Employee Relations Dynamics: A Case Study of John Lewis Partnership

This report offers a detailed analysis of employee relations within the John Lewis Partnership, a UK-based retail organization. It begins by examining the unitary and pluralistic frames of reference in employee relations, followed by an assessment of the impact of trade unionism on the company. The report identifies key players in employee relations and outlines procedures for conflict resolution among workers. It explores the role of negotiation in collective bargaining and the influence of EU regulations on industrial democracy. Furthermore, the report discusses methods for employee involvement in decision-making and analyzes the impact of human resource management on employee relations within the John Lewis Partnership. The report highlights the importance of effective employee relations in fostering a positive work environment, improving team building, and enhancing overall organizational performance. The report concludes with a discussion of the effectiveness of the procedures used in conflict situations and emphasizes the significance of employee relations for achieving organizational goals.

EMPLOYEE RELATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1,1 Unitary and pluralistic frames of employees relations..........................................................1
1.2 Changes in trade unionism impact on employee relation in John Lewis partnership...........2
1.3 Main players of employee relations......................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Procedures to deal with conflicts among workers within John Lewis partnership...............4
2.2 Key features of employee relations.......................................................................................5
2.3 Effectiveness of procedure used in conflict situation...........................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Role of negotiation in collective bargaining.........................................................................6
3.2 Impact of negotiation strategy for solving out the situation.................................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
4.1 Impact of EU on industrial democracy in UK......................................................................8
4.2 Methods used for gaining employees' involvement in decision making for John Lewis
partnership...................................................................................................................................9
4.3 Influence of human resource management on employee relation.......................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCE.................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Employee relation is essential to encourage workers towards team building and creating
effective environment of the entity. It is useful for creating understanding among them and
meeting goals effectively. The present report is based on understanding significance of employee
relation in John Lewis partnership firm of UK. It is private and retail sector organisation of UK
which provides groceries, food items and home products to a million people of the world. In this
regard, different forms of industrial relations are to be discussed within entity. However,
procedures to deal with conflicts among workers and creating peaceful environment of the
organisation is identified. Moreover, significance of negotiation regarding collective bargaining
and solving out the issue will be introduced in this assignment. Along with this, differences of
different methods used for encouraging employees for their involvement in working together can
be discussed. However, impact of human resource management for employee relation within
John Lewis partnership is to be understood in this report.
TASK 1
1,1 Unitary and pluralistic frames of employees relations
Unitary frame of reference:
The Unitary frame of reference shows a way of thinking, assumptions, attitudes, beliefs
& work practices' that are related to managerial or organisational management at John Lewis
partnership. It is based on the idea that in order to gain success & achieve targets, the company
has to share same goals & work practice despite different job roles & designations (Paterson,
2015). Through the unitary approach, the capability of goals & efforts through the extent of the
achievements of the targets that are been set. Workers are considered as loyal companion to the
management team & management ensures the commitment & controlling of employees working
towards goals of John Lewis Partnership, making it the core of focus & loyalty. It emphasises the
importance of avoiding the workplace conflicts between the manager & the employee.
Pluralistic frame of reference:
In Pluralistic frame of reference, the company is considered to be made of several,
individual & powerful sub groups, each with one loyalty base & own management & set of goals
(Al-Sarayrah and et.al., 2016). For John Lewis Partnership, it can be stranded between the
management & the trade unions working with the company. In pluralistic approach, the
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companies' management is fewer controlling & more biased toward employees motivation & co
ordination among each others. Conflicts are heard & resolved with negotiations & can be
directed to bring evolution & positive transformation in the company. Its helps in building better
management -employee relationship.
It emphasis on freedom of expression & development of employees is considered prior
by the leaders (Sigala and Chalkiti, 2015). The managers of different department of John Lewis
Partnership will work together to achieve goals by joining various teams, motivating the
employees to participate & coordinate their efforts while working with employees of other
group. It leads to better leadership by the management. Also, the employees get involved in
problem solving strategies & decision makings, encouraging them to get more involved in the
work process & do their respective jobs with more dedication, commitment & hard work to
achieve the targeted goals of the company.
1.2 Changes in trade unionism impact on employee relation in John Lewis partnership
Trade Unions:
The trade union is the group of individuals or organisations which works for the rights of
the employee in a company. They are usually occupation oriented & are formed as a major
organising body usually by merger of several smaller trade unions. Thus, they have the
employees of several sectors of the economy. It can be defined as an organisation which governs
the employees benefits & working conditions in a company by implementing some set of rules &
regulations which has to be followed by the companies for the employees interests (Björkman
and et.al., 2013). Their main purpose is to improve the working conditions for the employees in
employment.
