Money over Humanity: Changes to Industrial Relations in Australia - Assignment Example

Part A Question 1 Flexible work places is a concept which is increasingly being used by organizations as it benefits both the employer and the employees as it increases job satisfaction at the same time ensures that the valuable staff is retained. Flexibility helps to ensure that productivity improves and the business is able to gain efficiency. The increase use of flexibility work place has been seen in the Fair Work Act, 2009 which looks towards developing individual flexibility arrangements so that employees are able to work in a better way. The international human framework advocates that the individual rights of a person should be protected and preserved. These rights are related to basic living, food, shelter and other aspect which will ensure better living. This thereby also transforms into better working conditions and if required flexible arrangements should be made so that the rights of the employees are protected (Fair Work Regulations, 2012). The individual flexibility arrangements ensure that the rights of the employees are protected as it allows that variations and changes can be made to the agreements that the employees make with the organization so are provided the minimum entitlements and protections which they deserve. The individual flexibility arrangement thereby ensures that the basic rights of an employee towards certain entitlements are preserved which goes with the international human framework of protecting the rights of an employees (Fair Work Regulations, 2012). To ensure that the rights of employees are protected it is important that flexibility is included in the work profile otherwise the term flexibility as provided in the Fair Work Act, 2009 will be applicable. This has been done to ensure that the rights are preserved and by doing so the organization also adheres to the international human rights framework. The flexibility clause which has been inserted in the Fair Work Act ensures that the employees are better off. This means that if either the employer or the employee looks forward for the inclusion of the word flexibility have to ensure that the employees are better off by using the word flexibility and should not be treated otherwise if flexibility was not included. This thereby raises concern as the word flexible has to look towards using both the financial and the non financial activities. This will thereby ensure that the rights of the person are protected and will ensure that the employees are provided the basic rights and amenities to live which goes in line with the international human right framework which supports the improvement of growth of mankind. This thereby has ensured that the word flexibility looks towards involving different areas which are as (Fair Work Regulations, 2012) The working hours for employees Overtime rate Penalty Allowances Leaves Using the above 5 parameters flexibility is included in the Work Fair Act, 2009 which looks towards improving the life of the employees and ensures that they are better off in comparison to situation when there are no individual flexible rights. This also ensures that the management cannot enforce anything on the employee if the employees are not willing to accept it. This thereby will ensure that the rights of the employees are protected so that the prospective employee is better off. The implication of the individual flexibility rights further ensures that unobjectionable things and entitlements which reduce the rights of the employees cannot be included which thereby goes with the international human right requirements. This will help to protect and preserve the rights on individuals and ensure that they are provided the required flexibility which will help them to develop their life better and preserve their basic right to live. Question 3 Australia has looked towards balancing their policies and actions so that equal opportunity and social justice can be provided to the employees which have resulted in the development of Australia as a welfare state. This has been made possible due to the widespread changes and development that has been witnessed by making changes to the policies and industrial relations development. This has been done with the objective of ensuring that the better industrial relation reforms can be developed for the betterment of the future. One of the changes which have been witnessed in the industrial sector through new reforms is the scrapping of unfair dismissal law for companies which has less than 100 employees. Previously, the employer had to provide reasons like the employee is underperforming or not performing to the expected standard even after giving opportunity or similar situation. The amendment in the law allows the employer to ensure that employees underperforming can be removed which has increased the risk of job security for the employees and has brought major ramifications through which the business needs to ensure better welfare and growth for many (Industrial Relation, 2005) In addition to it a major change has been witnessed in the direction of wages and the conditions on which the wages are made. The changes made in the industrial law looks towards ensuring that the employees are provided equal and fair rights in relation to their wages and are ensured a “No Disadvantage Test” where they are compensated fairly according to the prevailing market conditions. This has also ensured that better reforms in relation to the working hours are developed and employees are able to perform well in all areas which help to keep up the welfare for employees (Industrial Relation, 2005). The changes in the industrial relation law and the development of Fair Work Act have ensured flexibility is introduced in the work place. This has helped to ensure that employees are provided with flexible working hours and are provided an opportunity where they are able to ensure that they are permitted to grow. The flexibility arrangements ensure that the rights of the employees are protected as it allows that variations and changes can be made to the agreements that the employees make with the organization so are provided the minimum entitlements and protections which they deserve. The flexibility arrangement thereby ensures that the basic rights of an employee towards certain entitlements are preserved which goes with the international human framework of protecting the rights of an employees (Fair Work Regulations, 2012). The industrial relation act in Australia has looked towards working on different parameters and has made changes in the industrial law based on the changes that the business environment is seeing. This has resulted in regular up gradation and development of new and better policies which ensures that the different factors which will help in the development of business are ensured. This has thereby ensured that the different development in the industrial law has helped to improve the welfare state and has made them act positively so that better facilities are provided and the overall development takes place for the employees and the employer. Question 5 High performance work system are organization that uses a different framework where they look towards differentiating their traditional approach associated with mass production and looks towards improving the overall system so that better efficiency can be gained. It has been seen through various researches that high performance work system ensures better competitive advantage as companies adopting it are able to use the resources in the most effective