Compensation and Labour Relations - Assignment Example

Compensation and Labour Relations Question Collective bargaining is a process whereby an employer and a labour union negotiate in issues relating to wages, health benefits, and working hours and conditions. The two sides involved need to participate in the decision-making process and reach an agreement that is acceptable to both sides. Normally, trade unions use collective bargaining to improve the conditions of employment of their workers and to reinstate the unsatisfactory bargaining situation between the employer and employee. Arguably, labour relations are all about the manner in which the conflicting interests of employees and employers are resolved and accommodated. Notably, effective collective bargaining improves labour relations. The most common approaches to bargaining are the traditional or adversarial approach and integrative or win-win bargaining (Sharp 98). The process of collective bargaining has always been adversarial in nature and this has always caused rifts in the organizational decision making process. In this approach to bargaining, both parties involves, usually the union and the management, present their own agenda and have no idea of each other’s problems. It is a give and take approach to negotiation where one side’s loss is another side’s gain(Carly 198). Another way in which labour relations and collective bargaining can be carried out is through integrative approach. Integrative approach strives for mutual understanding and it concentrates more on the goals and concerns common to both parties. Here, both parties clearly understand the issues and solve the problems jointly and as a result, both of them will gain mutually as there will be equitable solution. Integrative bargaining aims at creating solutions that satisfies the needs of both parties (Carly 198). It demands that each side be aware of the issues affecting the other side. The labour union and the management provide a list explaining their needs and so the discussion is based on the possible ways to meet those needs in manner acceptable and beneficial to both parties. This approach to collective bargaining is very positive and it is commonly used in many modern union-management contracts. Question 2 Many workers are not satisfied with their jobs and in most cases it is because of low wages. Notably, workers who are dissatisfied with their pay do leave their job for better opportunities. Dissatisfied workers exhibit withdrawal behaviours such as lateness, absenteeism and finally quitting their jobs. Quitting and seeking job in other factories that pay better is the most common reaction of workers who are dissatisfied with their low paid job. However, others choose to stay, that is, they endure the hardship and low wages in the factories. Low-paid workers lack motivation and this in turn affects their performance and organization’s productivity. Therefore, dissatisfied workers will intentionally reduce their production rate and mishandle company machines. More so, dissatisfied employees are more likely to go on strike to response to the situation. In most cases, dissatisfied workers like to establish and participate in strikes to voice their demands and get the attention of their employers. There are many cases of strikes by workers who want their wages to be increased and have good working conditions. Some respond by engaging in a more organized means of protest by joining labour unions. Worker’s response to low wages is influenced by some elements of the environment such as overcrowded, unsafe and dangerous workplace. More so, their decisions are also influenced by a number of individual dispositions such as trustworthy, coward and imprudent among others. Indeed, not everything changes if workers feel abused or harassed and dissatisfied with pay. This is because, abused worker will also respond to the situation by quitting their job and seeking safer places of work. Question 3 Triangle was one of the popular workshops producing women’s ready-to-wear dresses. However, Triangle was also known for its hostility including overcrowding and problematic safety practices. Many workers died in the fire tragedy including young women (Nobleman 32). The working condition in Triangle was characterized by overcrowding and unsafe practices. This indicates that the workers in this factory were working under poor conditions and close supervision with constant pressure to increase productivity. More so, because of the overcrowding, the work place had no enough space and the workers were confined in the room with the doors chained shut. Indeed, this explains the loss of many lives during the fire strategy since the workers had limited option to escape. Sweatshops are exploitations of workers in respect of wages, dangerous working conditions and unfavourable work environments among others (Mullerat 179). Other sweatshop factories that have drawn much attention after the Triangle include Nike. The working conditions for the workers of Nike factories that have been highly condemned by individuals include child labour, poor working conditions, widespread harassment and abuse towards the workers, indiscriminate hiring and firing practices, and extremely low wages among others in countries where they were manufacturing their products. Arguably, there is no big difference between the sweatshops of the 20th century and those of the 21st century in that, the working conditions are just the same. Poor working conditions and unsafe work environments are present in both cases. The Triangle fire tragedy increased attention to the sweatshop conditions in the clothing industry and there was increased urge to regulate working conditions, encourage collective workshops, limit working hours, and improve sanitary facilities among others. The public response to sweatshop factories was to develop a negative attitude towards these factories but some people continued to purchase their products. The response of the public to the sweatshop factories in the 21st century is negating the factories and failing to buy their products. Even though sweatshops are one of the major problems in the world, some people cannot survive without these companies. When anti-sweatshop activities managed to close many sweatshop industries, some worker ended up starving to death (Mullerat 181). What needs to be done to address modern sweatshop is to develop and implement anti-sweatshop plans that will force companies to create a good and safe working environment for their workers. All companies should respect worker’s rights, and there is need to establish a workers association that will address worker’s problems including sweatshops. Therefore, the government of countries where sweatshops are common should protect worker’s freedom of association. These governments also need to reform their auditing practices to allow them monitor human rights and labour rights violations in contract factories. Companies need to eradicate the practices that depress wages and those that promote abuse of their employees. In addition, there should be trade restrictions and embargoes to countries that practice sweatshop labour. Question 4 Compensation refers to the rewards that employees receive in exchange of their labour and it can be direct or indirect. Direct financial compensation involves payment in the form of salaries, wages and commissions while indirect financial compensation include non-financial rewards include leaves and retirement benefits among others. Compensation is a very important aspect as it affects employees’ performance and determines organization’s success and it helps an organization to have a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, it is important to design a compensation system that benefits both the employees and employers. Normally, the most common approaches to compensation are best-fit and best-practice approaches. Best-fit compensation involves focusing on the business and environmental conditions when designing a compensation system. On the other hand, the best-practice approach focuses on how to implement the compensation system effectively (Bhattacharya and Nilanjan 160). Both best fit and best practice approaches explain how the reward policies can result in greater organizational effectiveness. According to best fit perspective, a company’s reward system must be aligned to support the company’s business strategy so as to achieve a competitive advantage. On the other hand, best practice approach claims that there are many human resource policies including the compensation system that assist in developing a highly motivated and committed employees thereby enabling the company to have a competitive advantage. Best fit approach is the use of a job evaluation and determining comprehensible factors to figure out wages and salaries whereas best practice approach is the use of benchmarking to determine wages. Therefore, when designing a compensation system, I would choose between best practices and best-fit approaches by focusing on the ability to develop a competitive strategy without restraining the compensation system and considering employees’ interests. Works Cited Bhattacharya, Mousumi S, and Nilanjan Sengupta. Compensation Management. New Delhi: Excel Books, 2009. Print. Carly, Duvall. Making friends of foes: bringing labor and management together through integrative bargaining.Journal of Dispute Resolution, 2009.1, (2009): 197-211. Mullerat, Ramon. International corporate social responsibility: the role of corporations in the economic order of the 21st century. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International, 2010. Print. Nobleman, Marc T. The triangle shirtwaist factory fire. Minneapolis, Minn: Compass Point Books, 2008. Print. Sharp, William L. Winning at collective bargaining: strategies everyone can live with.lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2003. Print.   Read More