The John Lewis partnership can follow some legalisation by the local governing, trade
unions to ensure the smooth functioning of the company (Khan, 2013). There are various acts of
law which can be followed by the company such as: Trade Union & Labour Relations (consolidations) Act 1992: it includes the rights of the
employees which allows them to organise or leave an organisation or a union without
suffering discrimination. Also it libels the organisation to provide with better workplace
or working conditions & business standards with the employers.
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 Trade union act of 1913: It gave the employees right to ask the employer company to
provide with subscription in political & social funds for their betterment (Nery, Neiva
and Mendonça, 2016).
The change in the trade unions & with their getting in power, it has paved a path of better
employee rights & ensured the better working conditions for the employees leading to the raise
in employees job satisfaction & better job security.
1.3 Main players of employee relations
For the efficient functioning of the organisation or company, it is important to manage
the healthy relationship between the employer & the employee which is governed by the
legislation & is updated time to time (Olander and et.al., 2016). So the employee relationship is
been managed by following players in a company:
Company or employer:
The company plays the most key role as it is the organisation which will interact with the
employees & the government or trade unions. The company management will recruit an
employee & will manage by the HR department under the regulations made by the government
or the trade unions (Backhaus, 2014). The HR department of the John Lewis Partnership has to
look after the employees demand & well being as well as the maintenance of the positive work
environment so that the employees can work effectively.
Employees:
They come under the Human resource management of the company or organisation. The
employees will apply in an organisation as per their skill sets & if it fulfils the requirements seek
by the John Lewis partnership, they will be hired (SheeMun and et.al., 2013). Also, they can
negotiate & ask the company for their requirements like good pay scale, job security, better
working hours etc. As they play the core role in functioning & execution of the projects of the
company, their requirement & demands have to be met by the employers.
Government & trade unions:
The Government id the body which governs both the employer & the employee. Their
job is to create laws & regulations which acts as a catalyst in better functioning of the company
in achieving its targets & to resolve any sort disputes raised.
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The trade unions will ensure that the organisation or company is implementing &
following the laws & regulation made by the government. Also, they will look after the major
disputes between the employer & the employee on large scale (SheeMun and et.al., 2013). They
act as an interlink between the government & company. Also, they look after that the rights of an
employee is not violated by the organisation. The John Lewis partnership has to look after its
coordination with the respective trade unions to ensure the free flow of execution of the targets.
TASK 2
2.1 Procedures to deal with conflicts among workers within John Lewis partnership
In case of occurrence of conflicts and disputes among workers, a systematic procedure is
to be implement to solve out issue (Saxena, 2014). Therefore, positive environment of John
Lewis can be created as well workers support is recognised for accomplishing tasks and meeting
goals. However, following procedure is to be followed on reducing dispute as:
 Analysing reasons of conflict:
At first, HR manager consults with employee regarding the issue and prepares strategy to
solve out it appropriately. In accordance to this, workers' working abilities and attitude can be
identified towards task accomplishment. Thus, cause of occurrence of issue is analysed for
clearing out the matter and creating effective environment of the entity.
 Planning:
After consulting with workers, planning is created to provide suitability and creating
bonding among them (Chen, Liao and Chi, 2014). For example; segmenting tasks according to
their ability and encouraging them for working in group and so on. Therefore, positive and
peaceful environment of John Lewis can be created as of employees' coordination towards team
building meeting goals.
 Implementing plan:
In this process, prepared plan is to implemented for reducing conflicts and creating
effective bonding among them. However, it is recognised that they will perform their job more
efficiently in group as well support to co-workers.
 Performance evaluation:
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In this stage, workers' performance and organisation's atmosphere is evaluated as of
changes in them after implementing plan (Anand and et.al., 2016). Including this, it is recognised
that how employee behave in group as of reducing conflicts. It is critical evaluation in terms of
analysing co-workers' performance and encouraging them for team building as well for the
further years.
2.2 Key features of employee relations
Through reducing conflicts and working for employee relations, several positive impacts
are recognised in relation to team building (Saxena, 2014). However, it is beneficial for
emerging workers' interest for accomplishing tasks and creating positive environment. However,
working for conflict management and encouraging workers to better performance generate below
mentioned positive influences as:
 Better corporation in team work:
With the help of solving out the occurred issue within John Lewis partnership, good
coordination of employees can be gained for meeting goals effectively. In addition to this, it
emerges their interest for supporting team and learning new techniques for accomplishing tasks
appropriately. Therefore, effective understanding can be created among workers for working
together and meeting entity's objectives effectively.
 Improving work performance:
As conflicts resolved among workers, different ideas are created for increasing working
efficiencies of employees of John Lewis. In this regard, effective bond is created between
employer and employee same as new skills are developed for performing better. Moreover,
different ideas are generated for performance management and improving skills at higher level.
