Unit 20 Employee Relations Assignment Merit copy

Program	Diploma in Business
Unit Number and Title	Unit 20 Employee Relations
QFC Level	Level 5

This Employee Relations Assignment is developed to have the information about the relationship between the employees in business.

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.

Unitary perspectives

These perspectives are based on the assumption that there exists a unity of interest among the members of the organization. This means that the employees and staff working in an organization have common interests which inspire them for work. Due to this reason, the chances of existence of conflicts among them do not arise. This frame of reference assists in resolving the conflicts among the employees by incorporating these common interests of members of organization as a solution for the cause and problems of such conflicts. The conflicts under his frame of reference which may arise out of individual interests against organisational gaols result in mistakes and errors in the work performed ineffective communication among members, division of members into two sides etc. which consequently leads to the influence on the environment and culture of workplace. Such conflicts can be resolved through proper and effective communication (Townsend. Et al, 2015).

Pluralistic perspectives

These perspectives are based on the assumption that the interests of different members of the organization differ from each other. Even after having the common employment interests the interests of workers and managers are divergent. This divergence of interests creates chances of conflicts arising among the members since interests of both groups’ managers and workers direct their efforts towards the achievement of organisational goals. The main reasons for conflicts under this frame of reference is the difference in level of remuneration and disputes arising out of rights and authorities possessed by them with regards to application of terms of employment agreement. These conflicts result in disputes of rights and interest, collective bargaining, bargaining. These conflicts can be resolved by adopting effective procedures for resolving disputes, negotiations, etc. since the cause of disputes relate to dissatisfaction due to difference in level of remuneration and employee rights.

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

Employee relations refer to as the concept incorporating the system, rules and procedures addressing the aspects to be included under the human resource management process for prevention and resolving of employee disputes. The changes in the trade unionism relate to the evolution of the concept of employee relations from the convergence of industrial relations. The traditional industrial relations concept related to the formation of institution for job regulation for determination of employment rules which focused on collective bargaining. This extended to the development of system with procedures and rules for reward to employees for their efforts, protecting interest of employees and regulating the manner in which employers treat their employees (Nickson, 2015).  Individual grievances disciplinary policies, labour legislation, industrial relations training and state and government intervention are some of the concepts evolved. These changes over the time resulted in employee relations development which more comprehensive concept iscovering various aspects of HRM which focus on dealing with the employees collectively under Human resource management process. The effect of changes has resulted in more focus of organizations on employee welfare, participative management, employee personal and professional development, employee safety and employee remuneration rules and policies. Consequently the managers in the resent business environment adopt the procedures that relate to involvement, engagement, participation and partnership rather than using collective bargaining and negotiations as tools of conflict resolution and management. This assisted in focusing on individual relationship of workers with management and eradicating the root causes of the conflicts so that they may not result in loss for the organization (Long, 20160.

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

Employee relations concept is a wide and comprehensive process which focuses on developing healthy and effective relations of employees with the organization so that conflicts do not arise. This process covers all the members and staff of the organization therefore it involves various key players and their role in effective employee relations development. The role of various key players in employee relations development is as follows:

