Management
Introduction
Management and union are two important fractions for any company. They both perform a vital role in almost every corporation. Nevertheless, few unions hold the view that the management does not compensate their members reasonably, or that the workplace conditions are not favorable. On the other hand, few employers believe that unions get in the way of management decisions and obstruct on a constructive association between employees and managers (Sloane & Witney, 2010). There might be some truth in both the views. However, unions and management must operate collectively and accomplish healthy workplace surroundings for everybody associated with the company. Further, taking the above discussion into consideration this particular paper attempts to explore the role of management within a company and the role of a union within a company. The paper also puts forward two strategies/actions an organization can implement to create and maintain a conducive, working relationship with unions along with two strategies/actions a union can implement to create and maintain a conducive, working relationship with management.
A manager is considered as being a highly significant part of a company. He/she is accountable for all operations that occur within the company and are answerable to the company’s board. The chief function of management within organization is allotting distinct tasks to the highly capable staff member (Reilly, et. al., 2011). Management also looks after the resources i.e. time and money needed to complete a particular task. The effective management is the one that listens to the staff members and considers their views prior to making any decisions. This implies that everyone is involved in administration. To great levels, this is the best management approach as it also aids in encouraging the staff members. Moreover, the managers impact all the spheres of modern organization (Reilly, et. al., 2011). For instance, the sales managers are accountable for all sales force which generates awareness among the general public. In general sense, the sound co-existence amongst employees is as well as the general public is the accountability of management staff.
Role of a union in an organization
A union is a company grounded on membership of staff members in several trades, professions and occupations, whose key emphasis is the illustration of its members in the company and within the broader society. It chiefly aims at advancing its interest via the process of collective bargaining and rule-making (Dine, 2007). Unions are associations that signify individuals at work. Their idea is to improve and protect individual’s pay along with employment conditions. They also promote policies and laws that would offer advantages to working individuals. Unions operate since an individual employee has very less authority to have an impact over the decisions, which are formed regarding his or her job (Sloane & Witney, 2010). Through uniting together with other employees, there exists a higher likelihood of having an influence and voice. The chief aim of a union is basically to promote its members interest, due respect being given to the interest of the entire workforce and to the higher national interest. So as to accomplish this objective, the unions hold an obligation to uphold the practicality of the undertaking through making sure collaboration with management in measures to encourage effectiveness and sound industrial associations (Dine, 2007).
Unions should thus:
- Where suitable, maintain mutually with management as well as other unions efficient arrangements at local or market levels for consultation, negotiation and communication and also for solving disputes and grievances
- Undertake all rational steps to make sure that their members and officials view all arrangements
- Organize training of delegates with respect to their duties and powers along with the everyday tasks of the unions;
- Offer sufficient educational prospects for the progress of the union members;
- Be appropriately staffed to fulfill the requirements of the members, and enable efficient lines of communication among such members
- Motivate members to participate in their operations through adopting means that would best enable them to do so, taking in the collection and distribution of facts;
- Making available data related to the policies and regulations of the union;
- Offer sufficient advisory facilities for the members and help them to comprehend employment terms and conditions
- Recognize patterns within industrial relations so as to assist their members to foresee and stay aware of change.
Unions are legal entities, which bargain with the employers for employees in particular sectors. The chief role of the unions is to struggle for higher rights, advantages for employees and wages (Dine, 2007). Unions operate through making use of "collective bargaining," an approach in which the members operate collectively to devise changes they wish within the workplace and make use of their collective authority to bargain with the employer. Moreover, the unionized employees usually have considerably greater pay and higher benefits as compared to the workers within the same sector who aren’t union members (Sloane & Witney, 2010). The role played by union includes political role (the unions use collective authority to influence decisions for members and the society as a whole); Market role (through wage bargaining and therefore affecting the economy); Regulatory role (setting standards with respect to jobs as well as terms and conditions); Democratizing role (developing industrial equality in the company); Service role (encouraging and promoting members intervention); Enhancement role (offering help in building the human ability of the members) and lastly, welfare role (offering help to specific groups).
Management and Union Strategies
One strategy which could be adopted by management is offering support and training to unions and inspiring union them to take part in shared training programs (Reilly, et. al., 2011). Employing such management/labour partnerships, companies and unions could operate jointly to perk up the quality of agencies as well as workers’ work lives. Moreover, with this strategy, both sides could develop the long-term commitment required to offer the greatest value to the customers. A good example of such association at workplace occurs when management and labour team up to present an integrated front in dealing with legislative issues, particularly those relevant to regulation or funding (Jamieson, 2005). In addition, the second approach which could be adopted by the management is communication. The management must share complete information and aid the staff members to thoroughly comprehend business decisions. Such information is hard to describe to every individual employee, chiefly if the data is sensitive and unions could put forward a means for presenting this information to staff members (Gill, 2009). Moreover, efficient communication would ensure that both union and management would obtain the same information. In case if the union and management know exactly what is occurring by way of efficient communication, strong bond and trust would develop between the two (Jamieson, 2005). Also, the management can bargain to offer incentives in return for agreement of contract labourers. Sometimes specific things can be exchanged in return for help in bringing them to agree to the terms and conditions of the employment.
Moving ahead, unions on the other hand could adopt the partnership strategy to maintain and create a favourable, working association with the management. Moreover, the partnership strategy is grounded on pluralist beliefs in which it acknowledges the significance of representative entities, like unions, along with direct forms of staff participation and involvement. The partnership approach lays less focus on conflict of interests among employees and employers and high on mutual benefits (Gill, 2009). This strategy would prove to be a vital element in building a conducive and healthy relation with management. In addition, ensuring favourable relationship with the management would only make the company more effective and would develop constructive workplace surroundings for everybody who is concerned. According to Gill (2009), unions could build trust in management as well as a commitment towards organizational change in case if they are strong and hold a supportive association with the management. Moving ahead, another strategy, which could be adopted to develop and uphold a favourable, working association with the management is undoubtedly effective communication. Just as in any company, issues could occur due to lack of good communication. The issues are more than expected to get resolved when good communication abilities are there. As a result, communication is vital not just for unions, but also for management. Further, union and management must look at one another like a team and not like an enemy. Rather than viewing one another like enemies, they must relate to one another like allies and helpful resources. A conscious and specific effort is made to build and maintain a high amount of faith and open communication among the parties (Jamieson, 2005).
Conclusion
References:
Dine, P. (2007). State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence. McGraw-Hill Professional.
Gill, C. (2009). Union impact on the effective adoption of High Performance Work Practices, Human Resource Management Review, 19, pp. 39-50
Jamieson, J. (2005). Unions' role in behavioral health organizations, Behavioral Health Management, 25(3), pp. 18-20
Reilly, M., Minnick, C. & Baack, D. (2011). The five functions of effective management. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Sloane, A. & Witney, F. (2010). Labor relations (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall
