Performance-Pay Related System - Case Study Example

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS By Course Professor's Name Institution Affiliation Date Industrial relations case study In enabling a business attains its goals and objective, it is important to establish a good relationship between the employees and the employers. The manner through which employees associate with each other is also of crucial importance in enabling a business achieves the best possible outcomes. Several approaches have been used to define how the relationship among workers and between them and their employers should fair. The paper will use the various approaches to solving managerial problems to the case study provided regarding Leicester International Pathway College. The aim of every business is to increase the profit generated whereas increasing efficiency. That goal is unattainable without the help of the employees. The workers, on the other hand, require the employment so as to develop financially and skill-wise. Many challenges have however faced the mutual relationship between the two parties in the past such as overworking or underworking with no bonus or without deductions respectively (Venkataramana, 2007). Industrial relations have been established by making an agreement on the interactions between them stating what is expected of each to safeguard both parties from such challenges. Traditionally, the relationship between the managers and employees was defined by the agreement made by unions. New developments accompanied by the breakdown of unionism have changed the pattern. Nowadays the interaction between the employees and the workers is established at a company's level through the establishment of industrial relations (Colling & Terry, 2010). Bargaining on the type of industrial relations to be adopted in a given company involves two main parts. These are the market relations and the managerial relations. Market relations involve bargaining regarding the wages for labour, taking into concept the hours to be spent at work and the allowances for extra hours worked (Venkataramana, 2007). It also discusses on the holidays and the rights each has to pension schemes. Managerial relations, on the other hand, outline the management expectations on the employee. Some of the bargaining made include the amount of work expected to be done in the stated time and specifies the tasks and the conditions for changing the roles. It also assigns a supervisor who is responsible for checking the tasks as well as the penalties the employee will incur for failure in meeting the stated obligations (Venkataramana, 2007). In solving issues in the workplace, several tools can be used to help in analysing the relations between the employees and their managers. The standard approaches include unitarist, pluralist and radical (Venkataramana, 2007). Design department In the case study provided regarding the adoption of the performance-pay related system, workers in each department present conflict that can be solved by the unitarist approach. Those employees at the design departments have personal goals that the management is failing to help satisfy. By employing the unitarist approach, that indicate that cooperation is the best way of achieving the aims of the organisation as well as those set by the management, the conflict will be quickly resolved. Employing the employees as consultants instead of full-time employees will not only help retain the very talented and skilled workers who are leaving the company, it will also assist in positioning the company as the most important institution for both the managers and the designers. The Marxist perspective, on the other hand, could be used to explain the behaviour of management towards the employees of the design department. The workers demand their creations to be their intellectual property, but the management is resistance towards the proposal. It indicates further that the designs are the property of the Leicester International Pathway College. The management should allow the designers to work as contractors as reported by the assessors. Radical approach Radical approach acts as a critique of the pluralist approach is also widely known as the Marxist perspective. It attributes the inequality the difference in wealth and social classes is the source of conflict even in the workplace (Pinnington et al. 2007). The capitalist employers maximise their earning through reducing the number of employees whereas cutting on their salary. Some of the theories developed from the radical perspective include labour process theory and the feminist theory. The labour process theory identifies labourers as a tool used by management to contribute enable in more capital accumulation (Venkataramana, 2007). The few capitalists, who are the employers, are in possession of factors of production such as raw material and have the capability of hiring workers. Workplace conflict is a result of the nature of the capitalist unlike identified as a product of competing groups and inappropriate management by pluralists and unitarist respectively (Pinnington et al. 2007). Feminist's theory addresses the limiting of capabilities of women by the men who are capitalists. The radical approach nature fails to appreciate the existence of a common goal between the employees and the employers. Fabrication department The workers in the fabrication department view the employment relations as a tool to help them meet their personal goals and objectives. By working long hours, the employees in the department can fulfil their financial obligations. The unitarist approach is best placed to address the conflict from the fabrication department. Unitarist approach The unitarist approach identifies workplace conflict as a regular character that defines the relationship between the two parties involved. The approach sets out beliefs that even if the conflict emerges, it will be eventually solved as both sides will be cooperative in resolving the issue. The primary basis for the approach is the perception that both the manager and the employees have a common interest in wanting the organisation succeed and will, therefore, put in efforts to see the success of the business (Henderson, 2011). Any factor that may result in the failure of the organisation will see the employer and employee work in close cooperation to avert it through cooperation. The cause of conflict is usually explained to be due to poor communication and personality disorder that may be easily solved to enhance the survival of the organisation (Colling & Terry, 2010). It is also assumed that the relationship between the managers and the employee should be smooth naturally, and the former should do everything in his/her power to remove the contributing factors to conflict. Some of the possible solution to deal with the challenges includes establishing proper communication channels between the managers and the employees for each party to air complaints. Promotion and recruitments are that are inappropriate are also identified as a source of conflict and an easy solution issued by the approach is to establish fair and equitable recruitment and promotion processes (Henderson, 2011). The approach also identifies the organisation to be the sole source of power in the employment relations rendering any alternative source insolvent. For the conflict brought about by personality disorder, the approach recommends either the suppression or the eliminations of such individuals thereby reducing the sources of conflict. The unitarist approach has generated three theories that include scientific management theory, human relations theory, and human resource management. The scientific management theory states that employees are immature in their duties of work, and the management is responsible for directing them so that they have a clear understanding of what is expected of them (Colling & Terry, 2010). Human relations theory, on the other hand, directs the management towards ensuring that the relationships established enable the employees to fulfill their personal goals thus individual satisfaction (Henderson, 2011). The human resource theory builds an easy solution to conflict at the workplace by cooperation due to the shared goals and objectives between employees and the employer. Assembly department In relation to the case study, the pluralism approach can be best applied to the workers in the assembly department. The workers do not derive benefit from the newly introduced performance-based reward system yet they do not find a way of improving their productivity. Although the system does not benefit the assembly department employees, those from the fabrication department are reaping benefits from the system, therefore, the productivity of the company. The managers can use the approach to come up with better results. The assembly department views the that productivity can be enhanced by issuing more flexible working conditions as well as frequent breaks to deal with the monotony of their duties Pluralism approach The pluralism approach views conflict at the workplace as unavoidable due to the nature of organisations that are made of different groups with varying interests (Venkataramana, 2007). The common causes of conflicts established under the approach include the assigning of tasks and also the allocation of rewards. Conflict is also identified as an incentive for managers to devise new alternatives to solving the problems whereas ensuring better results (Pinnington et al. 2007). The approach recognizes unions as a means for employees to bargain collectively on the different terms that impact them in their duties. It has contributed to the emergence of system theory and strategic choice theory. The system theory identifies that the employee relations as a projection of the wider social system (Pinnington et al. 2007). It views that problems will self-adjust thus arriving at a solution. Strategic choice theory, on the other hand, identifies the reduction of unionised workers, new collective bargaining structures and the improvement in the relationship between employees and their employers through communication as the contributors to more complex industrial relations systems. Conclusion The various approaches used in explaining the relationships that exist between the employee and their employers. Shared goals should be however established where the goals of the business should align with those of the employees. References COLLING, T., & TERRY, M. (2010). Industrial relations: theory and practice. Chichester, J. Willey & Sons. HENDERSON, I. (2011). Human resource management for MBA students. [London], Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. PINNINGTON, A. H., MACKLIN, R., & CAMPBELL, T. (2007). Human resource management: ethics and employment. Oxford, Oxford University Press. VENKATARAMANA, P. (2007). Industrial relations. New Delhi, A.P.H. Pub. Corp. Read More