Bratton & Gold: HRM 3e CHAPTER 2

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Title
Employee Relations
Words of Wisdom Historically, managers hoarded
information, controlling its release to bolster
their power. Those days are over forever. If
youre trying to create a high-trust
organization, an organization where people are
all-for-one and one-for-all, you cant have
secrets. The pressures leading firms to explore
the introduction of employee involvement
practices have a great deal to do with
productivity, flexibility, and competition
managements agenda and less relationship to
workers desire for a stronger voice in the
operations of the worksite.
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Chapter outline
Employee Relations
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Definition of employee relations
Employee Relations

• Employee relations are a set of human resource
  practices that seek to secure commitment and
  compliance with organizational goals and
  standards through the involvement of employees in
  decision-making and by managerial disciplinary
  action.

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The nature of employee involvement
The Nature of Employee Involvement

• Employee participation involves workers
  exerting a countervailing and upward pressure on
  management control, which need not imply unity of
  purpose between managers and non-managers.
• Employee involvement is, in contrast, perceived
  to be a softer form of participation, implying
  a commonality of interest between employees and
  management, and stressing that involvement should
  be directed at the workforce as a whole rather
  than being restricted to trade union channels.

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Direct and indirect participation
The Nature of Employee Involvement

• There are two types of employee involvement
• Direct
• Individual employees are involved in
  decision-making processes that affect their
  everyday routines. Examples include briefing
  groups, quality circles, problem-solving teams,
  self-managed teams and financial involvement.
• Indirect
• Representatives or delegates of the main body of
  employees participate in the decision-making
  process. Examples include JCCs, EWCs and worker
  directors, all forms that are associated with
  the broader notion of industrial democracy.

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Fig 11.1 Dimensions of employee involvement
The Nature of Employee Involvement
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Fig 11.2 The involvement-commitment cycle
A General Theory of Employee Involvement
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Organizational Communication
Organizational Communication

• The exchange of information is the very essence
  of organizational lives. Information about the
  organization its production, its products and
  services, its external environment and its people
  is a prerequisite for effective employee
  involvement in decision-making.
• Organizational communications is the process by
  which information is exchanged between a sender
  and receiver.
• But the communication process is complicated by
  organizational characteristics such as hierarchy
  and power relations, and by the fact that
  managers and non-managers all have
  idiosyncracies, abilities and biases.

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Fig 11.3 Key issues related to communications in
the workplace
Organizational Communication
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Approaches to studying communications
Organizational Communication

• Approaches to studying communications
• Functionalist approach
• Interpretivist approach
• Critical approach

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Fig 11.4 The communications process model
A Communications Model
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Developing a communication system
A Communications Model

• Developing a communication system
• Challenges that must be taken into account when
  managers try to devise a communication system
  that will enable the organization to run more
  efficiently
• Disparate geographical locations
• Large variety of skills groups
• Cross-cultural communications
• Gendered communications
• Employment arrangements
• Financial constraints

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Fig 11.5 Downward, upward and horizontal
communication in a retail store
A Communications Model
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Tbl 11.1 Use of communications methods, 1984-98
A Communications Model
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Indirect Employee Participation
Indirect Employee Participation

• In large organizations, a more formal and
  indirect employee participation network needs to
  be established, such as a joint or
  labour-management committee (LMC) or JCCs.
• Joint consultation through an LMC or JCC differs
  from collective bargaining.
• Joint consultation is viewed as a means of
  promoting action when there are no obvious
  conflicts of interest, whereas collective
  bargaining is a means of reconciling divergent
  interests.
• Both conflict and common interest are inherent
  elements of the employment relationship.

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Tbl 11.2 Incidence of EWCs and consultative
committees 84-98
Indirect Employee Participation
Extent of joint consultation
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The structure and operation of JCCs
Indirect Employee Participation

• The structure and operation of JCCs
• Managers can adopt either of two broad
  approaches
• They can integrate the two processes of
  consultation and negotiation within the
  collective bargaining machinery.
• Or they can maintain a separate machinery of
  joint consultation and regulation.

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Fig 11.6 Example of joint consultation
collective bargaining
Indirect Employee Participation
The structure and operation of JCCs
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EWCs
Indirect Employee Participation

• European Works Councils
• The key functions of EWCs are
• 1. Establishing two-way communication between
  employees and management and union and management
• 2. Maintaining peaceful and cooperative
  employment relations (as EWCs are not allowed to
  initiate stoppage of work)
• 3. Providing training for representatives

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Obstacles to Employee Involvement
Obstacles to Employee Involvement

• Trade union attitudes
• Management attitudes

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Employee Involvement and Paradox
Employee Involvement and Paradox

• According to Stohl and Cheney (2001), paradox is
  inherent in EI processes. These paradoxes set
  limits that constrain the effectiveness of EI
  networks.
• There are four main types of EI paradox
• Structure
• Agency
• Identity
• Power

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Discipline at Work
Discipline at Work

• When EI voice mechanisms fail to create or
  reinforce desirable employee attitudes and
  behaviours, managers may resort to disciplinary
  action.
• The modern workplace is pervaded by rules
  established by management to regulate the
  behaviour of workers. It is argued that obedience
  underscores the relationship between the employer
  and employee.
• Disciplinary practices, ranging from oral
  warnings to termination of the employment
  relationship, aim to make workers behaviour
  predictable.
• Disciplinary concepts
• Improvement
• Punishment
• Deterrent

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Fig 11.7 Typical gross misconduct in the
workplace
Discipline at Work
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Fig 11.8 Procedural steps of progressive
discipline
Discipline at Work
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Fig 11.9 ACAS guide to disciplinary action
Discipline at Work
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Chapter summary (1st half)
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Chapter summary (2nd half)