Msw065 : Effective Labour Management Assessment Answers

Portfolio Project Option 2: Strategic Action Recommendations

You are the vice president for human resources for GMFC. The company and the union have failed to agree on a new contract, and the old contract expired last week. Two issues are unresolved, and no movement has been made on these for more than 10 days. The union is demanding 10 cents an hour more than the company is willing to offer, and management continues to demand some employee co-payments for medical care. This is the first negotiation in 15 years in which a new contract has not been ratified before the old one expired.

Local 384 voted a strike authorization about a month ago, but the leaders have not indicated at this point whether they intend to strike. Production managers are lobbying for a lockout to avoid material losses if the heated steel treating process must be shut down rapidly. Marketing managers want production to meet orders scheduled for shipment. They argue the union doesn’t intend to strike because it hasn’t already done so.

In the senior management meeting this morning, the CFO briefed the other members and indicated the company could accept a labor cost increase of 5 cents an hour more, but only if this is a firm figure and not subject to increase over the term of the contract. Unfortunately, the union appeared adamant that it will not agree to any health care co-payment.

You have been tasked to recommend specific strategic actions to the senior management team in this impasse. Considering the evidence, what actions should the company take? Outline each specific action, including processes used and timetables. Consider the possibility that your strategic recommendations may trigger a lockout, strike, or other union activity.

Brief overview of the issue

The proposal of the new contract in the company of GMFC, after the expiry of the prior contract the week before has led to an issue. Out of all the proposals there are two issues that have been unresolved. On top of that there has been no actions has been made on these for more than 10 days. The issue is such that the union of the company is wanting for 10 cents an hour more than the company is ready to offer, and management of the company still continues to demand co-payments for few employee for the purpose of medical care. This is the first negotiation in 15 years in which a new contract has not been ratified before the old one expired. In the senior management meeting that was held at present, the CFO of the company has briefed to the other members indicating that the company can only agree to give a labour cost rise of 5 cents an hour more. However, this only has to be the is a firm figure that should not be subjected to increase over the contract term. However, the union turned out to be adamant that it will not agree to any health care co-payment. Although the labourers have voted for strike authorizations that have been taking place for a month, the leaders of the company have not indicated any solution. The Production managers of the company are lobbying for a lockout in order to avoid the Material loses that would take place for the conflict. Additionally the Marketing managers also wanted to meet the production orders that were scheduled for the purpose of shipment.

The effect of conflict in the organisation

Since the organisations aim in achieving the goal of providing ultimate satisfaction to its customers, they are often encountered with challenges. In the present case there has been a disagreement between the employer and employee regarding the structure of payments that has led to a conflict. In a company a conflict may lead to negative consequences like lock out, strikes and other material losses. The management of the business needs to take immediate action and understand exactly what the employees of the business wants from the management of the business. The case shows that the labourer of the business is dissatisfied with the terms which are stated in the new contract and also there is an issue which is related to inappropriate hike in payments of the business. Since the labours of an organisations are the one who are responsible for the operation an agitation within tem may lead to a great loss of productivity in the organisation (Carmody-Bubb, Duncan & Ree, 2015). The conflict in an organisation may lead to frustration within the members. On top of that there can a loss of dedicated employees who at a point of time gave the highest productivity for the company. In addition to that a conflict leads to violence and miscommunication that may spoil the inter-organisational relationships and the company reputation. A sound human resource management deals with overseeing the several aspects of the employment that are compliance with the various labour laws and employee standards. Effective labour management deals with the federal law that governs the relationship between the labour unions and the employers. The company of GMFC has come up with an issue (Marchington, Wilkinson, Donnelly & Kynighou, 2016). The proposal of the new contract, after the expiry of the prior contract the week before has led to the issue. This is because the union have failed to agree on the same. Being the vice president for human resources for the company of GMFC, it is the duty to find the solution to the problem.

