The Development of Role of the State in Employee Relations in the UK and South Korea - Case Study Example

Employment relations Analytically compare and contrast the development of role of the state in employee relations in the UK and South Korea? Methods of employing in the UK compared to South Korea In South Korea, the employment structure has enhanced industrial development since there has been a growth in the rate of employment at the industrial sector. The service sector has an increased number of employees compared to sectors of agriculture, mining and manufacturing. However, the structure of industries has shifted more from the industries meant for labor intensiveness to those which are technologically guided. Furthermore, the service sector has increased greatly in terms of employees majorly because of the increase in wages and the expansion of the sector. The main method of employment in South Korea has to be more on the service sector. In the UK, the methods of employment can be categorized into two; employment or self employment. Over the years, there has been a great shift in the number of people who have moved to self employment. In the past, most of the citizens in the country were looking for jobs especially because of the terms and allowances given by employers. However, with time, people shifted and believed in creativity and instead started inventing companies and employing people with great minds to help get work done. Up to date, those who are self employed are doing the best and have achieved great milestones in business (Cummings, 1997). Business of managing employment relations in both countries There was a time when the British were known to be inconsiderate for industrial walk outs and disputes. In the 60’s and 70’s it happened almost daily and with time governments. As a results, there were weak managements and employees were not motivated enough to work efficiently. The economic power in the UK was greatly affected. Nevertheless in the 1980’s, human resource management was introduced and this meant that there was a better channel for airing complaints. Organizations turned to dialogue through a mediator in order to resolve conflict. In 1999 an Act known as the Employment Relations revised the recognition of trade unions and more rights were included. In South Korea, the leadership is by hierarchy which is influenced by the “Inwha” concept which tends to harmonize people of standing and equal rank. In effect, conflicts arising in groups were not solved by confrontation or blame. Instead, the manager spends his time ensuring that his employees work together as a team so that all members feel integrated. They also employ consensus in decision making when it comes to certain cases just like in Japan during the season of “Nemawashi”. It is an efficient system that encourages employees knowing that they were involved in the process of making decisions (Shin, 2003). Employment legislation in the UK compared to South Korea The UK has two forms of employment legislation; Primary legislation – In this kind of legislation, Acts of parliament are included in a chronological manner which are applicable all over the UK. A good example is the Disability Discrimination Act which was enacted in 1995 to help employees with disabilities so that they are not isolated. It is more of legislation for employees to know their rights in a working environment. Secondary legislation – Includes statutory rules in a chronological manner. Statutory Rules more than often offer intricate details on how to apply and implement primary legislation. The statutory Dispute Resolution Procedure is a good example of secondary legislation. In South Korea, the Act of Labor standards enacted in 1997 applies to the work force in the country. It is also known as the Labor Act especially after its amendment in 2007. It is meant to protect the rights of employees in that nation. In case of any violation against that law, it should be reported to the Ministry of Labor and the employer might be fined and pay for damages when established he was on the wrong (Joe, 1997). Economic policy maker between UK and South Korea The National government in the UK has introduced an economic policy meant to improve its economic fortunes. The rate of the added taxes has reduced immensely from 17.5 to about 15%. As a result, common citizens in the UK can spend more and the retail department in the country’s economy would improve. However, this decision is rather temporary. Some of the most crucial institutions in the country’s economy include banks and financial organizations which offer loans that can be risky especially with interest rates. Nevertheless, financial authorities in the UK have come up with an idea of investing in other fields so that the economy does not only depend on the financial institutions. In South Korea, special interest groups that have a major influence on the economy especially in decision making are restricted to democratic capitalism. Any government which may have attained power in a non democratic manner should eventually make it legitimate. They can do this by either garnering the support of important sectors or appeal to the most popular people. South Korea differs from other western capitalists in some crucial sectors. The key economic policy makers have to be appealed to by such governments in order to stabilize the economy (Hart, 2003). Rights and duties of employers in both countries In terms of the duties and responsibilities of employers in both countries, the laws are rather the same. In the UK the employer should provide a good working environment for the employees by ensuring that there is a provision of machinery and equipment which is the same even in South Korea. Employees should also be trained in safety and health issues and the risk of some activities should be outlined as well. Training also involves giving the right job to the employee with the right skills to handle the job. This applies to both countries in question. Employers should also adhere to the Minimum Wage Act provided in both countries as it determines the limit to which they should