Grievance Handling Procedure Essay Example

their perspective is heard and given appropriate consideration.

The initial step of the procedure offers the greatest opportunity for settling an employee's biased conception of their problems. Venting their grievance and being heard provides them with a sense of being cared for. It allows them to get it "off their chest", benefiting their morale as seen in the Hawthorne studies.

Employees can bypass their manager and take their complaint directly to higher management due to the lack of a formal procedure and an open door policy. This undermines the authority of the manager, creating a competitive environment where both parties aim to discredit each other.

The next step in the management aspect of the procedure, as indicated by the figure, is to present the disagreement to middle management. Involving managers at different levels in the grievance process has two advantages. Firstly, interpersonal interaction and shared understanding assist in breaking down social divisions between different groups. Secondly, the problem-solving approach unites various organizational levels as a team to collectively address issues that impact both workers and managers.

It is crucial to make sure that line management takes on the main role in resolving grievances. In some organizations, the Personnel department is involved in the process as a decision-making authority. On the union side, higher personnel in the union hierarchy represent intermediate levels. In many organizations, the business agent, who is a full-time negotiation specialist for the union, handles the intermediate and occasionally the final step.

The union often outmaneuvers management because business agents specialize in union management negotiations and it is their full-time job, unlike management. Line managers consider grievance processing

a minor and distasteful duty. As a result, decisions about grievances are often made by the staff personnel department.

Typically, discussions about grievances require dialogue between the company and the union, with involvement from high-ranking representatives on both sides. The company's team may include the President, a Vice-president, or a senior industrial relations executive. Similarly, the union's participants might consist of the local union president, Union Executive Committee members, or an International union representative. Reaching an agreement at this level can be challenging due to conflicting interests.