Management and Employment Relations

The history of management is being traced with difficulties and it is only seen as a modern conceptualization. This difficulty contributes to its ideally possiveness nature. In premodern past context it is traceable back to Sumerian traders and builders of the pyramids of ancient Egypt. Full exploitation and motivation of slaves faced problems. Many pre-industrial enterprises in their small-scale nature were never compelled to face issues of management. With increased scale of commercial operations devoid of mechanized record keeping and recording, management functions were unavailable.

Management as an act involves the process of directing and controlling a group of people for purposes of achieving coordination and harmony of the group towards attaining a goal, which is far beyond the scope of individual efforts. Potential human resources, financial resources, technological resources and natural resources are deployed and manipulated through management[1].

The possibility of personifying the act of management also exists whereby the person or a team of persons performing this act is or are referred to as management and has to do with power by its nature and position.

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Functionally, management entails the art of getting things done through people: action of weighing a quantity on regular basis and adjusting the initial plan and the action taken to reach the overall intended goal. The functions and roles of management therefore entail planning, organizing, leading or motivating and controlling or coordinating all resources in the working place[2].

Management falls under the following categories: human resource management, operations or production management, strategic management, financial management and information technology management.  Human resource management carries the grater weight in employment relations. Its importance is seen in understanding and developing its context concept, to assess and explain its impact on organizational performance and employment well being and to contribute to the dissemination of good practice.

The role of management in employment relations can be explained by the context of communication in the work place. Employees must be treated with applicable laws and regulations of the countries and regions in which it operates. Communications between management and employees is essential in conveying management policies to employees and encouraging employees to voice their options[3]. This impacts the active rather than passive agency role of the management being the representative of the employer.

These concepts are of vital importance in employment cycle. Employment in this context refers to the contract between two parties one being the employer and the other one the employee. The employee refers to a person in the service of another. Under any contract of hirer express or applied, oral or written where the employer has the power or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of how the work is to be performed[4].

In a profit oriented setting the aim of the employer is creation of valued produces at reasonable cost, and providing rewarding employment opportunities for employees. In unprofit setting the ultimate goal is to keep faith of the donors. Other areas of employment include the public and household sectors. It is in view of this harmony that the active role of the management should be felt in any working environment. Communication between management as the employers’ representative and employees should show shared responsibilities called co-determinations.

There are specific areas of concern and address during the discussion between the two parties they include; pay of wages, bonuses, the work environment, disputes, work schedules, grievances, health and safety, working hours and production targets. The aim of these discussions is an achievement of a more harmonious working relationship sometimes-major employment relations dispute may arise. Whenever problems start to arise in a company a successful management-employment relations involve striking a balance in nearly all situations.

The employer has the right to manage that is the ability to plan for the future so that the company can continue moving to make profits and to keep employees motivated. Form the employees’ viewpoint best possible conditions must be secured and good living standards made not a dream. High labour turnover, bad time keeping, high levels of absenteeism, slackness of individuals, poor working, deliberate time working in similar practices are evident in situations where employees are unhappy with the working conditions[5].

Other evidences of discontent will be revealed in complain, friction, ignoring rules and apathy for unappropriate management system to gain the intended meaning must strive to attain the following qualifications: attraction of the most qualified employees and matching them to the jobs for which there are best suited since this is significant for the success of any organization[6]. However, there arises some technical problems in many large enterprises due to their size this aspect of too large size of an enterprise deter possible close contact between top management and employees this connection is otherwise provided for by human resource managers training managers and labour relations managers.

In an effort to enhance immorality and productivity while limiting job turnover, helping organization increase performance and improve business results they are of vital help to the organization they also help the firms effectively in using employees skills, provide training and development opportunities, improve those skills and improve employees satisfaction with their jobs and working conditions. Dealing with people through physical interaction is an important part of the job although some jobs in the human resources field require only limited contact between the people outside the office.

