Contribution of Industrial Relations at the Workplace Level in Australian Business - Case Study Example

Running Head: Industrial relations in Australia Industrial relations in Australia Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecturer Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 18th December, 2012. Introduction Industrial relations is commonly termed as the discipline that studies or assists in the explanation of the relationship between the employers in a certain organization and their employees. It also explains the relationship between the administration, government and the workers, especially those workers who are represented by a certain union. The concept of industrial relations assist in the success of firm as industrial progress is substantial for the cooperation to be achieved. Relations arise at work place and may include the relations among individual workers, between employers, workers and employers in order to promote individual interests. This discipline helps in solving conflicts in an organization. The concept has its roots in industrial revolution which was termed to have created the modern day employment relationships and it was done through the spawning free labor markets as well with the large scales organizations which had employed a great number of workers. Industrial relations scholar basically assume that the labor markets are to perfectly competitive and state that in most instance the employers tend to have a greater power as compared to the employees, the scholars also asserts that there is also some vested interest between the two for the employers are in favor of higher profits on their side while for the employee they tend to bargain for a higher pay. Contribution of industrial rеlаtiоns at the workplace level in Australian business and their achievements Industrial relations will makes some major and noteworthy contributions at the workplace level to almost all the business that are operated in Australia and the achievements that they achieve. And thus it helps the businesses in Australia in a number of ways with the major one been based on the fact that it enable flow in the organization since with it businesses will have uninterrupted flow in the production activities. This is because of the continuous engagement that is depicted by all employees in the income generating activity in the firm. Each and every employee is involved in the activities and thus there is full utilization of the available resources hence no wastage which means the firms cost of production is decreased. All employees are aware of their duties and responsibilities and thus they tend to perform them efficiently in the aim of achieving the organizational goals (Ackers, 2003). On the part of the workers, it means that there is a fair and equivalent income to all hence no disputes and also it assist the other firms in to continually produce incase of the intermediary products. This applies when there are continuous business activities due to good industrial relations (Bieler, 2008) Another contribution of industrial relations to an organization is the aspects of mental revolution. The core goal of industrial relation in an organization is a mental revolution for all the employees and workers in the organization. For industrial peace to be enhanced in the organization there need to be a transformed outlook from the side of the workers and also from the employees (Blyton et al., 2008).). Thus the leaders in the organization, the workers the government and the employees ought to work out a new and lasting relationships so as to advance the spirit of democracy for all. Thus they ought to think of each other as partners and thus the role of workers ought to be recognized. On the other hand the workers in the organization also need to recognize the authority that the employers have over them. And thus industrial relations tend to have a noteworthy impact on the organization production since each of the partners recognizes the role and the interest of the other (Budd, 2004). The other achievement is that there will be no industrial disputes. Industrial disputes are brought about by having unsatisfied workforce due to factors such as poor payment or unfavorable working conditions. Some of the disputes experienced are lockouts, strikes, go-slows which sometimes lead to massive losses for the organization for example destruction of property and also loss in profits since the employees do not work thus leading to a dissatisfied customer base (Cappelli, 2008). Industrial relations tend to enhance and create a lot of cooperation within the organization and therefore, more business goals are achieved within a shortest time possible. Coordination is one of the principles of effective management and it is enhanced in the cases there is no disputes (Gospel and Pendleton, 2006). The businesses will also have the workers working with high morale rate. Good employee relations improves the morale of the workers, this is because they feel that their wellbeing is catered for accordingly. They know that their common interests that is employee-employer and therefore work towards achieving the same goals. Every individual working in the organization feels that one is a co owner of the firm and therefore, works extra hard towards the achievement of a common goal (Hartley, 2007). The employer on the other end realizes that the gains are not individual but belong to both parties and therefore, divides and proportions equally to each and every party according to their role. Complete unified thought is also core to the achievement of industrial peace. It does increase the rank of a worker in the organization and makes sure that the workers ego is taken care of and satisfied to the fullest. This increases production due to the presence of so many joint cooperative efforts which brings fruitful results (Howell, 2007). The other contribution is related to the reduction of waste of resources in the organization. This is because employees are recognizing one another and their role in achievement of business objectives. Acknowledging the presence of another person and giving them the respect they deserve serves as a better tool towards boosting a day’s outcome. There will be no cases of wastages of the manpower present in an organization, the materials available for the business continuity and also the machines will not be under utilized in this case (Kaufman, 2004). The national interest of the organization is thereby protected. This is evident if the business has its base on higher production driven by the industrial relations as the base. There is also efficiency when the workers are executing their functions. The business will thereby be able to introduce new projects to further their own interests. The firm will be able to attain a social just society to the three parties in question that is, government, employer and the employee. The objective of the undertaking will in return be achieved easily. The Australian businesses will also be able to formulate informed labor policies which are sound enough to accommodate all the parties in question. These labor policies will work out with no compromise to the management or the labor part of the business (Kaufman, 2004). With good industrial relations, there will be reduced or no cases of absenteeism among the workers in an organization. In some cases absenteeism in an organization happens due to the fact that some employees are not comfortable with the present working environment and therefore, they are trying to seek an alternative by being absent in their place of work (Keep, 2010). Thorough the adoption of industrial relations in the Australian businesses the employees will be committed to their work and will always feel like working in the organization at all the time. The workers will not be asking for the frequent offs or complain all the time about the work but will give out the best they can. And eventually there are the establishments of good working relations within the organization which have noteworthy benefits such as high productivity since the employee coordinate well (Kessler and Bach, 2011). In organization