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MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

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Cognitive rules and culture<br />

What we are taking in, in the main, is the best crop of people<br />

who work in trade unions. This means that we are choosing<br />

from only half of the working population. In effect, we are not<br />

joining from 6 million, we are joining from 5000 activists. So the<br />

gene pool is not altering at all. (Interviewee N)<br />

Another concern is not directed to quality of staff so much as to the<br />

quality of aspects of management:-<br />

There is not a lot of support for people trying to manage. It sort<br />

of happens, magically. I think trade unions are getting better<br />

that there is still a feeling that people are placed in a position<br />

and they sprout skills. (Interviewee J)<br />

Despite this, there is no identifiable perception that lack of training<br />

affects the ability of managers to do their jobs, possibly because a<br />

culture of staff development has been in place as a result of the<br />

journeys made by UNiFI and BIFU before it towards Investors in<br />

People status.<br />

There is, however, a perception amongst some managers that lay<br />

member involvement does constrain managerial behaviour. It is not<br />

always, though, seen in negative terms:-<br />

Although you could say that the democratic process is a<br />

constraint, I would not classify it as that. It is part and parcel of<br />

the job. To be a good manager you have to manage that. You<br />

need to understand that and if you can't manage it you can't do<br />

the job (Interviewee E)<br />

Managerial perceptions here range from the specific:-<br />

I think in terms of a trade union, sometimes you think that in all<br />

honesty you wish that it was full time officials who appointed<br />

staff and not the lay structure. (Interviewee O)<br />

The thing that stops me managing the way I would want to<br />

manage is the interface with the democracy. And also the<br />

interface with the staff bodies. (interviewee N)<br />

to the mildly frustrated:-<br />

The political process is used for everything, isn't it? The most<br />

minor of changes and then we wonder why we can't run the<br />

trains on time. (Interviewee G)<br />

to the rather antagonistic:-<br />

It seems to me that they all have their own agendas to work to<br />

but I think that is just the nature of lay people working in unions<br />

222

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