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Relevance of the human resources department
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Labor Relations, Employee Relations, and Global HR
Three Scenarios of HR Interest
Abstract
Human Resource embraces the spirit of mission of teaching, research and training (NJIT Website). Human Resource core purpose is to facilitate the transformation of work life at any organization to a standard that surpasses the organizational planning objective (NJIT Website). Human Resource Departments has several goals to include attracting, developing and retaining a premier and diverse workforce; anticipating trends and consequently providing strategic solutions; fostering creativity, innovation, and learning as a whole to foster and facilitate change; ensure compliance with all federal, state and local regulations, as well as overseas labor laws where applicable; and to promote fair and equitable treatment for everyone in the workplace (NJIT Website). In this paper we will discuss three scenarios that require assistance from the Human Resource Department (NJIT Website).
Labor Relations, Employee Relations & Global Resources:
Three Scenarios of HR Interest
Scenario One
You are a supervisor in a small manufacturing plant. The union contract covering most of your employees is about to expire. How do you prepare for union contract negotiations?
According to "Impact Factory" it is best to start with training your staff to have negotiation skills.
Union Negotiations for Management personnel. It all starts with making sure that your managers are trained to handle the negotiations. You have to start with negotiating skills. (Impact Factory website)
Managers should prepare carefully for negotiations; they should not just react to union proposals (Maytree Foundation Website). Managers should assess how much change they can make in one round of negotiations and should also work carefully on the language of your proposals (Maytree Foundation Website). Managers should use several techniques to prepare for bargaining during the negotiation meeting (Dessler, pg. 579).
The negotiation of a new agreement means that you prepare, prepare, and prepare! An employer's negotiating team is in a tough position: it represents management but it must respond to and balance employee interests (Maytree Foundation Website). Preparation should start early and data should be compiled from a variety of angles to include pay and benefits that include comparisons with local pay rates and to rates paid for similar jobs within the industry (Dessler, pg. 579). Data on the distribution of the workforce (in terms of age, sex, and seniority, for instance) are also important, because these factors determine what the company will actually pay out in benefits (Dessler, pg.
Hiring about 500 employees for the new plant raises some concerns. Considered a medium-sized plant, it is important for management to implement human resource
The case study of GMFC provides an example of a company attempting to avoid unionization of its workers. GMFC is expanding by building a new U.S. plant which will manufacture motorized recreational equipment. The company plans to hire about 500 production workers to assemble mechanical components, fabricate fiberglass body parts, and assemble the final products. In order to avoid the expected union campaign by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) to organize its workers, GMFC must implement specific strategies to keep the new plant union-free. GMFC’s planning committee offers suggestions with regards to the plant’s size, location, staffing, wages and benefits, and other employee relations issues in order to defend the company against the negative effects of unionization and increase...
To start the collective bargaining process, both parties shall review the previous contract to set an agenda of the important things need to be negotiated, take an initial position and set proposals. (Kearney 2009, 116) The school board of education can set its initial bargaining position by “examining grievance files, the scope and coast of benefits, wage surveys, and practices in other departments or agencies.” (Kearney 2009, 117) In case, collecting some data of the school’s financials and budget help in determining its position. About 5000 students are enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade in Pleasant Ridge School this year with an annual increase in enrollment by about 10% with 250 teachers available. The school budget funding comes from two res...
Lewicki, R., Saunders, D.M., Barry B., (2010) Negotiation: Readings, Exercises, and Cases. 6th Ed. McGraw-Hill Irwin. New York, NY
The dynamic of a win-lose bargaining situation can cause negotiations to be exceedingly tense and volatile because only one side will gain at the end of these type of negotiations. This makes the concept of distributive bargaining controversial. Michael Wheeler, the author of the article, Three cheers for teaching distributive bargaining, discusses how many professors at an academy of management conference disapproved of distributive bargaining negotiation tactics. Wheeler explains, a huge majority of the attendees disapproved of exposing their impressionable pupils to the reality that in some negotiations, more for one party means less for the other” (Wheeler, 2012).
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 an effort to gain a working understanding of the Human Resources field, I chose to interview the Director of Human Resources for an organization in Miami, Florida. What I learned goes far beyond any classroom or textbook instruction. It is clear; the field of Human Resources will never be static, as society, technology, and legal environments change, so will the field of Human Resources.
Mandatory subject of bargaining, are the subjects or potential points that are normally specific to all collective bargaining such as wages, benefits, working conditions and length of contract. Based on these very important subjects it is clear why they are considered a “Mandatory Subject” as points of the bargaining unit. In the article, “The Mandatory - Permissive Distinction and Collective Bargaining Outcomes” the author explains how collective bargaining can involve some very essential points to be effective and without these standard subjects to be bargained over the bargaining process will not be effective. “An analysis of the potential impact of the distinction in a controlled setting indicates that unions negotiate less favorable nonwage
of time to talk about a contract. This time is known as negotiation. The union
Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2007). Essentials of Negotiation. New York: McGraw-Hill/ Irwin.
Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., & Barry, B. (2010). Negotiation: Readings, exercises, and cases. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin
2. In case there is unfavorable collective bargaining, Anne may want to offer incentive pay, look for recognition opportunities or other intangible forms of compensation to keep the unions agreeing to keep salaries within a reasonable range based on revenues.
I know I need to work hard to improve my body language, by changing my bad habits and making them into good habits. Communication, by practicing talking slow and improving my writing skills. Planning, by doing research when needed and having a clear plan when going into a negotiation. Lastly my interpersonal communication, by continuing this negotiation, but being more aware of how to construct the negotiation. I will need to create and find opportunities that will change how I negotiate. I am at the beginning stages of a negotiator and over the next six months I will continue to grow and eventually over the course of my life will become as close to a master negotiator that I can
A collective bargaining agreement collectively sets the terms on which an employer offers individual work contracts to each of its employees in the bargaining unit. A bargaining agreement, also herein referred to as a labour agreement, is a legally enforceable written commitment, which states the rights and duties of all parties involved. The labour agreement should be made in good faith and is intended to be observed and not violated. The National Labour Relations Act obligates employers and unions to bargain in good faith concerning terms and conditions of employment, including hours and wages. Like any normal contract, competent parties must enter into a labour agreement. However, a labour agreement is unique from other legal contracts in that there is no consideration involved and nothing tangible is exchanged. Many, but not all, unions require formal ratification of a new labour contract by a majority membership acceptance, which is determined through vote by the members. Until majority approval of those voting in a ratification election is received, the proposed labour contract is not final. While each labour agreement is unique to the needs of an organization and its employees, most agreements include five issues: (1) Management Rights, (2) Union Security, (3) Wages and Benefits, (4) Individual Security (Seniority) Rights, and (5) Dispute Resolution. Management Rights “Management” is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals by making the best possible use of money, time, materials and people. The management process, when properly executed, involves a wide variety of activities including planning, organizing, directing and controlling. It is management’s role to perform all of these functions in order to maximize results.
Negotiation approaches are generally described as either distributive or integrative. At the heart of each strategy is a measurement of conflict between each party’s desired outcomes. Consider the following situation. Chris, an entrepreneur, is starting a new business that will occupy most of his free time for the near future. Living in a fancy new development, Chris is concerned that his new business will prevent him from taking care of his lawn, which has strict requirements under neighborhood rules. Not wanted to upset his neighbors, Chris decides to hire Matt to cut his grass.