Industrial Relations, Better Off Overall Test - Assignment Example

Name Class Unit PART (A) 1-In contrast to the sensational, collectivist and conflictual interpretation of industrial relations, the reality is quite different. Briefly discuss. (Lecture note 1) Industrial relations are about work interaction between the employees and employers. There is a strong impression that industrial relations are sensational, collectivist and conflictual. This is narrow and negative conception of the industrial relations which has been enforced by special interest groups. The problem with the sensational, collectivist and conflictual approach is that it leads to false impression of industrial relations activities which engage employees, union officials and managers. In reality, there is a great contrast to this impression. The reality is that most of the industrial relations include routines, actions and practices without the drama of strikes and confrontations which are rare. An action by a group of employees who seeks to promote or protect wages and their working conditions cannot be taken as a collective action by the whole group (Deery, Walsh & Waring, 2005). 4-List and briefly identify the membership base of four types of unions. (Lecture note 5) There are four types of unions which are classified according to the membership. The unions are; craft/occupational, industry, company/ enterprise and general/ conglomerate unions. The craft or occupational union is formed by members who are in the same craft or occupation but working in different industries. The industry unionism is formed by the members working in the same industry but performing different works. For example: workers in the textile industry or the public sector. Company or enterprise unions are formed by members from one company. There are restrictions to ensure only workers in a particular company are members. Lastly, the conglomerate unions are formed by allowing everyone to join regardless of their job or industry (Fairbrother, 2003). 6-What is the ‘Better Off Overall Test' (BOOT)? (Lecture note 9) This is a test which is based on the relevant modern award which takes care of all employees covered through the enterprise agreement. All enterprise agreements are required to pass the better off overall test (BOOT) for them to gain approval from fair work Australia. For the agreement to pass the BOOT test, fair work Australia has to be satisfied that each of the award covered employees as well as the prospective award covered employees are better off under agreement based employment rather than under the relevant modern award. The class of employees are examined by the fair work Australia before applying the BOOT. Based on exceptional circumstances, fair work Australia may approve an agreement that fails to meet the BOOT. The approval of the agreement is carried out after ensuring that it is not contrary to public interests (Waterhouse & Colley, 2010). 7-Workplace relationships involve conflict—it is probably unavoidable. Discuss this statement with particularly reference to the common forms and causes of workplace conflict. (Lecture note 10) Workplace conflict occurs in every organisation and in some cases indicates a healthy exchange of ideas. Despite this, workplace conflict can lead to low productivity, poor services, absenteeism and high employees’ turnover. There are two main types of conflicts; functional and dysfunctional. Functional conflict is healthy and constructive while dysfunctional is a destructive form of disagreement. The causes of conflicts are categorized as structural and personal factors. Structural factors includes; interdependence, goal differences, status inconsistencies, ambiguity in jurisdiction, authority relationships and sharing of common resources. Personal factors include skills and abilities, perception, communication barriers, values and ethics. In some cases, communication barriers leading to a conflict can be physical or value related (Calabrese, 2000). PART (B) 1-Unitarism is an unsatisfactory approach to the study of employment relations because of its failure to recognise the inherent potential for conflict in the workplace.’ Discuss this statement with comparison to either pluralism or radicalism. (Lecture note 2) Introduction Based on the human resource management, unitarism perspective involves a belief that the management and workforce works together for the benefit of the company. According to unitarism, organisation is a team which is united by a specific common purpose. This involves an ideal of a happy family (Edwards, 2003). This essay discuss the statement that unitarism is an unsatisfactory approach to the study of employment relations because of its failure to recognise the inherent potential for conflict in the workplace. Scientific management is under the unitarism perspective as it emphasis on uniformity through best ways of working. Each work in an organisation is assumed to be integrated and harmonious based on a common shared goal. This emphasizes the need for mutual cooperation (Edwards, 2003). Based on this view, conflict is seen as disruptive and pathological. Conflict is seen as a result of the agitators, poor communication and interpersonal friction. The unitarism perspective assumes that there is no conflict and where it exists, it is seen as temporary. According to unitarism, trade unions are intruders and unnecessary and divisive. The virtue of teamwork is highly valued where everyone works to the best of their ability. The unrealistic stance used by unitarism on assumption of absence of conflict makes it unsatisfactory to study of employees relations. This is unlike pluralism where employees ideas which can lead to conflicts are not suppressed. According to pluralism, conflicts are accepted and kept within considerable and acceptable bounds. This ensures that conflicts are acknowledged but they do not affect the organisation in attaining their goals. Conflicts in pluralism are recognized and settled to ensure good working relationship. Like pluralism, radicalism allows use of unions to challenge management. Both pluralism and radicalism allows conflicts. The uneven distribution of income and capital in capitalist society leads to conflicts. The conflict between employers and workers leads to trade unions (Edwards, 2003). Conclusion Conflicts must exist in the workplace and ignoring them makes it unsatisfactory to use the unitarism approach in employment relations. This is in sharp contrast between radicalism and pluralism which accepts the existence of conflicts in the workplace. 3-The dramatic decline in union density in recent years demonstrates that unions are not relevant to modern workers.’ Discuss this statement by outlining and critically discuss the main reasons for the decline of union density in Australia. (Lecture note 5) Introduction In the 20th century, unions had become a major actor in the labour market and politics. However, in the 21st century, statistics shows that there is a decline in union membership with some arguing that they are headed for extinction. It has become almost a conventional wisdom that unions will continue facing decline and they are not relevant to modern workers (Griffin & Svensen, 1996). The main aim of this essay is to discuss the main reason for the decline in union density in Australia and show that decline does not demonstrate unions are not relevant to modern workers. Australia is not an exception in the decline of trade unions. The decline has been common in the developing countries. Despite this, the collapse of the labour unions has been very rapid in Australia compared to other countries. The reason for decline for the labour unions in Australia does not demonstrate that unions are not relevant to modern workers. The decline in Australia unions is based on four factors; changes in laws governing labour unions increase in inequality, structural changes in the labour market and high product market competition (Griffin & Svensen, 1996). Change in the legal regime governing the trade unions has been one of the most significant factors leading to Australia deunionisation. The conservative governments in most states came up with laws which prohibited compulsory unionization. The laws encouraged individual bargaining and leading to non-award coverage. Rising competition led by microeconomic reforms and reduced tariffs has made the products and services more competitive. Firms in monopoly and oligopoly find it easier to pay high wages. When monopolies are broken down, competition increases and firms start reducing costs. The management comes under pressure to come with anti-union tactics with an aim of reducing wage bill. Growth in earning inequality in Australia has contributed to deunionisation. The final factors leading to decline in unions is structural changes in the labour market. The rise of the service industry, downsizing of the government and rise of small firms have all contributed to deunionisation of Australia (Griffin & Svensen, 1996). Conclusion To sum up, with the unions on decline, Australia labour market is close to model of competitive markets. This is due to the series of legal changes that has made it hard for the unions to organize, greater competition, rising wage inequality and change in labour force composition. It is highly impossible for the issues to be reversed hence the decline in Australia unions is inevitable. 6-There are two main schools of thought on the relationship between unions and productivity. Identify and critically discuss both arguments. Include in your answer reference to the role of trade unions in the monopoly supply of labour, collective voice responses, the ‘shock effect’ and on labour turnover rates. (Lecture note 11) Introduction Unions in the workplace have impacts on productivity. If the union boost the employees pay in the workplace, the financial perfoamcne of the firms is likely to get worse unless the productivity is improved. Increase in productivity means higher revenues for the firm, increased pay and lower prices for the consumers. Therefore, the impact of the unions on productivity is very important. This essay looks ta two main schools of thoughts on relationship between labour unions and productivity. This includes reference to monopoly supply of labour, collective voice responses, the ‘shock effect’ and on labour turnover rates. The two schools of thoughts on relationship between trade unions and productivity are; monopoly face of the unions and the collective voice/ institutional response face of the unions. The monopoly face school of thought claims that unions lead to reduced productivity by increasing wages above the efficient levels. The collective voice face of the unions claims that unions can increase productivity through collective voice and shock effects (Metcalf, 2003). Based on the monopoly face of the unions, unions have a monopoly in labour supply. This makes it possible for them to drive wages artificially high. Based on this school of thought, unions can reduce the workplace efficiency. This is due to fact that high wages leads to misallocation of the resources. Unions are used to hinder the management in coming up with efficient decisions. The monopoly view claims that unions activities and bargaining powers leads to disruptions of production. This view has been criticized through assertions that unions cannot act as monopolists and conflicts can occur even in non-unionized workplaces (Metcalf, 2003). The collective voice school of thought claims that unions can lead to high productivity. This is through reduced turnover and a collective voice to the workforce. The argument claims that unions provide a shock effect to management through high performance. The main issue lies on the existing relationship between the unions and management in workplace. This leads to two qualities of relationship which are; low trust workplaces and high trust workplaces. In low trust workplaces, there are no incentives for the parties involved to work towards new efficiencies. In high trust workplaces, unions and management collaborates towards attaining increased performance (Metcalf, 2003). Conclusion To sum up, there is adequate evidence that unions have an impact on the company productivity. This is determined by the type and quality of the relationship between management and the unions. Unions can raise pay and reduce the productivity or can raise pay and increase productivity based on existing relationship. References Calabrese, K. R. (2000). Interpersonal conflict and sarcasm in the workplace. Genetic, social, and general psychology monographs, 126(4), 459. Deery, S., Walsh, J., & Waring, P. (2005). Industrial relations: A contemporary approach. McGraw-Hill Australia. Edwards, P. (2003). The employment relationship and the field of industrial relations. Industrial relations: theory and practice, 2, 1-36. Fairbrother, P. (2003). Trade unions in renewal: A comparative study. Taylor & Francis US. Griffin, G., & Svensen, S. (1996). The decline of Australian union density—A survey of the literature. Journal of Industrial Relations, 38(4), 505-547. Metcalf, D. (2003). Unions and productivity, financial performance and investment: international evidence (pp. 118-171). Edward Elgar. Waterhouse, J., & Colley, L. (2010). The work-life provisions of the Fair Work Act: a compromise of stakeholder preference. Australian Bulletin of Labour, 36(2), 154. Read More