Employee Relations Report: Conflict Management and Negotiation

This report delves into the crucial aspects of employee relations, using the Hilton Hotel as a case study. It begins by examining the unitary and pluralistic frames of reference, assessing how changes in trade unionism affect employee relations, and outlining the roles of key players like management and trade unions. The report then explores conflict resolution procedures, detailing a five-step process for managing various conflict situations, including those between customers, supervisors, and employees. Key features of employee relations, such as negotiation, collective bargaining, and communication, are also highlighted. Furthermore, the report analyzes the role of negotiation in collective bargaining and assesses the impact of negotiation strategies within the Hilton Hotel. Finally, it evaluates the influence of the EU on industrial democracy in the UK, compares methods for employee participation, and assesses the impact of human resource management on employee relations, concluding with a summary of the key findings and implications for fostering a positive work environment.

Employee Relations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS..............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Unitary and pluralistic frames of references..........................................................................4
1.2 Assessment of how changes in trade unionism affects employee relations..........................5
1.3 Role of main player in employee relations............................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Procedures an organization should follow when dealing with different conflict situations..6
2.2 Key features of employee relations in a selected conflict situation.......................................8
2.3 Evaluation of the effectiveness of procedures used in a selected conflict situation..............9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Role of negotiation in collective bargaining........................................................................10
3.2 Assessment of the impact of negotiation strategy for a situation of Hilton hotel................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
4.1 Assess the influence of the EU on industrial democracy in the UK....................................11
4.2 Compare methods used to gain employee participation and involvement in decision
making process in organization.................................................................................................12
4.3 Assess the impact of human resource management on employee relations........................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

TABLE OF FIGURES

INTRODUCTION
The modern business environment demands a healthy employer employee relationship
for organizational success. The recent concept of human asset has changed the perspective of the
management on employee treatment. Employee relationship is one of the tool used by the
organizations to maintain a healthy wok environment in organizations by keeping a check on
productivity, motivation and morale (Pawson, 2011). Present report is about redirecting the HR
framework to create a healthy work environment in order to maintain strong employee
relationship in the organization. The newly appointed manager of Hilton Hotel focuses on the
new terms and policies to create a better work environment which facilitates the organization
with least conflict situations, grievances and better relations.
TASK 1
1.1 Unitary and pluralistic frames of references
Unitary and pluralistic approaches are the two different approaches adopted by the
organizations which reflects the level of freedom within the organizations. The unitary approach
is adopted by the management who believes in having full authority and control over their
employees. The unitary perspective is associated with the legitimate power in an organization
(Gannon, Doherty and Roper, 2012). It shares the basic assumption that employees and
management share the common objectives and goals and that employees and loyal and totally
committed to the management team. It is and integrated framework of harmonious work.
Pluralistic perspective on the other hand allow the freedom of expressions within the
organizations. This approach actively foster the development groups and allow them to establish
their own norms and selected informal leader. This approach however is prone to employee
management conflicts due to difference in objective and goals. Trade unions who represent the
organizational workforce is the term evolved from the same. In case of major conflicts between
management and trade unions stakeholders intervention is demanded to solve the issue (Gloet,
2006).
Hilton hotel have the similar approached of pluralism in the organization. The
management believes in the freedom of expression by the employees of the firm. The hotel staff
enjoys the healthy work environment and thus try to integrate the goals of both the parties.
Conflicts however arise the tensions which is peacefully resolved by the conferences and trade
union and management meetings. The management believes in its staff and thus embrace the
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wider array of employee relation policies. It focuses on motivating the trade unions to make the
policy of pluralism mutually beneficial for both the teams (Dhar, 2008).
1.2 Assessment of how changes in trade unionism affects employee relations
Rapid economic development and globalization has forced the organizations to follow the
policy of pluralism in most of the organizations. Trade unions is the major contributor of this
policy. This contributes the organisations with a healthy and cooperative work environment.
Trade unions attract the growth and productivity by working in perfect alignment with the
organizational goals and objectives. It focuses on the employee contribution and consent in the
major policies of the management. In case of any demand for change the representative of the
union has the full authority to get the same (Hafeez, 2013). The traditions authoritarian approach
has been taken over by trade unions in recent era. It contributes to the organizations as follows:
 Educating and training the employees
 Tailoring the expectations and demands of the staff in the mutually beneficial perspective
 Melding the staff attitude and behaviour to build loyalty and commitment
 Educating members with broad knowledge of labour welfare and issues related with
labour management
 Evaluating employee performance and rectifying the same if required
 Providing proper trainings and retraining to the staff (Bridle, 2010).
