Employment Relations Practices Research Articles

Harmonious, Africanised, and Modern Employment Relations model in strategic Employment Relations

Orientation: With the world increasingly becoming a global village and many multi-national enterprises exploring African markets, the question of integrating indigenous traditions into employment relations (ER) systems and practices has become topical in the ER field.Research purpose: This study investigated the integration of African traditions, perspectives and indigenous wisdom in modern ER.Motivation for the study: There is a limited integration of indigenous wisdom in ER practices. The study examine how African perspectives can be further developed to align with and contribute to current and future workplace trends.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative research approach was adopted in this study to understand the prevailing workplace dynamics and how an Africanised ER perspective can add value to the workplace. Grounded theory was used as the primary research strategy to support the design of this study. Using semi-structured interviews, a purposive sampling method was used to collect data from 12 participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and make sense of the collected data.Main findings: The findings show three themes associated with the development of Harmonious, Africanised and Modern Employment Relations (HAMER) model, namely, organisational anxiety, organisational unity and strategic leadership. The findings indicated that incorporating indigenous knowledge in ER can improve organisational harmony and relationships in the workplace. The findings also indicated that transforming traditional perspectives to embrace indigenous knowledge requires strong leadership skills and strategic thinking. Most importantly, the study identified a shortage of customised ER content as the main hindrance in the integration process.Practical/managerial implications: The study proposed the adoption of the HAMER model to align current ER trends and requirements to indigenous knowledge. The model focuses on practical ways of integrating harmony and African perspectives in modern ER.Contribution/value-add: First and foremost, the study addressed the shortage of Africanised ER content, including the infrastructure and behaviours required to achieve the integration.

“Employee Relations Practices in Bangladesh (private sector)”

Employee relations are important as they are concerned with people’s commitment to achieving their organization’s business goals and objectives and ensuring that organizational change is accepted. Maintaining effective relations between managers and employees are key to the success of any business or organization. This study traces the evolution of effective employee relation practices in the HRM domain as well as improper employee relations practices, to their present improved maintenance practices. They are now getting importance and doing their assigned job more effectively and efficiently. This paper highlights the relevant factors that have contributed to the rise of current improvised as well as improper employee relations practices, to their present improved maintenance practices. They are now getting importance and doing their assigned job more effectively and efficiently. This paper highlights the relevant factors that have contributed to the rise of current improvised employees .In recent management of diversity approaches, the necessity to adhere to the development of proper communication system by organizations, attached with enabling employee motivation such as attentiveness, devotion, lower absenteeism and enhanced human capital factors are the main causes of creating the effective employee relations. The study can be used to build effective HRM communication programs involves a few fundamental elements like top management commitment, effective upward communication, determining what is to be communicated, allowing for feedback and information sources in the organization and can be useful to the HR practitioners and policy makers.

Never cross the red line? Analysing employment relations practices and the behaviour of front‐line managers in Chinese McDonald's stores

AbstractBased on a qualitative case study of McDonald's stores in China, this article examines the behaviour of front‐line managers (FLMs) in employment relations practices. The findings first identify different types of FLMs' behaviours, taking into account the degree of role conflict in their managerial work and the varying pressure to respond to corporate human resource management/employment relations (HRM/ERs) policies. Second, the findings illustrate that the behaviours of FLMs are also shaped by the external ER regulatory context, which is related to regulatory constraints (or voids) and their implementation (or not) and third, that FLMs tend to exert their own agency in responding to HRM/ER policies when facing increased role conflict.

Effect of Employee Relations Practices on Employee Performance in Commercial Banks in Narok County, Kenya

Employee performance is a critical factor for the success of commercial banks in Kenya. Commercial banks in Kenya have been facing various employee-related issues that have affected their performance, productivity and turnover. According to a survey conducted by the Central Bank of Kenya in 2019, the average staff turnover rate in commercial banks in Kenya was 14.6%. This has been attributed to various factors, such as inadequate compensation, lack of career growth opportunities, and poor working conditions. The general objective of the study was to establish the effect of employee relations practices on employee performance in commercial banks in Narok County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Appraisal theory, Reinforcement theory and expectancy theory. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population was 336 managers and middle-level workers in 14 commercial banks in Narok County, Kenya. The study adopted Slovins' formula to get a sample of 182 employees. The study further adopted stratified random sampling to get the sample of each category of worker. The study collected primary data using a questionnaire. Content validity was ensured by the opinions of experts and supervisors. The reliability of the study instruments was determined by conducting a pilot test in Narok County, whereby 18 questionnaires were issued to employees in 2 banks. An internal consistency technique was adopted by utilization of Cronbach's Alpha. Data gathered in the study was both quantitative and qualitative in nature. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in the study. Descriptive statistics involves the use of percentages, frequencies, and mean and standard deviation. Inferential statistics involves the use of correlation and multiple analyses. After analysis, data were presented in the form of tables. The study concluded that there is a strong positive correlation between employee relations practices and employee performance in commercial banks in Narok County, Kenya. From the findings, the study recommended that commercial banks in Narok County should encourage a two-way flow of communication where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns, and feedback with management. Moreover, commercial banks in Narok County should support employees in achieving a healthy work-life balance to prevent burnout and increase job satisfaction.

