Power in Trade Union and Managerial Roles in Industrial Relations - Coursework Example

Power in Trade Union and Managerial Roles in Industrial Relations Insert Name Institution Date Power and industrial relations Power is one of the major factors that influence management of both organizations and trade unions. Industrial relations is a term that refers to the interactions and relationships that exists within the labor market between employers and their employees and the government involvement in these relations (Briggs and Buchanan, 2005). It dates back to the industrial revolution when for the first time industries were created to manufacture various goods and therefore needed a lot of workers to meet the labor demands. These workers usually worked under poor environmental conditions, were offered low wages, worked long hours, and performed the same task leading to monotonous work (Norris, 1980). These bad work conditions resulted in high employee turnover and numerous strikes by the workers that destabilized production. These problems led to the development of industrial relations as a way of encouraging better labor-management relationships between employers and employees. As such, industrial relations also known as employment relations has two major parts; managerial relations and market relations. Market relations are concerned with such issues as pay, hours of work, benefits, leave, and pensions that are entitled to the employee. Managerial relations determine what and how market relations are carried out within the industry (Cooper and Ellem, 2006). It can therefore be stated that employment relations is concerned with a study of the regulations governing employment. Of great importance in these relations are the trade unions and the government that mediate how the market relations and managerial relations are carried out. A trade union usually represents the needs of a group of workers to a single employer. The unions usually engage in such activities as collective bargaining on behalf of the employees and legislation formation (Macdonald, Campbell and Burgess, 2001). The government influences industrial relations through the various laws and regulations that it enacts that regulates such issues as minimum wages, number of working hours, and working conditions. Power has been described as the capability to follow one’s own interests. It involves the ability pursue one’s objectives, known as proactive power, and the ability to be against the actions of others, known as reactive power (Lewis, 2005). As such, power is usually involved in the normal development and continuance of relationships and therefore plays a major role in employment relations. Power is dependent on the availability of resources and therefore it can change over time since these resources are not permanent things but are rather developed as the result of use. In addition, power emanates from routines, overt actions and assumptions hence it is ever changing and uncertain. Power is usually exercised through the formation of various rules aimed at regulating certain aspects of day to day activities. Power is an essential ingredient in the management of organizations and in the running of trade unions (Lewis, 2005). It provides them with a means of gaining substantial advantage in achieving their objectives through opposing the actions carried out by others within the industrial relations field as well as pursue their own objectives. Power and management roles Management vests power within an organization and is therefore in a position to determine how things are done. It exercises proactive power by ensuring the goals and objectives of the organization’s shareholders are achieved by putting in place rules and policies that dictate how employees are expected to work with various stipulations such as wages to be paid, working hours, and other benefits entitled to employees (Dabscheck, 1995). It can exert its power over the employees by shaping the job expectations of the employees to its advantage. Due to the positions that managers hold in organizations, they are in a position to enforce rules depending on three major factors; The function of the law. Management should be able to prove that the rule that it has developed is based on sound judgment and is in accordance with other rules enacted by trade unions and the state and federal governments. The organization’s dealings. A firm could have various disciplinary procedures that managers could use to punish employees that do not follow the laid down rules that they should follow. Existence of trade unions. Trade unions are in a position to counter some of the decisions that management could have taken against an employee who is a member of a trade union and successfully reverse the employer’s decision (Cooper and Ellem, 2006). These three factors are important as they govern how management is able to exercise power by forming and causing the desired rules in the firm. This is because rules comprise of ideologies, beliefs, norms, values, assumptions, and formal provisions provided for by state law. One major problem that management faces in using its power is that employment contracts are usually indeterminate. This is because employees trade an ability to work which becomes actual labor as the working day progresses. As such, management creates expectations on the standards of performance anticipated from the employees as process of production progresses. In exercising their power, managers need to take into consideration three main perspectives. The first is the urgent balance of conflict and co-operation (Dabscheck, 1995). Managers need to create rules that are able to avoid resulting into conflicts with the employees. Employees are an important part of any organization as they are responsible for the continued production of goods and services that are sold to the firm’s consumers. Their interests need to be considered when managers are creating rules so that the employees do not feel as if they are not valued and end up absconding work and taking other measures that could stop production. The second is the broader guidelines that underlie workplace relations. There are several workplace relations that have been developed over the years with regard to how employers and employees need to interact and associate. One such relation is the link between business structure and the regulation of labor (Bray and Waring, 2006). Managers need to consider how much the various rules that they make are connected with the organization’s market circumstances. For instance, managers need to ask themselves what rules will help in promoting competitive approaches based on the circumstance facing the organization. Another such relation is the regulation of labor and management style practiced by management. The style that the management uses determines how it will make its rules (Ellem, Markey and Sheilds, 2004). For instance, managers who use an autocratic style of managing, they will make rules without regarding the needs of the employees and would end up making rules that will result in conflicts with the employees. Conversely, managers who use a democratic style will allow the employees to take part in the rule making process and therefore result in laws that the employees are comfortable with hence they will co-operate. The third is the basic nature of the employment relationship. Employers and employees are usually in a form of employment relationship that determined how they will relate with one another. This relationship determines the extent of conflict or co-operation that will exist between the employers and the employees (Drago, Wooden and Sloan, 1992). It is the