HRM 09704 Managing the Employment Relationship Assignments- advice to the management of a large family owned, Singapore

Assignment 1 (approximately 1,000 words)

Using employee voice frameworks and theory, compare and contrast the practices of Worker Directors and Team Briefing, as a means by which employees may influence management decision making.

Assignment 2 (approximately 3,000 words)

You have been asked to give advice to the management of a large family owned I.T. business providing technical support to small businesses. The organisation has grown rapidly in size over the past five years and previously good relationships with staff have become strained. Management has noticed an increase in staff turnover and short-term sickness absence over the past year. The organisation offers a competitive salary and there seems to be no problem in recruiting staff, but the problem is getting them to stay. Exit interviews suggest that staff do not feel listened to and as such have little influence over decisions which affect them.

A year ago, the management undertook a staff satisfaction survey and there was a good return rate for this. Staff members seemed keen to raise a number of issues.

Significant numbers referred to the following:

• In some areas there seemed to be problems with staff not getting on well with their supervisors, and commenting on favouritism in allocation of work and approval of requests for time-off  etc.
• Staff are unhappy that there are few procedures covering working practices, resulting in arbitrary management decision making
• Staff feel that management should recognise a trade union so that more decisions can be jointly made and are more equitable.
• The need to establish appropriate mechanisms to resolve both individual and collective conflict at work

Since the survey, nothing much has changed and the problems are getting worse.

Management cannot offer increases in salary as a means of retaining staff or improving morale but believes that the answer may lie in improving employee relations within the firm.

Task

You are required to produce a report for management which critically evaluates ways in which two of the employee relations issues could be improved and makes key recommendations to management regarding strategic and operational actions to achieve this.