Workplace Changes Relating to Employment Relations - Coursework Example

EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS Name Institution Professor Course Date Abstract Employment relations entail all aspects of a worker’s relationships with his/her employer. Human resources managers uphold this relationship via executing workers’ policies that introduce rules concerning conduct, conflict of interest, discipline and performance. Drawing information from the Constructive Relations at Top Trucking Company case study and review of academic literature and theories relating to human resource management, this report offers a detailed analysis of the situation at the Top Trucking Company. The report also provides feasible options to address the issues linked to employment relations management. The report concludes that it is a misunderstanding to believe that employment relations are a relevant activity if the firm deals with trade unions. In unionised and non-union firms, collective relationships are paramount for organisational productivity. Changes in organisational environment through influencing the bargaining power between employees and their employers assist in explaining changes over time. Table of Contents 1.0 1.0 Introduction Employee relations entail the manner in which a firm’s management interacts with the employees. Every employee at the place of work shares a particular relationship with his/her colleagues. Employees are not work machines that function by a mere push of a button. Instead, employees require people to discuss concepts, talk to and share ideas and feelings. A person needs people around him in order to be productive. It is imperative that workers share a healthy work relation with colleagues and managers. This entails implementing constructive employee relations. Constructive employee relations lower absenteeism, conflicts and promote productivity. In addition, constructive employee relations augment the morale of employees. From the case study, it is evident that initially, the autocratic yard manager marginalised the employees’ rights and voice. The marginalisation prompted conflicts, accidents and stoppages. During the reign of the autocratic yard manager, employees at Top Trucking Company Wollongong yard were less productive because of the issues linked to employee relations. However, with the introduction of the new democratic yard manager, employees’ morale improved and the firm experienced fewer conflicts and accidents that in turn enhanced the image and productivity of the company. The focus of this report is on the exploration of the issues linked to employment relations and provision of solutions to these issues. The report contends that constructive employment relations promote a productive and structured workplace. 2.0 Case Study Top Trucking Company faced challenges relating to employee relations. Although the yard maintained a powerful position in the local product market, it was not a conducive place for employees to work in. Initially, Top Trucking Company’s employment relations were a process entangled in corporate-stakeholder conflict and controversy. The ingrained decimal in the situation was that the human resource managers never listened to the voices of the employees. The autocratic style of leadership employed by the yard manager instigated a lot of conflicts, stoppages and accidents that affected the performance and image of the company. However, following the sale of the Company to a national transport group, the autocratic yard manager retired. The introduction of a new yard manager changed the workplace environment and promoted constructive employment relations. The new yard manager employed a democratic style of leadership as he would consult the employees and thoroughly assess situations before making conclusions and decisions. The new yard manager shared the yard performance with the employees and their union. Following constructive relations between employees and managers, as well as fair treatment of employees, the company’s operations and image changed to the best and it became more productive. 2.1 How the New Workplace Practices Compliment one Another New advancements in the employee relations and human resource management have pushed employee and management bargaining power down to the firm level. There exists a developing call for managers to focus on attaining a greater evenness amid employment practices and organisational objectives. To ensure feasible employee relations, the new manager at Top Trucking Company used pragmatic or instinctive understanding to assess and prescribe novel practices and policies. He assessed the situation of employees in the company, their treatment and their performance. The new yard manager established a conducive work environment through talking to employees and involving them in decision-making. Talking to employees helped the new yard manager to understand the needs of employees, their competencies and roles in the organisation. He began by improving the occupational safety and health of the employees. He understood the training needs of employees both in the customer service and in technical level and ensured that all employees with training need got them. With respect to the scientific management or Taylorism, employees are economic and rational in their approach, but generally lazy and requiring to be motivated by the management (Loudon, McPhail & Wilkinson 2013, p.199). Just as it is in the focus of scientific management theory to maximise productivity through the greatest technical effectiveness of work methods, the new work practices focused on maximising Wollongong yard productivity. This is because the new manager’s connection with workers was objective and rational. According to Brewerster and Mayhofer (2012, p.219), scientific management theory emphasizes the creation of managers as agents of capitalist owners who hold conceptual role of organising work and leaving employees to execute the managerial defined tasks. Given that the employees had their union, the prescribed changes at first did not go well with George, their representative, but with time, he came to understand that the new work practices aimed at benefiting the employees as well as the organisation. The new workplaces promoted fair and respectful treatment of employees who in turn felt satisfied in their job. Although the drivers first objected the new work practices, with time they realised the benefits linked to the new work practices. The new manager consulted other stakeholders in the firm instead of patronising them. He acknowledged the efforts and ideas of other people in the firm and made the successes and pressures experienced in the firm open to the employees. The new work practices were opposite of what the old yard managers had implemented in the sense the new practices were encouraging, motivating and impressive. On the contrary, the old work practices were demoralising, ineffective, de-motivating, and often leading to conflict and disputes. The new work practices promoted employee retention. According to Goodman and Hirsch (2010, p.162), the main objective of constructive employee relations is to enhance employee retention, work quality, increase productivity, attract high-quality employees and stimulate innovation and change. Constructive employee relations depend on integration, sequencing, content and medium and more importantly feedback. The new work practices at Top Trucking Company promoted feedback that in turn improved the performance of employees and overall organisational performance. The new work practices enhanced the relationships between employees and their managers. The new yard manager demonstrated the effective relationship between him and his followers through the new work practices. North and Gueldenberg (2011, p.68) assert that poor relationships and mistrust with superiors augment fluctuations. Constructive work practices served as an intangible and enduring asset for the firm and its stakeholders, and they eventually became a source of a sustained competitive advantage at the organisation level. Apparently, because of the new workplace practices, Top Trucking Company won numerous novel contracts and Wollongong yard topped the key indicators tables utilised in benchmarking other yards in the Company. An essential aspect monitored by the new Wollongong yard manager was employee job satisfaction. When employees are satisfied with their manager, work practices, leadership, supervision and the work environment, their level of productivity improves (Phillips 2005, p.181). The new yard manager invested heavily on the firm’s human capital. 2.2 The Risks to Sustaining these Changes if George or the Yard Manager Move on According to Nassab, Rajaratnam and Loh (2009, p.119), out of ten management initiatives, seven of them fail not because of bad concepts, but because of not being appropriately sustained and implemented. However, a change that focuses on changing business processes and behaviours of the staff may be sustained. The new Wollongong yard manager concentrated on changing the employees rather than the organisational structure. As regard, productivity, the manager focused on changing the employees whose output is crucial for organisational success. In this regard, the risk of sustaining the new changes is minimal because the change agent focused on transforming the behaviours of employees rather than the systems. Moreover, the bad eggs that were pulling down the firm’s productivity resigned. This is an indication that the changes implemented by the George and the yard manager are sustainable. In addition, the approach taken to execute the change by the new manager is practical, and there is no mismatch amid the change and the intention of the changes. The changes and their intentions were to promote effective employment relations and the overall productivity of the firm. However, the risks to sustaining the change include: Failure to implement organisational capabilities required to sustain the change following its implementation Failure to implement the changes correctly when conditions shift Failure to translate sufficiently the changes from the company’s management to certain activities the firm must adapt to make the changes a reality Failure the let the employees own the changes Poor change management skills Change fatigue if the initiatives are propelled from the top management In the event, that George and the new yard manager move on, the risks to sustaining the changes are minimal because the employees were part of the changes; they owned and adapted these changes. Although initially the employees met with resistance, the manager addressed the resistance through effective change management thereby making the employees accept and implement the changes. He allowed the employees to participate and get involved in changes. He also offered support and facilitations through training employees (Nassab, Rajaratnam& Loh 2011, p.119). More so, the manager negotiated with the employees before the implementation of the changes, and he did not employ any coercive measures or forced the employee to accept the changes. With respect to the human relations theory meeting psychological and social needs of workers in the workplace, helps in maximising productivity. As a result, through focusing on the psychological and social needs of employees, George and the manager ensured that the changes implemented are sustainable over time (Loudon, McPhail & Wilkinson 2013, p.199). 2.3 Tough Blue-collar Unions like the Transport Workers Union and Workplace Changes Relating to Employment Relations With respect to the social exchange theory, employment relations are paramount. Because the social exchange theory employs ideas that mirror wider aspects of psychological and social interaction, it instigates a richer and assorted view of the employment relationship. The employment relationship is applicable to either non-union or unionised situations. It is important to view employment relationship as a subject of social and economic exchange. Understanding that the surrounding social milieu comprises of inherent ambiguities that provide the employment relationship with a powerful component of indeterminacy is essential to both non-union and unionised situations. In unilateral actions, the employer is the sole author of agreements, regulations and rules that govern the conditions through which employees work. In deciding employment conditions, the employer may or may not offer attention to the views of employees. According to Dundon and