pay their employees. This minimum wage is reviewed often and may increase over time. In the UK and South Korea as well there are requirements governing the total number of hours an employee should work and it should be followed to the letter by the employer unless agreed otherwise by the two because of more pay. UK: Tradition of voluntarism The economy of the UK in that time had challenges and continued to experience low production levels than their major competitors. In 1998, the government stepped in and came up with a publication in a white paper giving an outlay of they intend to transform the economy and get it to the top. The policy makers of the country majored on the agenda of productivity. In the 1980’s production was to be increased by controlling trade unions and limiting their power. However, a decade later they realized that every effort had still not improved the economy by any means. As a result, the government then focused on competitiveness based on free trade, bigger competitors and flexible labor markets. Eventually, a new government based on labor attempted to bridge the gap in production by attaining a certain balance as this was their key priority (Hart 1997). Restriction of lawful industrial action in the UK The Laval and Viking Lane courts of Justice gave a ruling that had a great impact in the industrial activity of the country. The employees in both cases, rejected the notion of having a replacement from other countries who were to be paid in a cheaply for labor. In effect the employees decided to take a strike and went on the streets for their complaints to be heard. The main legal issue was the lack of knowledge on the freedom movements established. Furthermore, the lawfulness of the industrial action limiting these freedoms was also captured. Daniel Ornstein focuses on three aspects of the rulings. First, the laws governing industrial action are put on a limit. Second, the UK courts are required to strategize on a fresh approach in order to regulate the activities of industries for the purpose of injunctive relief. Finally, on the ground, rulings are confined to more numerous state members whereby an international aspect of each member state is influenced in the decision making process (Cumings 1997). Privatization in public sector in the UK The public sector was a creation of the socialists. At the time of independence, there was poor infrastructure and therefore not many people were in a position to invest and hence the socialists were of great importance. National development had been on the fall due to few investors. However, as time goes by, competition has greatly reduced and unprofitability has become inevitable. They were experiencing massive losses. Moreover, there ere industrial houses and individuals who were ready to take over in the major projects and run them in order to increase profits? A decision to privatize them was judicial and as made by the government of Vajpayee (Shin 1999). South Korea Directive role of state period 1962-87 South Korea's democracy has over the years has been outstanding in the entire region as an Asian monarchy. President Rhee was in charge of the first Republic which lasted until the fourth month of 1960 when he was forced to resign by the unrest of University students (Joe, 1997). The second republic which was rather ineffectual lasted for less than a year and there was an overthrow of government. In 1963, which was exactly two years later, Korea went back to civilian rule with the start of the third Republic. However, in October 1979, the rapid economic growth, industrial modernization and government reforms came to an end as President Chung Hee was assassinated (Lee, 1994). 1987-97(democratization period) If the democracy of South Korea was by movement before the transition phase, how then did it unfold concretely? The answer to this can be divided into three periods one being the national division when the dictatorship of Rhee Syng Man had started surfacing up. This as in the 19th revolution during the Korean War and the democratization was against the dictator (Chun, 1988). The second phase was when the democratic movement was expanded and developed against Chung Hee dictatorship regime. The last period of time was from the 12th of December when there was a coup by a military leader Chun Doo which led to an uprising in June of the following year where democracy was enhanced and hence the regime that led by authority was democratized (Mitchell 1997). 1997-date (transaction period) In the tenth month of 1997, the stock exchange in Korea began to decline as the dollar traded very strongly against the Korean Won. Some of the big economies like Indonesia and Thailand had previously experienced instabilities in their markets and this as said to also affect Korea. The problem was more of a regional one (Kim, 1976). However by the month of November, the foreign reserves that Korea had were almost depleted and the government had to do something urgent. It announced that it would ask for an emergency loan from the IMF International Monetary Fund) in order to deal with the financial instabilities and currency markets. This was the transition stage for South Korea and after the loan was approved, the economy started picking up progressively (Cummings, 1984). Bibliography Castello, Cortes. 1996. "South Korea", World Reference Atlas, 6, 1-4. Cumings, B. 1997. Korea's Place in the Sun, Norton: Random. Kim, E. 1976. Women of Korea: A History from Ancient Times to 1945, South Korea: Ewha Women's University Press Mitchell, R. 1997. "George Hicks. The Comfort Women: Japan's Brutal Regime of Enforced Prostitution in the Second World War". The American Historical Review (American Historical Association) 102 (2): 503. Chun, T. 1988. "Korea in the Pacific Community". Social Education. 182. EJ 368 177. Cumings, B. 1984. The Two Koreas. New York: Foreign Policy Association. Kim, E. 1986. Focus On Asian Studies. Korea: Jimoondang. Shin, G. 1999. Colonial modernity in Korea. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Asia Center. Hart, D. 2003. 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