Workplace Employment Relations - Research Paper Example

Critically evaluate a couple of 'big themes' identified in the summarised findings of the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) INTRODUCTION The Workplace Employment Relations Survey presented its report for the findings for the year 2004. The objective of the survey was to determine and evaluate the different trends taking place in private and public organization. The survey evaluated the employees and the employers of the private and public organizations on different questions. The union members and representatives were also approached, and their recommendations and views have been also documented. The survey has been conducted with an objective for comparing the organization's trend and focus and policies. The entire organizational structural has been explained, and their policies and strategies have been discussed. The survey also includes the opinion of the employees with reference to the policies and management of their organization. 'Provides a nationally representative account of the state of employment relations and working life inside British workplaces' (Report). The WERS 2004 was conducted in association with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Policy Studies Institute (PSI). The mutual association supplements the fact that broad and possible topics and issues have being discussed and surveyed with comprehensive methodology. RECRUITMENT Recruitment is the crucial phase for any employer. The selection of individual/s for particular assignment requires adoption and implementation of practical and comprehensive recruitment policy. The recruitment policy is mainly determined on the factors including job availability, prospects, applicants and training period. After evaluation of these criteria, the employer takes another step i.e. the recruitment should be internal or external. Internal and external recruitment is normal practiced among major corporate sectors. The Internal recruitment is generally preferred because it avoids the employees training and learning period, secondly the employee easily gets mingled with the work environment under different position easily. However the external recruitment brings fresh and new resources and potential into the organization, which needs slight treatment depending upon the organization. According to WERS 2004, employers have increased preference for the internal recruitments. The report reveals that 68% of the surveyed organizations have equal preference for the external and internal recruitment. However in private sector organizations have higher preference for the internal recruitments, this is because the internal recruitment is also viewed as economical, and the training of the fresh recruitments and time allocation for their adjustment in the work environment is avoidable. The public sector encourages external recruitment, the obvious reason because such organizations have enough financial resources and time to be invested upon the new entrants. According to the report the employers have now introduced competency test phase for filtering the applicants on the grounds of their knowledge and mental capabilities. The competency test is followed by certain rounds of interviews that also involve group discussion. The ongoing rise of the competitive forces in the market, make it necessary for the organizations to recruit the best professional available, and this is way the previous recruitment stages have been increased, and new recruitment phases have been included which assist in proper evaluation of the employees. The recruitment stages provide an ample opportunity to the employers to find the appropriate candidate for the assignment. The evaluation of a candidate on the basis of his resume, and references is getting obsolete, and employer prefers personal and interactive session with the desirable candidates for proper assessment and evaluation. The organizations have also introduced intermediate training courses for its employees; this investment is made on the senior management rather than the junior employees. As the research studies and market strategies are taking new dimensions, the organizations have kept increasing the training sessions of its senior employees for further enhancing their skills and expertise in accordance with the demand of the present era. WORK ORGANIZATION According to WERS 2004 Report, certain measures pertaining to the improvement of the work organizations have been practiced widely across United Kingdom. The report lists following common modes for enhancement adopted to improve the work organization, 1. Team Working 2. Cross Training 3. Problem Solving The team working is most commonly practiced in the public and private sector; the employees are formed in group and are given certain responsibilities and assignments to be completed. However the percentage of the employees satisfied with such methodology varies, the individuals who have influence in the team performance are much contend with the applied mode, however for those who share little autonomy and influence the team activity has scope for 'particular than none'. The public sector organizations are more jobs specific, and recruitments are made accordingly. However the private organizations have generalized job assignments, such that the employee has to be an all-rounder rather than having specific skills. According to the report, 69 % of the private employees are involved in cross training, where they are trained to handle the responsibilities apart from job related activity. This practice is also equally practiced in the public sector with slight decrease, the reason because the public sector has enough funds and resources to allocate to each and respective departments and job assignment. Problem solving methodology is widely practiced in the public sector organizations, the public organizations are subject to different crisis and conditions of higher degree, and it is important that these organizations are immune to such threats or conditions. The employees are subjected to the working environment and market conditions that are foreseeable; this is the reason why the public sector organizations easily handle the vigorous conditions, irrespective of the availability of the resources. However under extreme conditions the private organizations are found either changing their organizational functional structure or forwarding towards closure of the unit. REPRESENTATION, COMMUNICATION AND CONSULTATION Representation of the employees is an important element. The management requires and is encouraged to launch and support such unions or committees. These forums and unions help in developing and forging proper understanding between the employees and the management. The formation of unions and permitting such forums to exercise and practice their objectives is matter is viewed as critical practice. Such an exercise is least common among the private organizations; according to the report 64% of the employees serving in the public sector are associated with unions. However around 22% of the employees are enrolled with the unions in private organizations. Union committees are less dominant in the private sector, and their presence in most of the private organizations is negligible. There are many factors attached to it, 1. Firstly, private organizations are highly strict and disciplined about their policies, and such organizations do not support any mushroom growth of such unions, so as it apply their own will without any resistance or strong opposition. In the public organizations that are mostly state owned, the government supports and invites the employees for active participation in the organization affairs, and existence of union is therefore much evident. 