1.1 BACKGROUNGD OF THE STUDY
Industrial harmony refers to a friendly and cooperative agreement on working relationships between employers and employees for their mutual benefit (Laden, 2012). According to Puttapalli and Vuram (2012), industrial harmony is concerned with the relationship between management and employees with respect to the terms and conditions of employment and the work place. In effect, it is a situation where employees and management cooperate willingly in pursuit of the organization’s aims and objectives.
In the words of Lester, “Industrial harmony involve attempts at arriving at solutions between the conflicting objectives and values; between the profit motive and social gain; between discipline and freedom, between authority and industrial democracy; between bargaining and co-operation; and between conflicting interests of the individual, the group and the organization.
The term ‘industrial harmony’ comprises of two terms; ‘industrial’ and ‘harmony’. Industrial refers to any productive activity in which an individual or a group of individuals is (are) engaged. ‘Harmony’ that means the peaceful co-existence within the industry between employee and management which stems directly or indirectly from union employer relationship. The relationships that arise at and out of the organizations are form to promote their respective interests at all levels. Industrial harmony also includes the processes through which these relationships are expresses (such as, collective bargaining, workers’ participation indecision making, and grievance and dispute settlement), and the management of conflict between employers and worker when it arises.
Individuals are part of an outgoing but independent social system. The behavior, actions and role of the individuals are shape by the cultures of the organization or society, the value system and other characteristics of the organization influence the process and determine the outcome or response of the individuals. J. P. Dunlop 1958. According to Dunlop, the industrial relations system comprises certain actors, certain contexts, and ideology, which binds them together and a body of rules created to govern the actors in the organization. The actors in the systems are the managers, the workers and representative.
The roles of employers in enhancing industrial harmony in organizations have received wide attention in the literature of industrial relations. This is because many organizations in Nigeria are bedeviled with a myriad of industrial challenges caused by inefficient and ineffective management style or strained relationship between management and labour unions (Osamwonyi and Ugiagbe, 2013). Consequently, productivity in most organizations as comparatively been hampered due to frequent industrial conflict. Industrial harmony implies a healthy and cooperative working relationship between employers and employees. It is against this background that the researcher sees the subject matter: Industrial harmony and its impact on organizational performance in Nigeria Bottling Company Plc Kaduna.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In recent times, while most workers are on job, they do not produce more simply because of the un-healthy relationship they have with their fellow colleagues and employers. A recent study conducted by Blyton (2008) revealed that employees do not put up their best performances at workplaces when they are un-happy with management, government, or even their fellow colleagues. Bad employee-employer relationship results in strike actions and lockouts. All these actions taken by employees to display their grievances only do the organization harms than good, as productivity will be reduce drastically.
However, the pure state of harmony scarcely exists in organizations, as grievance between employees and management which erodes the set objectives of the organizations thus making productivity in the organizations comparatively hampered due to frequent industrial conflict and it intended negative consequences such as down toll, which will affect sales, patronage and profit margin.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY