Employee Relations and Theoretical Management Style in the UK - Essay Example

? EMPLOYEE RELATIONS Grade Question: What do you understand by the term management style in employee relations? How useful is the term in understanding the dynamics in employee relations? Employee Relations Employee relations can be defined as relationship that occurs between the employer and the employee in any particular organisation that is related to the productivity of the employees in the organisation (Berger, 2008). Employee relations in the organisation can also be related to the relations that the employees have with other human resources of the firm. All employees at the workplace tend to share some sort of relationships with the colleagues they work with, with their subordinates and with their supervisors. The relationships can be good or bad depending on the attitudes of everyone at the workplace (Towers, 2003). Theoretical Management style in UK The report from the Chartered Management Institute state that the mostly used management styles in the UK are the authoritarian style 21%, the bureaucratic management style 16% and the third one is categorized as a secret management style 12.5%. The research also depicted that the percentage of employees believing that they are able to access their manager is only around 10 % (Employers criticise UK management style, 2010). The chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, Ruth Spellman, states that the working lives of people improve with the goodwill element and engagement element amongst the employees. The productivity rate, the retention rate and the loyalty factor of the customers improves with goodwill (Employers criticise UK management style, 2010). Issues with the typologies There are certain issues present with the typologies of the management styles being implemented in organizations. The employment relations may depict a static picture of the firm. The relationship between the employee and the employer may be facing changes but they may be depicted in a static way. Management has certain expectations and intentions from and for the employees respectively but there are strong chances that the employees may not work according to the expectations of the organization. From certain employees hard work and dedication may not be observed at work. The strategies of management may at times be implemented according to the consensus of the employees and other times as a compulsion whether employees like the idea or not. There are different styles of management according to the occupational groups working in the firm. The top management may have a different management style; the middle management may adopt different style for dealing with the employees under them. Lastly, the issues pertaining with typologies are that when managers are outsourced are hired on a contract basis, the management styles that they may implement will be different. Employees have the chances of getting frustrated due to many reasons. The reasons can be both personal and professional and the management therefore needs to ensure that all activities at workplace are taking place according to requirements so that workplace frustration of employees can be avoided. A healthy work environment and atmosphere will make the work experience of the employee a pleasant experience (Gay et al, 2005). Marketisation of the employment relationship There are certain organizational forms to market based regulation of Employee Relations. The employee relationships with the organization need to be carefully reviewed by the firm and accordingly the employee relationships are handled in the firm. The short term market pressures such as increasing sales, increasing the market share, gaining edge from the competitors have affected the relationship of the employer with the employees. The internal employment structures are observed to be displaced in the organizations. The organizational culture has changed for many organizations along with the goals and objectives of the firm. The benefits and perks that are offered to employees have faced changes in the modern organizations. Benefits are provided to employees according to the needs and requirements of employees. Knowledge about the job role for the employee is an extremely important factor that should be considered by the management. By providing complete information, the employees can work upon improving their performances and also discuss any personal issues that are affecting their productivity at work place (McGovern et al., 2007). The most important thing for any manager or supervisor at the workplace is to manage their employees in the right way. By managing employees effective, through good leadership skills, allow the goals and objective of the organization to be achieved successfully. By managing and leading employees effectively, allows the strengths of the employees to be capitalised. The management style that is adopted in the organisation will have an impact on the attitudes and performance level of the employees. If employees appreciate and are comfortable with the management style then they will take interest in their work and also perform in a way that will allow the organisation to succeed in the business market (Marchington, 1995). Who managers are Managers are employees of the organization like any other employee. The difference is that managers are given more control and empowerment in the organization than the rest of the employees. Managers are responsible for the completion of all tasks under them also the task should be completed by the deadline. Managers are authorized to direct other subordinates in the right direction and ensure that all subordinates complete the task on time. Planning, organising, staffing and controlling are the main functions of the management and these functions need to be conducted with utmost professionalism by the management so that all employees are hired at the right job and conduct their tasks in an efficient and effective way. Trade Unions- are they helpful? Trade unions are an organisation that represents the employees in the organisation. The main purpose of trade union is to bring forward the issues of the employees to the management of the organisation. Issues such as increase in pay, employment conditions, and other such issues are of concern to the trade unions. Trade unions were helpful in earlier times, but in today’s world the level of competition is quite high and all organisations provide maximum