The New Workplace Practices and How They Complement Each Other
Discuss about the Case Study of Constructive Relations at Wollongong Yard.
A vital approach to managing an organization to achieve success is the headache of modern day managers. Well managed businesses are the difference between success and productive organizations and the failure of businesses (Hendry, 2012). Managing personnel for performance is a continuing process which should be embraced by businesses today. This will, in turn, ensure productivity, engagement and employee satisfaction. A manager who is focused on the performance of his employees and the business must have a well laid down program on staff development, he/she communicates regularly with the employees and the customers, builds a culture of performance and trust between the parties involved (Aras.et al.2010). This will enable the business to come up with a good succession plan. Performance-based management is essential in any business setting because it improves the performance of employees in an organization, a conducive working environment is created for an employee to work in and in cooperates business values into the day to day operations of the business.
Organization, Change, Management, Risk, Union
Our case study focuses on a company which has been able to successfully adopt the managing for performance initiative after being bought from the previous owners. The performance-based management in the business has seen it being envied by other businesses who now want to learn from the current management the secret behind the success.
The business through the new yard manager successfully introduced new workplace practices which are complementing each other. The new methods he introduced include; the manager talks to the drivers and union reps frequently, he is rational when dealing with issues that arise and does not blame his drivers. The company drivers receive training on how to improve on occupational health and safety practices. These practices have a correlation and complement each other in various capacities, for instance, frequent talking to the drivers make the drivers feel their importance in the company, and that is why the drivers say they feel they are no longer being treated like children. The manager through working on improving on occupational health and safety of the drivers complements the driver’s satisfaction with their job as indicated by saying they no longer feel their backs bent but now straightened, this is beneficial to the health of the workforce. Through consultation with the union representative, called George, the manager can know what the drivers want hence providing them with the necessary requirements for the job. For instance, the drivers are satisfied with their new trucks and uniforms. Even though the employees alluded to the fact that they did not like some of the changes or practices being introduced by the new manager, these practices proved to be beneficial to the drivers. As evident from the case study, performance-based management practices introduced by the new yard manager had a good result over the years that followed, including the winning of the new contracts. This clearly indicates that good practices complement success and vice versa (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).
The Risks Associated With Sustaining The Changes if the Union Representative or the Yard Manager Moves On
A risk is defined as any event with the potential of impacting negatively on the current and future value of the business (Saunders & Cornett, 2014). Many at times, many businesses such as Wollongong yard company are faced with the necessity of change, in this case, the business was about to be shut down by the previous owners. The business was faced with an undesirable and deplorable condition. The only option was to sell the business to wealthy individuals who had the resources needed to ensure the change happens.
However, introducing new tactics has risks which are associated with it. It is never smooth (Turner, 2014). In our case, suppose the manager and the union representative were to leave the business a lot would go wrong. For instance, managing politics surrounding the change process can be an issue suppose the manager leaves. People have a tendency of wanting to repeal the gains made when the person overseeing the process is no longer available. Employees would want to go back to a previous moment when they were in a comfort zone (Rosenbaum, 2013).
Introducing new workplace practice should be a well-managed process by an individual who understands and implements the project (Brodkin, 2011). The employees have become accustomed to the new practices and procedures but getting another manager to replace the yard manager would derail the change process, this is because the new incoming manager will take the time to learn about the new practices as well as get to know and understand the employees hence derailing the overall process.
Many of the transitions are likely to be stalled; the business will be left with the task of sourcing for a new yard manager taking into consideration the time and resources required to advertise and recruit another suitable manager to take charge (Weber.et.al, 2012).
Some of the changes that are implemented take time, say years. Many businesses like Wollongong yard have to take a year or two to transition into the projected state of operations fully. During this period, it is vital that the operations continue without a hitch like that of losing a manager (Cameron & Green, 2015).
