Employment Relations and Human Resource Management - Essay Example

Employment Relations and Human Resource Management Introduction Employment relations in an organizations deals with the theory and approach adopted by the managers in maintaining and regulating an employment relationship (Brown, 2009). It deals with the socio-political dimension that is essential both for the managers as well as the employees. The number of highly skilled labour force has been continuously rising in UK and other foreign markets and the flexibility in the work culture is essential for the employers as well as the workers. The number of low-skilled workers has been falling simultaneously during the recent years (Coats, 2009). However, the overall gain of the UK national depends on the efforts provided by the highly skilled labour force. There are various approaches to which the flexibility can be related. The zero-hour contract is used by many of the organization for several years and it is seen that this contract helps in supporting business flexibility. There are other approaches used by the organizations such as the Neo-Liberal, Pluralist as well as the Marxist approach (Colling and Terry, 2010). The aim of this paper is to evaluate the approaches of the managers within the companies to assess whether flexibility is advantageous both for employers as well as the workers. The paper offers a scope to study the various approaches used by the companies to determine business flexibility. Approaches related to HR Management Zero Hours Contracts The zero hours contracts are said to promote flexibility to both the employer as well as the employees under certain circumstances. According to these contracts, an individual works for hours whereas the employer only pays to the employees for their work (Colling and Terry, 2010). However, the zero hours contracts involve two important facts such as the exclusivity and the transparency. The contract involves an exclusivity issue that prevents the individuals from working for another employer although the current employer does not offer any work. The issue of transparency deals with the situation that often there is lack of transparency within the organization that is the employers are not aware of their responsibilities. The zero hours contracts has certain drawbacks for the employees that is there is no guaranteed levels of earning provided to the employees and the they are unable set goals for future (Dore, 2000). The rules and regulations of the organization are clearly specified to the permanent staff but these rules become variable during the irregular hours of work (Dore, 2000). These contracts are prone to abuses as compared to the regular permanent contracts. There also arises uncertainty related to the hours worked each week (Esping-Andersen, 1990). The zero hours contracts comprises of a recruitment process where the employees are made to work for hours decided by the employees that is the authority is in the hands of the managers who choose the hours of work (Frege and Kelly, 2013). Thus, the study shows that the zero hours work are actually beneficial for the employers as compared to the employees, as the employers do not offer any extra effort in working for long hours. It is studied that the individuals who work under the zero hour contract have no legal protection as per the domestic employment law. However, the advantages of the zero hours contracts for the employers involves flexibility, supporting expansion plans, retention of skills and knowledge of the company and its culture. The contract is helpful for the employers to hire staff in order to increase the level of services offered by the workers (Frege and Kelly, 2013). The flexibility in the organization allows it to grow with a low risk factor and the contracts ensure that skills are retained in the business activities. The contracts enable the businesses to preserve a group of skilled staff who are capable of running the organization successfully. Thus, the employers by following these contracts have been able to run the businesses successfully. Unitarist Approach to HR management The HR management process integrates with the strategic management objectives in order to run the business within the organization smoothly. The HR management within an organization focuses on the strategic planning instead of adopting a problem solving, such that the contribution of the employees reflects the corporate culture, team building and management. The strategies followed by the HR managers depends on the decision making process which in turn affects the organization’s reputation (Glyn, 2006). However, problems arise while integrating HR management with the business strategy especially in case of enterprises producing diversified products. Further, building a strong culture within an organization in order to promote its goals also involves both the interests of the employer and the employee. Nonetheless, rapid changes within a company related to organizational culture creates problem as the employees find it difficult to get accustomed to the changes (Glyn, 2006). There are other goals of the human resource management within an organization that involves identifying the type of commitment that the employees make to the organization. The commitments can be of two types, both behavioural as well as the attitudinal that the employees need to maintain in order to work in the organization. Another important goal is that of flexibility and adaptability which refers to the capability of employers as well as the employees to manage change at various levels (Glyn, 2006). The flexibility of the employees also considers the multi-tasking abilities of the organization, training the workers as well as the removal of the constricted job classifications. The flexibility of the work force helps the organization to function even under challenging situations and training helps the employees to work efficiently. Flexibility also allows that the managers to set the time periods for various projects that the organization conducts. The final goal of the organization is that of maintaining quality in the production which in turn satisfies the customers and enhances the reputation of the organization (Rubery and Fagan, 1994). The efficiency of the employees also depends on the healthy work culture and interrelationship between the employer and the employees. Flexibility also involves the team building among the employees and it is the cooperation among the team leaders and the team members that contributes to the success of the projects (Frege and Kelly, 2013). The Human Resource process involves various phases of recruitment and training and hence, the phases have to be scheduled carefully and so the provision of flexibility in the organization helps the managers in scheduling various