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The role of unions today
Merits and demerits of trade unions
The role of labor unions
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Human Resources in Organizations
James Small
12/3/2017
Human Resources in Organizations
Question One: How Human Resources influences Organizations’ Output
The success of a business depends on the capability of its employees. A businesses success is anchored on the input of his manpower separate from the technological needs. Capital and technology can be generated, however, it is human resources that are necessary for the success of and propelling through the challenges an organization might face. Essentially, nowadays cautious administration of employees’ vital asset requires a key Spotlight on Human Resources Management in a firm. Past exploration on HRM acknowledged that workers make a vital wellspring of upper hand for companies.
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This universal characteristic of a person is considered in the action of workers when they join a trade union. A lot of literature exists on the reason why workers join unions which are in a bid to analyze the cost benefit of the action. What the researchers have not agreed on is the list of the cost benefit of the work of joining the union by the workers. But the agreed list is as discussed under. The first reason for joining labor by the workers is to ensure that there is job security. For effectiveness at work, employees need job security which should be assured by the higher management through entering trade unions. These trade unions have perfected protection of the employees through ensuring that the workers are not laid off unnecessarily. The Unions also ensure that promotion follows due and set procedure hence the workers feel that they are secured when they are members of such …show more content…
The department faces a lot of respect and enforcement issues that need sharp look into. Human resources department becomes a liability to the company if it suffers a weak compliance system. The responsibility of conformity of the HR department is found within and without the organization. The agreement must adhere to the following labor laws and acts as discussed. Number one is the Fair Labor Standard Act whose function is to govern the minimum wage and the payment in case of overtime. The requirements for the mentioned act differ according to the state a company is set up in but at the same time pose a significant risk especially to firms with a wage base that is huge. The violation of minimum wage bill may call for employee turnover thus affecting the output of the organization. Family and Medical Leave Act, the Act grants employees a fully paid leave for up to twelve weeks in a year in some circumstances. This act gives employees security during trying times and allows them some job security as dictated by the government and the union they are working
Even though the very purpose of a union is to defend the interest of its members, the company could also use the instrument to promote the official point of views of the company’s management. In clear, the union and the management could work in good intelligence to promote the interest of worker and the interest of the company. Generally, the problem between management and union come when they one as another as an adversary and not as a partner. To be more constructive and create a working atmosphere profitable for both parties, union and company’s management need to work side by side to address real problems. Thus, worker must understand that the best job security for them comes primarily from the existence of the company and so their union should not be a mean for jeopardizing the company’s purposes. Similarly, the management must also understand that he will not achieve his annual goals unless the workers are well treated and the condition of work meet the standards set by official rules and regulations. This is a clear psychological contract between the company and it workers. The success of the company depends heavily on the respect of that psychological contract. Personally, I will play the role of a mediator between my boss and the worker who want to unionize and explain. I will clearly explain to my boss the benefit of having a union in the company and also explain to the worker the necessity to help the company increase it performance by working harder. And the union should not be a tool for undermine the efforts of the management to achieve better
The primary objective of a trade union is to improve the well being of its members. They were formed to counter the superior economic power of the employers. It has long been recognised that the market dominance of employers could onl...
The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease, starting in the 1960’s on to today. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries. The objective of this paper is to shine light upon labor unions, taking a closer look at the disputed issues of union ethics, concerns of union diversity, and the opposing viewpoints of labor unions.
Factories were known for their ill treatment of their employees, long hours and dirty and unsafe conditions. In 1866, unions started to form to improve working conditions for the workers. A fundamental problem faced by democratic societies is as long as people live their lives individually and go their separate ways and be selfish individuals, they are unlikely to meet collectively to resolve issues. There needs to be meaningful unity among people to alleviate this problem to get people obliged to one another, so there is a willingness to sacrifice for shared goals. Bonding of its citizens creates a democracy. Unions seemed to offer the middle class a chance to become a crucial part of fostering institutions of constitutional democracy. The unions have went through several transitions, but have always worked for the working force. I will discuss the history of the various unions, their wins and losses, and the struggle of the employee to achieve democracy in the workplace.
The disadvantages of union membership are viewed from the employee and employer perspective. Through the employee lens, the disadvantages manifest in the form of fees, loss of autonomy, and less collaborative work environment. As part of the union, you surrender many of your individual rights in exchange for the organized results that can potentially manifest through the collective bargaining process. Therefore, there isn’t any assurance that your individual concern will even be addressed.
Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).
In today’s world of employment, one can choose to work in a unionized or a non unionized workplace; both situations have positive and negative attributes. In a unionized situation, members experience benefits such as union representation, and aversions such as layoffs and strikes. In a non-union situation, workers experience benefits such as better treatment by management, and aversions such as decreased benefits and overall decreased wages. Although over the last few decades union membership and growth have decreased, organized labor is becoming popular.
Tolich, P., & Harcourt, M. (1999). Why do people join unions? A case study of the New Zealand engineering, printing and manufacturing union. New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations, 24(1), 63-73.
With becoming a part of a union there are many benefits. Some benefits are better wages, more job security, better healthcare coverage, cheaper health care coverage, more experienced people get bettering opportunities first. Unions can help lower and middle waged workers by increasing their pay. Increasing their pay gives them a little more of a cushion and makes the cost of living not be so stressful. With this comes rules that will later be discussed in the cons of being in a labor union.
Labor unions offers its members higher salaries and better quality benefits (Godard & Frege, 2013). Labor union give a collective voices to negotiate the terms of employment for their members. Labor unions give their members a better quality of life than non members of labor unions (Flavin & Shufeldt, 2016). Members of labor union are more satisfied with job because they feel more secure in their positions. Collective bargaining agreement and labor contracts provided long term employment and financial stability for its members. Unions give employees a platform to directly speak to upper management about issues or concerns in the workplace. Labor unions help employees create long term relationships inside and outside the workplace.
Obtaining the position of human resource director for an organization that has not had a structured and directive human resources department has various challenges. It is likely that as XYZ Company has grown from a small software development firm they have neglected one of their most important aspects of business that contributes to the success of the organization: their employment practices. Employees and employment practices have evolved over the years and the personnel departments that we once relied on mainly for the hiring and firing processes have evolved to meet the expectations and demands of State and Federal laws and regulations, the work force, and organizational strategies that the company has adopted in order to remain competitive and successful in the marketplace. The processes and procedures that now need to be observed by the “personnel department” requires greater knowledge, skills, and abilities regarding laws and regulations, current and potential employee needs and demands, and has paved the way for the transformation of the human resources professional to become an integral member of the management team in an organization.
The importance of Human Resource management is associated with the beginning of mankind. As the knowledge of survival had begun including safety, health, hunting and gathering, tribal leaders passed on the knowledge to their youth. However more advanced HRM functions were developed as early as 1000 B.C and 2000 B.C. Since the modern management theory took over, the working environment was transformed into a more friendly and safe work place. The workers were termed as most valuable resources. While some companies took the human side of employment seriously, there were others who did not find it mandatory. Hence they faced huge labor unions and factory shut downs (Henning, 2001).
Throughout a person’s life, there will come a period of time, when an employee will need to take a leave of absence. The Family and Medical Leave Act has helped many people balance their daily living situations with their work life. Many years ago people were unable to keep a career due to everyday life changes. It has taken a very long time to put this Act into place but it has help our countries people in so many ways. The Family and Medical Leave Act is a law providing help for hard working Americans to retain their careers throughout their challenging journey.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is fundamentally another name for personnel management. It is the process of making sure the employees are as creative as they can be. HRM is a way of grouping the range of activities associated with managing people that are variously categorised under employee relations, industrial/labour relations, personnel management and organisational behaviour. Many academic departments where research and teaching in all these areas take place have adopted the title department of human resources management. HRM is a coordinated approach to managing people that seeks to integrate the various personnel activates so that they are compatible with each other. Therefore the key areas of employee resourcing, employee development, employee reward and employee involvement are considered to be interrelated. Policy-making and procedures in one of these areas will have an impact on other areas, therefore human resources management is an approach that takes a holistic view and considers how various areas can be integrated.
Whether an organization consists of five or 25,000 employees, human resources management is vital to the success of the organization. HR is important to all managers because it provides managers with the resources – the employees – necessary to produce the work for the managers and the organization. Beyond this role, HR is capable of becoming a strong strategic partner when it comes to “establishing the overall direction and objectives of key areas of human resource management in order to ensure that they not only are consistent with but also support the achievement of business goals.” (Massey, 1994, p. 27)