Labour Relations and Global HRM

This assignment delves into the complex interplay between labor relations and global human resource management (HRM). It examines how globalization has influenced traditional labor practices, highlighting the challenges and opportunities presented by international trade unionism, employer resistance to unionization, and the role of multinational corporations in shaping workplace dynamics. The assignment encourages critical analysis of various theoretical frameworks, empirical research findings, and real-world case studies to understand the evolving landscape of labor relations in a globalized world.

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1: Reflective Essay............................................................................................................3
1.1 Explaining unitary and pluralistic frames of reference along with their implications for
resolving the conflicts................................................................................................................3
1.2 Assessing how changes in the trade unionism have affected the employee relations.........4
1.3 Explaining the role of the prime players in employee relations...........................................5
Task 2: Case Study: Junior doctors and the Government dispute..............................................6
2.1 Explaining the procedures NHS needs to follow while resolving different conflicts..........6
2.2 Explaining the key features of employee relations..............................................................7
2.3 Evaluating the effectiveness of the procedures followed so far from both the parties........8
Task 3: Case Study: Junior doctors and the Government dispute..............................................9
3.1 Explaining the role of negotiation in the collective bargaining...........................................9
3.2 Assessing the impact of the utilised negotiation strategies and recommending others to
resolve the conflicts..................................................................................................................10
Task 4: Presentation.................................................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
Reference list............................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
Employees are considered as the spine of an organisation and for this reason; organisations
put more focus on the relationship shared among them within the workplace. Over the time, it
has become quite evident that strong relationship among employees successfully motivates
the employees and help in enhancing their loyalty with the organisation. Considering this
fact, employers concentrated on building strong employee relations, rather than depending
upon the industrial relations that is referred to the relationship in between the collaborative
workforce such as trade unions with the employers. In order to create a strong employee
relations employers have considered the related legislations and updated the policies
accordingly. The following assessment will focus on the various aspects of employee
relations and its influence in resolving the conflicting situations within the workplace.
Task 1: Reflective Essay
1.1 Explaining unitary and pluralistic frames of reference along with their
implications for resolving the conflicts
Over the years, organisations started concentrating on employee relations and incorporated
several strategic frameworks for increasing the commitment of the employees. According to
Cullinane and Dundon (2014, p.2580), in the initial stages the strong managerial control over
the employees used to create several conflicting situations and in order to diminish those
conflicts, the Matching model, Control to Commitment model and Harvard model were
utilised. Later on, two prime Employee Relations framework is being introduced that
included unitary and pluralistic approach.
As per Martin et al. (2016, p.26), the prime element of a unitary framework is the presence
of a single authoritarian source that is the management. Secondly, under this framework, the
collective workforce needed to increase the commitment among the employees. Lastly, the
employees are required to work collectively to attain the mutually shared goals. I believe that
the management possesses the responsibility of creating strong leadership skills that can drive
the employees to resolve the mutual objectives. In my view, the main strength of the unitary
perspective is to integrate the interests of the employers and the employees in order to
enhance the commitments of the employees towards the organisation. On the other hand, I
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also believe that this framework has ignored the inequalities in power between the employees
and employer that may create strong conflicting situations.
Pluralist framework, on the other hand, refers to the condition of a workplace where
diversified sets of beliefs and values are merged together to generate a collaborative
workforce Fossum (2014, p.13). In my view, the pluralistic framework is a more constructive
approach as it puts emphasis on the IR interventions that helps the management in resolving
the conflicts. Apart from this, I believe that the pluralistic framework also helps in quick and
effective decision-making process.
As per Crane and Matten (2016, p.24), pluralistic framework incorporates the participation of
the stakeholders and manages the conflicts. In my view, organisations following the
pluralistic approach form various management strategies to combine the conflicting groups
and find out the resolutions. As it concentrates on the legislations and procedures, it often
overlooks the processes that can be utilised to resolve the conflicts too. I strong believe that it
is one of the biggest weaknesses of this framework. Moreover, as the pluralistic perspective
concentrates on the worker interest, I strongly believe that it can jeopardise the process of
collective bargaining to some extent. Based on the concepts of different framework, I can
conclude that organisations following unitary framework can drive employee satisfaction,
loyalty and motivation, compared to that of the pluralistic approach.