Strategic Action 

Management of the Issue

In the given case, it has been pointed out that a conflict took place due to disagreement of the new proposal. As a human resource manager it can be said that in a business organisation conflict is inevitable. The conflict between the employee and labour in the present case of GMFC may lead to bringing down of the morale or may impact productivity of the business (Singer, 2018). The following strategic steps can be applied by the vice president of Human resources of the business for the purpose of resolving the conflicts and also satisfying the work force of the business.

• Resolution within the groups:The management of the business needs to firstly identify what are the demands of the labourer and then consider whether the same is feasible from the point of view of the management. The conflicts which threatens the business with a strike is due to issues of pay scale which requires increase on hourly basis and there is also issues which is related to co-payments relating to medical care of employees
• Understanding the situation: As the vice president for human resources the strategy that is to be followed is to understand the situation and deal accordingly with the steps that are to be followed in order to manage the labourers (Einarsen,  Skogstad,  Rørvik,  Lande & Nielsen, 2018). In the present case the issue is such that the union of the organisation is demanding 10 cents an hour more than the company is willing to offer. The management needs to identify the consequence on profitability and also cost if the claims of the workforce is to be accepted. The situation demands the management to carry out internal analysis of the situation and also determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats relating to a business.
• Acknowledgement of the problem:Since agitation took place in the employee level. It is the need for the top levels to acknowledge the issue and ensure a solution to the issue. Being the vice president of human resource it is important to be alert and keep in mind the importance of the matters of the issue. The focus should be on the benefits of the company with another. Acknowledgement of the concerns and frustration is a vital step in the process of resolving the conflict.
• Avoid using coercion and intimidation: This deals with the Emotional outbursts that are concerning the people. The immediate action that is to be taken to stop the problem of strike temporarily. Then comes the long term actions (Chelladurai & Kerwin, 2017). The consequences of both the proposals are to be analysed before the decision. Thereafter, there is need to define the issue or in other words the problem encountered by the two different parties in the company. The conflict between the employee and labour in the present case of GMFC may lead to bringing down of the morale or may impact productivity of the business (Singer, 2018).
• Focus on the problem, not the individual: The primary objective of the conflict resolution is not necessarily to arrive at a decision regarding which individual is right/wrong. In this case, the main objective is to arrive at a solution that one and all can live with.  Initially, identifying the needs in place of solutions can be considered to be a powerful tool that can be used for generation of specific win-win circumstances. The Focus must be made on the identification and resolving the conflict.
• Establish guidelines: Prior to the conducting of the formal meeting between individuals, the both parties are to be interacted in order to come into a consideration. There must be an agreement according to the meeting guidelines (Carmody-Bubb, Duncan & Ree, 2015). However the meeting must be conducted peacefully without any outburst of emotions. Both the perspective of the two parties is to be heard. It must be made sure that the rule and regulations that are to be followed in the meeting is not violated.
• Keep the communication open: The ultimate result in conflict resolution is for both the parties in order to resolve the issue within themselves (Bratton & Gold, 2017). As the vice president of human resource it is to be made sure that both the parties are allowed to express their viewpoint, along with their perspective. The Attempt to enable the meeting and enable them to find the real issue that had caused conflict. In the present case both the proposal is to be analysed, the set off is to be made none of the parties are at loss.
• Act decisively: After all information from both of the parties are gathered and analysed along with understanding their perspectives. There must be a review of all the circumstances that would enhance the decision or the act. However, the decision must not be that prompt or the decision must not be delayed as it may lead to severe hampering of the credibility and the perception (Marchington, Wilkinson, Donnelly & Kynighou, 2016). Situation may arise that few does not agree with the decision that has been taken, thee would the conclusion must be wise and made after analysing all the results that includes the profitability of the company along with the satisfaction of the human resource that is the asset of the organisation.

Conflict Resolution and addressing the union strike steps in the business concern:

In order to resolve the conflicts observed between the employer and the employee, the senior management of the corporation can first acknowledge the fact that there exists a difficult situation. In this regard, honesty along with transparent communication can necessarily play a significant role in the process of resolution (Nicholas & Steyn, 2017). The management needs to conduct a meeting with the union leaders and negotiate the terms of the new contract with the leaders. The management needs to apply the best negotiation, bargaining or even apply moral persuasion in order to convince the leaders. Also, it is also important to acquaint one with different things undertaken and is also crucial to stay open about the specific problem.

