Hierarchy or co-operation: labour-management relations in church institutions

Abstract

Aspects of industrial relations and internal co-ordination have been a major topic of empirical research in the German business enterprise sector. In contrast, there are practically no empirical investigations into labour-management relations in third sector institutions. The largest share of this sector in Germany is represented by the two Christian churches with presently about 900,000 employees. According to the notion of church officials, labour-management relations in these institutions are characterised by a specific normative concept which emphasises a trustful co-operation of all employees in the mission of the church. The major concern of our research project focused on the question whether the specific conditions of employment within church institutions favour more hierarchical or more co-operative forms of co-ordination and how employees and employee representatives perceive the 'ideal of the community of service' (Dienstgemeinschaftsgedanke).The results of our research lead to the conclusion that church labourmanagement relations are characterised by a remarkable contrast between the participative or co-operative notion of the ideal of the 'community of service' and present forms of hierarchical co-ordination inside church institutions.

Private Funds, Public Purpose

“…Instead, modem leadership accepts conflicts, supports employees' participation in decision making, and offers possibilities for promotion. In the absence of structural distribution conflicts, the conditions for implementing participatory labor-management relations in foundations should be quite favorable (Beyer & Nutzinger, 1993).…”

“…Additionally, the philanthropic "mission" guiding foundations' orientation gives rise to a specific operational culture (Beyer & Nutzinger, 1993). As a result of their normative character, foundations have the chance to develop an internal organization that is characterized by a high degree of identification and motivation.…”