• Employer/ Manager– These are the most important parties which define the effectiveness and quality of employee relations since these are the direct parties to the communication with the employees and define the policies and procedures for the employees. The managers are the persons responsible for taking decisions with regards to rights, duties and remuneration of the employees. These decisions directly and indirectly affect the employee relations. Therefore the management practices have a crucial role to play in building good employee relations. . Employer is the largest player in the development of employee relations since he not only supervises the work of the employee and guides him throughout the work performance but also acts as motivating and inspiring force for the employee which influences his relations with the organization (Griffin. Et al, 2015).
• Trade Union – This party refers to as the group of people comprising of traders, professionals, association of trade workers etc. who work together with the view to protect the rights and interests of the workers and employees. The practices adopted by these trade unions or group of workers affect the policies of organization with regards to the rules, rights, duties and roles of the employees. These practices of association of workers focus on development of relations between employees and employer on one hand and resolving of conflicts between them on the other hand.
•  Employees – These are the parties which directly contribute to the employee relations. They represent the influence and impact of various organizational policies, practices and employee relations. Also the employees are the key players of the employee relations since they are in the position to affect the relations to a large extent any time during the work performance. They are the parties to the disputes or conflicts and the main reasons of the disputes and conflicts arising among the members also relate to their rights and interests directly.
• Government– The influence of government on the employee relations in the form of legislations and state intervention is the factor which makes the government a key player in the effective employee relation process.  The government interferes into the development of employee relations through various methods such as regulations and legislations in relation to income and prices, protecting rights of employer and employee, acting as an economic manager and protector of standards, establisher of social citizenship guidelines etc.  In this way the government through legislations, regulations and policies in the best interests of employees regulate the employee relations.
• Customers– The customers are the external parties which indirectly influence the employee relations by decision making suggestions, complaints and giving feedbacks about the performance of employees and their attitude of service towards them. The evaluations result in affecting the levels of employee motivation or efforts for rewards and thus this creates an impact on the relationship of employees with the organization as well as manager. However the extent of the role played by the customers in the development of employee relations is up to a limited extent and do not largely impact the employee relations as an overall process

Task 2

2.1 Explain the procedures an organisation (NHS employer) should follow when dealing with different conflict situations (such as with a single employee, between employees, with a group of employees).

Different conflict situations arise at a workplace due to many reasons such as poor performance, misconduct and grievances. These conflicts can be resolved by the employer by effectively dealing with the problems giving rise to these situations and adopting different methods for different conflict situations to eradicate these conflicts effectively. The procedures to be followed by a HHS employer under different conflict situation are as follows:

• Single employee – Listen to the grievances and the problem of such employee and identify the major cause of the problem. The employer shall act promptly to find and implement the measures that relate to the conflict of the employee and take necessary steps to prevent such conflict from arising in future again.
• Between employees – When conflict of interest arises between two or more employees, the NHS employer shall act consistently by taking remedial measures to eradicate the cause of widening the gap. Both the employees shall be given an equal and fair right to be accompanied against the problem giving rise to the conflict. This will help in reducing the cause of conflict between the two by sorting out the misunderstanding and improper communication differences.
• Group of employees– When the conflict arise among the group of employees, the probability of impact up to a larger extent increases due to large number of employees involved in the conflict. Therefore, the NHS employer shall investigate thoroughly into the matter and identify the areas contributing to the situation of conflict. The steps shall be taken to follow the defined grievance redressed procedure and policies which ensure protection of general employee rights (Parry, 2014). 

2.2 Explain the key features of employee relations (ideological framework, conflict and cooperation, consultation, negotiation etc.) with reference to the above conflict situation.

• Ideological framework – Ideology refers to as the collection of beliefs held by individuals or group of persons. The ideological framework of the given conflict situation includes the voting of the BMA members to strike against the disagreement with the government with regards to the negotiations going on in relation to the new junior doctors’ contract between BMA, NHS employers and government. The new contact agreed inMaywas introduced by the government even after rejection by the new doctors. The junior doctors Committee believed that they could plan more strikes against the contract but the patient safety forced them to suspend the strikes.
• Conflict and cooperation – The conflict was raised by the junior doctors as the government announced to introduce the contract even after the contract was rejected by the junior doctors with majority. The major issue of conflict was the protest of the junior doctors that the implementation of the contract laws unlawful and shall be revoked by the government against them. Also the manner in which the contract was made and the evidence on which it was made was unlawful. The level of co-operation was limited since the negotiations were going on and each party was confined to the procedures that they were following due to which they were not co-operating with each other to arrive at a mutual consent or agreement to resolve the conflict.
• Consultation – This will include the consultation of the government with the regulating bodies for the implementation of health and safety laws, members of BMA association, new junior doctors, government advisers and other trade unions to identify the methods that could be used by the government for the resolving of conflicts.
• Negotiations – The negotiations in this conflict situation were evident at various stages. The negotiations have been initiated between the government, BMA Association and NHS employers at the first stage in relation to the contract for new junior doctors. The consequences were the number of strikes by the new doctors. As a result a new contract was introduced as part of negotiation which was also rejected by the doctors. Further negotiations were cancelled because of suspension of strike by the Junior Doctors Association Committee because of patient safety.

