Running head: HRMN 362 ASSIGNMENT 3 LABOR RELATIONS HRMN 362 Assignment 3 Labor Relations Author Institution 1 HRMN 362 ASSIGNMENT 3 LABOR RELATIONS 2 HRMN 362 Assignment 3 Labor Relations It has been said that "a company that deserves a union gets one," suggesting that if proper leadership and motivation techniques are employed and desirable policies devised, the workers will not want to unionize. Either agree or disagree with this philosophy. Support your position and explain what a company could do to create an environment where workers will not want to unionize. Response I do agree with the rationale that the issue of a union would only arise with employees in response to management not treating them right. In a company where workers feel that the firm is not treating them right then ideas of joining unions starts arising. The workers may feel that the kind of pay being offered is too low compared to the hard conditions they are being subjected to. The workers may also have low morale, and this fault might be blamed on the employees, so it’s true that company gets unions because they deserve it. If such companies treat they workers fairly, care for them and invest in them, then the mentality for unions would never arise. How to make employees work for the company and not go against The first step is sharing gains and pains with the employees. This mostly occurs when companies are faced with an impending decision of cutting back on cost by reducing the number of employees. Rather than downsize a company can opt to share the profits across the board this way the company makes a little sacrifice but gains by retaining it, employees. Getting to help employees with their personal problems such as worrying about daycare allowing the employees to have a flexible schedule will help them solve the problem. Creating a culture of consistent growth, every employee should grow along with the company (Peng, 2010). Employees who do HRMN 362 ASSIGNMENT 3 LABOR RELATIONS 3 not want to grow should be replaced by those who want to grow. I believe organizations should make it a habit of communicating vision and mission of the company to the employee. A constant notification of what is going on in the company can do more good than harm. Union leaders can be a pain in the ass so companies should do everything in their power to ensure that they employees are satisfied with their working conditions and that the compensation they are receiving is fair. Unions have declined as a percentage of the workforce in the private sector. With this decline, have career and workplace dissatisfaction and alienation increased? If so, why is this so? If not, why not? Support your position. Response In recent decades, the power that Unions used to have has considerably declined. In the United States, it is estimated that only 12% of all employees are union members with 8% being government employees. Is it the changing composition of the workforce or are private company’s hostility towards unions the reason for the decline of union membership? Unions have always served to ensure that workers are treated fairly and well paid. Union simply gives employees a voice to speak as one and air their grievances. In the past, Union was valued and vibrant in advocating for the rights of the employees. The explanation for the decline in union membership can simply be put as a union are no longer productive like they used to be. The reason unions worked in the private sector in the past industries that were heavily unionized had few large firms that required similar labor. Such firms were at liberty to sell their product at a high cost to recover the cost of production due to monopoly. However, with the arrival of new competitors in the market with low-cost products HRMN 362 ASSIGNMENT 3 LABOR RELATIONS 4 the playing field changed. The Internet and digital technology did not make things easier. Private companies were forced to either adapt or close down. Nonunion firms began performing better and gaining a bigger market share than union firms. With time, Fear led most private firms and their employees from joining unions (Bennett & Kaufman, 2002). Another reason there is a decline in labor membership in the private sector is because the union leaders are unable to organize the private sectors unions despite their creative campaigns. The number of people working in the private sectors is to huge for union officials to sit down and organize a strike they did in 1937 when there were just 47,000 workers only. Therefore, the decline in union membership have not affected people careers nor increased workplace dissatisfaction. What I believe is that impact of the decline would only be felt by the widening gap in income inequality. List and discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages in using seniority as a factor to determine shift preference or overtime assignments. Response The term seniority in the workplace is used to refer to the length of time an employee has worked for an organization. Seniority gives employee precedence over other employees. Employers use seniority to grant job benefits and fulfill employee expectation. Seniority differs among companies moreover rights and privileges given to employees who have served the company longer also differs depending on the company. Managers have often used seniority in deciding which employees to promote or layoff (Robbins et al, 2003). When making such consideration of lying off employees it is wise to let go the new workers first to avoid facing lawsuits from employees who have worked in the company for longer. HRMN 362 ASSIGNMENT 3 LABOR RELATIONS 5 Advantages Using seniority as a factor to determine shift preferences will play a great role in rewarding loyalty this will encourage new employee to stick around longer so as to enjoy similar benefits in the future. Senior members have high experiences and knowledge and thus deserve preferences when it comes to shift or overtime assignments. Moreover, such employees require less supervision when