Establishing a Grievance Procedure in Workplace

Every employee has certain expectations which he thinks must be fulfilled by the organization he is working for. When the organization fails to do this, he develops a feeling of discontent or dissatisfaction. When an employee feels that something is unfair in the organization, he is said to have a grievance.

In the Industrial Relations language, Grievance is defined as anything which irritates or tends to make work conditions unsatisfactory and thereby harbors a discontent or dissatisfaction arising anything connected with the company that an employee thinks, believes or even feels, unfair, unjust. In this sense many of the controversial issues in Industrial Organizations may be said to arise as a result of incept or ill-advised handling or neglect of grievances which individually may appear trivial but collectively may become explosive.… Read the rest

The Model Grievance Procedure

A grievance is a complaint by an employee that something in the management’s behavior has breached his or her employment rights and that he or she is unhappy about it. It may be real or it may be the result of a misconception or a misunderstanding. Managing grievance is, however, primarily a line manager’s responsibility. In this line managers require help, advice support and expertise from the employee relations procedures and training line managers to operate these procedures in a fair, reasonable and consist manager. Employee grievances are an outward expression of worker dissatisfaction which, if not resolved can result in unsatisfactory work behavior which has adverse consequences for the organization’s competitive position.… Read the rest

Collective Bargaining – Definition, Features and Process

Collective bargaining involves discussions and negotiations between two groups as to the terms and conditions of employment. It is called ‘collective’ because both the employer and the employee act as a group rather than as individuals. It is known as ‘bargaining’ because the method of reaching an agreement involves proposals and counter proposals, offers and counter offers and other negotiations.

Thus collective bargaining:

  • is a collective process in which representatives of both the management and employees participate.
  • is a continuous process which aims at establishing stable relationships between the parties involved.
  • not only involves the bargaining agreement, but also involves the implementation of such an agreement.
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Different Employee Training and Development Methods

Every organization needs well-adjusted, trained and experienced people to perform its activities. As jobs in today’s dynamic organizations have become more complex, the importance of employee education has increased. Employee training is a learning experience, it seeks a relatively permanent change in employees that improves job performance. Training involves changing skills, knowledge, attitudes, or behavior. This may means changing what employee know, how they work, or their attitudes toward their jobs, coworkers, managers, and the organization.

Managers, with HRM assistance, decide when employees need training and what form that training should take.

On-the-Job Training Methods 1. Job instructions:
  • It is received directly on the job, and so it is often called “on-the-job” training (OJT).
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Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne Experiment and It’s Contributions to Management

The term “Hawthorne” is a term used within several behavioral management theories and is originally derived from the western electric company’s large factory complex named Hawthorne works. Starting in 1905 and operating until 1983, Hawthorne works had 45,000 employees and it produced a wide variety of consumer products, including telephone equipment, refrigerators and electric fans. As a result, Hawthorne works is well-known for its enormous output of telephone equipment and most importantly for its industrial experiments and studies carried out.

Hawthorne Experiment by  Elton Mayo

In 1927, a group of researchers led by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger of the Harvard Business School were invited to join in the studies at the Hawthorne Works of Western Electric Company, Chicago.… Read the rest