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

Both the parties in the conflict situation were negotiating in the best interest throughout the process of conflict between them. The procedures followed by the BMA Association members and the new junior doctors were limited only to the strikes which were conducted by them repeatedly. On the other hand the procedures followed by the government were related to the collective bargaining for resolving the conflict. However after the new contract in May 2016, the government forcefully announced for the implementation of the plan. The agreement was rejected by majority of the doctors where 42% voted to accept the contract and 2% voted to reject it. This procedure of government cannot be considered to be effective since this is unfair imposition of employee rights against the new junior doctors. On the other hand the junior doctors again planned to conduct the strikes to protest against the injustice. The procedures followed by the junior doctors are limited and not extended to some other actions. After this the junior doctors association reconsidered the plan and postponed the strikes for the welfare of patients as the general citizens of the society and community. Considering the consequences of the strikes faced by the patients in the form of ill health, the association postponed the strikes which were an effective procedure with regards to ethical policy but in context of employee relation, this resulted in the end of negotiations and sacrifice of rights of employees to get the protection against the injustice (Ntalianis, 2015).

Task 3

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

Negotiation refers to as the conservation between two or more people which takes the form of discussion where the two parties present arguments in favour of their interests where the discussion is being conducted between the parties for the purpose of arriving at a mutual consent or agreement for a specific situation or conflict. 

Collective bargaining is a process where the negotiations about the terms and conditions with regards to a specific situation of conflict take place between the employer and a group or association of persons. The situation of conflict in the collective bargaining process relates to the conflicts which arise among the employees due to protection of their employment rights. It is regarded as an effective tool or mechanism for the development of industrial relationship or employment relations. These conflicts generally take place between employer and trade union or association or group of workers, traders or professions being in employment relationship. Negotiations play an important role in the collective bargaining process since the group of people have collective interests for which the negotiations are made on a common platform. The major advantage of the negotiation is that when the results of the collective bargaining process are not in favour of the employees, the support of public can be obtained easily against the injustice. The nature of negotiations in the employment contracts in collective bargaining process is such that which differs from the buying agreements was the supplier has a stronger position. On the contrary the position is stronger for the employees in the collective bargaining process.  Negotiations are the essential part of the collective bargaining process since they protect the collective interests of the group (Cutcher, 2011).

In the given conflict the collective bargaining process between the BMA association, NHS Employers and government is entirely based upon the negotiations between the parties. It was the negotiations throughout the process which enforced the changes in the contract by the government. The negotiations represented the collective interests of the new doctors against the arguments proposed by the government and the NHS employers. Thus his major ole of the collective bargaining process was played by the negotiations of both the parties in absence of which the conclusions would not have been made for the implementation of the contract in favour of both the parties in accordance with the employment rights.

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 negotiation strategies are the methods which can be used by the parties to the conflict for presenting their arguments of negotiations during the conversation so that they can effectively negotiate to protect their rights and interests. In the above conflict both the parties government on one hand and BMA Association and NHS employers on the other hand, adopted the negotiation strategies for making effective negotiations about the contract proposed to be entered with the new junior doctors by NHS employers.  The doctors adopted the negotiation strategy of continuing negotiation which aims at conducting negotiations as an essential process so that the long term relationships are developed between the parties. Conducting negotiations as a continuing event result in strengthening the position in the conversations and increase the chances of getting the results in favour. The negotiation strategy adopted by the government ad NHS employers was positive thinking during the negotiation process. The government was positive about the agreed contract in May 2016 as the result of which even after the rejection by the doctors for the contract the government announced to implement the contract. The negotiation strategy of positive thinking focus on believing in the individual power possessed by the parties with the confidence of getting the result of the negotiation and bargaining process in favour.

