Introduction
Organizational management refers to a process that involves tapping and managing varied talents pooled together under the umbrella organization. Management as a means to the end of an organization refers to the allocation of the resources necessary to achieve the best out of the available talents in employees. This can be achieved through controlling, accounting, organizing, staffing, directing, as well as planning.
These processes are aimed to make the organization a profitable venture hence it pegs its success to the employees. On the other hand, the employees benefit from the organization in the form of remuneration, wages and other rewards determined and controlled by the organization or external forces.
Therefore, the human resource also hangs on the success of the organization and thus they can be said to be in mutual existence (Raymond, et al., 20). However, the success of this relationship has been marred by difficulties arising in reality management and labor relations issues. This paper will thus focus on consultative relationship between the management and unions in the field of labor relations.
Role of Management in Organization
To start with, this section will first look at the section of the role of management in an organization. Management has been defined in the class of arts, as well as in the class of sciences due to the increased knowledge of the interrelationship between different aspects of arts and sciences.
Agarwal (1982) writes that management as much is about coordination and direction of others it also includes oneself in the process achieving an identified end. Management exists in almost all fields; but in this case, the focus will limit only to business organizations.
Through the identified goals and objectives, then the management of an organization must behave and think in a certain way to achieve the set targets. This translates to the roles of management in an organization.
Roles of management at this juncture refer to the top personnel actions and decisions making situations meant to improve or clarify on the daily organizational tasks and programs. These actions are arranged in the POSDCORB order. This means that functions and roles of management are centered in Planning, Organizing, Staffing and Directing Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting (Gulick & Urwick, 1959).
These functions are strategically evaluated acted upon by the most competent managers. An organizational has the capability to solve the challenges that may hinder success from any quarters by using these functions.
However, this does not mean that organizations are purely successful, practically many have gone down due teething problems from and lack of visions. In the theories of management, the systems approach explains the organization as a total system that eggs interacting and interrelating subsystems that complexly interact with the external environment (Lerman and Turner, 1992).
On the other hand, contingency theory explains that neither democratic nor autocratic extreme is an effective management situation (Vroom and Yetton, 1973).
Of worthy to note between these modern management theories is the factor of the employees who must be motivated and consulted to give the exact desired results.
Changes in the organization are taken in consideration with the reaction of the employees and thus the role of the management becomes to balance between demands of an organization internally and externally with the needs of the human resource (Marshall, 1992).
Role of Unions in organizations
Unions are organizations whose members form the bulk of the employed person ranging from various occupations, professions and even trades. The aim of unions is to represent the employee in the society and the work place through the processes of rule-making and collective bargaining.
Its functions are established in accordance with the laws of the country as well as the definition. In the process of promoting the interest of its members as the main objective, unions have to strive to remain practical. This can be done by ensuring that cooperation between them and the management leads to greater efficiency and good industrial relations.
In light of this statement, unions in the most appropriate manner or cases endeavor to maintain effective arrangements with the management in organizations. This is for the purposes of negotiation, consultations, communication and settling of grievances or disputes.
Emanating from these functions, unions ensure that their members follow the laid down procedures and protocols, provide education, advisory and training services to the members as well as encourage them to participate in the union activities. These functions translate to various roles that unions have in organization (Sloane & Witney, 2010).
The unions acquire regulatory, political, market, democratizing, welfare, service and enhancement roles. The political role emanates from the power to influence decisions on behalf of members and society; and the regulatory role emanates from setting standards in relations to job conditions and terms. In terms of market role unions have the bargaining power on wages and thus have an impact on the economy.
In democratizing role, unions demand democracy in the work place and provide assistance to certain groups in terms of the roles of welfare. Since organizations rely on labor and other factors of production to succeed, then conflicts must arise between unions and management (Sloane & Witney, 2010).
However, unions have important roles to play in work relations where the employer is bent on presenting under-valued or below the standards benefits and wages. At the same time, unions help to bargain for the best way forward in industrial conditions that may result to bodily harm onto the worker.
These situations allow the labor relations to improve the plight of such workers as well as protect against such harms for the benefit of the economy development and health wise. Therefore, unions are very important and should be encouraged in order for organizations to maintain balance in the work place though checks and other measures.
