Deck 13: What Should Labor Relations Do

Question 1

Provide labor relations examples of a manager's use of these five types of power that would support good leadership. Provide labor relations examples in which uses of these five types of power would undermine good leadership.

Answer 1

Management is a combining factor in the organization which combines the organizational structure, culture and processes with the employees' competencies, knowledge and commitment. The outcome of this combination is the increment of productivity, efficiency, profits and reputation of the company. Thus management plays an important role in growth of the organization. The following five types of powers of management support the good leadership:-
1) Building power/Legitimate power: Under this power, management can order someone to do something and recruit the employees based on the requirement and the capabilities of them. Thus management can resolve the issue of understaffing and overloaded-work. A proper recruitment can solve many problems related to the labor relations.
2) Economic power/ Reward power: Under this power, managers can take the decisions related to the compensation of the employees. Managers can avoid the various disputes by using this power properly. Managers must distribute and negotiate the proper consideration to the employees based upon their productivity and the efficiency. Thus, the strikes related to wages and salary can be avoided by utilizing this power.
3) Navigating powers/ Referent power: Management can balance the competencies of the employees with the external environment. For this purpose, various training programs are organized in the organization to improve the efficiency of the workers. It will resolve the issues related with inefficiency of the workers and their dissatisfaction.
4) Dispute resolution power/ Expert power: Management has the power to resolve the disputes by collective bargaining for the workplace fitness and security, technological changes resulting in worker dislocation, and the use of subcontracting and provisional labor. It will ultimately solve the labors' problems related to the work environment.
5) Disciplinary power/ Coercive power : Management is empowered to maintain the discipline of the organization. Managers will take important decision regarding employee discipline, sources or types of disciplinary complications, and forms of disciplinary guidelines and procedures. This will reduce the possibilities of unnecessary conflicts with the labors.

Question 2

Employers commonly try to portray unions in a negative light by characterizing them as outside, third-party organizations. Is this accurate if unions are comprised of employees? Describe how the pluralist industrial relations school of thought sees value in having a union as both an outsider and an insider. In what direction(s) should U.S. labor unions go to serve these roles in the 21 st century?

Answer 2

Since unions are composed of the employees of the company; it is not accurate to call them outside organizations. The unions are the part of the company. They are the representatives of the employees and workers of the company. Any action taken by them or taken on them will have the direct impact on the company itself.
The pluralist industrial relations school of thought allows the nonviolent cohabitation of different opinions and beliefs. It focuses on the requirement for the balance of capital and labor. The aim of this philosophy is to maintain equilibrium between interests of workers, employers, and the society. It supports the equal existence of all communities and provides the same basic to all communities. This gives belongingness and encouragement to all communities and the productivity increases.
According to the pluralist view, if there is any favoritism between the employer and employee, this will slow down the growth of the economy. Excess power to the corporate will result in the exploitation of the labor and the excess power to the labors will result in the increased strikes or conflicts. Labor union balances this inequality of the management and the workers in any organization.
The labor union as an outsider and insider plays important role for this philosophy as the union works for the harmonious relationship between the employer and the workers which ultimately serves the purpose of pluralism philosophy. The conflicts are avoided and efforts are made for the growth of both communities in a parallel manner.
The key role of union is to establish a harmonious relationship by avoiding conflicts and giving workers and management a chance to meet and decide upon the certain matters. Unions can boost structural performance with the social prosperity and equality. This type of union can be termed as efficiency- enhancing unions.
Since the pluralistic approach is towards mutual benefits; union should move in direction to the efficiency enhancing unionism. Union will be involved in the decision making of the organization for greater commitment. Workers and employers both will get more competitiveness due to this structure.

Question 3

It is often argued that integrity is a key component of good leadership and that leaders should adhere to high ethical standards. Why?

Answer 3

Need of ethics for the leaders
Integrity is the quality of a human being which makes him/her to work with honesty. Integrity inspires a person to have strong ethical values. Integrity can be considered as the morality and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. A leader must adhere to the high standards of ethics. The main task of a leader is to maintain a balance between the internal strength of its followers and the rewards received by them for their work. To maintain this balance, the leader assumes various roles of builder, navigator or changer. These roles must be fulfilled by pure integrity. The reasons can be explained in following points:
1) Leader has the right to order his followers for particular task. The orders should not be biased and demoralizing.
2) Leader is required to work for a common goal. The decisions taken by him/her will impact the whole community. Therefore, decisions should be ethical.
3) Leader needs to bargain for his community. The bargaining becomes powerful when the ethics are followed.
4) Leader can reward or punish the followers for their doings. The followers will be more likely to accept such decisions when these are made with honesty.
5) Leader is an elected member from the community. That is why it is necessary to work with integrity to take the support of majority.
6) The followers should have the faith and trust in the leader's advice and decisions. This trust and faith come with the integrity of the leader.
Thus, it is necessary for a leader to adhere ethics to make the union stronger and more competitive in bargaining.

Question 4

What is a corporation's social responsibility? Are there corporate labor relations practices that should be unacceptable? If so, how should these standards be enforced?

Question 5

With weak labor laws and labor unions, is it more or less important that leaders have high ethical standards?

Question 6

Many argue that U.S. labor relations is broadly characterized by adversarialism. In what ways is adversarialism the result of U.S. labor law? In what ways is adversarialism caused by the behavior of companies and unions rather than by the legal system?

Question 7

Is it still necessary for laws to promote and protect some form of unionism? If so, outline the needed reforms to U.S. labor law.