Managing Employee Relations Issues at Woolworths

The paper highlights the current management issue at Woolworths, which is characterized by unhealthy employment relations, including employee absenteeism, strikes, unrest, bullying, lower compensation, and discrimination. To resolve this issue, the organization needs to implement work hour planning and pay scale increments to reduce employee grievances and improve productivity. Additionally, effective job redesigning for both casual and full-time employees can enhance employee motivation and retention. Collective and distributive bargaining can also be employed to negotiate industrial relationships effectively. Finally, it is recommended that the organization identify and evaluate the causes of deteriorating employee relations with management and implement best practices to resolve these issues.

Running head: Decision Making and Problem Solving 1
Decision Making and Problem Solving
Woolworths Limited

Decision Making and Problem Solving 2
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Overview of the Organisation..........................................................................................................2
Research Questions..........................................................................................................................3
Research Program............................................................................................................................3
Current management Issue..............................................................................................................3
Analyse the findings........................................................................................................................5
Alternatives and recommendations to improve the performance of the organisation.....................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

Decision Making and Problem Solving 3
Introduction
There is a continuous rise in the management issues faced by the organisational managers in
context with the employee relations and their impact on employee turnover, absenteeism and
organisational productivity. And there are expectations that there will be continuing rise of such
issues because of numerous changes in the managerial practices. Therefore, it is the correct time
for the HR professionals as well as the organisational managers to play a vital role in dealing
with such issues and challenges of management by developing a research program and action
plan. To manage the employee relation issues and other management issues related to the human
resource department, it is essential that the managers must accommodate the employees in the
virtual workplaces and also to introduce improved ways of managing the corporate culture and
employee orientation (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The paper will highlight and study of the
management issue in context with the human resource function of the big retail giant of
Australia, named Woolworths Supermarkets. The management issues identified in the report will
be linked and evaluated on the basis of the theoretical facts and models. Based upon the analysis,
there will be identification of the few effective alternatives and recommendations which can for
resolving the existing management issues or problems in the company.
Overview of the Organisation
The present study has been conducted in respect with the Australia’s one of the retail giants
named Woolworths Supermarkets. Since past ninety two years, the company is operating its
business functions across the globe. From the overall perspective, the management strategies and
approaches of the organisation are quite impressive and reliable but at some of the aspects in
terms of human resource function; it lacks and faces certain management issues. The key
business operations of Woolworths comprises of the retailing and manufacturing function across
the regions of New Zealand and Australia. There are almost 111,000 employees of the company
who help the organisation to expand globally and recognized as a well-known and global brand
in the retail sector (Woolworths Limited, 2017).

Decision Making and Problem Solving 4
Research Questions
 Is there any relation between lesser compensations to the employees and the workplace
strikes?
 Is there any negative impact of high workload upon employee absenteeism in the
organisation?
 Do management and ER issues such as workplace bullying and discrimination affect the
employee turnover arte and organisational productivity? (Croucher and Morrison, 2012).
Research Program
The research program can be initiated by considering a series of plans for the company. Before
implementing changes and improvements, it is essential that there is an effective research of the
issues that are prevailing in the organisation. Following will be steps of the research program:
Step 1: Define the objective of the research program
Step 2: Establishing the benefits and drawbacks of the program
Step 3: Developing the data in context with the impact of research program
Step 4: Mapping the reasons behind the occurrence of issues and performing analysis
Step 6: Identifying improvement strategise and solutions to the problem
Step 7: Identifying ways to have increased involvement of the employees
Step 8: Implementing strategies and recommendations (Carter, Murray and Gray, 2011)
Current management Issue
The manufacturing units and sites, there has been analysed several issues such as unrest and
strikes by the employees because of the management issue regarding the inappropriate wages
offered to the employees such as issues related to unpaid bonus scheme and lesser amount of
wages in respect with the work done. Managing such violence and issues became a crucial
management challenge for the organisational managers and the HR professionals of the
company. Pressure to have a fair workings system became a common challenge for most of the