The problem which is faced by both the parties need to be defined and detail discussion on the topic needs to be conducted (Bolman & Deal, 2017). There is also need to recognize reasons of conflict arising out of disagreement over the contract. Analysis of the problem can be done by statement of problem and studying negative influence of the problem on overall work/workplace relationships. The meeting should aim at getting at some decision and if the same is not achievable through negotiation, an alternative solution needs to be provided or suggested by either parties which can satisfy both the parties for now. The primary objective of the conflict resolution is not necessarily to arrive at a decision regarding which individual is right/wrong (Doz, 2017). In this case, the main objective is to arrive at a solution that one and all can live with.  Initially, identifying the needs in place of solutions can be considered to be a powerful tool that can be used for generation of specific win-win circumstances. In a bid to find out needs, the there is need to find out the reason behind why different individuals desire the solution they at the outset proposed. Once individuals understand the benefits their resolutions have for them.

There is also need to find out ordinary areas of agreement and formulate solutions to satisfy the identified needs. In order to solve the problem, the management can think of formulating multiple alternatives, ascertain the actions that needs to be taken and ensure that the involved parties can purchase into different actions (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Also, there is need to schedule on a daily basis a follow up meeting in order to ascertain conditions (agreement/disagreement) of parties. In the end it can be said that as per the current case, the management of the firm can go for cooperative problem solving that can enable all the employees and management of the firm to work together. Both the parties in conflict can be convinced to compromise and differences can be split. Both the parties can be convinced by saying that “something is always better than nothing” and figure between 5 cents and 10 cents can be found (Rahim, 2017). This compromising factor of conflict management style if adopted by the senior management might possibly aid in getting to a definite solution and can prove to be good for overcoming deadlocks and impasses.

Conclusion: 

As it is known that the human resources are the assets of the organisations, therefore it is vital to manage them properly. A sound human resource management deals with overseeing the several aspects of the employment that are compliance with the various labour laws and employee standards. Effective labour management deals with the federal law that governs the relationship between the labour unions and the employers. The company of GMFC has come up with an issue. The proposal of the new contract, after the expiry of the prior contract the week before has led to the issue. This is because the union have failed to agree on the same. Being the vice president for human resources for the company of GMFC, it is the duty to find the solution to the problem. In order to resolve the conflicts observed between the employer and the employee, the senior management of the corporation can first acknowledge the fact that there exists a difficult situation. In this regard, honesty along with transparent communication can necessarily play a significant role in the process of resolution. The management might also consider meeting with the employees individually face to face initially and put forward their questions regarding the specific situation.

References:

Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley & Sons.

Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.

Brewster, C., Chung, C., & Sparrow, P. (2016). Globalizing human resource management. Routledge.

Carmody-Bubb, M. A., Duncan, P. A., & Ree, M. J. (2015). Emotional intelligence and personality predict conflict management style: examining relationships and factor structures. Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business Volume.

Chelladurai, P., & Kerwin, S. (2017). Human resource management in sport and recreation. Human Kinetics.

Doz, Y. L. (2017). Strategic management in multinational companies. In International Business (pp. 229-248). Routledge.

Einarsen, S., Skogstad, A., Rørvik, E., Lande, Å. B., & Nielsen, M. B. (2018). Climate for conflict management, exposure to workplace bullying and work engagement: a moderated mediation analysis. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(3), 549-570.

Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R., & Kynighou, A. (2016). Human resource management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.

Nicholas, J. M., & Steyn, H. (2017). Project management for engineering, business and technology. Routledge.

Rahim, M. A. (2017). Managing conflict in organizations. Routledge.

Singer, L. (2018). Settling disputes: Conflict resolution in business, families, and the legal system. Routledge.

Wilton, N. (2016). An introduction to human resource management. Sage.