workplace partnership strategies in employee mangement relations Essay Example
workplace partnership strategies in employee mangement relations Essay Example

workplace partnership strategies in employee mangement relations Essay Example

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  • Pages: 9 (2301 words)
  • Published: October 17, 2017
  • Type: Case Study
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The partnership approach has gained extensive support in the UK from authorities, employers, and trade unions. It has become a defining feature of the new industrial relations settlement for the millennium. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) advocated for a partnership approach in union relations, both in the workplace and in politics, due to the weaknesses of unions. The labor government, before and after its election in 1997, also endorsed the concept of partnership to redefine its relationship with unions and the concerned community. The Engagement and Partnership Association (IPA) actively promoted various forms of engagement at work to foster cooperation.

The text emphasizes the significance of partnership, cooperation, and collaboration among various parties to address the challenge of increased international competition. Workplace partnership is a contemporary strategy that aims to effectively manage employment and industrial relations while fostering a cooperative relationship between employers

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and unions. This relationship involves active contributions from both parties in supporting each other's interests and working together for mutual benefit. The concept primarily focuses on establishing a harmonious relationship instead of conflict by breaking down traditional "us versus them" thinking. As a result, there is mutual respect and shared commitment towards each other's success, ultimately promoting trust between all involved parties.

This essay explores the various origins, approaches, and principles of partnerships. Additionally, it discusses the strategies implemented by different organizations in relation to partnerships. It provides examples and evidence from literature regarding the advantages and consequences of partnership agreements, particularly relating to the risks and challenges involved. The conclusion emphasizes that partnership agreements foster shared responsibility among employees, trade unions, and employers in effectively addressing business issues for the benefit of al

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parties involved.

Origins of Partnership

The concept of partnership stems from the belief that in situations where employees are highly organized and their corporate interests are recognized, they are more likely to commit to improvement efforts. There are three main sources for the partnership idea. The first is the USA, where the "mutual gains" or "productivity coalition" approach has been identified. The second is Continental Europe, where "Social partnership" at the national level has long been a feature in several EU member states. Here, it is seen as a way to respond to social policy demands and drive work organization modernization for competitive success. The third source is the UK itself, where trade unions debated the "new realism" in the mid-1980s and proposed a joint approach with employers to create conditions for economic success and social coherence in the 1990s. (Edwards, 2004)The outcome of this was a joint statement of purpose, called Towards Industrial Partnership (IPA 1992), which was signed by representatives of both management and trade unions from the Involvement and Partnership Association. This statement served as a catalyst for the promotion of partnership agreements among several companies.

Approaches to Partnership:

Although the importance of partnership at the workplace has been acknowledged and considered with great interest, its defining characteristic is not clearly visible. There is no agreed-upon definition or model of partnership in both policy and academic literature. To gain a deeper understanding of partnership, its characteristics, and elements, it can be broadly categorized into three approaches or perspectives: Pluralist, Unitarist, and Hybrid. The Pluralist approach is closely linked to employee representations in Europe that originate from the concept

of industrial democracy (IDE 1993) and workers' involvement that recognizes a pluralist perspective. This approach involves a representative system that may include trade union representatives as well as directly elected representatives (Guest et al., 2001:208). The second approach to partnership is rooted in a unitarist perspective that aims to maximize employee engagement and commitment to the organization by integrating the interests of both employees and employers.

The unitarist approach encompasses specific policies and patterns that can be used to classify various parameters within partnership. One significant parameter, for example, focuses on monetary benefits and collaboration to align the interests of employees and employers within the company. Another aspect emphasizes different aspects of employee involvement and engagement. This approach primarily focuses on individual employee contributions because, based on assumptions, allowing employees the autonomy to make decisions related to their field helps meet their interests in the most effective manner.

The hybrid position is an important approach to partnerships that combines elements of both unitarist and pluralist perspectives. Grounded in the pluralist perspective, the hybrid position emphasizes the need for direct forms of employee engagement and participation.

Partnership Principles:

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Involvement and Partnership Association (IPA) have consistently emphasized the significance of partnerships in the UK. TUC publications on partnerships highlight the value that consensus-seeking trade unionism can bring as the champion of the "high road" to competition, based on improved work and employment relations patterns (TUC 2002).