Employees in organizations which are successful and have that bond with their managers are regarded as a valuable asset of the business. Some employees cherish the relationship they have with the management. Employees who feel this bond is broken may decide to change jobs and look for employment elsewhere should their manager and union representative move on, hence leaving the change process which had commenced hanging (Jain & Kaur, 2014). The manager leaving would mean that the business will have a daunting task of looking for someone who can operate like the predecessor or someone who is even better and this is not likely to happen anytime soon. The union representative is also likely to influence and sway the attitude of the workers left behind, for instance, the business might not fully implement changes focused towards bettering the lives of the employees because the union official who advocated for their rights is no longer available. Better growth in business leads to better paying and working conditions; the union representative has the collective bargaining role on behalf of the drivers. His absence will result in discontent among the drivers hence without finding a replacement or electing a new representative, performance of the drivers and the business is likely to be affected.
Tough Blue Collar Unions and Public Sector Union Participation in Change
In Tough blue collar unions like the Transport Workers Union are less likely to engage in Workplace changes than public service sector unions. Since the beginning of the 20th century, public sector unions have undergone transformations with implications for the politics of the states. Compared to the blue collar unions which are regarded as traditional, the membership of the public sector union members has grown exponentially over the last decade. According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of public union members is tripling that of the blue-collar union members (Davis, 2011). This big number of membership gives the public unions a say in the workplace changes as well as in the national politics. When used correctly, their numbers can influence policies which affect certain shifts in the workplace, which is tilted towards favoring their demands as compared to the blue collar unions. They might have a reasonable number, but their participation in the direction of policies and workplace changes can be restricted solely because a majority of their members are in the private sector.
A good way to find out about how blue collar unions and public sector unions engage in change process can be established through investigating the perceptions of how the employees feel about their representation during a change process. You can go further try to determine whether the employees through their union representatives were allowed to give their views before the change occurs (Levesque & Murray, 2010). In my course of writing the report, I did a survey of both the public and blue collar union participation in changes; the findings are that the public sector participates more in change processes through their representatives than their counterparts.
Findings, Conclusion, and Recommendations
The human resource function in any organization is key to ensure that the business succeeds in its set goals and objectives. For many years businesses have failed to identify the key ingredient that enables a business to prosper, the human resources (Puccio.et.al, 2010). The business in our case Wollongong Yard came up with a good strategy and hired a manager who knew for the change to succeed, he had to get the employees on board. The business came up with workplace practices such as constant new kitting for its workforce as well as putting new computer system in place to help run the operations smoothly.
In reviewing the success of the business, it is essential that proper planning is done. A good planning process well laid down for all the parties in a business stating what is expected of everyone leads to proper transitions in businesses (Rumelt, 2012). The progress made by Wollongong business was the result of a proper plan put in place by the new manager and the top management, but in collaboration with the union representatives, this ensured a smooth transition in the operations.
Sometimes the human resource function may fail the business; the union representation might have hidden motives. It is essential that when this issue is noticed, a crisis meeting is convened and if necessary a review of the business practices is done. A business should not wait until the last minute to acknowledge that it is facing challenges, sometimes being open to the employees as a manager can lead to averting certain catastrophes that may befall the business.
References
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Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Brodkin, E. Z. (2011). Policy work: Street-level organizations under new managerialism. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21(suppl 2), i253-i277.
Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Davis, R. S. (2011). Blue-collar public servants: How union membership influences public service motivation. The American Review of Public Administration, 41(6), 705-723.
Hendry, C. (2012). Human resource management. Routledge.
Jain, R., & Kaur, S. (2014). Impact of work environment on job satisfaction. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(1), 1-8.
Lévesque, C., & Murray, G. (2010). Understanding union power: resources and capabilities for renewing union capacity. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 16(3), 333-350.
Puccio, G. J., Mance, M., & Murdock, M. C. (2010). Creative leadership: Skills that drive change. Sage Publications.
Rosenbaum, W. A. (2013). Environmental politics and policy. Cq Press.
Rumelt, R. P. (2012). Good strategy/bad strategy: The difference and why it matters. Strategic Direction, 28(8).
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Turner, J. R. (2014). The handbook of project-based management (Vol. 92). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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