benefits to employees so that employees remain motivated at work. The purpose of trade unions may not be effective in the modern organisation. One of the organisation’s main aims is to reward employees and ensure that their morale and motivation level at work is boosted at all times. When employees are satisfied with the organisation motivation and rewards systems they may not need to use the trade union representatives for their work related issues. There are many different types of management styles that are practiced in organisations. Scientific management, the process approach management and management by objectives are some of the management styles that were practiced some years back (Marchington, 1995). Management Styles With the changing era there are many other types of new management styles that are observed in organisation. They are as follows: Management by coaching and development, management by competitive edge, management by consensus, management by decision models, management by exception, management by information systems, and management by organizational development are some of the new styles of management being practiced in the organisations (Towers, 2003). The management should have good thinking abilities so that they can influence the employees to work according to the mission and vision of the organisation and also clear any issues for the employees related to the goals and objectives of the firm (Marchington, 1995). Variables in determining management styles The variables in determining the management styles are many different types of factors. The size of the organization determines the management style as it makes a difference to control the employees according to the size, the ownership and occupation of the organization affects the management style, the strategies used by the organization to run their business determines the type of management style that should be uses by the organization. The type of products offered by the organization and the industry in which the organization belongs determines the management style whether autocratic or democratic management style should be used (Sisson and Marginson, 2003). The competitors of the organization and the external environment elements tend to impact the management styles of the organization. Also the ability and capability of the managers, the knowledge they possess and other such issues determines the management styles for the organization (Sisson and Marginson, 2003). There needs to be a team work coordination and cooperation present amongst the workforce so that through joint effort the organisation can face success. At times management should allow the decision making to be taken by employees regarding certain matters. Allowing the employees to take decisions will allow them to feel valued by the firm and will also increase the confidence level of the employee. The management should have good communication skills and their mode of communication within the organisation should be strong and clear so that the message is delivered accurately to everyone at the workplace. The management needs to be authoritative in many of the matters so that all business activities and employee performances are under control and moving in the right direction (Jones et al, 2004). Whatever management style is adopted from the above management styles need to be demonstrated in such a way that it allows the performance of the employees to be productive and also allows the relationship between the employees and the employer to be healthy and beneficial for everyone (Towers, 2003). Some managers may be quite strict and stern during work and others may work with the employees in a more relaxed way. The management styles are usually adopted according to the conditions of the organisation and the types of employees that are working in the organisation. All types of management styles that are present can prove to make the business successful (Gay et al, 2005). The management needs to ensure that all types of conflicts are discouraged at work place. Any types of argument that take place with peers or subordinates needs to be resolved in a highly professional manner by the management. Disagreements among employees, peers and subordinates in the organisation may occur due to different reasons. At times conflicts may arise due to disagreements in taking decision or on evaluations of any particular task. The management should ensure that they deal with such disagreements carefully. Management style implemented should be effective as it is highly useful in understanding the dynamics that are present in employee relations. It is important for the management that they should ensure the goals of the organisation are in alignment with the goals of the individuals. This way the level of employee interest at work may increase incredibly (Jones et al, 2004). Some employees need training sessions to perform their duties according to requirement. Managers need to look upon the issues of training and development of employees and send those employees for training that are struggling in any particular area of work. The world is becoming more and more competitive with every passing day. Employees may not know everything or all the latest ways of working. This can be known to them through proper training programs by the management. A knowledgeable and skilful employee will prove to be a strong asset for the firm (Towers, 2003). Employee needs and demands from the workplace may change and therefore management needs to show concern for the employee and let the employees now that they are valuable for the firm (Jones et al, 2004). Emergence of HRM The emergence of HRM has given a lot of empowerment to the employees and has focused on developing employees in the organisation. The industrial relations in the organisations have observed a shift in their working operations. The HRM development in the organisations have allowed the employees to gain their trust in the organisation, state all their work issues to the HRM and the HRM finds out the solution for the employees. Human resources are one of the most important assets of the organisation. The HRM of the organisation is linked to the business strategy of the organisation. The HRM prepares the various policies of the organisation so that everything in the organisation is running in a systematic way. The HRM has to remain committed with the organisation as well as the employees of the firm. Policies need to be flexible at times