manner. This has thereby created much debates about the manner in which HR bundles and performance of employees contribute towards the implementation of high performance work system within the organization. Various studies have demonstrated that high performance work system results in improved employee empowerment which transfers into better results due to training, skills, empowerment, and communication between all the departments. The contribution from different aspect helps to ensure that the human resource department is able to perform better which transfers into better performance of workers thereby highlighting a positive relationship that exist between them. The validity and contribution of high performance work system is seen only when there is a combination of effort from all groups instead of a single individual acting in a particular manner. This requires that all groups work in a coherent bundle to enhance the skills of the employee and ensure better employee involvement so that the various strategies fit in the organization which will help to enhance the skills and deal with the environment requiring high skills. For example, OECD has looked towards removing the hierarchy system which existed in the organization and has moved towards a flatter structure where they work in groups and are provided the autonomy so that there is better trust and understanding. This has helped in the development of high performance work system which has helped to develop positive relations between the HR bundle and the workers (Tamkin, 2004). To ensure better performance through the use of high performance work system some HR practices have been identified which helps to improve the performance of the organization in every situation. This are universally accepted strategies which will benefit the organization though other strategies have to be decided based on individual organization so that the best fit can be identified (Thompson, 2000). This is something different as the contingency model states that specialized conditions is required for the achievement of the desired objective which will thereby ensure that better human resource strategies can be developed which will help to develop better relations between HR bundles and employee performance through the development of high performance work system (Thompson, 2000). The development of HR strategy helps to improve the performance of the business as it looks towards adopting some of the newer techniques and moves away from the traditional method which leads towards a difference of 20-40% of the employee productivity due to changes in the condition to work (Tamkin, 2004). This thereby ensures that the development of HR bundle results in creating a positive relation with the employee performance which finally gets reflected in the work culture and helps to improve the high performance work system within the organization. Part B 1. Having flexibility and developing of a high performance work system where employees are provided the required training and skills to be able to deliver quality work makes MailCo a good place to work in. Also, the fact that the company looks towards ensuring that the employees are properly compensated and provided with the required skills and tools that will help them to deliver quality work has ensured that the satisfaction level of employees increases and the employees are able to contribute towards the business. The manner in which the different fundamentals of the business has led towards the growth and brought the necessary changes in the business led strategy has ensured that employees are contributed better towards the growth of the organization and has thereby ensured that people look towards the company to work for. 2. Some of the rules which MailCo has to follow in respect of employee relation is Have specific work hours for employees which can be either flexible or fixed Clearly state the overtime rate, penalty, leaves, absenteeism, wage rate and other basic amenities that the employees will be provided with Outline the manner in which formal communication will take place and clearly stating the authority and responsibility relationship will help to ensure better working Ensure that all transactions and agreements entered with the employees are recorded and substantial proof of all the agreements are maintained Ensure clarity and make it clearly stated the evaluation parameter based on which the employees future development will be determined and help them to advance in carrier 3. To ensure better planning and implementation I would look towards ensuring that the employees are made to understand the manner in which the changes have to be encountered as it will help to develop a high performance work system. This will mean that the necessary training and skills is imparted to the employees both on and off the job. This will help to ensure that the employees understand the actual scenario better and are able to deal with the evolving system of high performance work system better. This will look towards facilitating a system where the requirements of high performance work system is developed working on the different parameters so that business efficiency can be gained and the business will be able to ensure better use of flexible work environment in the development of business. 4. Introduction of new technology requires some wide changes to be made in the working style so that better efficiency is gained as it requires changes in the employee relation and developing mechanism to achieve better coordination. An example in this direction is the airline industry where they implemented the just-in-time (JIT) technology. This affected their working style as it required that employees were provided the necessary skills to deal with it and also had to be ensured that proper usage and understanding of the different aspect was made. This made the employees understand the manner in which the new technology works and based on were able to develop strategies so that maximum advantage of technology can be gained which further helped to develop employee relations and ensured that high performance work system was developed in the organization. 5. MailCo faces certain issues related to job rotation and the lack of skills among the supervisor to address the performances and expectations from the employees. This requires certain development and strategies where employees are given more time on the job so that they can work on the same job and get the required skills and training which will help them to perform better. This will also ensure that the expectations from them are communicated clearly and based on it the employees will be know in the direction which they have to perform. This will thereby ensure that the working pattern of employees improves and the employees are able to contribute towards the growth and business. Since, they know what is expected and the performance parameter it will help them to ensure better strategy for the growth of the business. References Fair Work Regulations. 2012. Fair Work Regulations 2009 Model Flexibility Clause. Retrieved on September 3, 2012 from http://www.fwa.gov.au/documents/legislation/fw_regs/FW_Regs-05.htm#P1622_131618 Industrial Relation. 2005. Money over Humanity: Changes to Industrial Relations in Australia. A Breifing Paper, Social Action Office, CLRIQ Tamkin, P. 2004. Hogh Performance Work Practices. Institute for Employment Studies, UK Thompson, M. 2000. The Competitiveness Challenge: The Bottom Line, Benefits of Strategic Human Resource, International Journal of Management Review, 1 (4), 367 - 413 Read More