1.2 Assessing how changes in the trade unionism have affected the
employee relations
In the industrial framework, the development of trade unionism has created great impact on
the organisational system. However, the influence of trade unionism is more often considered
as negative in the case of employee relations. I believe that the main purpose of trade union is
to protect the employees from the exploitation of the employers and generate a healthy
workforce within the workplace. According to Gilpin (2016, p.34), in England, the industrial
revolution and the initiation of factory system are the two major forces that created trade
unions.
However, in the modern industrial context, I have realised that over the time the trade unions
have cut down the power of the individuals to stand up against the conflicts. Moreover, trade
unions also restricted the scope of collective bargaining for the individuals. I have also
realised that the emergence of trade unions have also led the workers to become unorganised
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and incompetent to resolve the conflicts with the management. As a result, the management
has the chance to exploit the workers, compromising their morals and values regarding
employee relations.
In the previous twenty years, the functionalities of trade unions have changed considering
different privatisation programmes (Bryson et al. 2013, p.991). As per my view, the
privatisation module has strongly affected the public sector of the UK more specifically.
Following the privatisation module, some of the local government services were
consecutively sold off and emerged as individual entities (Farndale et al. 2014, p.105). It has
caused various employees to choose different employers soon after the privatisation policy
started influencing the public sectors of the UK. However, with time, the trade unions in the
public sector made the attempt of successful collective bargaining, but the same process was
not quite successful in the case of private sectors.
I strongly feel, as the private sector did not give trade unions a proper entry to the system,
the employees started lacking the enthusiasm and motivation. Moreover, the inactive trade
unions in the private sectors have failed to secure the interest of the employees and create the
negotiation process fair. As per Baron et al. (2014, p.162), the worsening condition of trade
union in the private sectors of the UK has made the employees vulnerable and affected the
working condition of the employees.
1.3 Explaining the role of the prime players in employee relations
Apparently, the prime players involved in strengthening the employee relations include the
managers and the employees, but various stakeholders also remain involved in maintaining
strong employee relations. However, I believe managers have the responsibility of motivating
the employees and gain the commitment from the workforce. Moreover, the managers also
negotiate the terms related to employment with the individual employees along with the
representatives (Geppert and Dörrenbächer, 2014, p.230).
Trade unions, on the other hand, are also considered as a key player influencing the employee
relations from the core. Apart from taking the responsibility of collective bargaining on
behalf of the employees, the unionists are responsible for regulating the relationship among
the other functioning trade unions within the organisations (Jones and Saundry, 2012, p.256).
I strongly believe that trade unionists can enhance the performance of the employees by
generating a favourable working condition in the organisation.
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The individual employees play the most pivotal role in developing a strong relation with the
management. The employees can encourage themselves in improving their performance and
secure a better position within the workplace (Shortland and Stone, 2015, p.286). In my view,
other than depending on the trade unions, the individual employees need to be vocal about
their grievances and resolve the conflicts with the management by themselves. The
participation of third parties such as government officials, civil servants and judiciary system
are also taken into consideration by the management in forming strong employee relations. I
think that the regulations promote fairness within the workplace that helps both the parties in
strengthening the workplace culture. Moreover, the government policy makers along with the
legislative bodies felicitate the organisations as well as the employees with a proper guideline
that they need to follow in establishing the employee relations.
As per O’Brien and Ackroyd (2012, p.41), the third parties often make a few settlements that
help the management to resolve internal conflicts and accelerate the decision making process
to be more effective. I believe that proper coordination and collaborative efforts of all the key
players are required to build a harmonious relationship within the workplace. The
organisations, which adopt a reformative approach discarding the punitive framework to
strengthen the employee relations, achieve noticeable success in maintaining the internal
harmony at their workplace.
Task 2: Case Study: Junior doctors and the Government dispute
2.1 Explaining the procedures NHS needs to follow while resolving
different conflicts
Dealing with misconduct and grievances in a workplace can time consuming and lead
employees to low in confidence and prove the organization costly. Disputes in a workplace
can lay down the morale of the employee if the dispute is not handled carefully. While
resolving the different conflicts NHS must follow the following procedures. The managers
and employees of NHS may allow considerable amount of leniency before taking any formal
action, but such actions can sometimes extent the employer in condoning poor behavior.
Giving chance after chance without mentioning any ultimatum will test the resilience of the
employer and finally when the barrier breaks, NHS will dismiss the employee without any
warning.
