Shift from Industrial Relations to Employee Relations Essay

Shift from Industrial Relations to Employee Relations - Essay Example It covers a wide spectrum of industrial activities such as collective bargaining, trade unionisms, and worker's participation in management, discipline and grievance management and industrial disputes and interpretation of labor laws. It, therefore, refers to the collective relationship between the employer and employees on a set of employment relationship. But researches conducted at various places across the world have concluded that the validity of industrial relations as a concept is going to decline in the near future because of the necessity of more recognition of employees at the work place by employers. The employee-employer relation in the 21st century is going to have a new outlook because of the increased need for the recognition of employees at the work place either voluntarily or by the contemplation of law. The relationship between employer and employee experienced in the past, coined as industrial relations has declined over the last few years by virtue of reasons such as change in working condition and approach of trade union. The research undertaken by CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) in 2004-05 on the changing nature of employee relations in U K organizations reveal that "Union membership and traditional union-related personnel management work has declined enormously in the last 30 years, with no prospect of a sustained re-emergence, though the re-regulation of employment and the new Employee Information and Consultation Regulations are pushing employee relations back up the management agenda"Rationale for change in the outlook The reasons for the modern perspective of employee relationship are manifold. Over the past 20 years there have been many amendments in the employment legislations, change in the methods of selection, recruitment, training, remuneration, working condition, consultation etc. All these factors have contributed to a shift from industrial relations to employee relations. Also shift in the trade union image from the earlier industrial conflict has also helped in creating and maintaining a harmonious relationship with employers which opened up opportunities for greater involvement of employees. Another factor which caused a change in the treatment of employees by employer is the changing attitude of present day employees. The modern employees and employers have a psychological contract, which implies the unwritten perceptions of the employment relationship and the degree of trust, motivation and commitment involved. Employee Relation Employee Relations involves the body of work concerned with maintaining employer-employee relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, and morale. This approach towards the employees in a changing working environment should not be conventional nor is it adversely affects the employee performance. Modern employers unanimously agree with employee relations, although a few have different opinion. The new approach from employer perspective can be justified by the following: 1. Employee attitude and commitment are strongly associated with employee performance 2. Employee involvement and consultation appear to be more strongly associated with employee satisfaction 3. The ideal mechanism to be used for employee voice includes two-way communications, project teams and joint consultation through electronic

Comparison of U.S. Economy with Germany and Greece Essay

Comparison of U.S. Economy with Germany and Greece - Essay Example The country has benefited because of industrialization and currently is the world’s second largest exporter. The economy of Greece is ranked 15th in the 27 member European Union. The economy of Greece revolves around the service sector. The economy is classified as advanced and high income one. Greece is one of the founding members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The economy witnessed a miracle in the period of 1950 to 1970. The Second World War had devastating effects on the economy. Unemployment The current unemployment conditions prevailing in U.S. is taken into account at first. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012) The number of unemployed persons remained unchanged at 12.8 million in the last month. The rate of unemployment was 8.3 percent which is less than 0.8 percent than the rate prevailing at August, 2011. The unemployment rates for both men and women constituting the major working group were 7.7 percent. The month of February saw both increase in labor force and employment. In Germany, unemployed persons are transferred to unemployment assistance after the exhaustion of their insurance benefits. The International Labor Organization published the unemployment rate of Germany as 5.7% in 2011 and 6.8% in 2010. ... The rate increased during the phase of recession but stayed at less than 9%. The unemployment rate in Greece in the 1st quarter of 2011 was 15.9% (Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2011). The rate of unemployment for females and males were 19.5% and 13.3% respectively. However, a significant portion of the unemployed rejected job offers in the 1st quarter of 2011 mainly constraints on the location of the job, unsatisfactory wage and working hours. Next we consider the case of productivity for U.S. The U.S. economy has experienced average annual percentage change of 1.8% and 2.2% in nonfarm business sector and manufacturing sector respectively in 2007-2011 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). The annual average productivity growth in the last year failed to match the expectations. In both the discussed sectors the unit labor costs were revised upwards. Productivity Germany experienced positive productivity growth in the period of 2000-2008. The country experienced growth on a cumulative basis compared to the Euro trading partners. The economy is experiencing significant breakthrough after it lost the competitiveness in 1990s. According to the European Central Bank, the country is better placed than any time in the past decade. The industry of Germany is embracing on information technology which acted as the major driving force in the United States in 1990s. The U.S. economy is only between 6th and 10th in terms of productivity. Greece showed the fastest labor productivity in the second half of 1990s. The country is ranked 4th among the European Union in terms of productivity with the annual rate of growth of 3.1% (Gelauff, 2004, p. 53). Inflation The current rate of inflation in U.S. for February, 2012 is 2.87%, a mere

