Psychology of union - management relations

The primary aim of this book is to analyze some of the cognitive and dynamic processes within the human personality which contribute to the occurrence of industrial disputes. This analysis focuses on psycho logical processes, without denying the relevance of economic, technologi cal, and other influences. We, our colleagues, and many industrialists have found this way of thinking about union-management interactions to be stimulating and valuable. Psychology of Union Management Re lations is not offered as a guidebook to practical day-to-day industrial relations activities, nevertheless, we would hold that wise decisions de pend upon the kinds of psychological understanding proposed here.

As industrialists are fond of stating, we have now triumphed over problems of production. The United States, for example, could, if the decision were made, flood the world with food, with automobiles, with television sets, with all kinds of consumer goods. Yet no one has re solved the problem of how to distribute such an abundance, and from time to time the productive process grinds to a halt, ainly because hu man beings do not conform to the neat requirements of the engineers. Outstanding, in the public view at least, are work stoppages due to union-management disputes; while these disputes represent only a modest fraction of the total production loss due to human errors, such as ineptness, emotionality, and rigidity, psychologists nevertheless have an obligation to study the human factors involved in union-management disputes and to offer insight, if not always immediate practical solutions.