Unit 20 Employee Relation Assignment Copy NHS

Programme	Diploma in Business
Unit Number and Title	Unit 20 Employee Relation Assignment Copy NHS
QFC Level	Level 5

Introduction

This employee relation assignment NHS answers to all the relevant questions regarding the functioning of one of the most prestigious brand of shoes all across the globe, Adidas. The German based company as founded in 1949 and produces various sports outfits and kits, which are famous internationally. In spite of its highly reputable name, the company has been facing a lot of criticism regarding the poor working conditions and pay structures of the employees. The company also does not hold a good record of accomplishment of maintaining the rights of the trade unions. In this assignment, the employment relations in the company are being focused. Several measures have been put forward that can lead to salary hikes of the employees and better workplace environment. The responsibility of the trade unions are stressed which can lead to various types of negotiations between the workers and the management resulting in the smooth functioning of Adidas. The second half of the assignment deals with the conflicts between the NHS employers and the employees. They take up various methods to resolve conflicts through the processes like mediation. Employees are also motivated for increasing their overall productivity.

Task 1

1.1 Unitary and pluralistic frames of reference explaining the implications of each of the perspectives for the appropriate means through which conflict is to be resolved.

Employment relations include the studying of the relationship between an employer and his employee or employees. It further focuses on the various issues that arise at workplaces due to nature of the employer-employee relationship (Kearney and Mareschal, 2014).

• Unitary Frame of Reference- Here, the management considers it their responsibility to monitor and control the employees for achieving the goals of the organization and other economic targets. It is expected of the employees to share the same values and objectives with that of the management for the progression of the organization.
  If we look at the Unitary Frame of Reference from the point of view of Adidas, the higher authorities of the company expect all the members of the company to share the same attitude towards achieving the firm’s goals irrespective of their positions and roles. This way of thinking is very common among several reputed companies who assume that the members share common values and practices. Adidas being one of the leading producers of shoes involves the hard work of workers at extreme harsh conditions. The wages that are provided to these people are extremely low as compared to the amount of hard work that they put in. The firm’s unitary perception is to impose the various objectives and to measure the success of the firm by the actual achievement of all these targets.
• Pluralist Frame of Reference- Contrary to the unitary frame, it refers to the various objectives that are present in the firm and are related to each other. The pluralistic frame of reference stresses on the fact that a balance needs to be maintained among these objectives for the proper functioning of the organization (Cullinane and Dundon, 2014).
  In this frame of reference, a company like Adidas will include the working of several workers who have their own responsibilities and have their separate leaders. The various sets of employees work in accordance to the law and objectives and are answerable to their own authorial heads. Trade unions and management form the two major groups in Adidas. According to this pluralistic frame of reference, the company’s management will work towards the implementation, control and coordination of objectives and functioning. On the other hand, trade unions are expected to deal with the conflicts in the organization and to become the rightful representatives of the employees. The conflicts are dealt with collective bargaining and it is considered a healthy practice.

1.2 Assess how changes in trade unionism have affected employee relations.

Trade Unions are the associations in companies or professions who deal with the various issues of rights of the workers. They act as a mediator between the employees and the management and address the different problems of the workers (Visser, 2011). Trade Unions perform a large number of roles like negotiating payments, safeguarding the rights and interests of employees, resolving issues and conflicts, providing advice to workers seeking help and by offering other services to the workers. Here, we will focus on the roles of the trade union in a particular organization and how its effective functioning has an impact on the employee relations.

For a long time, the workers at Adidas were working at extremely low wages and were enduring harsh working conditions in order to produce shoes that are considered to be extremely reputable all over the world. It has also been studied that the company does not have a good record of accomplishment of respecting the various rights of the trade union. These reasons have led to the rise in the number of conflicts between the management of Adidas and its trade union (Egels-Zandén and Merk, 2014). Therefore, it is important for the company to provide its workers with better working conditions and salaries. Wages provided by the company should be such that they meet the basic requirements of leading a life. The salary hike should be done within the working hours so that the hours dedicated to overtime can be reduced effectively.

