Free Sample Report On Employment Relations In Asia

Question: Discuss about theEmployment Relations in Asia. Answer: Introduction In Singapore, businesses have always portrayed the Unitarist attitude when it comes to employment relations(Badigannavar Kelly, 2012). Organisations and businesses in the country are also perceived as being harmonious and integrated family where employees will align themselves to the mission, vision and goals of the business(Ford, 2009). They will do this as they put more emphasis on cooperation among one another. According to Gennard Judge (2002), unitarism means that organisations will be harmonious and integrated with the whole idea about running a business as a family. At this, members and other people in the management will all share a general business purpose that stresses on cooperation among each other. In addition, unitarism is more of a paternalistic business approach that emphasizes on employee loyalty(Giles, 2009). It will also look at the predominant managerial characteristics that are geared towards application of these skills. In Unitarism, trade unions are often see n as unnecessary baggage as the employee loyalty to the organisations is always considered being mutually exclusive and not divisive of the industry(Han, 2012). Conflict in this kind of relationship is found to be a pathological result of interpersonal friction, agitators and breakdown in communication. Main Elements of Unitarist Perspective According to Ford (2009), there are usually two main frame with referring to employee relations, one is the pluralist and the other is the Unitarist. There are several important elements to look at when discussing the Unitarist employee relations perspective. First, there is the single source of authority that should be recognized in the organisations. This is usually the management, meaning that other rebellion to leadership is never recognized(Seow, 2016). Secondly, the unitary perspective looks at the roles of leaders or managers in the organisations. This is usually to promote commitment and loyalty of employees. Thirdly, businesses are always viewed as consisting of a team which works together as a way of achieving a particular common goal, this means that no personal interest conflicts will be realized, because employees work for a common interest, objectives and values. Fourth, the Unitarist perspective of employee relation looks at the management as being there to exemplify strong leadership and lead workers towards the companys objectives. Fifth, in a Unitarist perspective, trade unions are not allowed to interfere with organisations objectives. This is because trade unions are not viewed as being very important especially when it comes to the management of employee conflict in the organisations(Giles, 2009). Sixth, organizational or employee conflict are usually viewed as negative influence as they lead to disloyalty, dysfunctionalism in the end disturb the well being of the organisations. Lastly, the state is autonomous with regard to unitarism principle, it is only there to shape the industrial relations system(Bermeo, 2002). The Effects of Unitarist Employment Relations Many innovative and successful companies that are steady in terms of employment relations and human resource models in Singapore are usually the non-union type that use a sophisticated Human resource technique that focuses more on the individual employee. One example is the McDonalds Franchise in the country which continue to be successful due to its emphasis on equal treatment of employees, thus motivating them to be more productive(Badigannavar Kelly, 2012). This is in relation an assumption where businesses encourage common interest between manager, workers and the shareholders. Humanistic approach is thus applied in a line as a way or resolving conflict that focusses more on the individual perspective. According to the ministry of manpower, the overall rate of unemployment in the country remains unchanged even in the peak periods(Badigannavar Kelly, 2012). Employment rate however improved by 3% in September. This is highly credited to unitarism which ensures less workplace conflict and rebellion thus maintaining mutual benefit for the employee and employer(Seow, 2016). Sir Frederick W. Taylor was the owner of Bethlehem Steel Company, when he found a new way of managing people through applying specialization of jobs, paying bonuses to employees and providing incentives for those employed that reached their targets within stipulated time(Giles, 2009). Through this, scientific studies of management began. The scientific management studies such as Unitarism was introduced by Frederick Taylor. This is because through his practice, employees learnt ways that they can heartily cooperate with each other to ensure all the tasks is done well with regard to the principles developed by him. The principles are made of the unitary model that insists on the common interest regarding a common interest that exists between the managers, employees and the company stakeholders(Giles, 2009). At this, employees will naturally find ways of working together in all areas in order to achieve a shared goal. With regard to Taylors, new method of employee relationship management the production also led to a significant change to the productivity, efficiency and increased profits for the company. It is also important to note that workers also thought that when they increased their productivity and efficiency, there wouldnt be need of employing more workers as redundancies would occur in this sense(Han, 2012). The principle here is one of the assumption of unitary in the sense that a common interest means that managers, workers and stakeholders relate under one platform. In this regard, they will naturally feel the need to work in unison, manage their employees and production in this sense will realize significant growth in terms of productivity, efficiency and increased profits for the company. It is also important to note that, businesses practicing the unitary approach