Industrial Relations and Workplace Change - Example

Running Head: INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND WORKPLACE CHANGE Industrial Relations and Workplace Change Name Institution Instructor Course Date Industrial Relation and Workplace Change Introduction In many companies, the issue of industrial relations and workplace change is of main concern especially to the management. The senior managers are especially concerned how to intervene, where and when to intervene and how they can maintain the desired change. Workplace change ought to be treated cautiously by managers as the process might be complex at times (Sappey & Burgess, 2009). It is important to note that change varies from being unilaterally imposed or driven by top management or it can be jointly implemented through wider consultations. The types or models of workplace change that can be adopted by managers include; Top-down or systematic, Piecemeal, Bargaining for change, Systematic-jointism, and Negotiated change. The Top-down systematic change is the type 1 model and comprises of major restructuring programs such as use of strategic business units and human resource packages. One of the major advantages of this type of process change is that rules of project planning can be utilized. In this type of process change, departmental and individual action plans are formulated, schedules for implementation are established and milestones for measuring progress are identified (Heery & Bacon, 2008). Since this approach does not involve all the managers in given workplace, the lower level managers, supervisors, and other employees may feel sidelined and this may lead to lack of commitment in the process of workplace change. There is also diminished sense of ownership of ideas generated by senior management. The type 2 process of change is referred to as Piecemeal. In this model different forms of communication are applied such as group briefings, open communication, pay schemes are re-examined, flexibility in staff management is encouraged, subcontracting of some workers is welcome, suggestion schemes are introduced, performance appraisal is done to the employees, and small groups are involved in decision making. This model is used by companies such as Massey Fergusson, and Smith & Nethew among others. Bargaining for change is the third type of process change in workplace and mainly majors in concession bargaining. Concessions in relation to work practices are done in different groups in exchange for compensatory payments (Lewer & Gahan, 2008). This model was mainly used in Britain in the mid 1990s while it was common in USA in the 1980s. Examples of companies using this model include British Rail, Plessey Naval Instruments, and Rolls- Royce. Type 4 process of change in workplace is the systematic- jointism. In this type, total package is put together after negotiations. It is quite rare in Britain due to union-management relations that are based on pay and other work related employee conditions. According to Lewer & Gahan (2008), when union leaders are involved in various levels of consultation in an organization especially on matters of strategic transition, successful change is deemed to have taken place. Some companies that apply this model include FORD, GM, and Eaton Corporation. The fifth process of change is the mixed model. In this model, change in structural and cultural elements is experienced. It is a shift from the centre-based administrative systems to developed forms of strategic business units that (Heery & Bacon, 2008). Some of the structural shifts employed in this model include changing over to short-term contracts as well as the implementation individual contracts as opposed to collective contracts. This model also advocates for a payment scheme that is related to employees’ performance. For the purpose of this paper the Bata Shoe Company has been chosen as a workplace example for the analysis of the most applicable types of workplace changes. The ideal model types of workplace change that can be applied in Bata are Piecemeal, Mixed Model, and Systematic – Jointism. Piecemeal Piecemeal type of workplace change has several strengths that make it suitable to be applied in Bata Company. This model incorporates use of various forms of communication in a workplace. Bata Company is an international company that operates in various countries all over the globe (Peetz, 2006). The branches are composed of many workers who operate in different departments such as sales and marketing, human resource, finance and administration, supplies, production, and purchasing among others. All these departments are headed by different managers. To be able to communicate with the workers in their departments, the managers can use group or team briefings as a way of passing important information to their employees. During these briefings, the manager informs the employees on what is expected of them, and elaborates on any other issues related to their work performance. A supervisor may be holding the team briefings on a daily basis, whereas the departmental managers may be holding the team briefings probably once per week depending on their arrangements. Through piecemeal model, the employees ably engage in open communication where they air their grievances. Any dissatisfaction is addressed to the management and feedback is provided. More strengths of the piecemeal model include the development of suggestion schemes as a way of giving workers an opportunity to raise their ideas that can be useful to the management. One way that suggestion schemes can be implemented is through the introduction of suggestion boxes where employees can write and drop