GOOD INDUSTRIAL-RELATIONS, JOINT PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND HRM

Do new human resource management practices fit comfortably with the ex isting collective bargaining relationship in unionized establishments? This is a question of concern to researchers in many advanced industr ialized economies; this is particularly the case in Britain where huma n resource management practices are more a feature of the union, rathe r than nonunion, employment sector. The initial analysis of this paper , based on the 1990 national Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, in dicates that an index of human resource management practices is negati vely related to management reports of the quality of the existing empl oyee-management relationship in unionized establishments, in contrast to the position in nonunion establishments. This finding is consistent with some existing case study research which indicates that human res ource management practices are marginalizing the union-collective barg aining role in unionized organizations. However a case study of the pa per industry indicates that such marginalization does not occur if the existing relationship is more of a joint problem solving one.