2. Secondly, the number of employees in the private organizations is normally very few, and their regular personal interaction with the employees makes it easier for them to express their concerns, reservations and recommendations to the employers. In state owned or public enterprises the number of employees is large, and therefore to support consistent relationship and interaction with the employer, the creation and participation of the unions is encouraged. The formation of union is therefore function if the employees in the organization. In some of the private multinational companies, unions are formed and the employees have effective forum for delivering their thoughts, and seeking their rights. The finding reveal that both the management and the employee representative share mutual trust, but the mutual trust shared between the manager and the non union employee representative is much concentrated than that shared between the manager and the union representatives. There are certain elements attached to it, the union representatives are viewed as harsh and tough negotiators by the managers, secondly the strong authority enough to hold and cease the organization's operation. Therefore the union representative's authority and the consequences of the authority can have major consequences of the organization and its performance. The union representatives having realized their influence and autonomy have in past practiced such policies where the organization suffered major losses. This risk factor is the reason why the mutual trust between the employer and the union representative has diluted. However with the passage of time as the market has gone real competitive, the employer and the union members have realized that both the parties are heavily dependent upon each other. The ongoing rise in market capitalization, the market globalization has turned companies more cautious about their policies, and their preliminary goal is nothing but to ensure the smooth and proper functioning of their organizational units with optimized efforts and outputs. The implementation of World Trade Pact i.e. 'quota free regime' (Business Week) has changed the entire organizational structure of the industries associated with production and services. The competitive forces and evolution of the international market inside the Great Britain has made it mandatory upon the organizational authority to exercise their policies in such a manner that negotiable and comprisable accord can be signed with the employee's representative. However the union committees have been found indulged in the common practice of making use of the organizations weaknesses i.e. competition, and emergence of international market across. The mode of communication with the organization is primitive. Previously private organizations and currently private organizations have been found in adopting interactive measures that have significantly strengthen the bond between the employers and the employees. The public sector was previously found practicing theoretical means i.e. emails, newsletters; notices are issued to the employees by the employers. This reason can be viewed as to why the creation and emergence of union parties is least popular in the private organizations, where the employees have sufficient opportunities to interact with the employers. However this can also be viewed as the reason to why the communication means is gaining momentum, the public organizations are been encouraged and forced to apply and implement the same and modified version of the policies and initiatives offered by the private organizations to their employees. In the current market, it should be observed that public organizations are facing competition from private organizations, and the only way to subjugate the competitive forces is to gain the confidence of the employees, and further the public organization is liable to boost the morale and spirit of its employees at parallel. This is responsible for the phenomenal increase in the percentage of the interactive sessions between the employers and employees of the public wing. The participation of the employees in the company's affairs and their awareness with reference to the company's financial, production and service standings is encouraging in both the private and public organization. Both the organizations are found providing possible and advanced mode of communications to their employees and their representatives. REWARDS AND REMUNERATION The award of appropriate pay is another crucial factor. The important findings of the report are that, 'around one-quarter (27 per cent) of workplaces set pay for at least some of their employees through collective bargaining with unions' (Report). The report further reveals that, 'In the public sector, collective bargaining was the dominant form of pay setting - it was present in around four-fifths (83 per cent) of public sector workplaces and covered about four-fifths (82 per cent) of public sector workers. By contrast, only 14 per cent of private sector workplaces used collective bargaining, with around one-quarter (26 per cent) of private sector employees having their pay set through collective bargaining'(Report). From the report, it can be concluded that the pay scale is offered subject to the presence of the union members within the organizational structure. Many of the companies established in the Britain practices the old method of awarding the pay scale, i.e. the organizational heads have the authority to determine the amount of salary without any review of the employees demand or request. But with the rise of union committees, the employee group has successively obtained the right to judge and settle their salary package. The influence of the employee to settle their salary for themselves is much common in the public organizations, where the union committees have mushroom growth. The union representative uses their influence, negotiable skills and power to fulfill and settle their respective conditions regarding the pay scale. As highlighted in the report, the role of union parties is much dominant in the public companies. The organizations are found adopting following ways of payment to its employees, i.e. 1. Incentive Payment Systems 2. Performance Related Pay (Result Based Payments and Merit Based Payments) 3. Profit Related Bonuses 4. Employee Share Scheme These variable modes of payment are commonly practiced in the private organizations. According to the repot 44% of the private organizations offer performance related payment. The variable payment scheme is excluding the basic salary offered to the employees. The private organizations are found practicing rigid method of settling the pay scale i.e. the organizational heads have the sole authority to determine the amount of the scale. To compensate for this rigidity, the private