Impact of Work Choices on Employment Relationship in Australia

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human Resource Management
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Introduction
An employment relationship is considered as a legal link that binds an employee and
an employer. This type of relationship exists between people that form the relationship in
work under conditions and in return for earning remuneration. According to McDonald and
Thompson (2016), employment relationship has become a major and recurring issue in the
modern world as the employees lack protection based on certain factors. However, changes in
rules and regulations have developed that have managed to maintain a proper relationship
between employees and employers. The essay analyses these changes and the manner in
which it has affected the lives of the working class people in the Australian industries. The
focus is on the introduction of work choices that have helped in amending the Workplace
Relations Act of 1996 have managed to contribute heavily to the changing demands of the
Australian industry. The types of changes made and it effectiveness are discussed to
understand the impact of the legislation in Australia.
Body
Neo-institutionalism is a political approach that covers the study of behaviour in
organisations, economic growth and sociology particular in the United States. The
institutional structure that rules the cultures and forms a competitive tradition in the market
involves identifying the approach to this method. Based on this method approach has been
made to the political scenario in Australia and the manner in which the Workplace Relations
Act has been implemented in the country.
According to Valizade et al. (2016) stated that managing the employees in an
organisation is essential so that an organisation can remain productive. Without proper
motivation, employees cannot manage to continue effective work and consequently fail to
improve the success of an organisation. The concept of employment relations come into
effect in this case. Employment relations help employees and employers to establish a link
between the two and maintain a proper communication for the effectiveness of an
organisation. Stokes, Bryson and Bewley (2017) have stated that employment relations are
effective in creating rights and obligations between employee and employer. The labour laws
and social security numbers that are provided judge the assessment of the rights of a worker.
In this regard, it can be said that the reference for determining the nature of work of the
employees are addressed by the rights and obligations it possesses towards the workers.

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Conway et al. (2016) stated that some of the features of the employee-employer
relationship involve collective relations and interdependence on one another. A successful
organisation needs a harmonious relationship to exist between the employers and the
employees. This can help the organisations to gain competitive advantage and ensure that
associations with the trade unions mutually exist for both the parties. However, McBride,
Hebson and Holgate (2015) stated that one of the major drawbacks of the employment
relations is the fact that the concept is dynamic and is still at a developing stage. Regular
changes in the constitution of employers and employees contribute to the downfall of an
organisation and at the same time create a mismatch between the concepts of employee and
employer. The concept decays with the changes that are particularly made in the economic
and social institutions. These forces try to provide shape and content to the concepts.
As such, some of the parties that are involved in the employment relations in an
organisation include:
Employees: The employees are considered as one of the major parties in the
employment relationships. This is mainly because of the fact that the employees are the chief
stakeholders of an organisation and proper relationship with them can help employers
continue with productive management (Godard, 2014).
Employers: The employers are the major decisional heads in an organisation. For an
organisation to succeed, the decisions taken by the employers in terms of recruiting,
motivating, controlling and maintaining strategies are important. The relationship between
the employers and employees are solely based on the manner in which they are treated. Thus,
it can be said that the importance of the employers is as crucial as the employees.
Unions: The union leaders act as a third and consulting party between the employees
and the employers (Rosenbloom, 2014). Mostly these leaders represent the employees,
however, an understanding is developed with the employers so that both parties can meet
their demands. Thus, these three major parties dictate the relationships between the
employees and the employers.
In a competitive environment like Australia, the concept of employee relationship has
had its significant impact. Bamber et al. (2015) stated that the concept of employee
relationship in Australia had to follow certain rules that can help the country to maintain a
proper dynamics in the employee-employer relationship. The issue of an employment