their observations for the management to follow up (Heery & Bacon, 2008). This model will accord workers an opportunity to approach their managers or supervisors where they can give their views on any positive changes that can be implemented in their departments. This model also encourages a continuous assessment of employees through performance appraisals. Performance appraisals are prepared by the human resource department to check on the work performance of every worker upon which their credibility or the need of promotion or further training is evaluated (Lewer & Gahan, 2008).Workplace change at Bata can also be implemented through the re-examination of pay packages. The piecemeal model gives managers an opportunity to analyze, the payment schemes of their employees based on the countries of operation. Pay schemes are also harmonized with the competitors with an aim of reducing labour turnover and increasing individual productivity. If the ideas raised by some workers are not implemented, it might be interpreted to be biasness posing a major weakness to this type of process change. It would be necessary for the management to clarify that not all good ideas can be implemented as that may need to be done gradually (Bray & Cooper, 2011). A threat to this type of process change is that some workers might be too optimistic for change and might pile pressure on the administration to implement some changes that can wait to be implemented at a later date. The end result could an increase in overheads leading to reduction in revenue collection. Systemic-jointism Although systemic jointism type of process change is relatively rare in Britain it can be applied in Bata as it advocates for the involvement of trade unions as a major tool for imposing change in workplace. Trade unions are likely to have an impact on the employees’ working conditions and also address the matter of salaries or wage increment. Systemic-jointism is a model that has been quite effective in United States implying that it can be effective if well implemented (Sappey & Burgess, 2009). In US for instance, considerable change has been recorded in situations where union leaders are involved in consultation matters at corporate level. Systemic- jointism type is of great advantage as one of its major advantage lies in the fact that for an organization to remain competitive, the job security of employees ought to be addressed. For this to be done successfully, employees and employers must be given an opportunity to confront each other and raise their issues (Sappey & Burgess, 2009). Such issues might touch on contract negotiations which might bring major reforms in the workplace, and this is positive a change in any work environment. This type of process change will also allow all the employees of Bata Company to have viable contracts that are more comprehensive with keen attention paid to details. Some strength of the systemic-joint change process is that employees are involved in the change process. The Bata management and trade union leaders will have to come with an agreement that would be significant for a positive organizational change (Lewer & Gahan, 2008). An Employees Involvement Coordinator should be appointed who should work in harmony with trade union representatives and the Company management representatives. A steering committee comprising of the three representatives will have an objective of harmonizing the interests of the three parties and more so the fair treatment of employees without jeopardizing the financial status of the Bata Company. Mobilization theory states that there are some preconditions that influence workers to take a collection action. First, the workers possess a feeling of injustice that is geared towards the identification of their interests which are different from their employers’. The probability of a strike occurring is heightened by the fact that most of the blames concerning the workers’ conditions are directed to the employer (Peetz, 2006). It starts by individuals raising their grievances which later converts to collective action by all the union members. Employees may also take part in an industrial strike upon realization that employers are not honoring their grievances. The success of a trade union strike depends on the willingness of its members to engage in such a strike. The union officials also play a major role in communicating to the members on when to execute their threats (Sappey & Burgess, 2009). When employees join trade unions, there is a possibility of them engaging in some forms of industrial behaviour that is supported by their trade union. This may eventually lead to a strike employees who are members of a certain labour union. As much as the strike might be driven by positive demands in the workplace, the Bata Company is likely to be affected when a workers’ strike is executed. There are quite a number of factors that influence union members to participate in a strike. These factors include social background, perceptions of a union, and the employees’ attitude towards their jobs. This method of change process has its own opportunities that can be utilized by the management team. The Employee Involvement coordinator may in one way or another be influenced or manipulated by the trade union and the company representatives. The fact the steering committee comprises of only some representatives, means that an organization may arm twist the other representatives to lower their demands. This might be of advantage to the company especially in cost reduction because most of the demands requested by the trade union and the employee representatives involve cost increment. The Top-down systemic change This is