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As mentioned by Drummond et al. (2015, p.13), conduction of such method is considered
unfair to the employee as the employee might feel he was not given any warning before being
sacked. A method of transparency is required in solving the disputes within an organisation
like NHS. To solve the disciplinary actions and grievances NHS should include certain
disciplinary procedures within the employee’s terms and condition of the employment. Such
provisions are generally included within the contract of the employment of NHS. Employees
must be issued of the provisions within couple of month of joining the association. When
resolving the conflict of a group of employees within the NHS, the managers of organisation
will have, manage the situation by giving the employee the scope to speak and express their
thought about the situation leading to conflict (Sisson and Storey, 2000, p.55). The managers
have to be trained within the NHS in order to handle the difficult conversation among the
employees. The employees resolving the group conflict should encourage the expression of
the feeling and thoughts about the situation. The manager should focus on the interest of the
situation rather than giving importance to the positions and personals (Drummond et al. 2015,
p.22). The management of the situation will lead to understanding of the employees of NHS
to address their concerns and complaints properly, thereby maintain an environment of
harmony among co-workers. The proper following of the procedures will reduce the cost of
the tribunals for NHS.
2.2 Explaining the key features of employee relations
The term employee relations can be denoted as the relationship between management and the
employee. The term industrial relations can be described as the collective relationship
between the manager and the employee. According to Katz (2003, p.6), the employee
employer relationship is kind of complex and multi-dimensional within NHS. The concept is
not only limited to trade union and the employers but also extends to the general web of
relationship between the government and local leaders. Generally, the employee and
employer relationship is strong within NHS, barring the conflict period. NHS generally
follows an ideological framework within the organisation. The purpose of the policies under
the framework is to ensure the fair and consistent treatment of employees in respect of their
medical and health capacity, performance, sickness leaves, and so on. Implemented in
accordance to the Equality act 2010, any amendments and procedures will be enacted under
this law.
Maintain an environment of peace and cooperative relation among the employee is necessary
within an organisation like NHS. Being a health care association, any occurrence of conflict
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among the employees and the management will directly affect in the treatment of the patients.
Any unfortunate happening to the patients will directly affect the association and may
damage the reputation of NHS. For NHS it is equally important to manage the conflicts and
relations among the employees for a smooth running of the organisation (Friedman and
Podolny, 2002, p.31). In order to resolve the issue of any conflict it important for the manager
to be bias for both the parties and give them equal chance in expressing their views about the
situation. Both the parties have to be cooperative while resolving the issue. The cooperation
of both the parties will help in quick solve of the problem.
One of the most important techniques for NHS to maintain a healthy relation with the
employees is to involve them in decision-making process. Consultation and negotiation of a
certain issues and decisions, while involving the other staff members along with higher
officials is an important part for maintain harmonica relations within an association like NHS
(Koza and Dant, 2007, p.281).
2.3 Evaluating the effectiveness of the procedures followed so far from both
the parties
The procedures followed by NHS during the conflict of an group and individual is to initially
provide a disciplinary provisions attachment within the contract of the employees, and the
employee will also be noticed in further during their stay with the organisation to improve
their behavior if found guilty on any occasion. NHS also has a well-trained manager in
resolving the disputes among a group of employee and dispute with the management. The
manager will be biased to their thoughts about the matter of the conflict from both sides
therefore taking a mutual step in resolving the issue (Marginson et al. 2004, p.211).
Enhancing the employee relationship initially by conflict solving techniques and later taking
care of various concerns of the employee will led to betterment of the future of NHS. The
employee must understand the fact that, building a relationship cannot be one way traffic, the
employee also has to cooperate with the problem-solving situation (Cullinane and Dundon,
2014, p.2589). The cooperation of both the parties is required in maintaining harmonious
relationship within. The management of NHS must also make feel the employee important
and valuable to the organisation. The management should include the employee in decision-
making process rather than be lone wolf in taking the decision. Such measure can lead to
developing a fruitful relationship with the organisation.
By evaluating the procedures, it can be found that, for an association like NHS to be running
smoothly the industrial relation of both the employer and the employee has to be on the same
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path. Yes, there will be conflict within the workspace but that has to be resolved in an
effective manner for the betterment of the association. Cooperation of both the parties is
needed in smooth function of NHS.
Task 3: Case Study: Junior doctors and the Government dispute
3.1 Explaining the role of negotiation in the collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is referred to the process following which the negotiation process
between the employer and the employees is occurred. According to Gilpin (2016, p.32), the
collective bargaining approach enable the employees to carry out their negotiation process
following a unified approach. In most of the cases, the nature of negotiation in collective
bargaining determines the improvement of the working condition for the employees. As per
Crane and Matten (2016, p.43), the prime objective of collective bargaining is to attain the
requirements of the employees by negotiating with the employers or management. The
process of collective bargaining enables the employees to elect their representative or
spokesperson who enters direct discussion with the employer on behalf of them. Martin et al.
