Fundamentals of Employment Relations Flashcards
What is the significance of Swanepoel in Employment Relations?
In South Africa, Swanepoel (1991; 1994; 1996) convincingly argued for the need to reconsider what the focal point and scope of this field of study, practice and theory is or should be. It has been demonstrated through empirical research and the pragmatics of this field that a broader, more inclusive approach to defining and demarcating this field is preferable. In doing so, the cornerstone of this field has been shown to be the employment relationship
What is Employment Relations a mix of?
Industrial relations (relationship between employers and employees. Employment contracts, workplace disputes, dynamics of work environment) and Human Resource Management (strategic approach to managing employees. Recruitment, training, performance management.)
What is key in a employment relationship?
Key ingredients to the employment relationship are the simultaneous conflict and common–ground elements that are built into any employment relationship.
Means that conflict and cooperation exist simultaneously in any employment relationship, and managing this dynamic is a key part of maintaining a healthy and productive workplace.
How is Labour Relations defined?
Is the discipline that includes such different topics as collective bargaining, collective agreements, administration and grievance settlement, wage determination, fringe benefits, employers’ organisations and trade unions, labour pool/workforce (‘manpower’), human resource management, minimum working standards, industrial health and safety, the quality of working life, State labour policy, industrial conflict, etc.
What does the theory and practice of employment revolve around?
The theory and practice of employment relations revolve around how the parties arrange their relationship, organise and execute the work, and distribute the fruits that accrue from these productive processes.
How is Employment Relations defined?
Refers to a complex, open system of formal and informal, and individual and collective relationships, and interactions between employers, employees and the State, and the representatives of these primary role-playing parties, together with their related institutions, concerning aspects that emanate from, relate to or may impact on the contemporary employment relationship in its organisational and broader societal context where the satisfaction of the needs of all members of society is a primary concern.
Cultivating positive and productive relationships.
Promote open communication, conflict resolution, resolving grievances.
In short, Employment Relations as a field of study and theory and employment relations as an area of practice are built mainly around the various forms of the employment relationship. This relationship is, in turn, a key feature of our modern society, where organisations that consist of people (and other resources) deliver the products and services that are required by the people of any society. Employment relations is thus multidimensional, with an economic dimension at its core, and further entailing both individual and collective dimensions, as well as formal and informal dimensions and dynamics.
A complex and dynamic open system of formal, informal, individual and collective relationships and interactions between a range of role-players and stakeholders, including the two most direct and actively involved parties of employers and their representatives (employers’ organisations) on the one side, and workers and their representatives (trade unions and trade union federations) on the other side, but with the State, and its representatives and relevant institutions (Minister of Employment and Labour, NEDLAC) also being a key party.
What Employment Relations focus on?
Employment Relations (ER) focuses on ensuring fairness and justice in the interactions between employers and employees. It highlights the complexity of balancing different interests and managing the dynamics of the workplace.
Fairness and Justice: ER is concerned with creating and maintaining employment conditions that are fair and just for all parties, meaning that employees are treated equitably, and employers’ interests are respected as well.
Integration of Interests: Employers and employees often have divergent interests (e.g., employers seeking profit and efficiency, employees seeking better wages and job security) but also have convergent interests (e.g., both wanting a stable and productive workplace). ER aims to integrate these interests in a way that serves both parties.
Regulation and Balance: ER involves creating rules and structures to regulate the employment relationship and balance the power between employers and employees. This includes formal regulations (like contracts, laws, and policies) and informal practices (like workplace culture and communication).
Institutionalization: ER is concerned with how these interests and arrangements become formalized and institutionalized within organizations, meaning they are embedded into the systems, policies, and procedures that govern the workplace.
Formal and Informal Dynamics: The statement recognizes that ER is shaped by both formal dynamics (legal frameworks, contracts, policies) and informal dynamics (personal relationships, workplace culture, unwritten norms).
What is a theoretical perspective?
A set of interconnected ideas, concepts, and principles that guide and inform the understanding and analysis of a particular subject or phenomenon.