Green Hrm-Leveraging Employees’ Satisfaction Level in Indian Banking Sector

The purpose of this paper is to study the Green HRM practices practised and its impact on the satisfaction level of employees in private and public sector banks in Kolkata District. To attain the objectives of the research , the research process- Onion of Saunders et al. (2012) is adopted. The Sample Size is 158 (Bank of Baroda= 36, Allahabad Bank= 46, ICICI Bank Ltd= 42 & HDFC Bank= 34.) Reliability Test of the instrument i.e. Cronbach’s alpha=0.84. The Sampling Technique is Probability Sampling (Multi-stage Sampling). The Likert - 5 point scale has been used for designing the questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis has identified six Green HRM Practices i.e. Green Recruitment and Selection Practices, Green Orientation, Training and Development Practices, Green Performance Management Practices, Green Rewards and Compensation Management Practices , Green Counselling and Employee Relations Practices and Green Exit Interview Practices which are having a strong influence on Employees’ Satisfaction level in Banking Sector in Kolkata District. Regression Analysis reveals that Green Rewards and Compensation Management Practices have a high influence on employees’ satisfaction level and Green Recruitment and Selection Practices have least influence on employees’ satisfaction level. The Independent Sample T-Test and One-Way Anova reveals that there exists no significant difference of employees’ satisfaction level towards Green HRM Practices on the basis of ownership of banks, gender, experience of employees and age of employees.

Effects of Human Resource Practices on the Performance of Vodacom-Drc Limited and Safaricom Limited

Human Resource practitioners and academics believe that Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) alongside Strategic Human Resource Practices (SHRP) have direct and positive impact on organizational performance. This belief is thought to be rather conventional as numerous studies across the globe on SHRM and SHRP on organizational performance have shown minimal results due to unknown factors. The purpose of this study determines the effects of training practices on organizational performance at Vodacom DRC Limited; to examine the influence of performance management practices on organizational performance at Vodacom DRC Limited; to examine the effect of recruitment and selection practices on organizational performance at VODACOM DRC Limited; lastly to determine the influence of employee relations practices on organizational performance at VODACOM DRC Limited. The research findings were based on two theories namely; employers search theory and human relations theory. The study used a survey research design as research design to investigate the selected strategic human resource practices and their effects on performance in which Vodacom-DRC Limited and Safaricom Plc was surveyed. The population sampled comprised of 385 respondents from the companies. The study findings presented used statistical procedure or models which includes tables, graphs, and percentages. In analyzing primary data, SPSS was used intensively. Data was finally computed to describe the characteristics of the variables in the study and also established the nature and magnitude of the relationships between the independent and dependent variables. The study findings revealed the influence that SHRP had on organizational performance and how it played its role in providing strategies related to human resource processes to enhance organizational performance. Future studies recommend the use of effective human resource management practices as the way to improve the overall output of employees and organizational performance. Keywords: Human resource practices, Training practices, Performance management practices, Recruitment and selection practices, Employee relations practices, Performance

Workplace Bargaining in Small & Medium Enterprises in India: Trends & Practices

The present paper attempts to explore and describe the existent workplace bargaining practices in Indian SMEs. Small & Medium Enterprises, which have been acclimatised as engines of growth and development in developing economies (Fashoyin, 2006) are governed by informal nature and erratic employment relations practices. Workplace bargaining, especially collective bargaining is observed to be very weak or non-existent due in SMEs (Edwards, Collinson, &Rocca, 1995). Ascertaining qualitative research method like Focus Group Meeting (FGM) the paper intends to highlight the existent trends and practices concerning workplace bargaining in selected Indian SMEs. The findings highlight how the decline in traditional forms of 'collective strengths' as propagated by Marxism is adding more strength and power to the might of the employers. This trend also indicates the shift towards individualistic approach which violates the very notion of democratic participation at workplace resulting in the dying down of the employee voices. The study very specifically highlights the emerging aspects of employment relations in selected SMEs in India.