The other negotiation strategies and the potential impact of these strategies in the given conflict situation if such strategies were adopted are as follows:

• Preparation– This strategy focus on the preparation for the terms and conditions to be included as part of negotiation process in advance so that at the time of negotiation the parties may be able to establish a better position for themselves and strengthen their probability of getting the favourable results. The potential impact it could have would be that the preparation of negotiations in advance would have helped the doctors to reject the contract at the time it was proposed rather than rejecting afterwards.
• Evaluation of best and worst results – This strategy refers to as the evaluation of the results of each and every aspect and element of the negotiations. This helps in identifying the implications and preventing the losses which can be occurred to any of the parties to the contract. The potential impact of this strategy would be the identification of ill impact of strikes on patients in advance by the government and doctors and postponement of strikes much earlier.
• Give and take – This strategy of negotiation focuses on sacrifice and compromise in the terms and conditions by both the parties to the conversation. This strategy includes giving by one party and taking by other simultaneously so that a mutual consent can be arrived at for achieving the results of the negotiations. The potential impact of this strategy in the given conflict will be such that the parties will arrive at a mutual conclusion or decision with regards to the terms and conditions of the contract through compromises being made by one of the parties. This would have resulted in lesser strikes. It would result in maintaining the balance between both the parties (Kochan, 2015).
• Building value by being articulate – This strategy focuses on the quality of the negotiation process. This suggests that the negotiations shall be direct ad accurate. The parties shall be direct, clear and specific while presenting the negotiations to the parties. This also suggests that rather than discussing about what needs t is happen in the contract, his consequences shall be discussed during the negotiations. The potential impact this could have on the given situation of conflict is that the quality of negotiations between the doctors and the government would have improved and they would have arrived at a mutual consent or conclusion earlier than that of present situation with lesser number of strikes taking place. Thus the situation of conflicts would have improved as compared to the present situation where the doctors have been considering the contract as unlawful.

Task 4

Presentation

Speaker Notes

This presentation includes the description about the collective bargaining process in details and the influence of EU on these processes and industrial democracy policy. This is the important elements of the employee relations process and includes negotiations. The implementation of industrial democracy policy in the companies of UK has been explained. The diagram represents the structuring of companies and the method in which the companies are placed with the influence of industrial democracy policy. The influence of European Union on the policy of industrial democracy in the companies in UK has been described. The influence resulting in the evolution of employee relations and development of concepts that relate to employee relations are included. The meaning and description of employee participation and involvement in the employment relations policies and the manner in which such participation takes place along with the impact it creates are included. The methods which can be effectively used for obtaining the long term participation and involvement of employees have been described. The methods are explained in detail.The various methods include attitude survey, quality circle, suggestion schemes and direct participation. The making and process of these methods have been explained in detail. The description of how these methods can be effectively used in employee relations has been described. These are the methods which have gained the popularity in the companies of UK for the involvement and participation of employees in decision making process.These are the methods which have declined in terms of popularity for being effective in obtaining the involvement and anticipation of employees for decision making relevant to the organization and employee functions.The meaning and description of approach which is used for the management of human resources of an organization is included. This includes discussion and detailed description of the processes used under the HRM approach to affect the employee relations is included.

References

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Eskenazi, M.G. 2010, "Notes on collective bargaining in economic crisis: mediated multi-party negotiation simulation", Labor Law Journal, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 25.
Griffin, J.J., Bryant, A. & Koerber, C.P. 2015, "Corporate Responsibility and Employee Relations: From External Pressure to Action", Group & Organization Management, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 378-404.
Kochan, T. 2015, "The Multilateral Structure of Local Government and Public Sector Collective Bargaining 1", Negotiation Journal, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 371.
Long, B.S. 2016, "Collective bargaining as the negotiation of competing stories: Implications for leadership", Journal of  Business strategy Contracting and Negotiation, .
Nickson, D. 2015, Line Managers and Employee Relations, Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, GB.
Ntalianis, F., Dyer, L. & Vandenberghe, C. 2015, "Owner-employee relations in small firms",Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 30, no. 7, pp. 832-846.
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