UNION-MANAGEMENT RELATIONSHIPS

Managing Union-Management Relationships

Managing Union-Management Relationships

Introduction

This discussion will begin by briefly describing the role of management in an organization, followed by the brief discussion of the role of a union in an organization. The insight developed from this discussion will be utilized to converge upon two strategies/action plans that an organization can implement to create and maintain a conducive, working relationship with unions. In the same vein, the research paper will then converge upon two strategies/action plans that a union can implement to create and maintain a conducive, working relationship with the management.

The Role of Management in an Organization

The role of management in the organization is to ensure that the functioning of the organization remains in coherence with the objectives that constitute the very foundations of the business. The management is responsible for maintaining watch on the progression of the organization and the degree to which objectives are being achieved (Sloane & Witney, 2009). This is followed by the development, implementation and further monitoring of measures meant to assist in objective achievement. To this end, the measures may be designed to implement a new strategy or they may be meant to alter strategies that are already in implementation and need to be tweaked in order to become more effective and efficient.

In the same vein, the management is responsible for the maintenance of a work environment that is healthy and promotes productivity. It is up to the management to study the workplace environment closely so that any threats to the organization and/or the productivity of the employees can be identified and addressed beforehand. In this regard, the management is also responsible for the well being of the employees (Stewart & Danford, 2008). The management is the face of the organization to which the employees look towards in times of hardship and distress. In essence, the management represents the organization and is generally considered to be a representative of the leadership that controls decision making at the strategic level. It is because of these roles, authorities and responsibilities that the effective utilization of the organization's capital (human and financial alike) is the management's responsibility. A failure to properly generate revenue from resources can therefore be characterized as the management's failure to manage.

The Role of the Union in an Organization

The role of the union is to ensure that the management does not exploit the labor and gives consideration to the concerns of the employees. This generally constitutes ensuring that the management does all that is necessary to keep the workplace safe, secure and healthy (Srivastava, 2011). However, the union also serves to regulate employee behavior by establishing guidelines and regulations that the employees are to follow at all times.

It merits highlighting that these guidelines and regulations are developed to reflect the combined interests of the organization and the union. Since the employees are represented by the union, they are also obliged to adhere to the union's code of conduct; to which they are (more than often) legally bound (Martinez, Fiorito & Ferris, ...