Decision Making and Problem Solving 5
retail organisations of the country (Ahsan, 2013). The organisational managers were found to be
failing to meet the demands of eth employees and managing such employee related issue and the
management for Woolworths tend to face a serious of associated consequences because of the
issue. Due to the threat of competition and pressure from the consumers’ side, the key emphasis
of these firms are on the total quality management and innovation and thus there is less focus
upon the management issues related to employee relations (Bridge, 2011). It is also analysed that
the management issue of employee relations, there were found the high work pressure and over
lead work has resulted in increased employee absenteeism at the organisation which is becoming
an issue for the management to resolve at an immediate stage. There are worldwide practices
regarding enhanced and improved workplace flexibility and work life balance of the employee
and still if the organisation is pressurizing the workers by increased workload, there are certain
issues atht arises and disturb the human resource management of the company (Smith, Heley and
Stafford, 2011).
The increased amount of unrest working has resulted in extended degree of absenteeism at the
manufacturing unit of Woolworths as well as there also taken place lack of transparency and
security issues that has resulted in workers’ strikes. And thus managing the absenteeism of the
employees occurred as a big challenge for the organisation to manage effectively. The employee
related management issue of Woolworths also comprises of one more challenges i.e. workplace
bullying and employee discrimination (McKenzie, 2010). The overall management issue was
because of the discrimination factor also as at the workplace, the women employees were not
given an equal opportunity to develop and have rewards and recognition in comparison with eth
other male employees. This occurred as one of the key management issues as there was a sudden
decrease in the number of female employees at the workplace which results in challenge for the
organisation against the rights of the women and women employment policy (Lee, 2004). Some
of the analysis found workplace bullying as the key reason for the deteriorate relation between
the employees and the management that turned in increased rate of employee turnover. Thus,
from the overall perspective, the management issue of employee relations sounds to be very
challenging for the growth and profits of the company (Chavan, 2009).

Decision Making and Problem Solving 6
Analyse the findings
The issues of unpaid bonuses and lesser wages have resulted in extreme management issue at the
organisation in terms of employee relations as the Woolworths Supermarket has resulted for a
strike from the employees. This management issue can be analysed and understood by the
Unitary Theory of Industrial Relationship as the theory offered a loyal structure and a unified
authority to the organisational management for effectively managing the adverse organisational
situation and management issues (Tapia, Ibsen and Kochan, 2015). According to the aspects and
view point of the unitary theory, all the organisational participants are place together as a team
and are emphasized to work on the accomplishment of the shared goals, common objectives and
shared values. Therefore, the unitary theory has its primary focus to maintain high level of
industrial peace by resolving the conflicts and making all individuals work for a common goal
(Burchill, et al., 2013). Another element of the management issue of employee relations at
Woolworths is the higher degree of absenteeism and employee unrest which deteriorates the
employee relations in more severe sense. The management issues of lack of transparency in
context with the organisational commitment, security related issues, issues in relation to poor
work-life balance and work-life balance of the employees can be explained and analyse with the
System Theory of Industrial Relation Theory (Abbott, 2006).
As per this theory, every company is required to develop and establish its system approach for
influencing the functional as well as structural sociology of the industrial relation. Thus,
according the aspects of the System Theory, the Woolworths is required to establish some
systematic explanation and rule making-governing business operations for balancing the social
system and work-life balance of the employees by framing a distinct industrial relationship
system. The management issue of employee relations and aspects such as employee
discrimination is the key factor behind disturbing the workplace culture of the Woolworths. The
analysis and understanding of the management issue can be potentially done through Conflict
Theory of Industrial Relations (Witt and Redding, 2013). As per this theory, there are diverse set
of aspirations and values of the employees that potentially creates a conflict with the managerial
decisions. As per the approach of conflict theory, there is resolution of the management issues
and conflicts by collective bargaining and agreement. Therefore, Woolworths is required to
effectively follow the conflict theory in order to resolve the management issue of employee

Decision Making and Problem Solving 7
relations so that the employees can be influenced and there can be effective participation of the
workforce in decision making (Croucher and Morrison, 2012).
Alternatives and recommendations to improve the performance of the
organisation
Analysing and considering the management issues of Woolworths, it has been analysed that the
organisation is required to employ correct negotiation techniques for managing the actions of the
organisational employees as well as to resolve the management issue of employee relations. to
increase the production, the company used to make the workers work for additional hours as well
as to save the costs, there has been provided lesser wages to the employees which has resulted in
numerous issues. Thus, to manage the issue, the organisation must be implementation of work
hour planning as well as pay scale increment so that the grievances of the employees can be
reduced regarding the organisational management and as a result there can be increase
productivity of the organisation (Alfes, et al., 2013). Another recommendation is that there must
be effective job redesigning for both the casual as well as the full time employees so that their
demands can be considered as well as it will help in enhancing the motivation of the employees
towards the attainment of the organisational goals. It will also help in upsurge the level of
employee retention, enhancing the work-life balance and reducing the employee unrest level
which will ultimately improve the employee relations and management issue can be resolved
(Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).
Overall, to manage the issue, there must be implementation of collective and distributive
bargaining for improving the effectiveness of the negotiation of the complete process of
industrial relationship. Since Woolworths is experiencing extensive employee relations issues,
there could be done worker union engagement as it will be a potential strategy for managing the
issue. An effective and proper evaluation and mapping of the implementation of the change
strategy can support the organisational management in overcome the issues (Fruhen, Watkins
and Jones, 2015). t is also recommended that all the changes in the policies of human resource
management comprising of the compensation as well as the other activities in context with the
jobs must be adequately communicated to the workforce prior to any kind of implementation in
the organisation. Therefore, to overcome the management issue and improve the relations with