Trade union thus has generated a new era of employee relations creating social cohesion
in the organizations by ensuring the employees with secured income and workers right and social
protection. It has also facilitated the development of partnership with the organizations by clearly
stating the strength of workforce to the employees. This however has ensured a long-term bond
with the company. Promotion of labour rights and welfare system has facilitated human rights
and democracy and thus has stretched the organizational culture so as to challenge the global
competitors by strengthen the position of the firm (Cavico, Muffler and Mujtaba, 2013).
Major impacts on the changes in trade unions on employee relations on Hilton hotel
include social cohesion, partnership in development, promotion of human rights and democracy
and c\globalization and changes, etc. It improves the social cohesion at workplace such as
effective working environment, security of income and increment in skills and knowledge os all
employees. Along with this, all changes improve the globalization and employee relation of
organization at international level (Shamsudin and et al, 2012).
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1.3 Role of main player in employee relations
The key parties of the employee relationship are management, trade union and the third
party playing the neutral role to promote industrial relationship.
 The role of all the three parties differ widely.
 Management role in ER:
Top management in the organization plays a very important role of managing the work
environment relationships and behaviours of the employees. They are people who lays down the
basic policies of the organizations (Deb, 2006). Hilton the founder of Hilton Hotel says
employees are the key ingredient of the organizational success recipe. He clearly agrees with the
following roles of management:
 Manager should focus on aligning the organizational goals with the individual goals
 He should ensure minimum communication gaps between staff and management
 Engorgement and motivation of employees should be his key responsibility
 Manager is also responsible for facilitating proper work environment and minimum staff
disputes (Condrey, 2010).
 Ensuring employee participation also become the major responsibility of the manager
Trade union role:
 Collective bargaining: this gives the employees power of negotiation. The gaps between
the expectations and applied policies are filled up by trade unions by demanding the fair
payment and work environments (Bridle, 2010).
 They make it sure that polices of management should be mutually beneficial for both the
parties.
 Employee welfare: the misbehaviour or unethical work practices are opposed by the trade
union. This gives them the power to oppose all unfair means of practices and policies
 Fair work practices: this ensures the proper check on unfair labour practices. If the
employees engage in any unfair means of practices trade unions and labour act prohibits
them from doing so (Snell, 2012).
TASK 2
2.1 Procedures an organization should follow when dealing with different conflict situations
Different conflict situations at Hilton work place-
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Hilton hotel also faces some conflict situation and mainly it arises between the staff
members, supervisor or customers. The manager of Hilton faces many conflicts such as:
- Conflict between customer and manager because that customer is not satisfied by their
services.
- Conflict among supervisor and worker because organization is not paying for their
overtime work (Walker, 2013).
- Conflict among employees due to poor management and leadership skills.
As an employee relation Officer Hilton hotel should follow the five step process for
resolving conflict at work place. Whole process if described as under:
Figure 1: Conflict resolution process Formal process: In this process Hilton hotel invites external party for resolving the
problem or conflict at workplace. It helps in reducing the discrimination at workplace and
provide a valid and ethical solution for any kind of conflicts. Informal process: In this types of process only employees and employees of Hilton hotel
try to find out some valid solution for different types of conflicts. There is not
involvement of any third party (Gannon, Doherty and Roper, 2012). Step by step process:
o Identify the source of conflict: After identifying the source of conflict Hilton
hotel can easily resolve it. So, management of the Hilton hotel should focus on
getting more information about the cause of the conflict. To obtain information
HR office of Hilton hotel should listen both of parties and check the conflict from
the other’s point of view. Further, company should try to identify issues clearly
and concisely. Along with this for getting facts about cause of information Hilton
hotel should focus on underlying interest, need and concern etc (Employee
Performance Management System, 2015).
o Look beyond the incident: Cause of conflict may be a minor problem but it can
create a level of stress in mind of both parties. This type of stress can affect the
performance of Hilton hotel. So, for resolving this stress problem organization
should look all the aspects of entire incident of conflict (Hafeez, 2013).
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o Request solutions: After obtaining information from each party’s point of view,
employee relation officer should take next step to identify different solution for
changing situations. Every party have different point of view to resolve the
problem and conflict. So, Hilton hotel should get all the solution which help in
resolving the conflict at workplace (Shamsudin and et al, 2012). Alternative
solution can be found by appropriate listing, discussion and cooperation with both
parties.
o Identify the solution: After getting different alternative solution Hilton hotel
should focus on selecting appropriate solution to change the situation. Employee
relation officer should choose that solution which can remove the stress of both
parties. Solution must be acceptable by both disputants (Gloet, 2006).
o Agreement: At this stage employee relation office of Hilton hotel should assure
about that both parties are agreed on solution. In addition, organization should
make sure about that both side understand the position of the other and develop a
mutual satisfactory situation to improve the atmosphere of work place (Regan,
2011).
2.2 Key features of employee relations in a selected conflict situation
Major aim of human resource management department of Hilton hotel is to protect the
right and demand of employees who are working in this organization. Employee relations have
different features in a selected conflict situation in Hilton hotel which are described as under: Free from Discrimination: At the time of conflict situation there is no discrimination
among employees ad has common interest between staff members of Hilton hotel. In
conflict situation employee relations is free from discrimination (Pawson, 2011). Work together: At the time of conflict between employee and management of different
organization of different industries some unions work together to attain goals and
objectives of both organization. In addition, they also try to protect the interest of
employees and management of both organizations of different industries (Walker, 2013). Negotiation: When conflict occurs between employee group and management of Hilton
hotel than negotiation is the key feature for addressing the conflict situation at work
place.
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 Collective bargaining: For resolving the different conflict situations at workplace
collective bargaining is also one of the important key feature of employee relations. Communication: Lack of communication is also become another reason for conflict in
Hilton hotel. So, communication with employees also help in getting the gap between
employee and employer of organization. So, communication is also included in the key
feature of employee relation (Tuan, 2013).
 Motivation: It also helps in motivating staff to remove differences and improve individual
performance at workplace. It encourages employees to give their best performance and
resolve interpersonal conflicts (Kane and Palmer, 2005).
2.3 Evaluation of the effectiveness of procedures used in a selected conflict situation
As per the above discussion Hilton can use different methods and procedures for
resolving conflicts at work place. There are different situations when conflicts arise between
different employees and employer of Hilton hotel (Hilton hotel, 2015). For resolving this
problem organization uses different procedures which have some positive and negative sides to
resolve any problem of organization.
As per the above discussion Hilton hotel uses a step by step process for resolving the
conflict at work place which includes different stages such as identification of source of conflict,
look beyond the incident, requesting solutions, identification of the solution and agreement. It is
the best process for resolving the problem of conflict at work place. It can resolve the sensitive
issues very effectively (Dhar, 2008).
For example for the minimum salary and salary range issue any single mistake can affect
the total cost of Hilton hotel. So, formal process will be the best process to solve the conflict at
work place. Further, it is also very effective for sensitive and uncommon issues of conflicts at
Hilton hotel. On other hand, hotel uses informal process of conflict resolution for uncommon and
less sensitive issues. Major reason of conflict at Hilton hotel include the gap in mutual interest,
contradictory rules and principles of all employees and different approaches and process of
different groups of Hilton hotel (Kane and Palmer, 2005). Formal process of conflict resolution
of Hilton hotel is effective for employees because it protects rights and demands of all
employees at workplace. Further, it majorly focuses on providing employee benefits at
workplace. Therefore, process of conflict solution is effective for employees as well as Hilton
hotel. Formal process has used by Hilton hotel for resolving the complex problem at workplace
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such as conflicts between employees and employer for change management process. At this
situation third party has helped in motivating employees to accept changes as well as provided
incidences to employer of the company to manage changes at workplace (Regan, 2011).
Therefore, formal process helps Hilton hotel in resolving conflicts at workplace and getting
appropriate solution for it.
TASK 3
3.1 Role of negotiation in collective bargaining
Negotiation is a best medium for collective bargaining. Collective bargaining can be
defined as a process in which trade unions work together for dealing with management of Hilton
hotel for different issues of employee’s right, salary, compensation, wage, incentives, working
environment, etc. Collective bargaining does to find an appropriate solution of any problem and
majorly it dismiss the case and problem (Palmer, 2005). So, there is a huge requirement of
getting a better solution in collective bargaining. So, Negotiation plays an important role in
collective bargaining to get final solution which will be better for both parties. Organization can
select negotiation body from inside and outside the company. Therefore, negotiation play a very
significant role in collective bargaining between employees and management of company. So, it
is a vital part of collective bargaining for getting the final solution of conflict which has raised
between organization and employees. For large number of cases negotiation plays a positive role
in making the ultimate solution of conflict at workplace (Bhattacharya, 2009).
Along with this, negotiation plays a very significant role in collective bargaining which
helps in maintaining rights of employees and employer at workplace. Along with this, it helps in
developing freedom of choice, resolving different labor management issues, etc. therefore,
overall negotiation in collective bargaining helps in improving the employee relation at
workplace (Palmer, 2005).