(2016, p.34) has argued that the collective bargaining process may be led by a group of
employees rather than selecting any leader.
In the conflict situation arose in between the British Medical Association, the government
and the NHS employers, the negotiation process revolved around a conflict regarding a
contract that the BMA members have objected consecutively. After the first contract that
included the fresh lot of junior doctors took place in the year, the BMA members took two
years of time for preparing their first stage of collective bargaining by calling off a strike.
According to Fossum (2014, p.31), the government often makes the intervention in order to
reconcile the disputing issues when any deadlock situation occurs. The Industrial Disputes
Act clearly defines the concept of collective bargaining along with the role of government in
resolving the issues related to such decisions. In this case, the government has intervened in
the negotiation by intervening and announcing the start of the new phase of the contract.
Considering this fact, it is quite evident that the repetitive strikes of the BMA members and
the consecutive denial of the governing bodies have hampered the healthy negotiation
process. Along with this call for judicial reviews from both the parties is also a matter of
concern as it may jeopardise the entire negotiation process. Although BMA has planned for a
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series of strikes afterwards along with their ongoing protest, at the final stage of negotiation,
they have taken a step back considering the matter related to the safety of the patients.
Evidently, the negotiation process has stopped for a while but it did not reach any ultimatum.
Lack in the identification of the common ground of interest and defiant approach of
negotiation by the BMA members can be considered as the most significant drawbacks of the
process that put a restriction in the collective bargaining process. As the final offer, that is the
final stage of the collective bargaining, is yet to be made, it is quite impossible to assess the
fruitfulness of the process. However, preparing alternative strategies of negotiation is
required for BMA to carry out their collective bargaining approach towards a successful
completion.
3.2 Assessing the impact of the utilised negotiation strategies and
recommending others to resolve the conflicts
The most common management strategies utilised to carry out the negotiation process
includes compromising, forcing, avoiding and resolving the conflict. As per the view of
Bryson et al. (2013, p.1000), compromising refers to the strategy under which any of the
parties settle down on a solution by compromising. Avoiding is a less practiced negotiation
strategy opted by the organisations as they avoid the conflict and remains consistent in their
own approach. Forcing is another negotiation approach that enabled either of the parties to try
a more direct approach for resolving an issue. As per Farndale et al. (2014, p.213), the
organisations opting for forcing solution have an authority or power that decides the outcome.
Resolving, on the other hand, is the most effective negotiation procedure that poses utmost
difficulty. Under this strategy, the parties within the negotiation process confront the problem
directly and identify the common grounds that can be utilised for benefitting both the parties.
The resolving approach of negotiation pose the maximum conflict as both the parties must
listen to each other rather than putting blame on each other.
According to Baron et al. (2014, p.170), strike is a very common form of negotiation through
collective bargaining that contributes in resolving the issues related to job security, monetary
benefits and other related demands from the employees end. Strikes are considered as the
most fruitful negotiation tactic that can even change the balance in the power. In this context,
the BMA as well as the other governing party have chosen the ‘forcing’ method of
negotiation as their collective bargaining approach.
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However, this approach is not at all effective in terms of going towards an effective solution.
As an alternative strategy, both BMA and NHS along with the government need to select the
alternative approach of negotiation that will help in finding out a concrete solution. Following
the ‘resolving’ approach of negotiation, the organisations will successfully find out a solution
by directly approaching the problem. Moreover, the resolving negotiation strategy will lead
both the parties in choosing the common grounds and approach for possible solutions. This
strategy will further help both the parties to feel compassionate about each other’s problems
and resolve the conflicts benefitting both the parties.
Task 4: Presentation
(Refer to PPT)
Conclusion
Based on the above discussion, it can be summarised that employee relations is thoroughly
motivated and influenced by the approach or system each management selects for preserving
the balance in the work culture. The discussion has focused on the several frameworks of
employee relations. Unitary framework is considered as the most significant framework that
organisations should approach. Other than this, the assessment reveals different aspects of
employee relations in the light of finding out a resolution for managing conflicting condition
within the workplace. Followed by the approach of collective bargaining, the discussion has
taken a leap towards the possible resolutions related to the maintenance of employee
relations.
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