The importance of management in employment relations on an active capacity is further highlighted through creation of labour unions and its incorporation in the constitution in the name of labour laws. This has been evident in all regions countries and states all over the world for the purpose of improving the quality of working life for individuals and creates condition for business success. Employers, employees and unions must deal with one another in an honest and open atmosphere.

This in essence bears results such as follows: promotion of good employment relation and cultivations of mutual respect and confidence between employers, employees and unions. It also sets the environment for individual and collective employment relationships. It also sets out requirements for the negotiation and content of collective and individual employment agreements. It also provides prompt and flexible options for resolving problems in employment relations. There are a number of undiresable trade union action such as withdrawal of good will, go slow, working strictly to the rules set out in work rule books and sticking rigidly to only doing tasks set out clearly in a job description, refusing to work overtime, going on a strike and many others[7].

All this actions reduce companies’ profitability and its ability and fulfill orders, they harm employment prospects, reduce wages of employees they lead to festering discontent and cause problems for customers and economy as a whole. This is a practical scenario in the current working places and it reflects negative picture of interaction in the working places. It is therefore, very important to create a harmonious working environment for the benefit all the concerned. Good practices and models of a harmonious working practice should be exhibited in a true structure of employment relation.

In an effort in building trust as a manager it is paramount to display the following characteristics: keeping promises, have ethics, telling people the truth, being fair and honest, treating employees as adults while showing appreciation for their ideas and for the work they do, involve employees in planning and problems solving, give employees important work and support them to implement. In an effort to achieve a successful structure of management – employment relations’ labour or employment laws have been enacted.

Labour laws

Labors laws also known as employment laws refers elaborately to a body of administrative ruling and prescient which focuses to address the legal rights and restriction on the working people and their organizations and as such it mediates may aspects of the relationships between trade unions, employers and employees. They are in some countries restricted to ununionized work places, as is the case in Canada. But in most other countries no such restrictions is made. Two broad categories of labour laws exist; collective labour law which relates to tripartite relationship between employee employer and union. Individual labour law concerns employees’ rights at work and through the contract for work[8].

Employment laws include all areas of the employer employee relationship except the negotiation process covered by labour law and collective bargaining. It consists thousands of federal and state statues, administration regulation and judicial decision.  Most of these laws such as minimum wage regulation were enacted as protective labour legislation. The functioning and origins of labour laws is oriented towards strikes, pickets, boycotts, unofficial industrial action

Labour laws in Australia

The federal parliament in Australia is empowered by the constitution to make laws concerning conciliation and arbitration for the settlement and prevention of industrial disputes extending beyond the limit of any one state. The laws made with respect to trading and financial corporations fall within the limits of the commonwealth and foreign corporations. Industrial relations systems and wages setting have been enhanced by this system also known as work choice, which came into operation in 2006[9].

Work choices legislation act in Australia

The most comprehensive shakeups of industrial relations since federation were the results of the successful introduction and passing of work choices legislation in Australia in December 2005[10]. The industrial and employment circulars underwent permanent and long-term changes.

These changes are explained in the following dimension: federal systems of industrial relations were successful and completely replaced with the unitary system of industrial relations: an emphasis on Australian economy away from the wages and conditions; transitional arrangement and changes to Awards and Agreements; awards were reduced drastically, Australia Fair Pay Commission was set up with the main aim of determination of minimum wages and conditions of employees, the powers of Australian Industrial Relation Commission were greatly reduced to an extent of being rendered redundant, flexible work practices were introduced and the ability to cash out some benefits such as annual leave[11].

The consequences were some problems with work place health and safety application; new dismissal provision which were less straightforward as they may have been trumpeted. New transmission of business rules that is buying and selling business plus all the people incorporated in the business. Union restriction and the scrapping the no disadvantage test. All these changes brought about complexity and consequently bearing some effects on businesses along the following orientations.