3.2 Assessment of the impact of negotiation strategy for a situation of Hilton hotel
Negotiation strategy can affect positively and negatively for a given situation because it
is not favorable for both parties which are involved in the conflicts situations. Therefore,
negotiation strategy has positive and negative impact on the employees and employer of Hilton
hotel. This organization is a recognized and combined union established from different groups of
the hospitality industry of United Kingdom (Alcázar, Fernández and Gardey, 2013). Negotiation
strategy has some positive impact such as it helps employees of the company to control the
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whole conflicts between employer and other unions of hospitality industry. Further, Hilton
hotel’s negotiation strategy is very helpful because it can satisfy employees of the organization
and bring a perfect solution of conflict situation for employees of company (Cavico, Muffler and
Mujtaba, 2013). In addition, negotiation strategy helps in protecting rights of employees and
converting all operation in smooth flow. Along with this, negotiation strategy assist in
maintaining cooperation between employees and organization. Further, it has positive impact on
the employee’s performance and productivity of the organization. Negotiation strategy also plays
an important role in maintaining strong employee’s relation at work place of Hilton hotel. But,
negotiation strategy also have some negative impact because there is a chance to produce future
conflict at work place. Therefore, negotiation strategy of Hilton hotel has positive and negative
impact on the employee relation and performance of the organization (Jena, 2012).
TASK 4
4.1 Assess the influence of the EU on industrial democracy in the UK
Industrial democracy is the situation in which the organization provide chances to
employees to get involve into the decision making process, responsibilities and most importantly
delegate of the authorities at the workplace. The rules and regulations implemented by the
European Union has improving the role of employees into the decision making process. The
main idea behind the industrial democracy is to foster the well being of staff people and
improving the relationship between managers and employees (Webster, 2014). Due to the current
legislation of EU it become possible to create the organizational culture of partner based
relationships. The concept of partner based relationships state that the union and managers work
with each another and they collaborate into the organization in pleasant way. Unions are playing
very crucial role in making people educated and aware about the benefits of employees as well as
managers. It has resulted in the employee involvement and it has provided the freedom to
employees (Dhar, 2008). The EU legislation is highly responsible for the improvement in
worker's situation within the British firms. Employees get complete support from the union and
all the issues got addressed on the priority basis. It is something which highly affects the
motivational level of employees and improves their performance with respect to achieving the
organizational objectives. EU has influenced the organizational attitude towards their employees
and now they are treating them as main assets of their company. Therefore these are some of the
main positive impacts of the EU on industrial democracy in UK (Condrey, 2010).
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4.2 Compare methods used to gain employee participation and involvement in decision making
process in organization
Consultation, employee association and attitude survey are most important methods to
gain employee participation and involvement in decision making process in Hilton hotel.
 Consultation Methods: It can be defined as a function of the company which delivered
the opinion of employees of the company at the time of taking any decision at workplace
of Hilton hotel (Cavico, Muffler and Mujtaba, 2013). It is not a compulsory or mandatory
to receive appropriate opinion of employees of the company. It is known as an informal
way of employee participation which provides assistance in obtaining involvement of
workforce in important decision making in Hilton hotel. In addition consultancy also help
in taking those types of decisions by which Hilton hotel can attain goals and objectives as
well as can develop appropriate strategies to the organization (Snell, 2012).
 Employee Association: On other hand, as per the above discussion employee association
is also a very important method to gain employee participation in decision making
process of Hilton hotel (Alcázar, Fernández and Gardey, 2013). It includes the raising the
voice of employees for decision making process, roles, responsibility and power,
authority, etc. In this method, obtaining, evaluation and implementation of all types of
decisions and opinions of employees are considered as important stakeholders of the
organization. In contrast participation of employees is also known as different types such
as participation of board level, ownership and collective bargaining. Along with this,
Hilton hotel also use the participation via control and job enrichment, etc (Bridle, 2010).
 Attitude Survey: IT is also included in the major method to gain employee participation
and involvement in decision making process in organization. In this method Hilton hotel
obtains views and opinions of employees towards organization's policy, process, working
culture, salary and performance appraisal, etc. It helps management in developing
appropriate strategies to resolve all these issues associated with employees and
company's policy (Tuan, 2013). By which company can improve the employee relation at
workplace.
4.3 Assess the impact of human resource management on employee relations
Human resource management has huge impact on employee relations of Hilton hotel. All
employees who are working at organization can improve the performance of the company or
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