MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Conclusions
Teamworking in UNiFI is something that, as mentioned earlier, has
been a corporate initiative, particularly in the setting up of the new
organisation. The initiative has involved staff from across the union
working together to achieve specific outcomes – some of which have
been particularly impressive. It has not been wholly successful and
there are suggestions that it has fallen by the wayside but it has been a
significant component of life in UNiFI and has given responsibility to
staff at all levels, including women in secretarial grades who were given
responsibility for many aspects of team working. It does suggest, too,
that there is a positive approach to working in teams within the union,
for which there is evidence of imaginative managerial actions.
Managing Action
The Joint General Secretary of UNiFI expresses some interesting
views on the nature of leadership and on his own progression from
‘doing’ to ‘leading’. He sees trade union leadership as involving
innovation, communication and motivation – all, one could suggest, on
the ‘soft’ side of the role. He also uses the word ‘vision’ a number of
times, imputing a strategic focus. This at least is a coherent attempt to
identify what the subject is all about, even if it is not an exclusive
definition. It also brings together internal and external roles to some
extent.
Other managers point to the external relationship, with the members,
as being important, something which is implicitly included within the
Joint General Secretary’s observations but in a more generalised
sense. Nevertheless, it is not possible to identify a consensus around
the ideas.
Legitimate Managerial Actions
Stakeholder Management
Despite a small number of reservations, managers in UNiFI seek to
manage their relationships with the lay structure. There are perceptions
that lay members themselves do not value them but they see
relationships as improved and improving and something to which they
can contribute. Some managers can define clear boundaries – for
example relating to the lack of power for lay members to become
involved in staffing matters.
However, the boundaries most often referred to by UNiFI managers
relate to the autonomy of company committees and for this reason the
Rule Book, which defines those boundaries, is flagged up as an
important component of management in the union. In a sense, this
issue transcends other boundary management tasks and provides a
focus for UNiFI managers in their relationships with lay members.
Modes of Management
UNiFI managers describe styles of management as almost exclusively
people centred – inclusive, avoiding confrontation, supportive,
facilitating, consensual and arbitrating. Some of these descriptions may
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