Deck 2: The Study of Employment Relations: Analytical Tools

Question 1

The three main parties who create and enforce the rules that regulate the employment relationship are:

A) the state, employers, and employment relations consultants.
B) the state, employers and employees.
C) the courts, employers and employees.
D) the state, employees and employment relations lawyers.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What is an informal workplace rule? Give an example.

Answer 2

Informal rules are unwritten agreements between parties, or even accepted social practices at work-often with unknown origins. Examples include unwritten agreements between union delegates and supervisors, such as free meals at certain times or locations.

Question 3

What is unilateral rule-making? Give an example.

Answer 3

This occurs when one party is able to create and enforce rules independently of the other parties, e.g. the exercise of managerial prerogative.

Question 4

Explain why Australia's compulsory conciliation and arbitration system could have been described as an example of multilateral rule-making.

Question 5

An example of a procedural rule is:

A) holiday entitlements.
B) working hours.
C) company practice for the recruitment or dismissal of employees.
D) All of the options given here are correct

Question 6

What are 'contexts' in the study of employment relations?

Question 7

Which of the following are examples of taxonomies in employment relations?

A) Formal rules versus informal rules
B) Pay versus conditions
C) Individual versus collective
D) Formal rules versus informal rules and individual versus collective

Question 8

What is 'agency', within a broader discussion about employment relations?

Question 9

Substantive rules are best described as:

A) the real terms under which employees are rewarded for selling their labour and the conditions under which they work.
B) the real terms under which employers are rewarded for providing employment opportunities and the conditions under which those jobs are provided.
C) governing the enforcement of all rules in a workplace.
D) governing the issues of substantial concern to employees.

Question 10

Which of the following is one of the ways that rules may be authored?

A) Unilateral rule-making
B) Bilateral rule-making
C) Multilateral rule-making
D) All of the options given here are correct

Question 11

Give an example each of formal and informal rules that regulate the employment relationship, and explain the differences between the two.

Question 12

Is it possible to develop causal explanation in employment relations? Explain.

Question 13

What is a formal workplace rule? Give an example.

Question 14

Taxonomies are:

A) classifications of employment-related taxes identifying impacts on employment levels across the whole economy.
B) classification systems identifying similar characteristics in diverse events or objects.
C) documents required by the tax office.
D) None of the options given here is correct

Question 15

Why is the authorship of rules so important in employment relations?

Question 16

Lewins' five levels of explanation are:

A) description, taxonomy, model, law and causal theory.
B) description, analysis, taxonomy, model and causal theory.
C) description, analysis, taxonomy, model and law.
D) values, taxonomy, model, law and causal theory.

Question 17

List the levels in the 'hierarchy of contexts' as outlined by the author.

Question 18

Dunlop's model suggests that all 'industrial relations systems' are comprised of:

A) three main actors who interact to produce rules, which regulate behaviour within a system and who operate within a larger context which influences this behaviour.
B) three main actors who interact in a systematic way, moderated by industrial relations tribunals.
C) None of the options given here is correct
D) three main actors who interact to produce rules which are then made formal through the industrial relations system.

Question 19

Why should we pay attention to the parties to rule-making in employment relations?

Question 20

What is the difference between bilateral and multilateral rule-making?

Question 21

Why is employment relations often described as multi-disciplinary?

Question 22

According to Lewins (1992), a model can be explained as what?

Question 23

List Dunlop's three interrelated contexts.

Question 24

List three of the criticisms of Dunlop's theoretical treatment of contexts.

Question 25

Why is an understanding of agency important in the study of employment relations?