so that the employees work well in the firm. There are two models of HRM at stated by Storey (1992). The soft HRM and the hard HRM are the two models of HR. The soft HRM model integrates the HR into the objective of the business. The HRM works according to the alignment of goals and objectives set by the business. Employees are regarded as important assets of the firm. The responsibility of tasks is divided among the entire workforce. The organisational culture of organisation is experiencing a change towards a positive angle with the implementation of Human Resource department in the firm. The hard HRM model also considers the Hr to be integrated with business objectives. The flexibility in the organisation is observed through the temporary staff. The hard HRM model is stringent towards the financial issues. The Hard HRM model considers HR to be an expense in the organisation rather than an investment. The management of the organisation needs to constantly work upon developing the strengths of the employees and allow the employees to overcome their weaknesses. Through proper guidance and assistance the employees can overcome their weaknesses and improve their performances at work to a large extent. The employees may also be grateful to the management for helping then develop on their strengths and overcome the weaknesses. Management needs to monitor the day to day performances of the employees so that all the loopholes can be identified and a strong employee relationship can be formed between the management and the employee (Berger, 2008). The management of the organisation need to also promote employee rewards and recognitions at work. Rewards recognition may act as a powerful motivator for the employee at workplace. Rewards allow the relationship of employees with the management to become powerful. For attaining rewards, employees may work hard and perform well (Jones et al, 2004). Any type of misconduct by the employee needs to be corrected by the manager by giving advices or rectifying the mistakes by demonstration of the task in the right way. Maintaining discipline at work place is highly important and in cases of misconduct by employees disciplinary actions are taken by the company to resolve the issues related to grievance or appeals of the employees (Towers, 2003). Issues in Management As we are residing in a world of globalization, the main issues in management are that competition is increasing with every step in the business world. All organizations need to strive towards becoming a highly competitive organization so that they can survive in the competitive world. The employees need security and flexibility when they are working for any organization. Organization need to ensure that they provide job security to employees so that they become loyal to the firm. The function of outsourcing organizations is becoming common in the business world. Many business functions are outsourced and are done by other consulting and outsourcing firms. The business world has observed a decline in the collectivists forms of employee representation. Employees now are their own lawyers and prefer discussing the issues with management on their own rather than a collective discussion and individual discussion takes place with the management. Organizations are privatizing to earn more revenues and profit along with having minimal control of the government. The organizations are moving towards the deregulation mode of working. They want to remove the element of governmental rules and regulations. This is one of the main continuing issues that are pertaining in management of organizations. Management is highly committed with the organisation profitability and success. They work in order to make the organisation successful and profitable in the business market. Also the management requires their workforce to perform exceptionally well. They ensure that all resources are provided to employees to perform their work well and complete all tasks completely. Conclusion Employee relations mainly focus upon the relationship of the employees with the firm. There are different types of management styles that are implemented in the organisation. The way the management deals with the employees tend to reflect upon the situation whether the employees have a good relationship with the management or a bad relationship with the management. Effective and influential management styles can allow the management to deal with the changing employee relations in the right way. Employees need to be given a direction to work and this direction is provided by a successful management. Employees of any organisation are a very vital element for success for the firm. The success or failure of any organisation depends upon the way the employees perform at work. Therefore management needs to take into consideration about the needs and requirements of the employees and also focus on developing strong and good relationships with their employees. Loyal and motivated employees may allow the organisation to face high levels of success. References Employers criticise UK management style (2010). Available at: http://www.hrreview.co.uk/hrreview-articles/hr-strategy-practice/employers-criticise-uk-management-style/7436. Accessed on 23rd November 2011. Berger, B. K. (2008). Getting communications on senior management’s agenda. In P. Williams (Ed.), Employee communication: The comprehensive manual for those who communicate with today’s employees (pp. 97-114). Chicago: Ragan Communications. Gay, C., Mahoney, M., & Graves, J. (2005). Best practices in employee communication: A study of global challenges and approaches. San Francisco: IABC Research Foundation. Jones, E., Watson, B., Gardner, J., & Gallois, C. (2004). Organizational communication: Challenges for the new century. Journal of Communication, 54(4), 722-750. Marchington, M. (1995). “Fairy tales and magic wands: new employment practices in perspective”, Employee Relations, Vol 17, No 1, pp 51-66. McGovern, Patrick, Hill, Stephen, Mills, Colin and White, Michael (2007). Market, Class and Employment, Oxford University Press. Sisson, K. and Marginson, P. (2003). Management: systems, structures and strategy. Relations: Theory and Practice in Britain. Blackwell Publishing. Storey, J (1992). 'Making European managers: an overview', Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 1-11.  Towers Perrin. (2003). working today: Understanding what drives employee engagement. Stamford, CT: Towers Perrin. Read More