duty of the employers to lead in creating positive and conducive relations with the employee which helps on fostering a similar action from the employee. By leading from example, an employer is assured of the employee’s loyalty and co-operation. As such, managers need to create rules that portray good employment relationships so as to ensure employees are co-operative. Power and trade unions Trade unions have increasingly gained popularity since their inception in the 18th century as a result of the bad working conditions that workers were subjected to during the industrial revolution. In Australia, trade unions can be traced back to 1830 when the first trade union was formed; The Shipwrights Union (Ellem, Markey and Sheilds, 2004). Since then, the trade union movement has grown over the years and achieved various accomplishment such as minimum wages, long service leave, better working conditions accompanied by the provision of protective clothing as well as equipment both provided for by the employer, occupational superannuation, personal carer's leave, compensation for injury, paid public holidays, annual leave, and work-related safety and health laws. Due to their successes, trade unions experienced an increase in membership for a long period up to the 1960s. Membership of trade unions in Australia has declined since the 1970s, due to changing workplace relations, a decline in jobs within industries that were highly unionized, and a changing composition of the Australian labor market (Callus and Landsbury, 2002). Even though membership of trade unions in Australia has declined they still continue to influence industrial relations in Australia. Trade unions posses a lot of power in relation to industrial relations as they are able to influence the way governments and employers interact with employees. They have legal power to negotiate on behalf of their members on important issues that employees feel need to be addressed either by the government or by employers. This power is known as collective bargaining where the trade unions engage with governments and employers in talks and negotiations that are aimed at reaching a consensus on key issues such as minimum wages, proper working conditions, compensation for injury, occupational superannuation, and paid public holidays. This ability allows trade unions to ensure that employees are well catered for with their issues being incorporated in the rule making process. Trade unions have the power to call for industry wide strikes. Strikes have been known to make employers to listen to employees grievances since production does not continue as the employees do not report to work. This affects organizations negatively as they end up making huge losses as the delay in the production of goods and services ends up in wasted costs that were incurred while purchasing the various raw materials required for the production process yet there are no finished goods to be sold to customers (Cooper and Ellem, 2006).) Once a strike has been called for, employers have to enter into talks with the trade unions so that the striking employees can resume their jobs as quickly as possible. This is due to the fact that hiring new employees is rather an expensive exercise that entails numerous costs in advertising the vacant positions, recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and carrying out in-house training to acquaint the new employees with the duties and responsibilities that they are expected to perform. As such, strikes are effective ways of making employees renegotiate employment relations with their employers as the trade unions officials will table their grievances and reach a middle ground with the employers on what should be done to ensure better working environments for the employees (Drago, Wooden and Sloan, 1992). Due to the legal person status that trade unions have, they are recognized legally which gives them power to take part in legal proceedings involving industrial relations. They are also able to represent their members in courts in the event of disgruntled employees filing suits against employers or the state or federal governments (Teicher, 2004). Most trade unions have high numbers in membership that enables them to have access to funds from member’s contributions. These contributions enable them to contract the best lawyers who represent their members in courts of law and challenge any actions by employers or governments that could be in the contrary to good working relations. Conclusion Industrial relations refers to the interactions and relationships that exists within the labor market between employers and their employees and the government involvement in these relations and has two major parts; managerial relations and market relations. Power plays an important role in managerial and trade union roles. Management vests power within an organization and is therefore in a position to determine how things are done. Managers are in a position to enforce rules depending on three major factors; the function of the law, the organization’s procedures and the presence of trade unions. Some of the problems that managers may encounter include employment contracts are usually indeterminate, the broader guidelines that underlie workplace relations, and the basic nature of the employment relationship. Trade unions posses a lot of power in relation to industrial relations as they are able to influence the way governments and employers interact with employees. They have legal power to negotiate on behalf of their members on important issues that employees feel need to be addressed either by the government or by employers. Trade unions have the power to call for industry wide strikes which affect organizations negatively. Trade unions have the legal person status hence they are recognized legally which gives them power to take part in legal proceedings involving industrial relations and can represent their members in courts in the event of disgruntled employees filing suits against employers or the state or federal governments. References Bray, M. and Waring, P. (2006). ‘The Rise of Managerial Prerogative under the Howard Government’ Australian Bulletin of Labour, 32 (1), pp. 1—12. Briggs, C. and Buchanan, J. (2005). Work, commerce and the law: A new Australian model? The Australian Economic Review, 38(2): 182–191. Callus, R. and Landsbury, R. (eds) (2002). Working Futures: The Changing Nature of Work and Employment Relations in Australia. Sydney: The Federation Press. Cooper, R. and Ellem, B. (2006). Union power: space, structure and strategy. In M. Hearn and G. Michelson (eds), Rethinking work: Time, space and discourse. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. 123–43 Dabscheck, B. (1995). The Struggle for Australian Industrial Relations. Melbourne: Oxford. Drago, R., Wooden, M. and Sloan, J. (1992). Productive Relations? Australian Industrial relations and Workplace Performance. North Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Ellem, B., Markey, R. and Sheilds, J. (eds) (2004). Peak Unions in Australia: Origins, Purpose, Power, Agency. Sydney: The Federation Press. Lewis, R. (2005). Reforming Industrial Relations: Law, Politics, And Power. Oxford Review of Economic Policy Vol7, (1) Pp. 60-75. Macdonald, D., Campbell, I. and Burgess, J. (2001). Ten Years Of Enterprise Bargaining In Australia: An Introduction. Labour & Industry, 12(1): 1–25. Norris, K. (1980). ‘Compulsory Arbitration and the Wage Structure in Australia,’ Journal of Industrial Relations, 22(3), September: 249-263. Teicher, J. (2004). Industrial relations and the law: the new industrial relations (issues). Labour & Industry, 15(2): 113–25. Read More