Influence of Employee Relations Practices on Organizational Performance in Public Universities in Mt. Kenya Region

The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of employee engagement on organizational performance in public Universities in the Mt. Kenya Region. The study targeted all the public universities in Mt. Kenya Region. Data was gathered by use of a questionnaire which was subjected to pre-test to ensure its reliability and validity. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The target population for the study was 2984 and a sample size of 271 respondents was drawn from both teaching and non-teaching staff. Stratified random and purposive sampling procedures were employed by the study. The study adopted basic descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentage. The study generated both qualitative and quantitative data which adopted the use of likert scales, measures of central tendency and use of multiple regressions analysis. The data was presented through the use of tables, charts and figures. All the questionnaires were termed as valid with 88.6% response rate. Correlation and regression analysis were adopted to establish the relationship between the variables. The study results indicated that there was a positive and significant and positive relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance. The study concluded that high engagement and involvement of workers creates a sense of belonging hence leading to low employee turnover as well as improving role performance. The study recommended the need for the management to strive to highly engage workers and cultivate participatory supervisory support by putting in place proper delegation mechanisms in place. This will harness the employees to their full-selves in active and complete work roles. The study also recommended other areas of employee engagement like flexible working arrangements, reward and recognition, continuous training, work place health and safety as well as work life balance to be further researched on.

Employee Relations Practices and Firm performance: A Conceptual Model Proposal

Employee Relations Practices and Firm performance: A Conceptual Model Proposal

A Convenient Indian: The Resignation of Canada’s First Indigenous Dean of a Law School

I sought to expose and challenge neocolonial values and practices in a Western institution through an Indigenous woman’s nuanced and detailed experience of paternalism, racism, and exploitation. The study was informed by a postcolonial perspective and draws on employment relations practices in the case of a woman, Canada’s first Indigenous dean of a law school, who quit only two years into her tenure and claimed systemic discrimination leading to constructive dismissal. I sought to disrupt prevalent management and organizational practice by revealing how they serve to propagate neocolonial attitudes and reproduce barriers to the meaningful participation of Indigenous workers. I demonstrated how a neocolonial discourse was constructed and maintained in a Western institution, a legal system that has been hostile to First Nations’ rights, and a profession that has been hostile to women. In addition, I demonstrated how a Western perspective was privileged or taken for granted and the Indigenous perspective was marginalized or dismissed. Key Words: employment relations, the West, paternalism, shaming, subordination, racial discrimination, hostile workplace, constructive dismissal, Indigenous, First Nations, postcolonialism, neocolonialism, exploitation, and contesting active legacies.

Employee stress and the implication of high-power distance culture: empirical evidence from Nigeria's employment terrain

PurposeThis paper explores the link between employee stress and the high-power distance (HPD) culture in Nigeria. The study context is the banking and manufacturing sectors in Nigeria, which have a history of exploitation, unconducive work environments to productivity, work-life imbalance, work overload, burnout and employee stress.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative, interpretive methodology, this article adopts a thematic analysis of data drawn from semi-structured interviews with 24 managerial and non-managerial workers to explore the process by which Nigerian manufacturing and banking sectors' work (mal)practices go unchallenged, thereby triggering and exacerbating employees' stress levels.FindingsThe study found that the high power distance culture promotes a servant-master relationship type, making it impossible for employees to challenge employers on issues relating to stressors such as work overload, unconducive work environments, work-life imbalance and burnout, thereby exacerbating their stress levels in a country in which stress has become a way of life.Research limitations/implicationsResearch on the relationship between employee stress and HPD culture is relatively underdeveloped. This article sheds light on issues associated with stressors in Nigeria's human resource management (HRM) and employment relations practices. The link between the inability of employees to challenge these stressors (which are consequences of an HPD culture) and increased employee stress has substantial implications for employment and work-related policies and practices in general. The study is constrained by the limited sample size, which inhibits the generalisation of its findings.Originality/valueThe article adds to the scarcity of studies underscoring the relationship between high-power distance and the inability of employees to challenge work-related stressors as a predictor of employee stress and a mediator between workplace practices and employee stress, particularly in the emerging economies.

Comparative Employment Relations: Institutional and Neo-Institutional Theories

Comparative employment relations (CER) has enjoyed a resurgence of interest and scholarly research in recent years. A significant reason is the rising tide of globalization and its present and future impact on employment relations institutions and practices. Rather quickly the furthest corners of the Earth have become interconnected in an international division of labor and system of market exchange, inevitably raising questions about the nature and extent of change in national employment relations systems and the degree to which they are converging to a similar model.