organizations are therefore found offering and applying such variable payment incentives scheme, so that the financial needs of the employee can be fulfilled in return for the extra input and efforts that the employee has to make for improving personal and organization's performance. However the private companies are found much careful in exercising their flexible practices of offering incentives to the employees, the employees are offered limited and conditional employee share scheme, and this scheme is less popular than the performance related pay. The reason can be because awarding certain numbers of shares to the employees, will consequently evolve union representative with in the organizations, only because the employees now hold major shares, and their representation is essential and compulsory. Employees share scheme is mainly exercised in the public sector. Non-pecuniary rewards are also offered to the employees in private and public organization, and managers of both the units have similar nature of incentives, luxury offered. However within both the organization major discrepancy was observed, the employees of both the organizations were provided insufficient non-pecuniary award. The entitlements awarded to the managers higher, and the employees have almost no major entitlement awarded in their credit. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES, POLICIES AND PRACTICES After the introduction of certain legislations supporting the notion of equality, many organizations were found reviewing their recruitment and promotions scheme, such that opportunities created were offered on the basis of equality, without any preference. Previously the policy of equal opportunities was practiced in established and large organizations, where the implementation of equality was important as it would further strengthen the organization profile. According to WERS report, 'most workplaces with at least 100 employees (96 per cent) had a formal written equal opportunities policy compared with about three-fifths (63 per cent) of workplaces with between 10 and 24 employees' (Report). The written charter of large number of private companies support the notion of equal opportunity. 'Equal Opportunity or Opportunity for All' is practiced and exercised in the public organization, 'equal opportunities policies were almost universal in public sector workplaces' (Report). Ethnic minorities, women, disable individuals are the major beneficiary of equal opportunity scheme. The British society is ambassador of pluralistic society, and this had major impact on the organizations within the country. Immigrants, irrespective of their religion are found offering their services into different public and private organizations. It is therefore important for the company to adopt 'equal opportunity' scheme, such that all the classes of people have representation in the organization. The scheme of equal opportunity has brought miracle to the performance of the company, the notion of diversity had positive impact on the over all performance of the company. The Great Britain has more than 'approximately 7 million immigrants, and figure is to reach 10 million' (London Times). The another factor that has encouraged private organization to apply 'equal opportunity' was because the immigrants, with their rich skills and expertise, are willing to work and serve on wages, much lower than the amount claimed by an English. The companies have been successful is achieving substantial growth, and high profits much because less was to be invested on the wages of the recruits. The influx of immigrants into Great Britain, and their participation in governmental affairs at the level of House of Commons, is responsible for introduction of certain legislations that support the spirit of equal opportunity. The organizations have now a wide spectrum of applicants, whose knowledge and experience can be source of progress and benefit for the company. The organizations at parallel launched certain policies and practices to ensure that the agenda of equal opportunity was being practiced in words and actions. The organizations in this regard established monitoring committees represented by the minorities themselves, so that they evaluation can be termed credible, and their findings be subject to less criticism. The monitoring committees were entitled to review and audit the involvement of the people with diversified background in the organization, and their role be highlighted. The union committees also play their part in the evaluation campaigns. COMPARSION BETWEEN WERS2004 AND WERS 98 The WERS 2004 shows phenomenal results as compare to WERS 98, however due to the change in the behavior of the employer, certain incentives and employee friendly attitude is evident in the WERS 2004 report. The WERS 2004 report has revealed that the employers have taken stern action for limiting the influence and formation of unions in their organization. This conclusion was drawn from the WERS 98, and the consequent developments that took place simultaneously. The WERS 98 give a free hand to the trade unions for participating and establishing unions, and the unions were provided with ample opportunity to achieve their objective, however the stern course of action taken by the unions upon facing negation from their employers have now discouraged the employers from currently pursuing any union friendly policy. The flexible attitude of the employers have been noticed from WERS 2004 report, the WERS 98, revealed that employees were under heavy stress, and have to commit themselves for extra work timings, excluding the official timings. The representation, communication and consultation has now been a regular practice of the employer, previously in 1998 such practice was never supported by the employers, the reason because now the employers have realized their self importance, and have successfully managed to retain and obtain their wishes, rather than relying on the unions. The WERS 2004 reveals a positive and conducive work environment, and is opposite to the working condition revealed by WERS 98. As the business activities have gained momentum, significant rise has been observed in the increase in salary, and remuneration packages to the employees. WERS 98, reveals a market with limited resources and capital, therefore the employer was reluctant towards offering high financial rewards to its employees. WERS98 is the reflection of rigid employer, and pressurized employee condition, however WERS 2004 reveals that employer-employee enjoy healthy relationship, and together the business activities and corporate are achieving all those targets, that previously were viewed hypothetical. REFERENCES 1. Barbara Kersley, Carmen Alpin, John Forth, Alex Bryson, Helen Bewley, Gill Dix, Sarah Oxenbridge , Inside the Workplace First Findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS 2004). 2. Bilkey, Warren J., the Vector Hypothesis of Consumer Behavior, Journal of Marketing. 3. Chisnall, P.M., Marketing: A Behavioral Analysis. 4. Stephen.P.Robbins, Mary Coulter. Management. 5. Jack Scarborough. The Origins of Cultural Differences and Their Impact on Management. (Quorum Books). 6. Article: Times , Business Section (Jan 2005) 7. Diane Darling. The Networking Survival Guide (McGraw Hill). Read More