Rollinson (2004, p.23), the employment relationship is more than a legal contract or focused around the organisations. With respect to social exchange theory, employment relations offer both social and economic benefits to firms. In this regard, I believe that tough, blue-collar unions like the Transport Workers Unions are more likely to engage changes linked to employment relations just like service or public sector unions. In the last few decades, there has been a rise in the number of employers who unilaterally impose employment condition and changes in them on their employees (Gennard & Judge 2005, p.27). These employers are justified because engaging changes linked to employment relations improves business efficiency and promote the management’s right to manage. Even in highly unionised firms, there have been instances of the unilateral imposition of changes by the management on issues such as changes in job descriptions and overtime opportunities to mention but a few where employees are required to accept the changes or leave the firm (Gennard & Judge 2005, p.27). However, employee involvement is paramount as it enables employees to voice out their views and participates in decision-making. Tough blue collar unions are more likely to engage in work places such as the ones implemented by the new Wollongong manager because such changes are not only beneficial to the firms but also to the employees themselves. 3.0 Solutions and Recommendations The relationship between employees and their employers lies at the heart of what makes a firm to be effective. Employees in an organisation hold the power to permit a firm to attain and exceed its goals and objectives (Ugwoji 2014, p.17). Highly motivated employees work more effectively, and when they feel involved in their workplace, they make a greater contribution towards a firm’s overall success and direction. According to Banfield and Kay (2012, p.1997), de-motivated workers also hold an impact on the firm, but in different and more negative manner. Firms can take steps to predict a multitude of problems taking place in their normal operations. Solutions linked to the organisations employment relations management include prevention, elimination and minimisation of workplace risks. A well-performed risk management perspective by HRM can lower unnecessary expenses and promote accessible prospects. To manage a firm’s employment relations, the firm can capitalise on improving the security, safety and health of employees. According to Mathis and Valentine (2015, p.188), safety, security and health are closely linked and can be considered together when managers create policies because they impinge on each other in practice. Combe (2014, p.284) asserts that the work of HRM is to regulate and oversee employee relations. Constructive employee relations are achievable via effective communication between managers, employers and employees. This entails establishing procedures for disputes, negotiations and discipline. However, the firm must comply with employment legislation that underpins employee’s rights and deal with employees’ representatives to ensure observation of standard behaviour. To address issues linked to employment relations management, it is important that managers implement well written policies, communicate effectively with employees and recognise and engage employees. For firms to be successful and ensure constructive employee relations, they should adopt a human resource policy that promotes a high value on workers as stakeholders in the firm. 4.0 Conclusion Happy workers are effective employees. Successful firms understand that managing employee relations is paramount as it facilitates enduring employee satisfaction. Apparently, an essential element of any firm is its employees. No business can be successful and productive without people. However, people do not operate in a vacuum but they require to work and communicate with each other. To ensure the productivity of a business organisation, employers require to manage relationships in their workplace, prevent problems and conflicts that may negatively affect the business and ensure that employee are productive enough to sustain the organisation. The new Wollongong yard manager changed the company to better by implementing changes that enhanced employee relations. He ensured that the employees took part in the change to minimise resistance to the changes. The manager focused on changing the employees instead of the system in order to minimise the risks to sustaining the change. Given that such changes are beneficial to firms and the employees as well, even tough blue colour unions are more likely to engage and adapt such changes. The changes implemented by the new yard manager demonstrate that constructive employment relations promote productive and structured workplace. 5.0 References List Banfield, P & Kay, R 2012, Introduction to human resource management, UK, Oxford University Press. Brewster, C & Mayhofer, W 2012, Handbook of research on comparative human resource management, UK, Edward Elgar Publishing. Combe, C 2014, Introduction to management, UK, Oxford University Press. Dundon, T & Rollinson, D 2004, Employment relations in non-union firms, UK, Routledge. Gennard, J & Jidge, G 2005, Employee relations, USA, CIPD Publishing. Goodman, M & Hirsch, P 2010, Corporate communication: Strategic adaptation for global practice, UK, Peter Lang. Loudon, R, McPhail, R & Wilkinson, A 2013, Introduction to employment relations, Australia, Pearson Higher Education AU. Mathis, R & Valentine, S 2015, Human resource management: Essential perspectives, UK, Cengage Learning. Nassab, R, Rajaratnam, V & Loh, M 2011, Applying MBA knowledge and skills to healthcare, USA, Radcliffe Publising. North, K & Gueldenberg, S 2011, Effective knowledge work: Answers to the management challenges of the 21st century, USA, Emerald Group Publishing. Phillips, J 2005, Investing in your Company’s human capital: Strategies to avoid spending too little or too much, USA, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Ugwoji, C 2014, ‘ Amplifying employee’ voice in the Nigerian employment relations for better corporate governance: The imperative of new media’, Economic Insights, Trends and Challenges, vol 3, no.3, pp.15-22. Read More