practicing good industrial relations, there is easier division of labor among the workers. This has been a similar case in most Australian business and they are able to allocate the duties and responsibilities to the employees in a fair way (Kirton, 2002). The responsibilities are divided among the employees and the assigned tasks will be accomplished within little time possible. None of the employee can be able to complete the all the tasks alone and thus he needs to share them with others in the organization. If two people who are working in the same organization are in good terms, they will work together and assist each other in the assigned tasks making the task at hand easier to tackle and accomplish within the stipulated length of time. Consultation will also be easier in such an organization as there issues in an organization which cannot be solved by the management alone without consulting the employees to hear their point of view (Kitching, 2007). They will exchange their views which might be of much help to them and this will eventually lead to completion of work easier since it has been made easier and thus the success of the business. Another contribution of industrial relations in Australian businesses is that in creates a happy place for the employees to work in since the employee’s works as a family with a list of goals they aim to achieve in the long run. Most individuals tend to lose their concentration as well as focus if their minds are filled with unnecessary stress and tension. It has been proved that if workers in an organization discuss and talk about issues with one another, tensions between them automatically evaporates and they tend to feel better (Lyon et al., 2007).Most individuals do not feel like going to the organization if tension exists between them and another employee. Employee spends at least eight to nine hours in their workplace and based on the fact that they cannot be able to work for those hours without a break one needs to share the free time with the others. Thus good industrial relations ensure that one is at peace with the others in the organization and this will eventually have an effect to the whole organization (Martin, 2012). Management may require some guidance and an advice as well, to avoid doing what one may come to regret in the later trading periods to follow. Sometimes one may miss out a point which is very vital in the decision making. Missing it means a follow that the production or the business continuity may cease. Fellow workers may be having brilliant idea which may assist in achieving targets without tiring oneself and also at a faster rate. If one wants to implement any or take any cause of action to be implemented, the pros and the cons should be considered which will always be gathered by the use of other workers. This is because people hold different views pertaining any subject (Michael, 2000).An open forum is also possible which will help air the points one has. Making the decisions without consideration can be always be accompanied by mistakes which could be omitted when one includes other persons who have the diverse opinions yet very essential to the decision at hand. Making decisions alone one will never realize where the wrong turn s are taken or where what should have been taken or done. One will always require some critics at hand who will pin point at the wrong turns which are taken and thereby a rectification is done to control the situation. If one has no good relations with other persons, no critics will be there as nobody will dare tell one where something is wrong or right (Mullins, 2005). Good employee relations also ensure that the individual working there are motivated by the other parties and they are therefore able to lay their trust in them. The employee working in the organization feel more confident and secure and thus they aim at delivering and offering the best at all times. industrial relation have therefore played an noteworthy and important role in the establishment of long lasting relating between the employees which when looked at clearly have led to the effectiveness of the firm since the employees trusts each other. Lack of trust seems be a de-motivating factors to the employee and when they trust each other they are more bound to offer appealing results to the management and to the organization (Rauseo, 2010). Australian business has also established good industrial relation with their employees. And though the relations, the employees are more than willing to assist whenever untimed need comes forth and the employee may not be there without certain conditions attached fulfilled. A worker may play the required role and finish what was required but a situation arises where the presence of the worker is highly needed. An example can be the case where the firm may be required to work for an extra mile in terms hours in order to achieve an extra units of outputs. These units may be so much required for the purpose of competition in the market or to cope with the prevailing harsh economic conditions (Ryan, Gospel and Lewis, 2007). And since the firm will have already established good relations with their employees the employees will work towards the achievements of that goal irrespective of the additional hours that they will have to spend and the organization need to compensate them for their handwork and determination. Employees need to be compensated based on their handwork and determination this will eventually motivate the employees and there will also be the establishment of good relations between all the concerned parties. All this well eventually lead to the effectiveness of most Australian businesses (The Importance of Business Ethics, 2001). Where an organization has no good industrial relations, the employees will stick to what was outlined in the contract and forget what the business may wish to do. This will especially applies in the case where the employees do belong to the union which is very strict when it comes to matters relating to their workers. The workers will fail to give the organization the service required because there is no good relation between the organization management and the employees in question. Thus good industrial relation ought to be maintained between the employer and the employees and this will ensure that the employees will be more willing even to undertake some duties that were not initially outlined in the contract since the employers have good relations with them. Through this the business will be able to meet their goals since the employees will be more dedicated to their duties and responsibilities that are allocated to them and they will go a little bit further to ensure that the organization succeed in almost all their endeavors (Undy, 2008). Conclusion Thus from the above discussion it is evident that industrial relation in Australian businesses seems to be the basis of higher productivity which is coupled with higher profits and minimum cost in Australian businesses. Industrial relations have therefore lead to an increase in efficiency of the workers. Thus efficient and effective industrial relations offer a balance between the two side of the labor market that is the employers and the employees. with such a balance between the two sides some level of degree of labor protectionism not only offers some good from the ethical perspective but also on making the employment relationships more stable, fair and secure and thus leading to high productivity and expansion of the businesses in Australia. Thus it seems essential for the employees and employers to feel comfortable with one another so as to have a better focus as well as concentration which will eventually lead to lesser rates of conflicts and ultimate increase in productivity in the organization. References Ackers, P. (2003). Understanding work and employment: industrial relations in transition. London: Oxford University Press. Bieler, A. (2008).Labor and the challenges of globalization: what prospects for transnational solidarity? Pluto Press; University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. 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