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Partnership paradoxes : a case study of an energy company
journal contribution
posted on 2009-01-28, 14:41 authored by Stewart Johnstone, Adrian Wilkinson, Peter AckersThis paper presents the findings of a case study undertaken in a British utility
company, referred to as Energy Co. The main aim of the study was to assess how the
agreement of a partnership arrangement in 1995 had affected the conduct of
employment relations.
The study found that partnership was borne out of a poor industrial relations climate,
and driven primarily by management. They hoped that it might improve industrial
relations, raise employee commitment, inform and educate the workforce, and
increase employee contribution. Partnership was not intended to encourage joint
governance or power sharing. In practice, partnership combined direct EI such as
team briefing and problem solving groups, with representative participation through a
formal partnership council system.
Management suggested that, on balance, partnership had been successful, with
benefits including improved industrial relations, quicker pay negotiations and
increased legitimacy of decision-making. It was also suggested that there was a
positive link –albeit indirect and intangible –with organisational performance.
Union representatives also proposed that partnership was a success, citing benefits
including greater access to information, greater influence, inter-union co-operation,
and more local decision-making. Employee views were more mixed. There was also
clear evidence of several tensions. Four were particularly noteworthy: employee
apathy, management-representative relations, employee-representative relations and
the role of FTOs. Despite espoused partnership, management hostility to unions was
evident, and a preference for non-union employment relations clear. Consequently,
the future of the partnership in its current form is uncertain.
History
School
- Business and Economics
Department
- Business
Citation
JOHNSTONE, S., WILKINSON, A. and ACKERS, P., 2004. Partnership paradoxes : a case study of an energy company. Employee Relations, 26 (4), pp. 353-376Publisher
© Emerald Group Publishing LimitedVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publication date
2004Notes
This is article was published in the journal, Employee Relations [© Emerald Group Publishing Limited] and the definitive version is available at: www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/01425450410544470ISSN
0142-5455Language
- en