Labor Relations as a Great Aspect for Company's Growth - Essay Example

Running head: Labor relations Labor Relations Labor relations Labor relations is an important aspect for the growth of an organization. Labor relations will be good in high performing organizations whereas it might be poor in underperforming organizations. An organization can function smoothly only if the relationship between the management and the workers are well in shape. Labor unions play a vital role in establishing and sustaining good labor relationships in an organization. Labor union is a group or organization of workers who were organized or assembled together to protect the interests of the workers and also to achieve good working conditions inside the organization. On the other hand labor relations is the dealings between management and the workers with respect to the employment conditions. “Most commonly, however, labor relations refer to dealings between management and a workforce that is already unionized, or has the potential to become unionized. Labor relations is thus crucial to industries like autos and airlines with heavily unionized workforces” (Labor Relations, 2009) In most of the times the interests of the organizations and that of the labors would be opposite in direction. The management always keen in maximizing their profit and for that purpose they will compromise the interests of the workers. On the other hand labor unions are always working for the wellbeing of the workers and they are not much concerned about the profit of the organization. For workers what they are getting is more important than what the organization is achieving. Both these interests contradict at times which will end up in strained labor relationships and trade union strikes. In a changing world, especially under globalization and liberalization, a well maintained labor relationship is important for an organization in order to compete in the market. Customers will trust an organization if their product or service supply doesn’t interrupt. Poor labor relationship always results in labor union strikes which will interrupt the production of goods or service. A temporary suspension of service or supply of goods in the market will force the customers to search for other options. Once the customers move away from the organization, it is difficult for the organization to bring them back. Labor problems destroy the image of the organization in the society in which it operates. The public will often take the side of the labors even if the justice is on the other side because of the false assumption that the management always trying to exploit the workers. This public sympathy will quite often utilize by the labor unions by putting forward illogical demands. An organization can function smoothly only if the labor unions and the workers are well aware of the global situations and developments as far as business is concerned. For example, lot of American public lost their jobs and some of them have their salaries cut down by the management because of the current economic crisis. If the labor unions call for indefinite strike because of the above problems, both the organization and the workers will suffer a lot. On the other hand, if the labor unions are wise enough to understand the pathetic condition of the organization, they will never go for aggressive measures like strikes or non-cooperation. In a well maintained organization both the workers and the management may have proper understanding and mutual beliefs so that in a crisis situation they will complement each other to help the other. Relationship building is accepted as the core of every business activity at present and labor relations is an important segment in that department. An organization should start the relationship building process from their employees itself. Since the employees are the ones who interact with the customers, only a satisfied employee would be able to build strong relationship with the customers on behalf of the organization. In short only a satisfied employee will be able to provide 100 for the organization and in order to improve the productivity of an employee, a well maintained labor relations is essential for the organization. Trends and challenges in Human Resources Management Performance appraisal refers to the analysis of an employee’s current or past performance with respect to his average performance standards. It involves setting work standards, assessing the employee’s actual performance relative to these standards and providing feedback to the employees with the aim of motivating that person to eliminate deficiencies or to continue to perform above par. (Methods of Performance Appraisal, 2009) Over a time period, an employee may knowingly or unknowingly tend to underperform due to so many factors like lack of motivation, loss of interest, etc. In such cases, it is necessary for the organization to convince the employee about his underperformances in order to motivate him. Managers usually use several methods to conduct the appraisal using a predetermined and formal method. This include: Graphic rating scale method, Alternate ranking method, Paired comparison method, Forced distribution method, Critical incident method, Narrative forms, Behaviorally anchored rating scales, Management by objective (MBO),360 degree feedback etc (Methods of Performance Appraisal, 2009) For example consider the paired comparison method; the manager forms certain pairs who have similar responsibilities in the organization and compares their performances. Such paired comparison will help the employee to understand his performances based on others. If he underperforms he can realize it and make suitable changes to attain the desired result. On the other hand, such comparisons may often create doubts in the minds of the employees. Moreover, if both the paired employees are underperforming ones, the manger may not get the desired result. Alternative ranking method employs the ranking of the employees based on the performances. This method is more popular among managers which help the manager to evaluate the employee performance easily and to make the employees aware of where they are standing as far as performance is concerned. On the other hand, such comparisons and classifications may generate doubts in the minds of the employees and they may often think that these rating scales will be used for cutting down their salaries or for their termination of services. Insecurity of job may at times negatively affect their performances and instead of improvements, they may perform even worst. In short, performance appraisal should be used judiciously to boost the performances of the employees. References 1. Labor Relations, (2009), Retrieved on 17 October 2009 from http://www.investorglossary.com/labor-relations.htm 2. Methods of Performance Appraisal, (2009) Retrieved on 17 October 2009 from http://pgdba.blogspot.com/2009/01/methods-of-performance-appraisal.html Read More