased efficiency and annoyance.

The degree of injury from exposure to noise depends upon a number of factors such as intensity and frequency range, duration of exposure and individual susceptibility. 4. Vibration
Vibration, especially in the frequency range 10 to 500 Hz. May be encountered in work with pneumatic tools such as drills and hammers. Vibration usually affects the hands and arms. After some months or years of exposure, the fine blood vessels of the fingers may become increasingly sensitive to spasm (white fingers). Exposure to vibration may also produce injuries of the joints, of the hands, elbows and shoulders. 5. Ultraviolet Radiation
Occupational exposure to ultraviolet radiation occurs mainly in arc welding. Such radiation occurs mainly affects the eyes, causing intense conjunctivitis and keratitis (welder’s flash). Symptoms are redness of the eyes and pain, these usually disappear in a few days with no permanent effect on the vision or on the deeper structures of the eye. 6. Ionizing Radiation
Ionizing radiation is finding increasing application in medicine and industry, e.g. x-rays and radio active isotopes. Important radio-isotopes are cobalt60 and phosphorus32. Certain tissues such as bonemarrow are more sensitive than others and from a genetic standpoint, there are special hazards when the gonads are exposed. The radiation hazards comprise genetic changes, malformation, cancer, leukaemia, depilation, ulceration, sterility and in extreme cases death. The International Commission of Radiological Protection has set the maximum permissible level of occupational exposure at 5 rem per year to the whole body. * Chemical Hazards
There is hardly any industry which does not make use of chemicals. The chemical hazards are on the increase with the introduction of newer and complex chemicals. Chemical agents act in three ways: local action, inhalation and ingestion. The ill-effects produced depend upon the duration of exposure, the quantum of exposure and individual susceptibility. 1. Local Action
Some chemicals cause dermatitis, eczema, ulcers and even cancer by primary irritant action; some cause dermatitis by an allergic action. Some chemicals, particularly the aromatic nitro and amino compounds such as TNT and aniline are absorbed through the skin and cause systemic effects. Occupational dermatitis is a big problem in industry. 2. Inhalation (i) Dusts – Dusts are finely divided solid particles with size ranging from 0.1 to 150 microns. They are released into the atmosphere during crushing, grinding, abrading, loading and unloading operations. Dusts are produced in a number of industries – mines, foundry quarry, pottery, textile, wood or stone working industries. Dust particles larger than 10 microns settle down from the air rapidly, while the smaller ones remain suspended indefinitely. Particles smaller than 5 microns are directly inhaled into the lungs and are retained there. This fraction of the dust is called “respirable dust”, and is mainly responsible for pneumoconiosis. Dusts have been classified into inorganic and organic dusts; soluble and insoluble dusts. The inorganic dusts are silica, mica, coal, asbestos dust, etc.; the organic dusts are cotton, jute and the like. The soluble dusts dissolve slowly, enter the systemic circulation and are eventually eliminated by body metabolism. The insoluble dusts remain, more or less, permanently in the lungs. They are mainly the cause of pneumoconiosis. The most common dust diseases are silicosis and anthracosis (ii) Gases – Exposure to gases is a common hazard in industries. Gases are sometimes classified as simple gases (e.g. oxygen, hydrogen), asphyxiating gases (e.g. carbon monoxide, cyanide gas, sulphur dioxide, chlorine) and anesthetic gases (e.g. chloroform, ether, trichlorethylene). Carbon monoxide hazard is frequently reported in coal-gas manufacturing plants and steel industry. (iii) Metals and their Compounds – A large number of metals and their compounds are used throughout industry. The chief mode of entry of some of them is by inhalation as dust or fumes. The industrial physician should be aware of the toxic effects of lead, antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, manganese, mercury, phosphorus, chromium, zinc and others. The ill-effects depend upon the duration of exposure and the dose or concentration of exposure. Unlike the pneumoconiosis, most chemical intoxications respond favourably to cessation, exposure and medical treatment. 3. Ingestion
Occupational diseases may also result from ingestion of chemical substances such as lead, mercury, arsenic, zinc, chromium, cadmium, phosphorus, etc. Usually these substances are swallowed in minute amounts through contaminated hands, food or cigarettes. Much of the ingested material is excreted through faeces and only a small proportion may reach the general blood circulation. * Biological hazards
Workers may be exposed to infective and parasitic agents at the place of work. The occupational diseases in this category are brucellosis, leptospirosis, anthrax, hydatidosis, psittacosis, tetanus, encephalitis, fungal infections, schistosomiasis and a host of others. Persons working among animal products (e.g. hair, wool, hides) and agricultural workers are specially exposed to biological hazards. * Mechanical hazards
The mechanical hazards in industry centre round machinery, protruding and moving parts and the like. About 10% of accidents in industry are said to be due to mechanical causes. * Psychosocial hazards
The psychosocial hazards arise from the workers’ failure to adapt to an alien psychosocial environment. Frustration, lack of job satisfaction, insecurity, poor human relationships, emotional tension are some of the psychosocial factors which may undermine both physical and mental health of the workers. The capacity to adapt to different working environments is influenced by many factors such as education, cultural background, family life, social habits and what the worker expects from employment.
The health effects can be classified in two main categories – a) Psychological and behavioural changes – including hostility, aggressiveness, anxiety, depression, tardiness, alcoholism, drug abuse, sickness absenteeism b) Psychosomatic illhealth – including fatigue, headache; pain in the shoulders, neck and back; propensity to peptic ulcer, hypertension, heart disease and rapid aging.
The physical factors (heat, noise, poor lighting) play a major role in adding to or precipitating mental disorders among workers. The increasing stress on automation, electronic operations and nuclear energy may introduce newer psychosocial health problems in industry. Psychosocial hazards are there fore assuming more importance than physical or chemical hazards.