ABSTRACT
The grievance adjustment process is primarily a device for handling employee discontents that center in only a portion of the work force. The grievance procedure handles employee problems arising from administration of established personnel policy. This point is crucial in defining the area in which the grievance procedure operates. A grievance procedure is an explicit acknowledgement by management that its right of absolute rule over personnel is subject to open questioning by the employees affected. The grievance process involves management in the role of judge. The actual structure of the grievance procedure fits the characteristic of the individual enterprise. Existence of a grievance procedure standardizes conflict between management and union in non-violent ways. Handling employee discontents through a grievance procedure is an important social invention for institutionalizing power relations. Every possible effort is made in work organizations to design jobs, positions, and offices, and their accompanying behavior systems, so that minimal discontent will result among their occupants.
