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Does leadership complement management
The impacts of leadership and management on each other
The impacts of leadership and management on each other
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The lack of effective leadership and management were the main contributing factors to the work stoppage of the sanitation employees. The Raleigh Sanitation Department management failed to address legitimate concerns from employees regarding works hours and compensation leading to the work stoppages.
A chain of command appeared nonexistent in this department. There were no apparent implemented policies to prohibit work stoppages or strikes, no justifiable employee quality assurance processes to measure employee satisfaction, and no internal labor relations manager to settle employee complaints/grievances. Significantly, the employees concerns were voiced to the city manager and drastic measures were taken. The Director of the department should have addressed those concerns of the employees. Preventative measures such as utilization of employee satisfaction surveys for determination of staff moral could have been used to view the concerns of workers. Also, employee focus groups and town hall meetings would have allowed employees opportunity to verbalize frustrations prior to organizing work stoppages.
Within North Carolina’s public sector where unionizing and collective bargaining are both prohibited, clearly defined policies are essential to decrease gray areas that lead to disputes between management and employees. The NC General Statute 95-98 prohibits contracts between government and labor unions, trade unions, or labor organization concerning public employees therefore denying unionizing as well as denying those public sector workers collective bargaining rights. In this case, not only did the sanitation workers suffer from the lack of advocacy, but the organizational structure failed to support employe...
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...ction to be followed up with working solutions, future work stoppages could be prevented. The Director should also be measured through stake holder surveys as well as undergo supervision with the City Manager to ensure adequate performance.
The Raleigh Sanitation Employees wanted to be paid for their overtime. They settled for the possibility of comp time; however they were denied the opportunity to take it. If management would have done their job and developed a strategy that allowed each worker to be compensated for their work, the work stoppage would have been prevented. Also, if the sanitation employees felt respected and supported by management, trust between the two groups would have been stronger. Due to poor management and poor employee relations, the employees lost faith in their employer, but gained power through agreement amongst themselves.
Tensions between union supporters and management began mounting in the years preceding the strike. In April of 1994, the International Union led a three-week strike against major tracking companies in the freight hauling industry in attempts to stop management from creating $9 per hour part-time positions. This would only foreshadow battles to come between management and union. Later, in 1995, teamsters mounted an unprecedented national union campaign in attempts to defeat the labor-management “cooperation” scheme that UPS management tried to establish in order to weaken the union before contract talks (Witt, Wilson). This strike was distinguished from other strikes of recent years in that it was an offensive strike, not a defensive one. It was a struggle in which the union was prepared, fought over issues which it defined, and one which relied overwhelmingly on the efforts of the members themselves (http://www.igc.org/dbacon/Strikes/07ups.htm).
The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.
The case study of GMFC provides an example of a company attempting to avoid unionization of its workers. GMFC is expanding by building a new U.S. plant which will manufacture motorized recreational equipment. The company plans to hire about 500 production workers to assemble mechanical components, fabricate fiberglass body parts, and assemble the final products. In order to avoid the expected union campaign by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) to organize its workers, GMFC must implement specific strategies to keep the new plant union-free. GMFC’s planning committee offers suggestions with regards to the plant’s size, location, staffing, wages and benefits, and other employee relations issues in order to defend the company against the negative effects of unionization and increase...
David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions, but simultaneously began to put a break on shop floor activism. Explain Brody’s argument and, where relevant, incorporate Weber’s theory of bureaucracy.
Throughout the history of the United States of America the continuation of misfortunes for the workforce has aggravated people to their apex, eventually leading to the development of labor unions.
The city’s budget crisis was not a surprise, the City Manager had forecasted the shortfall and brought it to the attention of the city council. Based on the organizational structure, the City Manager clearly had more knowledge and information about the city’s budget, which was his source of power. However, the city council actually controls the resources (money in this case) and how and where to distribute the resource. Both, the City Manager and city council possess authority and power that neither want to relinquish; as a result, the employees suffered. Smithville city leaders needed to come together at the onset of the budget crisis and work together in a direct democratic fashion. When leaders come together and synthesize facts and resources, organizational members can increase the power they exert within an organization (Morgan, 2006). The budget crisis could potentially have been avoided had city leaders made an appeal to the public, explained the situation and offered a reasonable solution to the problem. Moreover, the transparency would have relieved some tension between the City Manager, city council, and the three labor unions. Because the city was not transparent and forthcoming with union leaders, the city negotiators enter the negotiation process giving members false hope of receiving salary and benefit increases when there were none to give. In summary, given the current situation, the City Manager needed to exert his expert power on the budget issue, join alliance with the union leaders, and push the city council to change city charter to implement the sales tax, which would have potentially off-set the budget
The New Deal Era (1930’s) pushed for the legalization of collective bargaining among several other labor laws, which resulted in the formation of unions. When looking back, the result of collective bargaining can be seen around the world. Countries worldwide have unions to protect both employees and companies, and even governments. China, for example, maintains labor unions to pacify angry workers and aid in keeping governmental control. Without collective bargaining statutes how could unions exist? Employees would not have the protection, the negotiation capabilities, or the assistance in finding new work. The Wagner Act also provid...
In order for our organization to address arising issues with our employees, these issues must be addressed ...
Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).
Unions have an extensive history of standing up for workers. They have advocated rights of steelworkers, coal miners, clothing factory employees, teachers, health care workers, and many others. The labor movement is based on the idea that organized workers as a group have more power than individuals would have on their own. The key purpose of any union is to negotiate contracts, making sure workers are respected and fairly compensated for their work. “In theory” unions are democratic organizations, resulting in varying inner authority. Workers look for security within a job a...
A union typically tells its potential members that the employee’s rights to voice their opinions on a managerial action are protected by negotiated grievance procedure and disciplinary policies.
Flanagan, R. J. (2005). Has Management Strangled U.S. Unions? Journal of Labor Research, 26(1), 33-63.
Verma, A. and McKersie, R.B. (1987) 'Employee Involvement: The Implications of Noninvolvement by Unions', Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol. 40, no. 4, July, pp. 556-568.
1) He is facing huge protestation from the employees due to their angriness. This is because the employees are resisting the change in the organisation which is break out in the form of their protesting nature.
Management and Collective Bargain Process in the Public Sector, Using the events in Alameda City. Public Sector Administration Journal, 18, 120-178.