are able to increase profits through minimizing cost of wages paid and employee turnover; this is because most employees will develop loyalty to the company as being part of the growth. Many companies in Singapore have related thoughts where it is proven that when productivity and efficiency increase, then there would be a production of more goods in the company. It also means that goods will be produced at a much lower cost. In this regard, this will affect demand for the goods as it will increase due to lower prices. Mo re workers will also be required to meet the demand. In this regard, the unitary approach to employee management seems to benefit both the company and employee(Ford, 2009). This is because as he company gains more profit from increased sale and revenue and regard from the society through increased purchasing power they are able to pay employee wages thus retaining loyalty with the company as well. Strengths of Unitarist Perspective One of the main strengths of the Unitarist perspective in employee relations is that it is very particular in integrating the interest of the employer with that of its employees, this is important in enhancing loyalty and commitment(Bacon Blyton, 2007). The principle can thus be used as way of managing stakeholders while at the same time employees being taken as important assets to the organisations and stakeholders. Employees welfare is thus well considered under this approach. Ross Bamber 2012) adds that the Unitarist perspective will also emphasis on the roles of the managers in ensuring that the company has a win-win situation for both the stakeholders and employees, in a manner that their interest are properly aligned to one another. In this regard, it is important for manager to go beyond their managerial styles of managing employee relations and insist more on their leadership abilities. If they are going to be influential and convincing leaders in the organisations, then tr ade unionism wont be necessary. According to McGarry O'Leary (2008), Singapore is a country that characterized with less strikes due to the implementation of unitarism in most industries. In fact, the last strike ever known was in 1986, which appeared from a major shipping industry after the then president Ong Teng Cheong sanction the industry without informing the cabinet. The issue was however resolved in two days, since then the issue of strikes is unheard of in the city(Seow, 2016). This is credited to unitarism which usually hold the belief that stakeholders are all rational members and need to consider employees as a team with a common interest. In this regard, they are always rational when combating employee related matters. Singapore also implements a tripatisan model where governments will step in and mediate or intervene on employee conflict with the employer(Han, 2012). This is especially done by the ministry of manpower and the Singapore National Employers federation. Weaknesses of Unitarist Approach to Employee Relations One of the most common weakness to Unitarist approach of employee relation is that they do not realize inequalities of power between employees and employers(Giles, 2009). These are some of the issues that generate workplace conflict. Unitarism also sees managers exercising a lot of power upon employees; they determine employee working conditions. At this, employees do not have a choice but to accept whatever is brought down their throat from the managers. This case is especially common among blue collar workers(Bacon Blyton, 2007). In addition, there is always a negative approach to conflict. It is never seen as an issue that addresses some of the inequalities realized in the organisations that can be used to provide opportunities of finding ways to work in harmony. Even though different types of conflicts exist in the workplace, there are conflicts that can help in development of organisations. For example, conflict can be used as a tool to asses and improve effectiveness of a team. There is also the task conflict which can come about when a group of the team members may have disparities with regard to ways in which tasks should be divided of defined in a group. These tasks may involve major decision making or processes. According to Bacon Blyton (2007), task conflict is very vital in improving positive outcomes in a group. Bacon Blyton (2007), also found that intragroup trust always affects the relationship between employees and tasks allocated. According to (Gennard Judge, 2002), many Singaporeans view un itarism as a situation where union leaders, ministers and employers work together to forward their own interest and not that of employees. Thus, by demonstrating conflict, the unitary principle may not allow for alternatives on how the task should be performed to enhance productivity. Lastly, the practice of unitarism makes it unclear on how individual opinions can be integrated to the common objectives. This is because the principle is very conservative and does not describe ways that common interest can be shared all around the organisations(Bermeo, 2002). For example, it will not provide a guideline for Human resource to effectively pursue unitarism. The unitary perspective thus will only assume that all employees and stakeholders are a rational group that can reach a solid decision to meet personal and organizational interests(Ackers Payne, 2008). Conclusion In conclusion, the Unitarist perspective as practiced in Singapore is only dependent on one source of leadership. This means that employee conflict should always be avoided by aligning organisations and individual interests. Unions are also not accepted under the Unitarist approach. This is opposite to pluralist who always believe that conflicts can be properly managed. It can play a big role in collective bargaining for example, something that is not allowed in Unitarism. For unitarism to sustain itself, then it calls for organisations to work on improving employee satisfaction, loyalty and motivation. 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