The presence and persistence of such problems at Adidas has lead to an increase in the number of workers who are leaving the company for better working conditions in some other company. Trade unions need to develop a positive relationship between the employees and the management by addressing the problems that are hampering the interests of the workers. There should be a balance between the wages provided by the company and the prevailing wages in the market and it should be looked after by the trade unions. Trade unions should also make platforms in order to address the challenges faced at both national and international levels. There is an utmost need for partnership to the purpose of promoting democracy and human rights. This is also important for solving the severe challenges that are faced at the international level. It is the responsibility of trade unions to promote the functioning of democratic institutions which is also considered to be an important tool for Adidas.

1.3 Explain the role of the key players in employee relations.

The key players in employment relations and their roles are as follows:

• Employees and Trade Unions: It is important for the people working at Adidas to find their job to be interesting. The employees of the company follow a set of rules. The experienced workers must not demand extremely high wages and must be available for the subordinates (Blanchflower and Bryson, 2010). Trade unions also play important functions of negotiating wages, providing workers with help and information and to resolve conflicts between employers and employees. From the late 1930s, trade unions have been active in the company to safeguard the interests of the employees and to protect them from any unfair rules imposed by the management. Workers should find their employers to be approachable. They must be given the liberty to clarify things in cases of confusion because a distant relationship only results in conflicts.
• Employers and Employer organization: It is the responsibility of the employer organization to help the managers and supervisors to resolve issues. The managers who are working at Adidas ensure the presence of all the members of the company in the communication network present in the organization. All the workers must have the freedom to communicate to each other and to the higher authority so that they can work towards achieving goals of the company and in order to develop healthy competition among them. The managers assign tasks to the workers keeping in mind the areas of their expertise. He should be looked as a functioning role model. It is his duty to treat all the employees equally without any bias (Naff, Riccucci and Freyss, S.F., 2013). The leader should also have a good understanding of the members.
• Government and Government agencies: The government plays an important role when it comes to improving employee relations. It puts forward models promoting connection practice between trade unions and management. It also has the power to set up new rules regarding wages and about improving the living conditions of workers. This body also intervenes between the management and the workers and tries to settle disputes.

The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Services (ACAS) was put up by the government which helps Adidas in various ways. It helps the company through negotiation and collaboration. Free legal bodies like employment tribunals provide help regarding jobs, unfair payments, terminating off employees without suitable reasons, health hazards due to unhealthy working conditions, discrimination on the basis of sex and color and other fields.

Task 2

2.1 Explain the procedures an organization (NHS employer) should follow when dealing with different conflict

It has been noticed that conflicts in NHS can bring about vital changes. However, it can also have negative results on the productivity of the company (den Hond, de Bakker and de Haan, 2010). Workers who are always involved in disputes like strikes etc. suffer from excessive stress that leads to health hazards. Other than these, individuals are also busy in arguments and in persuading coworkers to support them even when these workers do not hold any grudges against the management. Often equipments are sabotaged and a lot of time is wasted in these disputes instead to any productive work.

Health organizations involve different types of conflicts like interpersonal and intrapersonal disputes. There are other forms of conflicts like strategic and structural. The management of the organization makes sure that each and every strategy which is involved in the settlement of disputes is always under supervision. This involvement of supervision as well as diversity will allow the organization to maintain a transparent environment where the workers will share a relationship of trust with the management (Jones, 2010). A number of steps are involved in the implementation of such strategies that are as follows:

• Compromise: It involves the reaching of a point where both the sides can settle a dispute. At this point, both the sides attempt to solve the problem because none of them will get everything they asked for and will not losing completely. This midway is beneficial in several cases.
• Avoid: Often both the parties avoid conflicts. This happens mainly when they are unwilling to make the situation unpleasant or to make things worse.
• Force: in most cases, avoiding a certain conflict can lead to no proper outcome. So, the supervisors have the power to enforce practices which might result in an end to the conflict. They also have the power to impose decisions to make things better. However, the side having more power is likely to take a decision that might result in an end to the conflict.
• Resolve: The NHS management can address the problem directly and try to solve it by confronting the problem. This is regarded as the most important step in resolving conflict. In order to make a decision free from any kind of bias, it is important to listen to both the parties and to develop a sort of understanding (Cummings and Worley, 2014). The problematic areas need to be identified and attempts have to be made from both the sides to resolve them.

2.2 Explain the key features of employee relations with reference to the above conflict situation.

It is important for NHS organization to manage disputes effectively. In order to achieve this, a person needs to have strong communications skills. There is always a need to have an open environment so that the various units of the organization can communicate with each other (Storey, 2014). The employees will be able to talk about their areas of concern and the management can take effective steps to develop a relationship of understanding. The employers try to understand the doubts of the employees and try to focus on the problems. Conflicts can arise due to excessive competition between colleagues for a particular post. In such cases of disputes, the management needs to identify the problematic situation and the reasons operating behind its formation. After studying the nature of the conflict, the authorities can take suitable steps to solve them.

• Communication: This plays an extremely important role in resolving conflicts. If there a transparent communication between the units of an organization, then solving a particular problem becomes easier. The relationship should be such that the employees feel free to communicate their problems with the supervisors. Communication can prevent the emergence of conflicts because an open platform will allow the workers to express their grief and problems which are considered to be the main issues leading to the rise of conflicts. When all the members of a company have the freedom to approach each other, a lot of the conflicts do not get an opportunity to take place.
• Mediation: The leaders or supervisors often act as mediators in settling disputes by listening to both sides of a problem. They organize meetings so that both the sides are able to discuss their problems and try to develop an understanding for resolving it (Moore, 2014). The solutions are reached mutually where the interests of both the parties are taken into consideration. It is also the responsibility if these leaders to develop healthy competition in the practices of the company.

The trade unions, on the other hand, play an important role in maintaining employee relations. They look after the interests of the workers and protect them. If the management imposes any kinds of rules forcefully, then the trade unions work against them. In NHS organizations, mediation involves both the presence of employees as well as the management where the terms and conditions of both the parties are negotiated with for reaching a substantial result where both the parties do not need to lose anything.

2.3 Evaluate the effectiveness of procedures followed so far from both parties in this conflict situation.

Often several conflicts have been considered important for bringing about important changes in health organizations. The conflicts have resulted in negative outcomes more than the positive ones. The workers who are always involved in disputes live a life of stress, which harms the physical conditions of these people (Tjosvold, Wong and Feng Chen, 2014). These people also influence their coworkers to participate in the agitation against the management. People who are persuaded to join the disputes may not hold any grievances against the management. This often results in damage of the equipments of the company and other dangerous deeds. Such conflicts do not allow the workers to do any constructive work leading to a decrease in the productivity of the company. Conflicts can be interpersonal, intrapersonal and strategic. The supervisors need to look after every step that is involved in resolving conflicts. The continuation of such problems can only lead to emotional turmoil on the part of the supervisors that only add to the existing difficulties associated with the conflicts. It is very important for the supervisors to understand what a conflict is and what necessary steps can be taken to resolve them. Strained relationships lead to emotional disturbances among all the members involved in a conflict and in a way reduces the overall productivity of the company largely. Employees are discouraged and they do not put in their maximum efforts for the benefits of organizations. A change in the behavior of the members can lead to resolving such conflicts whereas; a change in the personalities cannot be expected. In order to resolve conflicts in NHS organization, it needs to hire someone who has extremely strong communication skills. As discussed earlier, an open environment must be created where the members can approach each other and address the various problems (Kerzner, 2013). This will help to build a transparent relationship between the employees and the employers. The supervisors who also help to develop a relationship of trust between the two can answer various questions and doubts that arise in the minds of the employees. The prevalence of such an open ambience can prevent the emergence of conflicts because most of the misunderstandings that lead to disputes can be solved through proper communications. The presence of such an open atmosphere will help the employees to develop a relationship based on trust with the management of the company.