Decision Making and Problem Solving 8
the employees, the company is finally required to identify and evaluate the causes of deteriorate
employee relationship with management and must implement the best possible practices that can
help the organisation to overcome the same (Newman, 2014).
Conclusion
The primary statement of the paper highlights the current management issue of Woolworths. At
the time of undertaking the research, the management issue highlighted was the unhealthy
employment relations at the workplace of the organisation that comprises of the upsurge degree
of employee absenteeism, workplace strikes, employee unrest, and bullying, lesser compensation
and employee discrimination. It is analysed and concluded from the vast literature that the
companies indulge in unethical practices such as unpaid bonuses to the employees, offering squat
wages to the workforce, etc, because of the reason that they tend to increase their profit margin
and revenues by deducting the cost of labour. And thus it results in strikes and payout issues in
the management and there is a much need to develop a balance between both the employees as
well as the management to avoid such management issues at the workplace. For effective and
critical analysis the theory of Industrial Relationship such as System Theory, Conflict theory
and Unitary Theory has been used which concludes that the issues can be resolved with
successful implementation of such theories. Furthermore, the recommendations will help the
company to regain its trust and have improve employee relations which can ultimately resolve
the management issue.

Decision Making and Problem Solving 9
References
Abbott, K. (2006). A review of employment relations theories and their application. Problems &
perspectives in management, (1), 187-199. Retrieved on: 11th September, 2016, Retrieved
from: https://businessperspectives.org/media/zoo/applications/publishing/templates/
article/assets/js/pdfjs/web/512
Ahsan, R. N. (2013). Offshoring and Wages. Australian Economic Review, 46(1), 110-118.
Alfes, K., Truss, C., Soane, E. C., Rees, C., & Gatenby, M. (2013). The relationship between line
manager behavior, perceived HRM practices, and individual performance: Examining the
mediating role of engagement. Human resource management, 52(6), 839-859.
Anderson, G., & Bryson, J. (2006). Developing the statutory obligation of good faith in
employment law: what might human resource management contribute. Victoria U.
Wellington L. Rev., 37, 487.
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Baert, S., & Omey, E. (2015). Hiring discrimination against pro-union applicants: the role of
union density and firm size. De Economist, 163(3), 263-280.
Boedker, C., Vidgen, R., Meagher, K., Cogin, J., Mouritsen, J., & Runnalls, M.
(2011). Leadership, culture and management practices of high performing workplaces in
Australia: The high performing workplaces index. University of New South Wales,
Australian School of Business.
Bridge, J. (2011). Risk Management: Some Risks and Rewards in Implementing Diversity
Policies. Keeping Good Companies, 63(1), 18.
Burchill, S., Linklater, A., Devetak, R., Donnelly, J., Nardin, T., Paterson, M., ... & True, J.
(2013). Theories of international relations. Palgrave Macmillan.

Decision Making and Problem Solving 10
Carter, L., Murray, P., & Gray, D. (2011). The relationship between interpersonal relational
competence and employee performance: a developmental model. International Journal of
Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 6(3), 213-229.
Chavan, M. (2009). The balanced scorecard: a new challenge. Journal of management
development, 28(5), 393-406.
Croucher, R., & Morrison, C. (2012). Management, worker responses, and an enterprise trade
union in transition. Industrial Relations: a journal of economy and society, 51(s1), 583-
604.
Fruhen, L. S., Watkins, C. D., & Jones, B. C. (2015). Perceptions of facial dominance,
trustworthiness and attractiveness predict managerial pay awards in experimental
tasks. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(6), 1005-1016.
Lee, M. (Ed.). (2004). HRD in a Complex World. Routledge.
Luiz, J. (2016). Woolworths South Africa. Pp.22.
McKenzie, H. (2010). Why gender is still an issue. Australasian Law Management Journal, (July
2010), 17.
Newman, C. (2014). Time to address gender discrimination and inequality in the health
workforce. Human resources for health, 12(1), 25.
Olins, W. (2017). The new guide to identity: How to create and sustain change through
managing identity. Routledge.
Smith, R. J., Heley, J., & Stafford, I. (2011). Woolworths and Wales: A multi-dimensional
analysis of the loss of a local brand. Sociological Research Online, 16(1), 10.
Tapia, M., Ibsen, C. L., & Kochan, T. A. (2015). Mapping the frontier of theory in industrial
relations: the contested role of worker representation. Socio-Economic Review, 13(1),
157-184.
Warhurst, C., Van den Broek, D., Hall, R., & Nickson, D. (2009). Lookism: The new frontier of
employment discrimination?. Journal of Industrial Relations, 51(1), 131-136.

Decision Making and Problem Solving 11
Witt, M. A., & Redding, G. (2013). Asian business systems: institutional comparison, clusters
and implications for varieties of capitalism and business systems theory. Socio-Economic
Review, 11(2), 265-300.
Woolworths Limited, (2017). About Us, Retrieved on: 11th September, 2016, Retrieved from:
https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/