another change process that can be applied in Bata Company. It is mainly involved with strategic restructuring of certain programs that can either be affecting departments such as HRM (Heery & Bacon, 2008). One of major strengths of this approach in an organization is that projects for streamlining industrial relations can be implemented in accordance to the set rules of project planning. It is also easier to draw the company vision in a specific project and plan effectively on what objectives can be achieved while getting rid of the unrealistic objectives. With this type of process change it is easier to come up with individual or collective action plans with their contents well elaborated. Schedules for implementing specific changes can also be drawn and measured against certain yardsticks. Despite having a number of strengths, this type of change process also features some weaknesses. If individuals are not involved in the design for certain projects, they may end up being less committed to the final project (Lansbury & Wailes, 2010). This can extend to the junior managers and supervisors or employees who were not involved in a project preparation, and hence feeling left out. If projects are launched in this manner where only some people are involved in decision making, then the implementation of the project might prove to be a challenge to the Bata Company management team. Mixed Model This process of change process will be applicable in Bata Company as the process is neither unilaterally imposed nor openly negotiated. In this type of change, it is important to elaborate the structural and cultural elements of an organization that ought to be changed. Strategic business units are formed making a shift from the formalized administrative systems (Lewer & Gahan, 2008). The guidelines for this type of process change depend on what is considered acceptable in an organization and what is not. It therefore requires extensive involvement of consultants in order to give guidelines on ethical practices that can be adopted in an organization. Strength in this form of process change is that it considers such aspects as environmental, social, geographical, cultural, and political before any change is implemented. Managers are given an opportunity to be thorough by scrutinizing all the ideas presented by the panel members and decide on the best ideas. In this model; change in structural and cultural elements is experienced. It is a shift from the centre-based administrative systems to developed forms of strategic business units that. Some of the structural shifts employed in this model include changing over to short-term contracts as well as the implementation individual contracts as opposed to collective contracts. This model also advocates for a payment scheme that is related to employees’ performance. One weakness of this type of process change is that some workers might feel discouraged when they remain in one position for so long without getting a pay increment. An organization might lack enough measures to determine performance levels and hence subjecting some workers to undue disadvantage which may eventually render them redundant. The truth of the matter remains that some workers might never get an opportunity to display their full capability due to lack of challenge in their current job positions. The threat with this type of process change is that workers may reach their climax, implying that they would not get any more pay increment. Bargaining for change This type of process change in workplace mainly majors in concession bargaining. Concessions in relation to work practices are done in different groups in exchange for compensatory payments (Bray & Cooper, 2011). The reason why this type will not be recommended for the Bata Company is because it is time consuming and stakeholders have to be thoroughly briefed and included in the change process. It might take so long to implement any ideas as some people might be adamant to the introduction of new ideas that might bring change in a workplace. Conclusion Managing the process of change is an important component to be considered by the management of any organization that intends to remain relevant in the competitive market. Before discussion any implementation of change process in an organization, it is imperative for the top management to agree that an organization needs to apply a different for achievement of better results. The five types of process change are all quite relevant depending on the nature of the organization being targeted. For the case of Bata shoe Company, the most ideal types of process change included Piecemeal, Systemic- jointism, The Top-down systemic change, and mixed model. The mixed model addresses the structural and cultural elements of change in an organization and involves wide consultation from practitioners. The bargaining for change process, that focuses on concession bargaining delays decision making process concerning change and hence it not advisable for the Bata Company workplace. References B ray, M., & Cooper, R. (2011). Employment re relations: theory & practice. Sydney: McGraw Hill. Heery, E., & Bacon, N. (2008). The SAGE Handbook of Industrial Relations. London: SAGE Publications. Lansbury, D., & Wailes, D. (2010). International and Comparative Employment Relations. London: SAGE. Lewer, J., & Gahan, P. (2008). Understanding Australian Industrial Relations. Melbourne: Thomson. Peetz, D. (2006). Brave New Workplace: How individual contracts are changing our jobs. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Sappey, R., & Burgess, J. (2009). Industrial Relations in Australia: Work and Workplaces. Melbourne: Routledge. Read More