| dc.description.abstract | Religion and its envisaged structures have both macro- and micro-level
implications for business. Of the many stratification schemas prevalent
in India, two macro-social stratification schemas are important at the
workplace: caste, which has been an age-old, religion-mandated, closed social
stratification prevalent in Hinduism that had led to inequality in the society,
and trade union, which is a relatively new and optional open workplace
stratification that empowers workers and fosters equality. This study tries
to decipher whether these two structures influence each other; if yes how
and why do they influence each other (the tensions and contradictions that
may happen between them), and whether the influence is uniform for all
members. We conducted in-depth interviews with 43 trade union members,
three trade union leaders of two state-owned organizations in North India.
Initially, we found that caste does not have any superficial effect on the
relationship between union members. However, a deeper analysis reveals
that roots of this social reality reflect in the social and workplace exchanges
between union members, and affect their social identity and loyalty. In the
discussion we present a model of twin loyalties between union and caste.
From the institutional logic perspective, we also delineate the caste and trade
union perspective, and show how there is a change in trade union identity
because of the influence of caste-based logic. Our findings have implications
for industrial democracy, worker representation, and union effectiveness. | en_US |