The text highlights six essential rules that must be included in a new agreement between unions and employers, as stated by Stuart and Martinez Lucio (2005:10-11). These rules emphasize the need for a shared understanding of market

demands, the importance of communication mechanisms, job security, and investment in improving working conditions for successful and effective partnerships. The rules, adapted from TUC (2001), include a commitment to the success of the venture, recognition of legitimate interests, dedication to employment security, focus on the quality of working life, transparency, and value addition. The TUC developed these rules to establish a valid presence of trade unions in the growing partnership industry following the 1997 general election (Stuart and Martinez Lucio 2005; Terry 2003 cited in Tailby 2007).

The Reasoning Behind Trade Unions:

It is important to analyze the motivations and justifications for trade unions' involvement in partnerships. The British union movement's focus on formalizing industrial relations and expanding labor's role in underrepresented areas can be considered as one of the reasons for trade unions' participation in partnerships.

According to Ackers and Payne (1996), the TUC's "New Realism" in the 1980s was a defensive response to worsening labor conditions, while social partnership is seen as a proactive approach with a broader vision for the role of unions in British and European society. The concept of partnership is the focus of "New Realism", which aims to expand the roles of unions in the field of HRM and prevent their marginalization (Lucio et al, 2004). This new relationship between unions and businesses has resulted in greater legitimacy for unions in the workplace. The "New Unionism" project, on the other hand, focuses on assertive recruitment campaigns and opposes the desire for closer relations with management (Taylor and Ramsay, 1998). At a European level, partnership involves union participation in European Social Dialogue and the negotiation of framework agreements.

At the provincial level, the text

discusses the importance of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in economic and social management, particularly through the National Economic Assessment dialogue. At the economic and sectoral level, it aims to revive multi-employer corporate bargaining. Lastly, at the company level, "social partnership" refers to the discussion of partnership agreements between unions and management, with a goal of promoting a more cooperative approach within the company. The TUC has established over 50 partnership agreements with various companies including Allied Domecq, Asda, Barclays Bank, Blue Circle Cement, Britannia Building Society, Cammell-Laired, Tesco, Unisys, Leyland Trucks and Rover (BIFU/Nat West SA/Unifi, 1999; Haynes and Allen, 1999; IRS, 1999B/C; Kelly, 1999; Katz and Darbishire, 2000; Knell, 1999; Marks et al., 1998; Tailby and Winchester, 2000; Thomas and Wallis, 1998; Towers, 1997).

The text highlights how the understandings among brotherhood members have resulted in immediate employment-centered involvements. These understandings address issues that brotherhoods have previously neglected, such as employment security and flexible working, as well as worker entitlement to training and development. They also recognize the qualitative demands of workers, including employee engagement, communication, individual status, equal treatment, and dignity at work. Unions use various methods of job regulation to represent their members' interests, which can be activist or co-operative in nature. They can engage with employers through the corporate organization and member involvement or serve members through a hierarchy of professional officers. The similarities between HRM and social partnership are evident in both aiming for competitive advantage and promoting employee engagement and communication techniques to foster commitment.While the definition of union's function was not fixed, they still accepted HRM being influenced in certain ways. By the early 1990's, unions split into

groups: traditional pluralists, pragmatic pluralists, and accommodationists.

This categorization leads to several observations. The "new realist" label tends to overlook certain significant dynamics in brotherhood responses and limits of tolerance. Additionally, the matter-of-fact pluralists are in a middle ground where responses are highly unstable and guidelines are scarce. In the UK labor movement, the discussion of HRM related to "soft" and "hard" discrepancies of HRM has played a crucial role. The TUC study to Congress on HRM (TUC1994:9) provides a typical example of the implicit merging of "soft" with good and "hard" with bad. "Good" is perceived as improving productivity by fostering employee commitment, while "bad" is characterized as customizing the employment relationship to dismantle an aggressive anti-union policy.

