Conflict And Control In The Workplace

3. Workplaces are organized differently, workers are managed differently and industrial relations have different rules in some European countries. Can we learn anything from these societies that would lead to higher productivity and less conflict in North American workplaces.

In North America the spread of industrial democracy is relatively low. Due to the fact that most employers just strive to avoid strikes, also they have no interest in sharing power evenly. Furthermore unions are not very supportive with those views and methods. A lot can be adopted and learned from some European countries. For instance Germany, where workers are given the right to elect representatives to speak on their behalf, they sit in corporate boards, to consult regarding technological changes and more grassroots. The German legislation has made it mandatory to elect a representative but in doing so it lets the workers know that their concerns are being heard. Even for North American companies to adopt this would greatly reduce conflict. This idea was implemented from the German model of codetermination, which requires the employers to advise and consult with works councils about plans to introduce new technologies, restructure work, and reallocate workers to different tasks or location or lay off workers. Although Germany has good management, their methods do not prevent strikes from occurring.

On the other hand Sweden, another European country where the motivation for industrial democracy is totally different. They consist of remarkably strong unions along with strong governing social democratic party to constantly improve employment condition and offer more worker rights. Policies are implemented to contribute to the strong employment conditions and rights, for example a wage policy based on the concept of equal pay for equal work and remove pay differentials among regions, industries and firms. Also having lower wages for everyone eliminates inequality and stimulates the