Task 3

3.1 Explain the role of negotiation in collective bargaining as in the above conflict.

The process of resolving a conflict through interaction of the members where the outcome is agreeable by both the parties is known as negotiation. In this case, the results should be such that both the parties meet at a mutual point of agreement where both of them get what they want to a certain extent and not lose anything.

Both the parties, the management and the trade unions, involved in the conflict (Felbermayr, Hauptmann and Schmerer, 2014), can explain collective bargaining as the process of negotiation on issues that are of concern. This can be done through interaction and talks. It is a joint managing methodology where the administration of the firm is monitored along with the working of the employees and the state of job. It is generally regarded as a process where all kinds of discussions regarding wages are done among managers and the employees with the help of the trade union. It is the role of the trade unions to act as bargaining operators who are able to counterbalance the unevenness of individual dealing power amidst supervisors and workers. The power is distributed between the administrators and the trade unions. Collective bargaining acts as a measure to settle disputes between the managements and the unions.

Motivation is a psychological element, which leads to the encouragement of a worker to achieve certain targets. This particular element has been given extreme importance by scholars for the proper functioning of an organization. A reduction in the salary and pension policies of the NHS was noticed but later all the policies were revised by providing the employees with suitable information, salaries and other benefits (Britnell, 2012).

Money is one of the key elements that motivate a worker to give his maximum efforts. The employees often receive payments as rewards for their performances. It can also be considered as a medium of exchange while negotiating matters of conflict. Money is also required to improve matters of hygiene and to improve the working conditions of the employees in workplaces and other places. The amount of money paid to an individual is considered as a means to understand his position in an organization. Money acts as the key element in the collective bargaining. This particular element is given utmost importance in theories of expectancy. Therefore, it can be concluded that money acts as the primary element that helps to resolve disputes because most of the cases are solved by providing money. In addition, the root cause of the major conflicts has always been the absence of money.

3.2 Assess the impact of the negotiation strategies adopted by both parties in the above conflict situation and comment on other negotiating strategies and the potential impact it could have.

The various ways of interaction that is used by the members involved in a particular conflict for achieving a particular resolution is known as strategy of negotiation. The NHS management depending on the relevance of the issues that requires negotiation can utilize several strategies of negotiation. When the entire process related to negotiation is planned, the selection of the policies takes place. In case of NHS organizations, two categories of strategies related to negotiation have been identified. These include the competitive strategy and the collaborative strategy in the traditional context.

The first strategy called the collaborative strategy encourages the sharing of information between the members involved in the conflict in the cases of negotiation (Holmes and Stubbe, 2015). If the information is shared between the two parties, it will enable a collaborative negotiator to evaluate the various requirements of the people involved leading to the conflict. He will evaluate the various needs instead of working on the differences. This will help in the settling of disputes between parties and will produce advantages for both the sides through the process of negotiation. Acting as a complete contrast to the collaborative strategy, the strategy of competitive negotiation involves the resolving of conflicts through an extensive use of punishments, threats, and various other forms of argument.

Conclusion

A detailed explanation of the unitary and pluralistic frames of references is given which can lead to the success of the company. The importance of sharing the information and values are considered to be important for achieving targets. The privatization of the trade union of Adidas has resulted in poor working conditions of the employees. Many of them are leaving the company for better employers. The company needs to follow certain negotiation strategies in order to increase the productivity. Moreover, the conflict between NHS employees and employers can be resolved through mediation and communication. Employees are expected to be motivated by providing them with adequate salary and incentives.

References

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