Health education in Malawi Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health education in Malawi - Research Proposal Example According to the United Nations Economic and Social Council , women and girls form a majority of individuals who are undernourished. This statistic reveals the societal inequities that females face in some societies. Women in developing countries are not educated as their male counterparts. They are less educate and, therefore, not well equipped in solving food security issues in their families. To resolve this, most programs involve increasing women’s access to education and improving their decision making power. Education empowers women as it improves the bargaining position of women in household matters. Programs such as IMAGE intervention try to empower women through microfinance ventures. Rural women, through IMAGE, are able to access microfinance services such as credit and savings to rural women (Kim et. al., 2007). IMAGE intervention enables women to start, develop and benefit from their own enterprises. This, in effect, reduces the occurrences of gender-based violence, as women are able to contribute to the economic welfare of the household. Women empowerment is the key to both the economic and food security problems in developing countries such as Malawi. The programs suggested in resolving the aforementioned problems in Malawi should be effective if successfully implemented. They all share one objective, empowering women who are undervalued by the ethnic communities in Malawi and the rest of Africa. In the case of Eva and Peter, the programs would solve their problems to an extent.

Logic in Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Logic in Argument - Essay Example Innovative leaders actively seek means of increasing communication and breaking down interdepartmental barriers between the management and the workers. The actions of doing so range from recreation spaces where open forums can be used for making presentations to physical designing of work. Forums, for example, not only improve the workers’ technical communication, but also make them aware of the skills, achievements and progress of their peer competitors. Such an environment instills the need for creativity through critical thinking (Klemm, 2012). Overspecialization is one way that hinders creative thought. An organizational team with members from diverse backgrounds creates an intellectual environment that has the potential to promote development. An environment with diverse minds has a broad perspective of evaluating problems and getting new ways to the best solutions. Moreover, new projects arise from a combination of technical skills and creativity (klemm, 2012). Bill Simon is one leader who has shown the above-mentioned critical thinking skills. He has been the CEO of Wal-Mart USA stores until his retirement on August this year. Simon joined the company in 2006 as the vice president in charge of professional services. Between 2007 and 2010, he was the chief operating officer. During this period, he created and launched the $4 prescription drug package. In 2010, Simon, made a huge turn around by correcting mistakes in merchandise and pricing. He also restored several items that the company had stopped produced and also succeeded in offering low

BMS - Journal Report Unit 9 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

BMS - Journal Report Unit 9 - Essay Example This is important on the development of leadership strategies and approaches that can talk a wide range of issues not only in the organisation, but can also influence the particular industry. Worldview can be described as complex image that is created from different lenses that individuals use in viewing their world. Worldview is not similar to such aspects as religious viewpoint, identity or political stance but comprises all these elements. Worldview comprises all the things that one believes concerning their world, comprising all the tangible and intangible aspects (Rothwell 2005, p. 45). In this regard, a leader’s worldview can be determined by his opinions, beliefs, attitudes as well as the different external forces that influence the particular leader. During my time at Qatari Diar, I have learnt a lot concerning ways of effective management and leadership, which I hope to use in my future leadership endeavors. This paper presents a personal reflection on my roles in the organisation and how I succeeded in my leadership. During my leadership experience at Qatari Diar, I was exposed to a management and leadership environment, in which I relied on my leadership knowledge in interacting with different people, setting and achieving different stated goals and objectives. Qatari Diar is the real estate firm that is based in Doha; it is established and managed by one of the competent authorities in UAE, the Qatar Investment Authority. According to Camilla, Simeon & Hammond (2003), by 2011, the success of the company’s operations had seen it acquire stakes in the Vinci firm, providing employment to more than 183, 000 people in over ten countries. All these and other achievements have seen the company grow to become a market leader in the industry that is characterized by many emerging businesses. The management has been successful in leveraging on the skills and competencies of its managers, who have been critical to the success of the

