Australia as one of the Largest Economies in the World - Essay Example

This is done through imposing heavy taxes on imports, restrictive quotas, and other government policies aimed at promoting fair competition between locally produced goods and services. Today Australia has shifted from this method to a free trade system. The country holds many free trade agreements with many countries such as China, the US, Thailand, Singapore, and Chile. China is the largest market for Australia’s exports and also is the largest source of imports for china. In fact, this has seen many Chinese companies investing in Australia. The country also has free trade agreements with New Zealand which date back to 1965.

Due to the advanced economy, the country has seen the development of service industries such as finance, banking, insurance, tourism, consorts, and entertainment industries. The government provides services such as welfare, health, education, and other business services. Of these services in Australia, finance, insurance, and banking are the best in terms of performance and also the fastest in terms of growth in the country. These service industries are the backbone of the country’s economy. However, in the past decade, the mining industry was at the back of the country’s economic growth. Australia is the world’s number one in the production of uranium, zinc, lead, brown coal, nickel, and zircon. It also ranks number two in the production of silver, copper, and gold. These minerals are in high demand all over the world. China, for example, is the country’s number one destination for iron where it is in high demand. With the shift from protectionism to free market policies the country’s industries have grown at a very high rate.

Equating industrial disputation according to the official statistics to industrial harmony would be misleading. This would be so because the two are not the direct opposite of each other. The causes of industrial disputes may be avoided and yet we might not have industrial harmony. Industrial disputes arise when there are disputes between the workforce or the representatives of the workforce and the administration. Conflicts in the workplace always cause disputes and should therefore be avoided at any cost. However, when they occur, there should be measures put in place to resolve them. Disputes always have financial costs therefore resolving the causes of conflicts reduces the financial costs of the disputes. Again, disputes damage a business's reputation and reduce productivity.

There are mainly two categories of causes of industrial disputes namely economic and non-economic causes. Economic causes are those concerned with money and compensation. They include allowances, bonuses, wages, leaves, retrenchments, and working conditions. Non-economic causes include organizational politics, strikes, indiscipline, and unjust treatment from other staff members. To avoid industrial disputes both economic and non-economic causes should be avoided. Workers should be treated as human beings at the place of work and should never be intimidated. They should also be given what is rightfully theirs. Allowances, wages, and bonuses should never be denied to them if disputes are to be avoided.

On the other hand, industrial harmony is achieved by having good industrial relations within the framework of the industry’s efficiency. Good organization of work by the management promotes industrial harmony. The management should have a good programme to see that every worker does their work without conflict and overlapping. This way industrial harmony will be achieved. Trade unions in an organization are a link between the employees and the management. A trade union makes sure that workers’ rights are not violated and that the organization does not overexploit its employees. Trade unions also make sure that employees perform their tasks as required by the organization. Recruitment, training, and employment of workers should be defined clearly to avoid any disputes. This ensures competence and high productivity.