Thus, employees' relation can be maintained effectively influences understanding among them.
Therefore, it is recognised that employee relation is effective for creating bond between
employer and employees. It impacts on positive and peaceful environment of company as of with
effective involvement of workers (Noe and et.al., 2014). In addition to this, different ideas are
generated for performance management and improving working quality at higher level.
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2.3 Effectiveness of procedure used in conflict situation
It is identified that conflict management is essential for employee relation and making
positive environment effectively. However, better corporation of workers can be gained for team
building and enhancing working abilities of employees. In accordance to this, positive
environment of entity can be created to meet goals. Including this, for reducing conflict,
procedure as analysing the issue and working for its resolution (Mathieu and et.al., 2016).
However, it is to build up workers' confidence and motivating them for effective team building
and supporting co-workers. In this regard, variety of ideas are generated for systematic planning
procedure and encouraging employees effectively. Moreover, it is appropriate for improving
working and learning style of workers as well creating peaceful environment of the organisation.
Therefore, it is effective tool for gaining employees' participation in team work as well
motivating them for better performance.
However, conflicts occurred among employees can be reduced effectively in respect of
group efficiency and creating positive environment of John Lewis partnership. In this regard,
effective bonding can be created among workers for contribution and accomplishing tasks more
efficiently. Therefore, they will be motivated for supporting team and coordination for meeting
entity's goals. In this regard, systematic planning procedure is implemented to solve out the issue
and creating bonding between employer and employee (Employee Relations, 2016). Moreover,
working and learning style of an individual can be improved impact on his/her performance.
Besides this, good coordination is to be created towards working together and meeting
organisation's objectives more efficiently. It influences skills and performance at higher level to
create positive and peaceful environment of the entity.
TASK 3
3.1 Role of negotiation in collective bargaining
Negotiation is a process of managing conflict and reaching out to a mutual decision. In
this regard, appropriate and effective decisions are made for reducing issue and creating bonding
among parties involved in dispute (Ivens and Schaarschmidt, 2015). Moreover, it is effective for
collective bargaining and reaching out to a specific point. For John Lewis partnership, it is
needed to implement negotiation process for managing conflicts and determining appropriate
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solution. However, importance of negotiation for collective bargaining and reaching out to a
mutual decision can be understood as:
 Managing conflicts and increasing understanding:
Negotiation is helpful for reducing issues occurred in John Lewis partnership by which
understanding is creating between employees (Chemmanur, Cheng and Zhang, 2013). However,
an appropriate decision can be made regarding creating good bonding among them and emerging
feeling of supporting each other. Therefore, effective solutions can be made to reduce issues and
increasing working quality efficiently.
 Positive and peaceful environment:
Reducing issues impact on positive and effective environment of John Lewis partnership by
which workers get encouraged for coordination and reaching to a mutual decision (Nguyen,
2015). In accordance to this, healthy and peaceful atmosphere is created to accomplish tasks and
meeting determined goals with coordination of each employee within organisation.
Therefore, negotiation is beneficial for reducing occurred issues and creating bonding among
workers. Including this, it is for creating good understanding of supporting each other and
reaching to a mutual decision (Mathieu and et.al., 2016). However, positive and peaceful
environment of John Lewis firm can be identified as of coordination of each team worker. In
addition to this, it is beneficial for collective bargaining and compromising between parties
involved in dispute. Thus, negotiation is helpful for resolving matters and improving working
qualities of parties as of reaching to a specific decision effectively.
3.2 Impact of negotiation strategy for solving out the situation
It is analysed that negotiation strategy influences conflict management and creating
positive environment of John Lewis firm. However, solutions are determined for reducing issue
and appropriate decision making regarding management. In this regard, different ideas are
generated for solving out the issue as views of parties and compromising (Alsabbah and Ibrahim,
2013). Moreover, different strategies are used for negotiation as; analysing the issue, taking
favour of party, making appropriate decision and so on. In accordance to this, management of
conflicts and conflicts can be identified impact on further decision making as well supporting
each other. Along with this, effective understanding is created among parties to meet up an
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appropriate solution. Besides this, it is appropriate for creating suitable environment and making
peace within partnership among workers in relation to solving out the issue (Noe and et.al.,
2014). In this way, various ideas are generated for managing conflicts and creating
understanding to reach a specific decision. Hence, it is analysed that negotiation strategies are
effective for reducing issues and involvement of workers in working together effectively.
Thus, for solving out issue, negotiation plays effective role influences understanding
among parties involved in dispute. However, effective and positive environment is created by
which good coordination among workers can be created towards team building (Chen, Liao and
Chi, 2014). Hence, negotiation is for making an appropriate decision to reach a specific point as
well involving workers' contribution in working together more efficiently.
