What is the objective external environment of labor unions in the U.S., post-1980

A relational perspective says that internal organizational design is driven by the organization’s objective external environment, and that subjective factors play at best a residual role (e.g., the in-class example of choosing a new CEO at Bethelhem Steel in 1980).

Using the case study example of labor unions in the U.S., explain how the institutionalist perspective presents a criticism of the relational perspective with respect to understanding the importance of “subjective factors” for internal organizational design. Explain this by answering the following sub-questions:

• (a) (10 points) What is the objective external environment of labor unions in the U.S., post-1980?
• (b) (25 points) How do subjective factors significantly shape the internal design of labor unions, independently of the requirements presumably imposed by the external environment?

For the sake of clarity, separate your responses to the sub-questions here into parts (a) and (b) IN ONLY ONE PAGE DOUBLE SPACE.