The relationship between organizations and unions can thus become frosty when unions lobby for increased wages. The act of unionization presents challenges to organizations since the collective bargaining power may seek for positions that an organization is not able to maintain.
Organizations may be unable to maintain the bargained work levels by unions during hard times in the economy. The demands of worker benefits may not be feasible during certain times of melt downs, and thus organizations perceive unions as a problem just like the opposite is true of these statements (Sloane & Witney, 2010).
Strategies of an organization to maintain good working relationship with unions
Organizations have become more responsive to changes in business and corporate environment. The influx of new challenges, new perspectives of management, and backed by new theories in management necessitate managements all over the world to maintain a competitive advantage over others for survival and success (Beik, 2005).
The management of an organization should come up with effective strategies to avoid difficulties in the process of production. The labor relations between the organization and the unions must first be balanced through a statement of objectives and expectations. Organizations should seek to maintain leadership roles in the creation of the worker benefits, wages and conditions through forums meant to incorporate the voice of the worker.
In this strategy proactive consultation, reviewing and planning take the lowest level worker into consideration by bringing him on board through decision making and evaluation. This has the effect of letting the employee feel part of management and allows him to let his expectations known thus there is no conflict afterwards.
It is effective that workers, whether in unions or not, feel that their demands have been considered and rightly addressed in the most amicable manner. This improves morale and job satisfaction (Beik, 2005).
A second strategy is to include performance management measures in an organization. In the process, management and unions should have correspondence and exchange of information that allows understanding between the workers and the organization.
Performance management eliminates unfair dismissal by welcoming objective innovative and performance based actions and plans. This enhances the relationship between the employees and the management since benefits and remuneration are made in light to this strategy.
Strategies of Unions to maintain good working relationship with organization
Unions have been forced to change their views and practices due to increased challenges in business performance. These challenges emanate from technology and other emerging issues in human resource management. As a result, the need for effective strategies based on modern labor relations and work internal and external environments cannot be under emphasized (Beik, 2005).
Unions possess collective bargaining power through their political and democratizing roles. In this regard, the following strategies should be taken to improve working relationships. Unions should use consultative approaches in cases of disputes or problems in the industrial relations.
By recognizing that industrial actions cost intensive to the economy unions have developed this approach to bring the demands of the workers and conditions of the employers in one meeting. This consultative approach allows both sides to lobby for their situations by bearing in mind the concerns of each other. This should produce a win-win strategy for both organizations and unions (Holley, Jennings and Wolters, 2011).
The second strategy that unions should take is to remove complicated and fixed rules and provisions often included in their stipulations. This flexible approach allows the unions to engage with the situation that arise at different times of the year and seasons.
Business and workers have changed the way they view options due to the increased changes in technology and the concept of globalization. Therefore, unions must work hard to recognize these new changes and incorporate them in an engaging and positive attitude for the benefit of union members and organizations.
Conclusion
The relationship between organizations and unions should encourage acceptable working relations. In the tradition labor relations, the method of industrial strikes leads to loss of incomes and profits. When organizations and unions have different strategies of ensuring they get their maximum part of the deal is not geared towards consultation; then the economy is destined to suffer in the ensuing battles and legal suits.
Therefore, this paper recognizes that organizational management and unions can opt to be distant or consultative, and the latter is of benefit to the two and to the wider society. The main challenge in modern strategies is adapting to dynamics of change in the process of work and management. Therefore, organizations and unions must work together to overcome these new challenges.
Reference
Agarwal, R. D (1982). Organization and Management. West Patel Nagar, New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company.
Beik A., B., (2005). Labor relations: Major issues in American history. Post Road West, West port: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Gulick, L., & Urwick, L. (1959). Papers on the science of administration in extension. Madison: National Agricultural Extension Center for Advanced Study, University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Holley, W., H., Jennings, M. K., & Wolters, S., R. (2011). The Labor Relations Process. Boulevard, Mason: Cengage Learning.
Marshall, P. (1992). Introduction to the management process in managing people at work. Guelph: University of Guelph Press.
Raymond, A., N., John R. H., Barry, G., & Patrick, M., W., (2009). Trends in Human Resources Management. (3 ed.). West Patel Nagar, New Delhi: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Sloane, A., & Witney, F. (2010). Labor relations. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
Vroom, V.H., & Yetton, P. W. (1973). Leadership in decision-making. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.