Impact of Participative Leadership
This report explores employment relationship in a Top Truck Company in Wollongong yard in Australia under new management. The report further examines how a participative leadership impacts employee behavior as well as boosting productivity in the organization, giving it a new look. The focus also dissects in the risks involved in the case of organizational change to maintain sustainability.
Employee relation management entails managing the relationship of employees in the organization among themselves and between the organization’s management. For example, in this case, when the yard acquired a new manager, who prioritized his relationship with the employees, a great improvement in productivity is realized. Maintaining a healthy environment is the most important aspect in making progress in workforce productivity in a company. According to Wyoming (2010), companies with happy internal clients, realize up to 12% increase in productivity. Employees who are satisfied with the management of a company tend to be good at solving problems and showing high levels of positivity in the workplace.
Employee-employer relation is explained in details and how employees feel about the management. This is to show how the new workplace practices complement each other, especially with the new leadership.
There is a critical analysis of the risks that would be involved if the current management decides to change its quest to maintain sustainability as well as analyzing union engagement in workplaces which are experiencing such changes. For example, the Transport Workers Union in this case.
In every organization, the style of leadership adopted by the management determines the behavior and practices of the employees. The way a manager in an organization chooses to direct and implement plans largely determines employees’ response, employee motivation and the entire success of the organization. Successful leadership bears maximum profits in the business. For example in this case, when the organization acquired a new manager, increased profits and productivity was realized due to his way of leading his employees as compared to Mr. George’s leadership.
In this case scenario, there are two leadership styles that have been practiced by the two managers. That is autocratic leadership and participative leadership. In Autocratic leadership, the manager has total control of all the decisions made in the organization and does not consider employees opinions. This style creates a gap between the management and the employees. On the other hand, participative leadership style is whereby the manager guides the employees but also gives them a chance to voice their ideas regarding the running of the organization (Spaulding, 2008). This style encourages suggestions and feedback from all employees before settling on the main decision.
Comparison between Autocratic and Participative Leadership
When George was the manager at Wollongong yard, he was autocratic and made the all the decisions in the company solely. Employees felt deprived and lacked the motivation of being part of the organization. Due to this leadership, drivers of the trucks were always involved in conflicts, stoppages, and recurring accidents. However, when this company deployed a new manager, the change was realized. The new manager was democratic and cared about the welfare of the employees in the company. With this improvement, drivers were happy and satisfied being part of the organization.
This manager worked towards improving the occupational health and safety practices of the drivers and offered them training, both in customer service and technical aspects. This, in turn, led to reduced accidents, increased maintenance of the trucks and satisfied drivers, who in return showed more interest and enthusiasm in their jobs. Giving drivers uniforms and new trucks created a sense of belonging in them, and they learned to respect the new manager since they saw the benefits of being treated well. The manager always solved problems in a rational way instead of making uninformed conclusions. This largely reduced the arguments between the management and the drivers, who were given a platform to give their suggestions. This led to a closer bond amongst the employees and the organization, and hence harmonious working practice was realized.
This new workplace practices have led to a conducive working environment for all internal members in the organization, motivated to work thus producing better results in the organization. These practices have been advantageous to the organization in that; it has received more contracts, the Wollongong yard topped in its operations among other yards, the realization of more profits and even started receiving visitors from all over the region to benchmark from them. This is a great achievement for the organization.
According to New Zealand journal of employment relations (2007), the Employer-employee relationship is very crucial in driving a successful business. The internal clients in a company determine whether the company will achieve its goals and objectives or will not make it. With this realization, the new manager in Wollongong yard has achieved the benefits of maintaining a healthy relationship with the drivers in the truck company. In every company, to maintain a healthy environment, there are four crucial tips that employers can consider;
Employers need to always get feedback, suggestions, and ideas from their employees. This creates a sense of belonging to the organization for the employees.
Risks Involved in Organizational Change
It is crucial to try and satisfy the employees in their job by organizing training and motivational activities for them to engage in. This creates a stronger bond in the relationship and makes employees more enthusiastic in their work.
Every organization that has realized success has a manager who always consults and considers the employee’s opinion on decisions concerning the organization. Having the employees contributing their opinions in an idea creates a cohesive bond in their relationship to the employers and leads to reduced internal conflicts.
When a leader moves from an organization, that organization faces risks of maintaining the changes achieved by that manager. A manager holds the success of an organization, and that is why in Wollongong yard, a lot of difference is realized between the eras of the two different managers. With the new manager, the company makes more steps and more progress as compared to the era of Mr. George as the manager.
In the case where this moves on, the new manager and the employees face the risk of maintaining the changes set already (Sustainability, 2009). First, the organization will face the risk of maintaining a healthy communication channel. Wollongong yard has a very good communication skill between the manager and the employees, and the main risk would evolve when another manager comes in and fails to consider opinion and ideas from the other employees. A challenge in sustainability is created, and it’s only through employees, industrial actions like strikes, that this change can be maintained. Secondly, there is the risk of unethical organizational behavior in the company. Drivers could end up violating the company’s code of conduct by involving themselves in work-related vices such as bribery. This would affect the financial status of the company as well as its reputation. Thirdly, the organizational is likely to face risks in health and safety. If proper maintenance of trucks is not maintained by owners of the trucks and the incoming manager is not concerned to push for this, there may be a frequent occurrence of accidents leading to the drivers’ safety being compromised.
The only opportunity in sustaining these changes is through contracting another effective manager who realizes the need to maintain a healthy working environment for everyone (Mary Ann Liebert, 2008).
Blue -collar unions are likely to engage more in this workplace changes. In Top Truck Company, Wollongong yard, the union is more likely to get engaged in employer-employee relations because ensuring that employees are treated well is one of their business and priorities. The blue collar unions are likely to engage more in this organization is because it is a family business. Public unions would not engage in this in employer-employee relations of this company simply because they present those employees who work in the government sectors.
Role of Unions in Workplace Changes
Due to the nature of the job undertaken by employees of Top Truck Company, the service union would not engage in the changes to the negotiations of salary and wage increment. The blue -collar union pays high wages thus if the manager requested for the employee’s increment, their blue collar would handle the change easily. Public unions depend on implementations of policy changes by the government which take long to be enforced thus they are less likely to engage in the rapid change demanded in this case (Wisconsin. & Wisconsin State Employees Union, 2010).
Comparing the strength in adapting to change by the blue collar unions and public/service unions would help determine if blue collar jobs are more likely to engage in the workplace changes.
Conclusion
According to this report, the employment relationship environment is crucial in determining the success of the organization. Employee satisfaction increases the productivity in the work output leading to financial benefits in the organization. The leader of an organization plays a significant role in determining to make changes in the organization that favors the internal clients. Success lies in the management of an organization.
Sustainability of changes in the workplace can only be realized by proper mitigation of the risks involved and proper management by the manager so as to be able to avoid the losses that arise from failure to sustain this changes properly. Blue collar unions are the most suitable to engage with changes in an organization in this organization.
References
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Spaulding, S. (2008). Team leadership in the game industry. Boston, MA: Course Technology, PTR/CRM.
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