Strategies the Organization Needs to Develop to Ensure Its Employees Do Not Join a Union - Essay Example

Occupational health and safety is a concept used to refer to physiological and socio-psychologicalconditions that defines the workforce of an organization. These conditions emanate from the work place environment. Legislations that have to do with occupational health and safety are developed on the premises of humanitarian and social responsibility. These legislations have forced companies to enlist the services of experts and specialists from a variety of disciplines such as occupational medicine, industrial hygiene, safety engineering and ecology (Geffner, 2004). In the current times, employers are not only concerned with the physical well being of its employees, but also with the emotional and mental well-being of its employees. Employees are also concerned with the need of protecting the environment from exposure to toxic wastes and pollution. Physical and physiological occupational maladies that are always a concern to employers are cancer, cardiovascular diseases, physical injuries and loss of life. The socio-psychological conditions which employers usually consider while developing their safety and occupational plans are, burnouts, dissatisfaction, alcohol and drug abuse, withdrawal and stress. The occupational health and safety legislations usually outline the responsibility of employees and how they are supposed to behave. The following are the responsibilities of employees as spelt out in the occupational health and safety legislation (McGuire, 2012); Reporting workplace hazards and dangers that are depicted at their workplace. Using their personal protective gear and equipments when an employer directs them to do so. Working under the compliance, and in regard to the OH&S legislations and regulations. Responsibility and duty to work by using the protective equipments that an employer provides for the employee under consideration. This occupational and health legislation identifies three very important rights that an employee has, and an employer does not have the authority to take it from him/her. These rights are; The right for refusing any unsafe work conditions. The right for participating in any activity that relates to workplace safety and health. The right to be informed of the potential and actual dangers that the work he or she is going to do, has. These laws also identify the manner in which managers and supervisors of the organization need to behave. Managers represent the interests of employers, and on this basis, the legislations identifies their responsibilities. The following are the responsibilities of managers (Lindholm, 2012); They have to make sure that the employees of the organization use the protective devices made available to them. They have the responsibility of advising workers on the potential and actual hazards that their work presents. Act on precautions on areas that touch on the workers security. Employers of the organization also have a number of responsibilities and duties as spelt out in the legislation guiding occupational health and safety. These responsibilities include (Lindholm, 2012); Forming a health and safety committee for purposes of looking into the safety of the organizations activities. Train workers of the organization on how to avoid hazards, dispose of hazardous materials, and how to use the various protective equipments/gears given to them. Make a report of any critical injury of its workers, to the government body that is responsible for overseeing occupational health and safety. Provide protective equipments to the workers of the organization. In conclusion, occupational health and safety legislations are introduced for purposes of protecting the workers of the organization. These measures are introduced out of the need of ensuring that employers do not exploit workers by giving them poor conditions of work. Work/Life Balance Program: Introduction: I. This is a policy document that applies to all the employees of Unilever Company. All the employees of the organization are therefore encouraged to adopt and follow the provisions of this document, irrespective of their rank and position within the company. II. The organization acknowledges that there are some positions within the company that this policy does not cover. In developing this policy, the organization managed to consult all its stake-holders. This includes investors and employees of the organization. III. This work/place balance is based on two very important principles, namely; a. A minimum cover, which is put in place to ensure that the job under consideration is effectively carried out. This amounts to the minimum amount of money that the organization will have to pay for a given position, and the minimum time that these employees will have to work. b. Flexibility in the attendance opportunities for the various opportunities of the organization. Minimum Cover: a. The organization recognizes the need of identifying the requirements of a service, and has to develop mechanisms of ensuring that these conditions of service are met. b. The requirements of the minimum cover will vary as per the services an employee provides to the organization. The following are the various categories of employees in which the organization hires; a. Skilled workforce, which includes accountant, human resource personnel, and sales officers. b. Unskilled workforce, which includes the support staff of the organization. c. It is the responsibility of the managers and workers supervisors to ensure that these employees meet the minimum requirements in terms of the number of hours worked, and the salaries that they receive, based on their work in-put. Hours of Attendance: a. It is the responsibility of the department in which an employee is assigned to develop the maximum and minimum number of hours in which an employee can work. b. The department will decide the various roles upon which employees within their department will carry out. c. Employees who are assigned to work away from their departments must always inform their heads of department when they report for duties, and the number of hours they work. d. In as much as they cover their duties efficiently, employees of the organization might work, for less than their contracted daily hours of work. The organization will not initiate any disciplinary actions against them. e. The organization will only authorize overtime, if the work under consideration is urgent, and there is an agent need to finish it. Individual Attendance-Breaks: a. Employees of the organization must have a 15 hour break after completion of their daily tasks. b. The organization gives a provision of 30 minutes break for an employee who works continuously for more than six hours. c. The personal use of the internet and mobile phones can only occur during their respective breaks. Individual attendances-Absences: a. An approval must be sought in case an employee wants to be absent from duty for a given number of days. They must do this two days before seeking an absent from duty permission. b. Employees who are disable might apply for a disability leave. c. An employee must find his or her own time to attend the dental and medical check-ups. d. The organization provides a provision for maternity leave. Recording the time worked: a. Employees will have sheets whereby they will record the number of hours worked, which must be approved by their supervisors. b. Managers can recommend the carrying forward of the number of hours in which an individual did not work. This is in case the employee under consideration did not accomplish their given daily tasks. c. The managers have a duty to conduct a random test, for purposes of confirming the whether employees of the organization work under the desired time. d. Managers have the responsibility of checking the attendance