The evolving promotion of HRM can be seen as a harmonious process from a union-oriented perspective. Unions strive to establish strong relationships with employers by analyzing HRM practices. By categorizing the components of HRM into "soft" and "hard" approaches, as shown in the table below, it becomes clear that trade unions face potential challenges at any point along this spectrum. This implies that "soft" methods may disadvantage union members, particularly when they aim to increase management's authority. Conversely, "hard" elements pose a threat to the autonomy of trade unions, even if there are individual merit-based compensation strategies that conflict with collective bargaining on wages. The viewpoint of HRM suggests an effort to encourage management to make positive choices rather than negative ones.

The institutional arrangements for this in the U.S have been common additions dickering but in the UK the societal partnership doctrine has led to the partnership understanding. A study of i??New Deali?? at Rover Group in 1992

followed by pivotal trades at United Distillers in 1994 and at Blue Circle in early 1997 has emphasized success, especially in ensuring job security and union recognition.

Benefits of Partnership:

According to Gerry Sutcliffe (former Employment Relations Minister), working together makes good business sense and is essential for companies and industries committed to success. Good employers know that by valuing people, productivity can be increased and innovation can be encouraged (speaking at a presentation to the Partnership at Work award winners, 19th April 2004). From the perspective of an organizational stakeholder, employees and trade unions experience the benefits of partnership at the workplace as shown in Table 1, with some examples of partnership agreements highlighted in Table 2.

The tabular array 2 indicates the purpose and outcome of partnership understandings for specific administrations.

Hazards of Partnership:

The risks of partnership understandings for TUC are related to the imbalanced tradeoff between flexibility and security (including workforce development and improved quality of life). The actual support mechanisms and conditions for the development of partnership have yet to emerge for trade unions in terms of employment security, emphasis on the quality of working life, and transparency (Stuart et al; 2005) . From a management perspective, the partnership understanding is risky due to the involvement of additional costs and slowing down of the decision-making process, leading to practical decisions rather than desired ones (Ackers et Al; 1996) . The lack of definition and uncertainty in measuring its success has made it difficult to assess their long-term impact, causing many to question whether partnership understandings are fundamentally unstable (Martinez Lucio and Stuart, 2005: P 797) .

However, according to Bacon and Samuel ( 2007

), out of the 248 mark partnerships between 1990 and 2007, a surprising 81 % managed to survive. This suggests that partnership understandings have proven to be much more durable than previously predicted.

Reasons for Termination of Partnership Agreements:

The aforementioned statistics reveal that more than half of the partnership understandings were terminated between 1997 and 2000. The reasons for these terminations include restructuring (26%), takeovers (19%), closure of operations (15%), signing new agreements (9%), joint abandonment of employer and union (6%), sole union abandonment (6%), and loss of contracts (2%).

Criticism of Partnership:

Critics and advocates of partnership have long debated its effects on trade union representation. The main point of contention is whether partnership consumes or enhances trade union representative capacity. Additionally, critics have questioned the coherence of the partnership model. They argue that trade unions face significant challenges and political risks when adopting the partnership approach (Kelly 1996; Taylor and Ramsay 1998 as cited in Stuart et al. 2005).

(2005) further discussed partnership-based agreements and their potential impact on trade unions, stating that these agreements could lead to increased surveillance and intensified work. Martinez Lucio and Stuart (2005) argued that partnership represents a new approach to employment relations that addresses broader questions about regulation. Therefore, partnership should be seen as a complex political development that aims to reconfigure employment relations, rather than just focusing on its outcomes.

Conclusion:

The concept of partnership is widely used in contemporary industrial relations. However, it should be noted that partnership agreements are not a substitute for collective bargaining or daily problem-solving in the workplace.

Joint determination making is an intricate process that

involves considering the interests of management, trade unions, and employees for addressing business issues. It is not a simple choice to make. Through literature, three primary perspectives and partnership principles have been identified. Additionally, the integration of trade union approaches with mainstream HRM has resulted in the development of a comprehensive model for analyzing partnerships. When trade unions, employers, employees, or other employee representatives collaborate based on mutual gains and trust, the benefits are boundless. While some challenges may arise, they can be resolved before they become major problems. Moreover, the significant advantages of partnership agreements outweigh any reservations employers and unions may have in signing such agreements.

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