Using results from an empirical study of four trade union branches, evidence is presented to show that over time, activist attitudes towards management become more favourable, and views of rank and file members less favourable. These results are then supplemented by further information which explains why these attitude changes could have taken place. Finally, it is argued that the results give little support for the idea of incorporation and that changing attitude patterns were more indicative of bargaining relationships between activists and managers which had matured and become stronger with time.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arnold, H.J. (1981) `A Test of the Multiplicative Hypothesis of Expectancy - Valence Theories of Work Motivation' , Academy of Management Journal, 24, 128-141 .
2.
Batstone, E. , Boraston, I. & Frenkel, S. (1977) Shop Stewards in Action: Organisation of Workplace Conflict and Accommodation, Oxford: Blackwell .
3.
Boraston, I. , Clegg, H. & Rimmer, M. (1975) Workplace and Union: A Study of Local Relationships in Fourteen Trade Unions, London: Heineman .
4.
Brosnan, P. (1973) `Predicting Worker Preferences' , British Journal of Industrial Relations, 11, 42-61 .
5.
Brown, W. (1981) The Changing Contours of British Industrial Relations: A Survey in Manufacturing Industry, Oxford: Blackwell .
6.
Brown, W. , Ebsworth, R. & Terry, M. (1978) `Factors Shaping Shop Steward Organisation in Britain' , British Journal of Industrial Relations, 16, 139-158 .
7.
Clegg, H.A. (1979) The Changing System of Industrial Relations in Great Britain, Oxford: Blackwell .
8.
Daniel, W.W. & Millward, N. (1983) Workplace Industrial Relations in Great Britain: the D.E./P.S.I./S.S.R.C. Survey, London: Heineman .
9.
Dubin, R. (1973) `Attachment to Work and Union Militancy' , Industrial Relations, 12, 51-64 .
10.
Edwards, C. & Heery, E. (1985) `The Incorporation of Workplace Trade Unionism: Some Evidence From the Mining Industry' , Sociology, 19, 345-363 .
11.
England, J. (1981) `Shop Stewards in Transport House: A Comment on the Incorporation of the Rank and File' , Industrial Relations Journal, 12, 16-29 .
12.
Howells, J. & Brosnan, P. (1972) `The Ability to Predict Workers Preferences: A Research Note' , Human Relations, 25, 265-281 .
13.
Howells, J. & Woodfield, A. (1970) `The Ability of Managers and Union Officers to Predict Worker Preferences' , British Journal of Industrial Relations, 8, 237-251 .
14.
House, R. (1971) `A Path-Goal Theory of Leader Effectiveness' , Administrative Science Quarterly, 16, 321-338 .
15.
Hyman, R. (1971) Marxism and the Sociology of Trade Unionism, London: Pluto .
16.
Hyman, R. (1978) `Comment' , British Journal of Sociology, 29, 461-463 .
17.
Hyman, R. (1979) `The Politics of Workplace Trade Unionism: Recent Tendencies and some Problems for Theory' , Capital and Class, 8, 54-67 .
18.
Hyman, R. (1983) `Trade Unions: Structure, Policies and Politics' in G.S. Bain (ed.) Industrial Relations in Britain, Oxford: Blackwell , 35-65.
19.
Lane, T. (1982) `The Unions: Caught on the Ebb Tide', Marxism Today.
20.
Lawler, E. & Levin, E. (1968) `Union Officers Perceptions of Members Pay Preferences' , Industrial and Labour Relations Review, 24, 509-517 .
21.
Michels, R. (1915) Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies in Modern Democracy, (English Edition) Glencoe: Free Press .
22.
Millward, N. & Stevens, M. (1986) British Workplace Industrial Relations 1980-84, London: Gower .
23.
Moore, R. (1980) `The Motivation to Become a Shop Steward' , British Journal of Industrial Relations, 18, 91-98 .
24.
Nicholson, N. (1976) `The Role of the Shop Steward: An Empirical Case Study' , Industrial Relations Journal, 7, 15-26 .
25.
Nicholson, N. , Ursell, G. & Blyton, P. (1980) `Social Background Attitudes and Behaviour of White Collar Shop Stewards' , British Journal of Industrial Relations, 18, 231-239 .
26.
Purcell, J. (1979) `The Lessons of the Commission on Industrial Relations Attempts to Reform Workplace Industrial Relations' , Industrial Relations Journal, 10, 4-22 .
27.
Rollinson, D. (1987) `Approaches to Issues of Job Regulation: A Study at Branch Level in a White Collar Public Sector Trade Union', PhD. Thesis, University of Aston.
28.
Schuller T. & Robertson, D. (1983) `How Representatives Allocate Their Time: Shop Steward Activity and Membership Contact' , British Journal of Industrial Relations, 21, 330-342 .
29.
Shafto, T. (1983) `The Growth of Shop Steward Managerial Functions' in Thurley, K. & Wood, S. (eds.) Management Strategy and Industrial Relations, London: Cambridge University Press , 45-52.
30.
Terry, M. (1983) `Shop Steward Development and Managerial Strategies' in G.S. Bain (ed.) Industrial Relations in Britain, Oxford: Blackwell , 67-91.
31.
Undy, R. , Ellis, V. , McCarthy, W.E.J. & Halmos, A.M. (1981) Change in Trade Unions: The Development of U.K. Unions Since the 1960's, London: Hutchinson .
32.
Vroom, V. (1964) Work and Motivation, New York: Wiley .
33.
Willman, P. (1983) `Leadership and Trade Union Principles: Some Problems of Sponsorship and Independence' , Industrial Relations Journal, 11, 39-49 .