Small business holders were subjected to the understanding of the broader concepts of employer obligations to the employees applicable to their unique business situation.  The employers take great care before taking a step towards termination of an employee’s service. Great care, advice and consultation became a prerequisite since the work place legislations empowered the employees to claim compensation against unlawful dismissal and discrimination.

These laws applied to the especially small business with as less as a hundred employees and therefore constitute the retail in Australia. The workforce legislation in Australia further favoured these minority employees in the retail industry in a sense that the cost of defending discrimination and dismissal claim by the employer is dramatically higher than the unfair dismissal itself.

In conclusion; the changing of the awards and agreements provided for by the work choice legislation added a layer of complexity to the businesses which extended upto the end of the transitional face which extended up to five years. An investor intending to buy a business was supposed to be ready for the transmission of business changes and the business owner had to grapple to the new layer of complexity.
References

Catanzariti, J. & Baragwanath, M. 1997. Workplace Relations Act: A User-friendly Guide. Manly, NSW, Newsletter Information Services.

Cranny, C., Smith, P. & Stone, E. 1992. Job Satisfaction. New York: Lexington.

Creighton, B. & Stewart, A. 1994. Labour Law – An Introduction. 2nd Ed. Leichhardt, NSW. Federation Press.

Guite, T. 1999. Strategic Human Resource Management. 3rd Ed. McMillan Publishers. London.

Lee, M. & Sheldon, P. (eds.). 1997. Workplace Relations, Workplace Law & Employment Relations. Sidney. Botterworths.

Mullins, L. 2005. Management and Organizational Behaviour. 7th Ed. Harlow. Prentice-Hall.

Nilson, C. 2003. How to Manage Training: A Guide to Design and Delivery for High Performance. 3rd Ed. New York. Amacom.

Pocock, Barbara & Masterman-Smith, Helen. 2005. Work Choices and Women Workers. Journal of Australian Political Economy No.56.

Teicher, J., Lambert, R. & O’Rourke, A. (eds.). 2006. Work Choices: The New Industrial Relations Agenda. Sidney, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Walter, J. 2006. Strategic Management. Theory: An Integrated Approach. McMillan Publishing Ltd.

[1] Walter, J. 2006. Strategic Management. Theory: An Integrated Approach. McMillan Publishing Ltd. PP.70-73.
[2] Nilson, C. 2003. How to Manage Training: A Guide to Design and Delivery for High Performance. 3rd Ed. New York. Amacom. PP.103.
[3] Mullins, L. 2005. Management and Organizational Behaviour. 7th Ed. Harlow. Prentice-Hall. PP.51-58.
[4] Catanzariti, J. & Baragwanath, M. 1997. Workplace Relations Act: A User-friendly Guide. Manly, NSW, Newsletter Information Services. PP.17.
[5] Guite, T. 1999. Strategic Human Resource Management. 3rd Ed. McMillan Publishers. London. PP.41-43.
[6] Cranny, C., Smith, P. & Stone, E. 1992. Job Satisfaction. New York: Lexington. PP.31-34.
[7] Lee, M. & Sheldon, P. (eds.). 1997. Workplace Relations, Workplace Law & Employment Relations. Sidney. Botterworths. PP.27-37.
[8] Creighton, B. & Stewart, A. 1994. Labour Law – An Introduction. 2nd Ed. Leichhardt, NSW. Federation Press. PP.9-16.
[9] Teicher, J., Lambert, R. & O’Rourke, A. (eds.). 2006. Work Choices: The New Industrial Relations Agenda. Sidney, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. PP.103-125.
[10] Pocock, Barbara & Masterman-Smith, Helen. 2005. Work Choices and Women Workers. Journal of Australian Political Economy No.56. PP.124-143.
[11] Teicher, J., Lambert, R. & O’Rourke, A. (eds.). 2006. Work Choices: The New Industrial Relations Agenda. Sidney, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. PP.103-125.

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