MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Cognitive rules and culture
operating as a trade union. In our meetings with CWU staff, the
issue of the previous two unions again came up frequently as a
point of discussion. When staff had problems they often referred
to the "different cultures" that resulted from the amalgamation of
the two previous unions as being a factor. Many staff referred to
a "golden age" in the previous unions when everyone" got
along" and was "happy", compared to the new organisation
located in Wimbledon. Frequently there appeared to be a "them
and us" situation. The "us" being the staff you worked with and
the others being "them". (Delivering on Equality, 2000)
So cultural issues relating to the union and its predecessors impact on
the cognitive processes of those working for the CWU, including its
managers. Individual experiences of managers are also significant in
impacting on those cognitive processes, in particular experiences of
management in their trade union careers, within and without the union.
There seems to be a recognition that arriving at a position that accepts
a management role, which most managers in the CWU do, is not an
easy journey:-
I think the truth is that trade union officials find management very
difficult. It's what managers do and they spend most of their lives
on the other side of the table from management……..You have
to remember that most of the officers of the union came up
through the ranks. They started as a telecoms technician or as a
postman. So they have had no training in management and their
whole experience of management is in negotiating and
sometimes in a very confrontational way. You can't be too
surprised if it doesn't come naturally, the idea of having
appraisal procedures and budgets and strategy. (Interviewee L)
It can perhaps be a very personal process:-
I don't know whether it spreads across all trade unions - I think it
probably does - that because they are elected people in that sort
of tradition where a lot of managers came from the trade union
movement themselves, - you know they've been activists and
then they are appointed - it is as if they can't admit that they
need to be trained to be managers. (Interviewee J)
A rather more graphic depiction of the experiences bearing on senior
trade union officials is:-
One of the difficulties in having elected officers -- and I'm now
elected though I didn't start off elected -- that jump very quickly
from executive to very senior positions is that there is nothing.
Their whole life has been pugilistically fighting for that position,
they come in and want to run the staff on the basis. (Interviewee
G)
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