What is an ideology?
A set of beliefs, values, ideas, and principles
that form a comprehensive and coherent
worldview or system of thought
What relationship is employment relations embedded in?
The roots of employment relations are embedded in the relationships between employers and employees, and these parties are integral to modern society.
What is the primary process of interaction between groups or collectives?
The primary process of interaction between these groups or collectives is collective bargaining. In collective bargaining, the parties, through their respective representatives, negotiate issues related to, or affecting, the employment relationship in its organisational and broader societal context. Through the use of power and communication processes, they conclude collective agreements to regulate their relationships and balance their partly individual and partly common interests and objectives.
What is meant by individual dimension?
Organizations Serve Society: Organizations exist primarily to create and deliver products or services that meet the needs of society. These needs could be material, social, or emotional, depending on the nature of the organization’s offerings.
Individuals as Creators: The people who form and establish these organizations are members of the same society they aim to serve. This means individuals are not only recipients of the products or services but are also the ones who create, manage, and drive these organizations forward.
Individuals as Workers: Those who work in organizations are also part of society. They contribute their labor and skills to ensure that the organization functions properly and meets its objectives. In this sense, individuals have a dual role—they help build and sustain the organization while also benefiting from its outputs.
Reciprocal Relationship: The statement highlights a cyclical relationship: individuals create and work in organizations, and in turn, these organizations deliver goods or services that satisfy the needs of the same individuals (and others within society). The individual dimension refers to this dual involvement, where individuals engage with organizations as both contributors and consumers.
Example: A group of people starts a company that produces health care products. These same people might also use these products in their daily lives, and their neighbors or family members may benefit from them too. They are both creators (workers, founders) and beneficiaries (consumers) of the organization’s products.
What is the economic dimension?
Economic Dimension: This refers to the financial aspects of the employment relationship, which include wages, salaries, benefits, and overall compensation. It highlights how money serves as a critical factor in the relationship between employers and employees.
The core of the conflict in employment relationships is fundamentally rooted in the economic dimension, particularly the exchange of labor for pay.
Disputes over wages (employees wanting higher pay vs. employers wanting to keep labor costs down).
Concerns about job security and how it impacts an employee’s financial stability.
Negotiations regarding benefits, hours, and working conditions.
The party with the most power is in the best position to get the other party to
agree on its definition of a fair exchange of wages and conditions of service for the
work done in the context of the employment relationship. The power imbalance led to employees joining forces and forming representative
bodies to negotiate with employers on their behalf – labour or trade unions.
How are the centrifugal forces of the conflict between the employer and employee parties are balanced?
There are opposing forces (or centrifugal forces) causing conflict between employers and employees, these conflicts are countered by shared interests that both parties have.
Centrifugal forces refer to the elements that drive the employer and employee apart. These can include differing goals, such as:
Employers wanting to minimize costs and maximize productivity.
Employees seeking higher wages, better working conditions, and job security
These opposing interests can create conflict in the employment relationship, leading to tension and disputes
Despite these conflicts, there are also shared interests that help bring the parties back together and create a sense of unity. One significant shared interest mentioned is:
Survival of the Organization: Both employers and employees generally want the organization to succeed and remain operational. A thriving organization benefits employees through job security, career advancement, and financial stability, while employers benefit from continued productivity and profit.
The presence of shared interests acts as a stabilizing factor that balances the centrifugal forces of conflict. It encourages cooperation and collaboration, prompting both parties to find common ground and work towards mutual goals.
What is meant by informal and formal dimensions?
Both collectively and as individuals, the parties interact and make use of informal
dynamics, such as communication and power, as well as formal dynamics, such as
courts, legal processes and quasi-legal processes, in order to regulate and maintain their relationship.
Formal dimension of ER: legal and formal rule-making and application aspects. Employment contracts, labour laws and regulations, collective bargaining, grievances and disputes
Informal dimension of ER: behavioural dynamics involved in ER. Workplace culture, communication styles, leadership and management styles, mentoring and coaching, social events, office politics.
