MGMT Employee Relations Notes from Tut PDF

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TUTORIAL 1 WEEK 2 MANAGING EMPLOYEE RELATIONS -

Get sense of what ER is about. Industrial/labour relations interchangeably used. Gig Economy: a labour market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.

https://www.afr.com/news/policy/industrial-relations/gig-economy-and-casualisation-threatto-employment-model-a-myth-expert-says-20180725-h134lk   

Predictions that casualization and the gig economy would lead to the demise of traditional employment have been greatly exaggerated. Argued platform technologies such as Uber may be the biggest challenge to the employment model, but full-time employment was still increasing, and selfemployment was falling. Employers still preferred employment because it allowed for close supervision and better management of uncertainty and risks of opportunistic behaviour.

https://www.afr.com/news/policy/industrial-relations/gig-economy-failing-to-reverse-declinein-selfemployment-hilda-20180730-h13b7n  

survey showed there had been no trend increase in "solo self-employed" from 2011 to 2016, levelling out at 8.5 per cent of the workforce The report suggested one reason for self-employment's decline may be more older workers entering employment

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/sa-business-journal/negotiations-on-the-otherside-of-the-globe-can-have-farreaching-implications-for-australian-employers/newsstory/54bd9140f0802ffca01c6a5fdedd49f9 

MANY Australian employers will be unaware that discussions taking place some 16,000km away reveal real and significant impacts for the duties and costs they face.

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Employers emphasised strong opposition to workplace violence and harassment and willingness to take reasonable steps to drive appropriate behaviours. TUTORIAL 2 WEEK 3

ARTICLE 1 What is the nature of employee voice at Morning Star?  Employees at Morning Star are given immense discretion in respect to their own management of tasks. They can freely coordinate with colleagues and make purchases without the need of approvals, due to the clear absence of any formal hierarchy. Instead, staff are encouraged to negotiate responsibilities with peers, highlighting the autonomy on an individual level. With the presence of Colleague Letter of Understanding (CLOU), employees can openly evaluate each other’s performance over the year in addition to creating a blueprint of one’s mission statement.  Demonstration of mutuality and cooperative relations.

What lessons, generally, do you think can be learned from the ‘Morning Star’ case about managing employee relations?  That employees do value and appreciate the notion of independence. In turn this generates greater performance levels, overall employee satisfaction and profitability as the end of the day. To what extent can these lessons be applied to Australian businesses?  The concept of self-management in contemporary work where organisations are changing at a rapid pace could accommodate Australian businesses well. By giving employees more autonomy, turnover rates will be substantially reduced, as workers do fancy the idea of not being controlled. This sense of freedom may even correlate to grater loyalty and ultimately better judgements. On an emotional level, perceived-selfworth, feeling of trust and flexibility will no doubt have a meaningful impact as well. However, putting this procedure in place may offer a challenge in itself. ARTICLE 2 1) Did Richards engage in ‘voice’?  Yes, she openly voiced her harassment experience during the PyCon and thoroughly reported it to the organisers while taking to social media afterwards to stamp out the issue.  Articulation of individual dissatisfaction. Situation was outside the boundary her job (she went to the conference on behalf on her company). Separation of work and family not so much existent these days. 2) Did Richards help to enforce the PyCon code of conduct or was she guilty of breaking it?  She is responsible for both – By taking action against the inappropriate behaviour and actively informing event staff about the experience was encouraged. However, she also engaged in public shaming which opposes PyCon’s updated code of conduct. Not being very professional. 3) Richards had to determine whether or not to raise her complaint about the two developers and how to do so. What factors likely influence her decision?  Being a female in a primarily male dominated computer science industry likely gave her reason to act, knowing very well that harassment is common place in this field. Richards may have raised her complaint to change the culture of the industry so that women can feel accepted and be on an even playing field to men as an emerging tech developer.

Tutorial 3 (Week 4) 

Activity 1

Please read this article About Amazon from the New York Times: Consider the following questions: How does Amazon manage its workforce? - Amazon’s workforce is described as very “combative” and “data driven”. The culture encourages employees to work robotically, to essentially become an “ama-bot”, if

anyone reaches this point then they are considered successful at Amazon. The workforce is pushed to its limits (often past breaking point) in order to extract the most out of the workers, while ensuring performance is continuously measured. What type of employee control strategies, if any, do Amazon managers use? What type(s) of power underpin these strategies? - Employee control strategies include: a ranking system (“rank and yank”, systematic purging of workers who can’t keep up with the demands) legitimacy power, performance monitoring (warning mechanism for under-achieving employees) coercive power. What are the ER implications of Amazon’s approach to managing employees? - Amazon leans toward unitarism, where employees and managers assume a common organisational goal. However it is also not a traditional unitarist culture because workers often criticise each other heavily, in a manner to out-compete one another which defeats the purpose of working together in harmony. - The ER impacts would be largely employee dissatisfaction and feelings of no selfworth in the organisation. Workers will feel under the pump constantly and it will seem like they can’t escape work, even when they are with their families. This ultimately defeats any chance of achieving a work-life balance. Compare and contrast the management of workers at Amazon and Morning Star (last week's tutorial)? How do they differ and which is more effective? - Amazon is more of a hierarchy, where employees aim to out-perform one another and complete tasks like a robot, essentially becoming cogs in a machine. Morning Star is the contrast, with a flat hierarchy, where employees are encouraged to work freely and set their own objectives, to essentially become their own managers. In terms of organisational effectiveness, I think there needs to be a complement between the two workplaces. Employees need to balance competitiveness to increase performance but there should also be levels of discretion for them to complete tasks on their own terms. To what extent could Amazon’s approach to managing employees be applied in other businesses? - Amazon’s idea of having elite workers is a reasonable idea, but the way they go about trying to reach that level is dehumanising. Aside from that, businesses could take away the idea of developing employees with their own unique principles to become the best workers they can be like Amazon. The take-home message for other organisations is that it is essential to have a culture where they feel like they belong to something great, where they can be proud to be a part of. 