TASK 4
4.1 Impact of EU on industrial democracy in UK
Industrial democracy of UK get impacted after Brexit and getting separated from
European Union. However, business performance and different sectors of the country get
impacted as of decreasing and increasing in businesses (Jaiswar and Singha, 2015). However,
changes in government policies are recognised for which financial and business performance get
influenced. In this regard, industrial democracy and impacts on industries as of Brexit can be
understood as:
 Industrial democracy before Brexit:
Before Brexit, there were common rules and regulations applied for countries involved in EU.
However, there was constant growth in industrial sector of the country (Saxena, 2014). In
addition to this, manufacturing, operations and other sectors get improved performance at higher
level. Therefore, before Brexit, there was effective growth of nation financially by which several
positive changes are determined in business sectors.
 Industrial democracy after Brexit:
As UK got separated from EU, different challenges are faced in business sector such as; lack of
required fund, unemployment, lack of resources for operating businesses and so on. For getting
overcome from these issues, government made plans to encourage people towards businesses
and allocating resources for manufacturing and production of goods. In accordance to this, some
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positive changes are identified in setting up new businesses and creations in its activities and so
on (Anand and et.al., 2016). Moreover, increasing in businesses and employment has been
evaluated. Therefore, several positive impacts are recognised in terms of industrial democracy
and improving business performance at higher level.
Thus, Brexit impacted on industrial democracy and business sector of UK both positively and
negatively. In addition to this, employment and business sector get influenced as of increasing in
companies and new creations in operations (Van, Linde and Cockeran, 2013). Including this,
country's economic positive get improved as contacts with other countries and making relation
with them appropriately. Hence, industrial democracy get impacted in terms of business
operations and establishments in industries in wide range.
4.2 Methods used for gaining employees' involvement in decision making for John Lewis
partnership
For emerging employees' interest in working together in team and decision making
process impact on their working quality. In accordance to this, workers get motivated for better
coordination in team and increasing support for co-workers (Khan, 2013). Therefore, it impacts
positively on group efficiency and environment of John Lewis partnership. In accordance to this,
following methods can be applied for gaining workers' corporation in team work as:
 Appreciating workers' performance:
Through appreciating workers' contribution in team, they can get encourage for involving in
team building and supporting co-workers efficiently (Backhaus, 2014). However, they will also
generate variety of ideas regarding performance and improving quality of work. In addition to
this, their interest towards working in group can be enhanced effectively.
 Using motivational tools:
Different tools are applied for encouraging workers as providing them incentive, bonus, rewards
and so on. It impacts on their performances and good involvement in decision making as well
team work within John Lewis partnership. In this regard, they will get more encouraged for
performing better with coordination and supporting to other co-workers effectively (SheeMun
and et.al., 2013).
 Conducting meeting and consulting with them:
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It is also beneficial for maintaining employees' interest towards team work and
influencing their work at higher level. In addition to this, it is effective for building up their trusts
and encouraging them at higher level. Therefore, variety of ideas are generated regarding
decision making as in involvement regarding business and marketing plan for John Lewis
partnership. It influences employees' performance and their contribution level for working in
group efficiently (Witt and et.al., 2013). Thus, consulting with employees in relation to decision
making and getting their involvement impacts on their performance and quality of performance
more efficiently.
Hence, applying above mentioned methods are suitable for motivating workers towards
coordinate in team work and increasing their working abilities at higher level. In addition to this,
various ideas are created for management plan as of segmenting work among them efficiently. In
this regard, it is forecast that worker will perform more efficiently and contribute in team work at
higher level (Ivens and Schaarschmidt, 2015). Besides this, good understanding can be created
among workers for working together and creating positive environment of John Lewis
partnership. However, employees will be deal with customers more effectively as of meeting
their expectations and providing services according to requirements.
4.3 Influence of human resource management on employee relation
The HRM Department of an organisation plays the most important role by
managing the recruitment of the employees or, the work force (Nguyen, 2015). It is the human
resource department which decides which employee to work for the firm by ensuring that the
employee meet with the required skill sets & knowledge needed by the company.
So the HRM department of John Lewis Partnership will ensure that it can hire an
employee which fulfils the job requirements of the firm. Apart from that it will look after the
employee – company relationship. A organisation with good employee-company relation treats
all its employee alike so that there is no differences among the employees so that they remain
committed & loyal to John Lewis Partnership (Kim and Ouimet, 2014). Also it will follow some
activities & procedures which helps in building interpersonal bonds between the employees &
develop the team spirit.
The HRM department will also ensures the efficient implementation of employee
involvement techniques using their own idea & expertise, which will increase the employees
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