Economic Development Analysis Essay Example

wave of "union busting" in the United States, a major European multinational is concerned about the unintended consequences of declining union membership. If there is weak collective representation of employees, they fear the administrative cost and turmoil of having to negotiate equity with numerous small groups of employees. Consequently, management is considering establishing Japanese-style enterprise unions to improve human relations, working life quality, and human resource policies - elements consistently found in successful non-unionized firms (Foulkes, 1980).

The development of humane authority that acknowledges the employee's integrity involves supervisory training in human relations and managerial/style. Meanwhile, improvements in quality of working life, employee welfare, semi-autonomous working arrangements, open door policies, and single status systems are bringing about the progressive humanization of the work place. How equity and human relations challenges are addressed within companies and countries differs greatly. Some firms recognized early on the importance of equity in human resource management, often due to the values of their founders or presidents (such as Marks ; Spencer and Procter ; Gamble). While companies' records vary in the free-market economy of the United States, some Northern European countries tackled internal challenges related to equity and human relations before or after World War II as a result of political events and legislation.

Since 1955, Japanese firms have placed great importance on achieving equity and better working conditions (Takezewa et al., 1982). Conversely, Latin Europe and Latin America have only recently begun to address these issues, with Brazil experiencing social unrest and unionization as it undergoes democratic liberalization. Unfortunately, many senior executives in Latin cultures still hold to a traditional view of authority, resulting in strained relations with labor.

When

evaluating human resource management, focusing solely on equity and internal relationships can create a bureaucracy, as referred to in both economic theory and common language (Evans, 1984). The other important criterion for HRM is competitive performance.