working overtime. The disadvantage of using such a system to make a decision is that it make it hard for other employees to move up the ladder. Moreover, using seniority to determine who gets a certain task would mean that an expert who is a new employee might be denied the opportunity to work on overtime assignments. Shift preferences and working on overtime assignments is in some organization seen as a reward on performance. Using seniority system might prevent rewarding performance. Using the system is the same as saying one has to achieve seniority before he or she can be considered for promotion. Generally, I believe the use of the system to determine shift preferences or who gets overtime assignments slows career growth. Identify two different steps a company should take to prepare for its first round of bargaining with the union pre-negotiation activities. Explain why each of the steps you have identified is critical to achieving an initial successful collective bargaining agreement with the union. Response Before facing the union, a company should take the following two pre-negotiation steps: the first step is appointing the team that is going to be doing the negotiations. The second step is Formulating and researching a proposal and a bargaining range (Holley, et al, 2012). HRMN 362 ASSIGNMENT 3 LABOR RELATIONS 6 Step 1: Appointing the Negotiation Team A company management ought to select the team on the basis of perceived need for the team member skills and experience. In simpler words, this means that the management will have to select a supervisor whose duties in the organization involves supervising the bargaining unit of the employees. As a team member, the supervisor on behalf of the company will either answer negotiating issues or bargain on issues related to work operations that are done on daily basis. The importance of this step is that it plays a crucial role in negotiations of ensuring the special interest of the company is considered during collective bargaining. Additionally, the step ensures that the terms settled represent the interest of major constituent groups. Moreover, it ensures that settlement reached have a high probability of being approved or accepted by a greater number of the union members. When appointing the team that is going to take part in the negotiations, the representative can be selected a certifying authority from outside or through a referendum. Step 2: Formulating and Researching a Proposal and a Bargaining Range The aim of this step is to identify a possible bargaining subject and at the same time a likely settlement outcome. In collective bargaining, a company relies on several sources to establish the union possible bargaining goals in the negotiation of contracts. Moreover, this step is meant to predict the outcome because it is likely that the company had met earlier, and the proposal might be used as a starting point to the current negotiations. Furthermore, by reviewing the proposal, the management gets an insight of national union convention proceedings. These two pre-negotiation steps help a company to gather the formal information that the union officials are likely to use. Thus, the selected team has ample team before the union officials arrive of analyzing complaints aired before at the company and determining how to respond. HRMN 362 ASSIGNMENT 3 LABOR RELATIONS 7 References Bennett, J. T., & Kaufman, B. E. (2002). The future of private sector unionism in the United States. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. Holley, W. H., Jennings, K. M., & Wolters, R. S. (2012). The labor relations process. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Peng, M. W. (2010). Global business. Mason, OH: Cengage South Western. Robbins, S. P., Odendaal, A., & Roodt, G. (2003). Organisational behaviour: Global and Southern African perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson Education South Africa. HRMN 362 Assignment 3 Labor Relations Select and respond to any four of these six topics: 1. It has been said that "a company that deserves a union gets one," suggesting that if proper leadership and motivation techniques are employed and desirable policies devised, the workers will not want to unionize. Either agree or disagree with this philosophy. Support your position and explain what a company could do to create an environment where workers will not want to unionize. 2. Some means of resolving negotiations impasses involve economic weapons (e.g. strikes and lockouts). There are other means of impasse resolution that do not involve the use of economic weapons (e.g. fact finding, mediation, med/arb/interest arb, etc.). Select two (2) non-economic means of impasse resolution, 1) explain how each one functions and 2) discuss the relative pros and cons of each. 3. Unions have declined as a percentage of the workforce in the private sector. With this decline, have career and workplace dissatisfaction and alienation increased? If so, why is this so? If not, why not? Support your position. 4. List and discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages in using seniority as a factor to determine shift preference or overtime assignments. 5. Identify two different steps a company should take to prepare for its first round of bargaining with the union pre-negotiation activities. Explain why each of the steps you have identified is critical to achieving an initial successful collective bargaining agreement with the union. 6. Identify and explain the major ways in which the government is an important participant in the labor relations. NOTE: Include the topic number and topic above each response, and the references directly below each response. Use a minimum of four sources dated 2013-present (one minimum per topic). See Rubric and Requirements for Written Assignments in Syllabus for details. Project Descriptions Requirements For All Written Assignments Research Sources: Most assignments include a minimum number of required sources. 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