Labor management studies the employment relationship between organizational managers and supervisors and their employees. Labor management includes the research and publication of information relating to collective bargaining, trade unionism, and disapline and grievance handlings¹.
Labor management has its history in the Industrial Revolution of the modern economy. The Industrial Revolution created the ability for a worker to sell their labor to an organization for money². Low wages, dangerous working conditions, and longs hours led to strikes, employee turnover, and social instability among the working classes². Labor management was formed with the idea that negotiation and problem solving could help with the modern problems of class revolution².
Furthermore, labor relations also deals with the formation, organization, and regulation of trade unions. The number of unions has been on the decline for many years and it is becoming increasingly harder to form unions, especially since the financial meltdown in 2008². The collective bargaining process is a key part of labor management. Collective bargaining works to reach an agreement with management for all employees and workers¹. It focuses on such issues as wages, working hours, promotions, benefits, and other employment terms¹.
Governments influence labor relations via laws, economic policy, rules, and agreements¹. The extent to which a government influences labor laws is dependent upon many factors, of which some include: openness of the government, corruption of officials towards big business, and health and safety views.
References:
1. Labour Management Relations. Retrieved from ttp://www.questia.com/library/sociology-and-anthropology/labor-and-work/labor-management-relations
2. Kaufman, Bruce E. (March 2007). The Global Evolution of Industrial Relations. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5805384