Flexibility of Work in Employment Relations and Labour Deployment in the Nigeria Labour Market

The paradigm shift in the world of work has created a new dimension in the labour market vis a vis employment relation; a point of reference is the flexibility of work and labour deployment in the Nigeria labour market. The study examines flexibility of work in employment relations and deployment of labour in the Nigeria labour market within the purview of relationship and the benefits to the employers and employees. Hence, the study takes an exploratory approach by reviewing extant literatures to understand the dynamics of work flexibility in employment relations and its influence on different patterns of labour deployment. The findings from the review of extant literatures revealed that there are various dimensions to flexibility of work in employment relations(workplace flexibility, workforce flexibility, low flexibility and mutual flexibility) and labor deployment(temporary worker, part time workers triangular employees etc.) in the Nigeria labour market and it often benefit the employer more because of the objective of maximizing return on investment by creating financial rigidity on the employee through cutting or reduction in the personnel cost or overhead cost. This study therefore recommends that a win-win flexible work dimension for deploying of workers for flexible work arrangement should be adopted to achieve a healthy employment relations practice in the Nigeria labour market.

The Contribution of Employment Relations Practices to the Amelioration of Society

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The Contribution of Employment Relations Practices to the Amelioration of Society

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Going the Extra Mile: Managers and Supervisors as Moral Agents for Workers with Disability at Two Social Enterprises

This study examines the ethical management of workers with disability (WWD) employed at two social enterprises in Australia. Viewed largely through the spectrum of institutionally-based conflict in the employment relationship, this research draws on a framework of situated moral agency (Wilcox, 2012) to establish the ways in which WWD are afforded opportunities to engage in work and how managers and supervisors practise situated moral agency at the workplace. A qualitative case study approach is used with 62 participants through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Key findings demonstrate supervisors constantly have to reshape and reinterpret human resource management (HRM) policies and practices to exercise and extend moral agency. This phenomenon suggests contradictions between moral agency and ethical management practice within current HRM regimes. The key message of the paper is that HRM does not always support the ethical management of WWD. Consequently, we question the ethical nature of contemporary HRM policy and practice for WWD, and argue for further research to unpack ethical ways to more effectively support WWD in the workplace. For WWD to be included at work, achieve life skills and their goals, managers and supervisors need to engage with their moral agency. Finally, we draw implications for management and employment relations theory and practice.

A Comparison of Contemporary Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Practices of Japanese and US Multinational Corporation Subsidiaries: Evidence from Four Countries

This paper compares Japanese and US multinational corporations (MNCs) on their deployment of human resource management (HRM) and employment relations (ER) practices within four countries. Debate about convergence is used to reconcile findings. The context is the shift from the dominance of the Japanese economy in the 1980s and early 1990s towards the renewed dominance of the US economy in more recent decades. We draw on data from representative, parallel surveys of MNCs operating in Canada, the UK, Spain and Australia to test a set of hypotheses examining similarities and differences between subsidiaries of Japanese and US MNCs in relation to management control across borders, remuneration, representation and worker involvement.The findings demonstrate that, despite the pressures of globalization, and the partial movement away from traditional Japanese management practices in Japan, there are clear country of origin effects for Japanese and American MNCs. Results indicate that Japanese and US MNCs behave differently in terms of the control that they exercise, with Japanese firms exhibiting a greater tendency to use personal forms of control in their foreign subsidiaries and a lower tendency to use procedural forms of control. In terms of HRM practices, Japanese MNCs are distinctive in relation to pay systems. For example, they are less likely than their US counterparts to use performance-related pay and, more likely, to adopt non-union representative structures in subsidiaries.In line with Kaufman (2016), we argue that the study’s findings provide evidence for the ‘converging divergence phenomenon’ in that both Japanese and US MNCs are adopting the most universal aspects of each other’s management practices and integrating them into their own unique systems of management in response to global market forces. We discuss the theoretical implications for the convergence and divergence of HRM and ER systems, and the development of such systems in Japanese and US MNC subsidiaries.

