Management and unions play a great role in today’s society because they provide their members with an opportunity to improve their lives. Basically, the task of management in this framework is to meet those purposes and objectives that were previously set. It deals with the representatives of the general public directly because the focus hiring and firing processes are in focus. In addition to that, it deals with the review of employee performance, scheduling, promotions, and issue resolution. As a result, workers become more efficient, and their working environment is positive and safe. Management concentrates on employees who are gathered in unions, and this connection links them. It defines and directs the way a company and its personnel work for them to reach mutual objectives and accomplish all tasks. Thus, it also ensures that workers operate effectively and efficiently.
As a result, it is critical for management to maintain constant improvements so that companies can overcome those barriers that prevent them from streamlined development. Focusing on organizational operations, management can define a company’s main issues and offer solutions. Unions, in their turn, ensure that employees are not negatively affected by such activities. They protect people’s rights, assist them in the case of violations, control the organizational environment, provide benefits, and take part in conflict resolutions (Bakke, 2010). Previously unions helped to deal with the racism and sexism that were commonly observed in the workplace, which appealed to society. But today these issues are not that critical already, and people start noticing that unions do not trigger significant changes anymore. They can prevent a strike and can also lead to the bureaucratization of work and corruption.
With the help of their unions, employees can negotiate with employers. In this way, they maintain the process of collective bargaining. In its framework, they can identify employment terms, such as wages, health insurance, and pensions. Employees gather and define their priorities for bargaining collectively. This type of interaction between management and unions is rather frequent, and it allows to ensure the advantageousness of the contract. The history of unions affects current negotiations greatly. For example, a voting procedure for the certification of a bargaining agent was established in 1935, and in three years child labor was banned and minimum wage defined. Even though some elements altered with the course of time, unions protect the workers on the basis of the major labor legislation of the 20th century even now (Labor unions and collective bargaining, n.d.). Five years ago, unions had to deal with the fiscal crisis and the Republican attacks. In addition to that, they are focused on the promotion of female workers for them to obtain more white-collar and leading positions.
Today, the private sector becomes less active in the framework of the union membership; still, it contains a great part of it. The negotiation process that involves a public sector union would likely differ from the private one because their priorities tend to differ even though the main purpose of the union remains the same. The representatives of the private industry focus on bargaining power. They emphasize that employers and employees are uneven and try to achieve compensation and split up profits. Public-sector unions, in their turn, would not focus on this difference. Tending to generalize, they would not try to divide mutual profits equally but would try to benefit more, negotiating against those who pay taxes and obtains advantage from governmental expenditures (Public and private unions, 2011).
I believe that this exercise improved my understanding of the collective bargaining process greatly. I received an opportunity to get to know more information about its history, which gave me a chance to realize what actually was done due to the collective bargaining during the last decades and how it affected current labor relations. What is more, I explored this process from the perspective of public and private industries, which also turned out to be rather beneficial because I received a chance to use my critical-thinking skills. In addition to that, I realized that management and unions represent different parties (organizations and their employees) but have similar objectives that are beneficial for the personnel. It can be even claimed that in some cases unions help management to work with employees, which turned out to be rather unexpected to me. I concluded that mediation and arbitration are rather useful in the framework of dispute resolution. Objectiveness and an opportunity to explore the issue deeply not affected by personal emotions preferences ensure the possibility for both company and its personnel to benefit.
A collective bargaining agreement is a contract that points out employment conditions. It is established between two parties: management that represents a particular company and union that represents its personnel. This document is legally enforceable during a specified period of time. A collective bargaining agreement is extremely important because it consists of information that is critical for every employee. It reveals information about wages, schedules, working environment, vacations, etc. In addition to that, it discusses the way dispute resolution will be maintained during the time this contract is enforced. The agreement should include as many details as possible because in this way companies and workers will have fewer chances to abuse their authority. Thus, both an organization and its employees will be able to resort to the collective bargaining agreement and prove that their point of view is the one to be taken for granted.
The collective bargaining process requires efficient utilization of organizational leadership competencies for a successful negotiation. In this framework, communication provides an opportunity to influence stakeholders and appeal to them. Problem-solving ensures successful resolution of discussed issues and grievance settlement, which is likely to lead to the improvement of the relationship between management and employees. Decent teamwork is critical for collective bargaining because it provides the representatives of the unity with a chance to define their priorities so that everyone remains satisfied and mutual goals can be considered.
Analytical skills ensure that a range of complex issues is decently articulated so that the opposite party clearly understands what is required and why. It allows us to make well-considered decisions and to break arguments that support the claim. Legal and ethical practices are rather advantageous because they ensure understanding and effective utilization in the practice of professional standards and consideration of management’s and employees’ interests. The strategic approach makes communication during this negotiation process strategic so that all its steps are identified beforehand, and the maximum impact can be achieved. It also allows us to avoid misunderstandings and confusion. Finally, research gives a chance to refer to authoritative information and ideas of other professionals to support the personal argument and make it sound stronger for stakeholders (Grant, 2011).
References
Grant, A. (2011). Developing a competency framework for labor relations professionals. Web.
Labor unions and collective bargaining. (n.d.). Web.
Public and private unions: What’s the difference exactly? (2011). Web.