Globalisation, the World Economy,MNEs and Emerging markets Essay

Globalisation, the World Economy,MNEs and Emerging markets - Essay Example The policymakers influenced the regulatory regime under which both MNCs and local business partners operate. They focused in understanding how operation of multinational firms affects the economic development and nationwide wellbeing. The anticipation that FDI will benefit the local economy has motivated many governments to present striking incentive packages to attract investors. The underlying principle was that the social repayment of incoming FDI would surpass the personal benefits of FDI and investors would take into account only the latter when deciding over investment locations. The policy debate requires scientific evidence on how and to what extent, FDI will impact the local surroundings. The impact of MNCs on host countries was still not well understood, despite having the policy relevance. (Bhagwati, 2004; Bartlett et al. 2004) This paper will take into account one particular emerging economy and find out the factors that play crucial role in attracting MNCs towards it. Fo r this paper China has been chosen. Key factors that make the emerging market attractive to MNEs: China has a number of advantages that are country specific and are believed to be the major factors that work behind attracting FDI to the country. According to the researchers (Swain and Wang, 1995, Liu et al, 1997, Zhang, 2002) the factors that make the emerging market attractive to MNEs identified by FDI theories can be classified into three categories – Micro, Macro and Strategic factors The Micro factors relate to the advantages related to ownership of including product differentiation and the firm size. The Macro factors stress on the market dimension and the expansion of the host country, which is determined by GDP, GDP per capita, GNP or GNP per capita, as rapid economic expansion may generate large home markets and businesses. Other macro factors are taxes, political risk, rates of exchange, and so on. (Dicken, 2007) The Strategic factors relate to long-term determinants such as efforts to protect existing foreign markets, to spread out activities of firms, to uphold a grip in the host nation and to balance another type of investment. Since 1980, the GDP of China has grown between 8-9% per year. Researches were evident that the market size determined by GDP, GDP per capita, GNP, or GNP per capita has a major consequence on inward FDI. Speedy economic augmentation has created huge domestic markets and business prospects for foreign firms to invest in China. Swain and Zhang (1997) analyzed the data of FDI in China for the period of 1978-92 and have used GDP and real GDP growth rate. Liu et al (1997) using GDP, GDP growth, wages, reached to the conclusion that the size of market s the fourth most significant economic determinant for the pledged FDI in China. Their empirical results showed that the rate of growth of real GDP was significantly related to attracting MNEs in China. The direct and positive relationship between market size and inward FDI is also found by Zhang (2000) and Wei and Liu (2001) who showed that both US and Hong Kong MNEs were attracted by the large market size of China. This reflected the market-seeking motive of foreign firms to shift their focus from mainly export-oriented investments towards the Chinese markets. Therefore, most results of the empirical researches agreed with each other that market size was

Cultural Identity Narrative Rubric Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cultural Identity Narrative Rubric - Essay Example Since the name of this dish combines two completely different and complimenting meals, some may be confused whether it is a rice like cake or cake like rice or both! Rice and cake don’t even serve the same purpose in a traditional feast, with the former being the main course and the latter being the sweet dish or the dessert that is to be served after the main course. In this sense, the name makes it sound like a dish that has mixed the main course with the dessert, that is quite insane to happen. I have resolved to discuss the Korean rice-cake for two main reasons; first, my father owns a Korean rice-cake company that was previously run by my grandfather and his father even before him. So this company has yet served three generations of my family. Secondly, I want to solve the mystery of its name that I am sure many would like me to do. Along the way, I shall tell you what it is, why it is popular among the Koreans and how to cook it. I shall also briefly discuss my future pl ans of making this dish a specialty of our company. Rice-cake is an umbrella term for a variety of foods made in rice that are given a compact form so that they look like a compact pastry. So it is basically a main course meal that looks like a piece of cake. It is not actually a cake! Rice-cake recipes are made from rice. Rice may be boiled or fried with vegetables. It is pretty much usual rice we eat but when the scattered rice are compacted, it does not only improve their texture but also enhances their aroma and taste. It makes the rice convenient to eat and elegant to present. Rice-cakes have a variety of benefits. They are energy boosters, low in calories, large in fiber content and great to the taste. Rice-cake is one of the very few things I can recall from the days of my earliest childhood. I was only three years old when my father established a small rice-cake company. He started the business from a little shop in the corner of the market that was visible from the window o f my room. Our apartment was just across the road. That shop paid my father off really good. Savings of the first month were ten times as much as what my father would save in a whole year before that. My father would often take me along while going to the shop. The aroma of fresh and tender rice still mesmerizes me. I was too little at that time, so my father’s friends and coworkers used to cuddle me. In their attempt to associate me with my father’s business, they would call me rice names. â€Å"Rice cake, son of grains and Korean food† were some of the names they would call me. It has always been an honor to be associated with rice since it has brought such a profitable business to my father. I am generally a reluctant eater, though saying â€Å"no† to rice-cake is impossible. I have grown up with this food. If there is one thing I am made up of, its rice-cake. It looks good, tastes good, smells good, feels good, what else can one want in a meal? When I was only a hundred days old, my family arranged a party, called ‘Doljanchi’, for me. It is a traditional Korean celebration of a child’s hundredth day after birth. â€Å"The number 100 has an inherent meaning of maturity and perfection, signifying a baby passes through perfection period safely as a human being† (Life in Korea, n.d.). This day has special meaning in Korean culture, and some people believe that it is the time, God answers the parents’