Information and Knowledge Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online) Vol.3, No.6, 2013 34 The Role of Workplace Partnership Strategies in Employee Management Relations Naveed Saif PhD scholar Gomal University D.I Khan Tel: +92-333-9300811 Email: naveedsaif_naveedsaif@yahoo.com Nasir Razzaq PhD Scholar SZABIST Islamabad Tel: +92-336-5505398 E-mail: master_nasir18@yahoo.com Shafiq Ur Rehman Lecturer University of Malakand, Pakistan Tel: +92-333-9842005 E-mail:shafiquol@hotmail.com Dr. Aziz Javed Department of Business Administration Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan KPK Pakistan Uzair Ahmad MS Scholar Air University Islamabad Tel: +92-345-9288414 E-mail:uzairahmad1986@gmail.com Abstract Goal of every commercial organization is to make profits though its operations. Employers adapt different strategies to be profitable. Partnership has been given a lot of significance by trade union congress (TUC) and chartered institute of personnel and development (CIPD) as one of the key business strategy towards having a healthy employee management relationship and a successful business technique. In this research article we have investigated the role that “Workplace partnership” strategies play in employee management relations. Keywords: Workplace partnership, employee management, Industrial relations. 1. Introduction The basic purpose for the existence of any organization is to earn a profit and to maximize their market share and for that purpose employers develop and adopt different strategies to be competitive and to gain market share. One of the major concerns for the employers is that of how to deal with their employees in order to have the desired outcomes and to align the objectives of an organization with that of employees. Industrial relation receives considerable attention in the 20 th century. In the previous decade or more the concept of workplace partnership receives much attention and adopted by most of the organizations. Partnership working is an association established based on the fulfillment of common as well as separate wellbeing between employees, employers and trade unions. However, partnership works well and achieves their desired outcomes when a union considers the business and business consider the employees before any decision making or any action is taken. The most passionately discussed concern in industrial relations among the scholars and professionals in the past decade is whether workplace partnership activities contribute to union influence and representative capacity. Early contributions to this discussion were sharply distributed among those who supported partnership as a source for union renewal and greater influence, and on the other hand critics of partnership are of the view that partnership would weaken unions and not assist employees’ welfares. Research has been useful in establishing that the relationship between partnership and the consequences for unions are inconstant and contingent, and that workplace partnership as such is neither inevitably advantageous nor disadvantageous for union organization (Eaton & Rubinstein 2006; Roche & Geary, 2006; Rubinstein & Kochan, 2001). Therefore, employers have been faced with the prospect of having to involve unions and worker representatives within their decision-making processes. In addition, a new politics of workplace relations has emerged based on social issues such as work-life balance, employee-led flexibility at work, and a broad concern with managerial and employee conduct and behavior. The combination of these changing regulatory and labor market circumstances has led certain “enlightened” and “strategic” employers to rethink their relationships with trade unions (Ackers & Payne, 1998). The increasingly competitive environment and the need to accommodate the views of a large number of owners has contributed to the practice of establishing an executive board to represent and execute the views of the partnership, enabling firms to implement business strategies (Hunter, Beaumont, & Lee, 2002). 2. Literature Review Industrial relations has become one of the most delicate and complex problems of modern industrial society. Industrial progress is impossible without cooperation of labors and pleasant relationships. Therefore, it is in the