Contextual influences on HRM practices in social enterprises: the case of Thailand

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the social enterprises and human resource management (HRM) literatures by examining how institutional and cultural contexts influence human resources (HR) practices, i.e., recruitment practices (specifically, recruitment channels) and employee relations (ER) practices that are adopted in social enterprises in the developing country of Thailand.Design/methodology/approachThis paper applies an embedded cross-case analysis of four social enterprises in Thailand across a variety of industries. The case study evidence in this paper draws on semi-structured interviews with each social enterprise’s representatives; field visits to each social enterprise in Bangkok and in other provinces in Thailand; and a review of archival documents and web-based reports and resources. This paper uses thematic analysis to pinpoint, examine and record the patterns or themes found in the data.FindingsBased on these four case studies, this paper proposes that the deficiencies in the Thai skill formation system, especially skill shortages, are associated with the adoption of alternative or substream recruitment channels among social enterprises. Additionally, the weak and highly fragmented ER institution and the cultural context that favor conflict avoidance and unassertiveness among workers within the workplace are associated with the adoption of a paternalistic ER practice in these enterprises.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper has only focused on the role of national skill formation system, ER system, and the cultural context that favor conflict avoidance and unassertiveness among workers within the workplace. Future research may explore how other institutional and cultural domains influence the adoption of HR practices in these enterprises in the context of emerging market economies. Additionally, because this research is based on the case studies of four social enterprises in a variety of industries in Thailand, the findings of this paper may not be generalizable to all social enterprises across countries. Another limitation of this research is that it did not include social enterprises in several other industries, including the entertainment and media industry and the printing and publishing industry, and it does not include other forms of social enterprises, such as community-led social ventures. Future research may explore how institutional and cultural contexts influence HR practices adopted in social enterprises in other industries or in other types of social enterprises. Moreover, quantitative studies using large samples of social enterprises across industries might be useful in deepening our understanding of a topic that is significant from the perspective of both social enterprises and HRM.Practical implicationsThis paper provides practical implications for HR professionals, founders and top managers of social enterprises not only in Thailand but also in other countries that face the problem of a skill shortage in the labor market.Social implicationsThis paper provides policy implications for the government of Thailand and the governments of several other emerging market economies in which the skill shortage is particularly severe. These governments should focus on solving this problem to alleviate severe competition among several types of organizations in the labor market. Furthermore, these governments should foster the implementation of a partnership model for employee–management relationships within the workplace. In this model, employees and management perceive each other as partners rather than enemies to sustain win–win solutions to any problems or disputes that may occur.Originality/valueThis paper aims to fill the gap in the literature regarding how social enterprises manage HR across contexts, especially in developing countries where institutional and cultural contexts might differ from those of developed countries. Batt and Banerjee (2012) suggested that the literature on HRM, including strategic human resource management (SHRM), should extend beyond the organizational context and examine how institutional contexts influence the adoption of organizations’ HR practices. Additionally, Batt and Banerjee (2012) noted that the majority of studies in the HRM literature focus on profit-oriented firms in the private sector and ignore other types of organizations such as non-profits or social enterprises.

IDENTIFYING CONVERGENCE and DIVERGENCES IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS PRACTICES IN THE INDIAN SME SECTOR: IN SEARCH OF AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are rightly regarded as the backbone of the Indian economy. Acclimatised as the nurseries for entrepreneurship and innovations, these SMEs are characterised by the absence of traditional Human Resource Management or Employment Relations mechanism which makes the sector being recognised as complex, intricate and autocratic (Ram, 1991). The sector is governed by employment relations practices which are highly fragmented and informal in nature and varies from sector to sector. The present paper aims to highlight the commonalities and divergences in the context of employment relations in the identified sectors under study. Mixed research methodology using questionnaire survey, focus group and non-parametric tests has been ascertained to achieve the research objectives. Finally, an integrated model of employment relations relevant to cross-sectoral SME sector has been developed.

The Layering of Meso‐Level Institutional Effects on Employment Systems in Japan

AbstractJapan's corporate governance and employment relations systems have been under considerable pressures to reform towards a more Anglo‐American model, against a back‐drop of intensified global competition and slow economic growth over two ‘lost’ decades. But what is the relationship between these systems, and specifically, how does corporate governance structure condition employment relations practice? This paper adopts the ‘Systems, Society, Dominance and Corporate (SSDC) effects’ framework in order to contextualize and evaluate the outcomes of these pressures, particularly in the period following the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. It reports case study data from various parts of the Japanese economy drawn from a series of firm‐based interviews and a variety of secondary sources. It is argued that there has been a strong degree of continuity in certain employment practices, such as lifetime employment, even in relatively new high technology firms, but that the pattern for other practices, such as seniority‐based pay, is more mixed with increasing differentiation between industries and individual organizations. We articulate a layered assessment of the varying SSDC effects at play in corporate Japan. This differentiation across industries and organizations is a function both of strategic choice (corporate effects) and also the increasing variation in the meso‐level institutional pressures that are experienced at organizational level; that is, the differentiation in the sources and nature of dominance effects that are relevant.