records of employees for purposes of clarifying whether; a. There is an accurate record of the leave taken, and the number of hours worked. b. There is an accurate record of regular daily breaks. c. A large amount of hours that employees should work, are not lost. IV. Termination of Employment: The employment of an employee will be terminated if they are unable to fulfill their duties, are they are in breach of the organizations policies and rules. Upon termination of employment, an employee must return all the assets of the organization under his or her possession, and must be cleared by their superiors. V. Justification of the program: The programs contained in this work-life balance are ideal because it is mostly concerned with the time in which an individual works, and gets some rests. By regulating this time, an organization can increase the efficiency of its work-force. This is because it will play a role in reducing time wastage. Part C: Case Incident, Do it yourself: Errors that Bill Made: Bill failed to collect corroborative evidence and written statements that could be used against Ken. These statements and evidences could be used in the proceeding stages of disciplinary actions that the organization could initiate against Ken. Bill also failed to check whether there were any comparable cases to this, and how the organization managed to solve the cases under consideration. This would have given him an idea on how to deal with Ken, following the precedent set up by the organization. There was a need of giving Ken a verbal warning concerning his behavior. This was necessary, because initially, Ken has never received any official warning from the organization concerning his rebellious behavior. Had these warning been done, it is highly possible that the attitude Ken had towards Bill would not have occurred. Bill also failed to give Ken a written warning, detailing an objection to his behavior and the consequences that Ken would suffer in case he does not change. This warning will explain to him the standards upon which the organization will use to judge him, and will state that if the behavior persists, then the organization will have to terminate his employment. What Bill Should Say to Employees? Bill should condemn the behavior of Ken, and tell the employees who witnessed the scenario that a disciplinary action will be taken against Ken. Bill should explain to the employees the importance of being obedient to the supervisors of the organization. This is because it will promote a good working environment, and team work. This in turn will lead to efficiency in the manner in which employees carry out their duties. Steps Bill Should Take Against Ken: When Ken returns from suspension, Bill should make the following steps; He needs give him an oral warning, notifying him on the inappropriateness of his behavior. Bill will have to document this warning for purposes of using it, when such a situation occurs again. If Ken still continues with his rebellious behavior, Bill will have to give him a written warning, explaining to him the standards upon which the organization will judge him. This warning will also contain the consequences of Ken’s behavior, if they still persist. If the problem still persists, then there is a need of conducting a termination review. Under this process, the organization will have to check if Ken has a contractual relationship with the organization, and whether it holds merit. If not, then the organization can proceed to the next step. The last stage is termination of employment. Report on Strategies the Organization Needs to Develop to ensure its Employees do not join a Union: It is important to denote that the numbers of workers in the private sector who belong to trade unions are on a decline over the years. In as much as there is a decline in their memberships, unions remain a political and an economic force. The labor shortage has made trade unions to increase their activities in a variety of industries. These activities include pressing for more wages, calling for industrial actions/strike with the knowledge that it would be difficult for employers to replace the existing labor (Lewin, Kaufman and Gollan, 2010). Companies that have experienced beginning a bargaining process with unions are completely aware on how expensive it is to engage a union in negotiations. This process is also a combative process and it always results to the erosion of relationships between an employee and his or her employer. On this ground, most companies always strive to discourage its employees from joining a union. With this goal in mind, companies must have the knowledge on how to discourage its employees from joining a union, and how to respond when the activity of a union arises. The following are some of the strategies that the organization needs to use for purposes of discouraging its employees from joining a union (Sloane and Witney, 2010). The organization needs to create a policy that will give an explanation on its position concerning unions, and the reasons as to why the organization wants to be union-free. The company must make sure that it shares this type of information with any new employee and those who are not familiar with the problems that unions pose to the organization. The company will have to maintain a two way communication channel for purposes of providing regular updates to the employees of the organization. The company should also develop a mechanism in which the employees of the organization will manage to provide feedbacks regarding the company’s policies to the management. This will help to reduce uncertainties, which is always a major factor that makes employees to join a union. Explaining changes in the organizations policies is also another important way of keeping unions away. It is important to denote that a small change within an organization can be disruptive, and it is therefore important to create a communication strategy that will effectively communicate the changes under consideration. Use of memos is not always enough, and on this basis, the organization can use the internet or personal communication to communicate such changes. The organization needs to address the various concerns and complaints of its workforce. This will create loyalty of employees towards the organization, because they will know that the company has their interests at heart. The company needs to provide a competitive benefit and wages to its employees. This is when it is compared with unionized employees. The company must not assume that these employees are getting a raw deal as compared to their unionized counterparts. The organization must explain to them that they are getting an equal wage, if not the best as compared to their unionized employees. In conclusion, employees of an organization always want to join a union when communication has broken down, or when the organization is trying to implement some significant changes. These situations usually create mistrust and uncertainties that unions use for purposes of enlisting more members. On this basis, to effectively discourage employees from joining a union, the company needs to solve the problems of uncertainties and mistrusts that come about with the development of their policies. References: Geffner, R. (2004). Aggression in organizations: violence, abuse, and harassment at work and in schools. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Maltreatment & Trauma Press. Lewin, D., Kaufman, B. E., & Gollan, P. (2010). Advances in industrial and labor relations. Bingley: Emerald. Lindholm, J. (2012). The encyclopedia of human resource management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. McGuire, D. (2012). Fundamentals of human resource development. Los Angeles: SAGE. Sloane, A. A., & Witney, F. (2010). Labor relations (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Read More