phases (Hyman, 1975). Pluralist Approach to Human Resource Management The Human Resource Management is based on the unitarist approach instead of following the pluralist approach. According to the Pluralist approach, there are large numbers of employees within the organization and each individual having variety of interests and these interests and these are to be managed (Keune and Jepsen, 2007). The pluralist approach is used to maintain the industrial relations which consider not only the relations between the employer and the employee but also a relation between the employee and the trade unions as well as their relation with the state. The theory of industrial relations focuses on the collective issues of the relations and the fact is evident from the labour law, collective bargaining aspect as well as freedom of association (Nicholls, 2003). However, the HR management deals with the relation between the HR managers and the employees. In case of a public sector enterprise, the decision making process of the HR managers depends on the interests of the stakeholders who are important for the organization. There are often multiple stakeholders within an organization and so there arises a concept of pluralism (Keune and Jepsen, 2007). However, the pluralist approach has a linkage with the zero hours contracts approach which states that the employers have greater advantage compared to the employees as they can hire as many employees as per the requirement of the employees. The pluralist perspective is essential for the organizations to function. There is flexibility in hiring the number of workers as which in turn provides an opportunity to hire skilled workforce according to the policies of the zero hours contracts which reflects the impact of the pluralist approach considering the various interest of the stakeholders. Pluralism involves a conceptual understanding that there would be conflicts in the organization as there is large number of people with varied interests that gives rise to controversies (Milkman,1998). The management and the employees are considered as two different groups having different values and goals. There are conflicts among the trade unions and the managers and the discussion among the employers and the employees gives rise to innovative ways to resolve the issues and work according to the interests of the stakeholders. The authority of the flexibility offered to the HR managers resolves the conflicts to some extent and provides efficient ways to manage the processes within an organization (Legge, 1995). The Dunlop’s system theory argues that the concept of the industrial relations is considered as the sub-system of the entire social system. The HR process is managed by a wide range of formal as well as the informal rules that deal with satisfying the interests of the shareholders and resolving the conflicts between the workers and the managers. The pluralist frameworks considers the fact that the system of industrial relation is self adjusting towards the equilibrium conditions within the organization and the flexibility has an advantageous outcome in this context. The Marxist approach to HR Management The Marxist approach is quite different from the other approaches which deal with the industrial capitalism. Management is based on the interests of the capital and the organizations are considered as the parts of the class struggle of the society where conflict is expected between the managers and the employees. From the context of human relations, the relation between the managers and the work force is exploitative and is indicated through the process of HR management (McGovern, 2007). The practices of the HR management require dividing the workers in order to weaken their power for collective resistance. The policies also involve restructuring the framework of workforce by reducing the level of primary sectors and increasing the level of secondary sector in the labour market. According to the Marxist view, the social outcome is considered as the natural outcome for the capitalism which is the result of the continuous struggle between two challenging social classes, whereas, the industrial conflict is identified as a reflection of the struggle that takes place in an organization (McGovern, 2013). The Marxian theory suggests that the key role of the management within an organization is to transform the raw materials into final goods with the help of labour as well as capital (Frege and Kelly, 2013). The management can conduct the transformation successfully by establishing the structures of power and control that transforms the capacity of the workforce within the organization to perform the work into successful work effort (McGovern, 2007). This transformation results in a profitable capital accumulation and productions of goods that are demanded by the customers. The flexibility within the organization is expected to reduce the conflicts between the managers and the trade unions in case if the organizational policies are designed in favour of the workers (Kelly, 2013). Conclusion The paper has enabled the researcher to study regarding the human resource management within an organization. The managers follow several theories and approaches in order to maintain a relationship with the employees. The relationship between the employees and the managers determine the organizational culture. The HR management of an organizations is based on several aspects such as the zero hours contracts which states that the flexibility in the workplace is mostly useful to the employers as compared to that of the employees. The managers have the flexibility to hire as many workers as required in the organization and the workers are highly skilled so that they can contribute a great deal to the organization. However, the contract is not so favourable to the employees as the hours of labour are decided by the employers and there are no fixed hours of work. There are other approaches that reflect the type of HR management in an organization such as the Unitarist approach, Pluralist approach as well as the Marxian approach. The unitarist approach refers to the relationship between the employees as well as the managers. The pluralist approach considers relationship among many people within the organization like the relation between management and the trade union. However, the Marxian approach considers management which is based on the interest of capital and it further considers industrial capitalism. Thus, the study indicates the flexibility is helpful to resolve the conflicts within the organization and among the workers and the managers. Reference List Brown, W. et al., (eds.). 2009. The Evolution of the Modern Workplace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Coats, D., 2009. 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