Activity 2:

Please read the following article Is there such a thing as companies without bosses? Or do managers always retain some control? - Companies are never entirely absent from management. There will always be some degree of control, whether the organisation presents it as a “façade” or makes it blatantly obvious. The article clearly suggests that these pseudo-bosses worsen the

job quality of employees, by creating an environment where workers are constantly under pressure to be “liked” by those in positions of power or face impending expulsion. 

Activity 3:

Short case 'Managing under stress' Please read the case and consider questions 1 & 2 1 Is Pam the one in charge of her unit? What other people or factors exert control over Pam's unit?

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Pam is formally the nurse unit manager (NUM). However, Pam is also controlled by: paperwork, HR, the pay office, her immediate staff and budget targets from the immediate boss.

2 What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of devolving employment relations responsibility to frontline managers like Pam?

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Advantages may include: direct involvement in decision making, procedural control, increased sense of power and managerial efficiency (as she understands the ins and outs of her unit more than anyone). Disadvantages may include: intense pressure to perform, overload of tasks, little to no time for breaks and has to deal in situations that she was not trained for.

TUTORIAL 4 WEEK 5 Before class, check out the website of an Australian union of your choice. Answer the following questions: What type of workers does the union represent?  The CFMEU represents workers from construction, forestry, maritime, mining and energy. What type of language or imagery does the website use?  Words like “stand up, speak out, come home” are used to convey the message that every 10 days a construction worker is killed at work. This statement is accompanied by an image of a sad little girl who has just lost her father. - Why do you think this is?  This union’s marketing appeals to emotions, to highlight the idea that there needs to be stronger unions in Australia who can stand up for workplace safety, so that all workers can return home to their families. What are the union’s main current campaigns?  They are currently campaigning to make industrial manslaughter a crime. In order to make those in corporations accountable for negligence when a worker dies.

- How do they carry out their campaigns?  By starting a petition, calling on Daniel Andrews to introduce manslaughter laws here in Victoria, so the big corporations get punished for evading safety protocols. - What tactics do they use?  Senior union members meeting with the premier to discuss the issue, who afterwards promises to introduce new industrial manslaughter laws in Victoria if re-elected. How effectively, in your view, does the union brand itself on its website?  I think the CFMEU brand itself really effectively. It touches many households, especially with family members in blue collar jobs, creating a sense or relatability. The union does make it sound like a community of workers fighting against the big guy. What does the union do well? Why?  Getting enormous membership numbers into the 100,000s. I think they attract such a large following because of how closely connected they are with the Australian Labor Party. The union is also strong at collective bargaining by holding national strikes which forces action from the government. Activity 2: Read the following short case: Come prepared to discuss the following question: How should Wellington and her colleagues react to the potential formation of a union? 

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Wellington and her management team appear threatened and very offended that a union may be forming inside the organisation. She feels that the victim is actually her, by not getting notice that the support staff were dissatisfied, makes her uneasy that she cannot address the issues internally. Instead Wellington and her colleagues should welcome the union movement, and embrace the ideas that they could bring for the benefit of her support staff. She needs to shift her negative mindset about unions, instead work with them so they can come to a collective agreement that has can make both sides happy.

TUTORIAL 5 WEEK 6

1. The PC argued that penalty rates are old-fashioned and lacking in set of principles. 2. The productivity commission is the Australian Government’s principal review and advisory body on policy, regulation and a range of other social and environmental issues. 3. In 2014, the Abbott government directed the PC to conduct an inquiry into Australia’s workplace laws including the performance of fair work and independent contractors. 4. Creation of new jobs and more hours for employees. 5. Reduced income for employees who are only able to work on weekends. 6. Both are equally important. Employee satisfaction will be good for consumers. 7. I don’t think so.

What are some highlights of your career so far? Do you feel like you have an opportunity to voice your opinion? And in what ways?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

TUTORIAL 6 WEEK 7 Depends on which side you’re from. Contract workers. Gigeconomy is tech-based economy (how jobs are created). Millennials – income, simple, don’t know any better. Firms not investing in employees. Job stability, supplementing income, Cost effectiveness, depends on nature of work. Discipline, negotiation skills, Yes, there is exploitation.

TUTORIAL 9 WEEK 10 AussieTel 1. Establish plan, conditions, compromises. Asking employees for what changes they want to see. Set out what issues they would like to address. Management has to be reasonable and realistic with their expectations, has to be feasible. 2. Want equal representation from both sides. Enterprise bargaining. Allow a week. Third party has a right to consult but should not influence directly. 3. If both sides are satisfied with the agreement, it will allow smoother transition – setting up for long term success. Ensure future feedback is taken into consideration. National Hockey League

1. 2. 3. -

TUTORIAL 10 WEEK 11 Why did the tragedy occur and who was responsible? Poor infrastructure, owner at fault, no union, What needs to be done? Proper regulation, people before profit, stronger union power, How do you rate the industry response? Compensation, relocate production, collaborate to invest in safety standards, Exam Preparation

Exam consultation – Friday 26 October 2-3pm Room 9.013  Choose your 3 Q’s carefully  Allocate writing time for each Q and revision of the exam at the end  Identify and define concepts  Divide central concept into types and divide  Provide outline of the essay  Address all part of Q  Come back to central concepts of ER whenever possible  Provide an example – from textbook, tutorial, lectures, interviews, assignments, case studies, individual work experience, current media sources i.e. Fair Work Act 2009  How you frame answer is what gets you marks  Write a concluding paragraph...