Saturday, January 25, 2020

Union and Nonunion Forms of Employee Representation

Union and Nonunion Forms of Employee Representation The history of workers shows us how important unions have been; it played a key role in the past and is playing a significant role in todays world scenarios. Unions just do not work for employees in a way they also help the employer by minimized turnover ratio, help reducing hiring and training cost associated with new employees. Because of all these reasons many times organisation prefers to have unionised set-up for employee voice preconisation. In these way the organisation save its resource and have smooth functioning in the company rather than using individualistic approach.(Freeman and Medoff 2004) tell about the positive sides of unions and say if the organisation takes proper care of it employees it can improve their performance at work place and also will motivate them. It wont be wrong to say union offers benefits to both employees and employers. Unions helps the employees to motivate by showing them promotion ladder and implementation of the collective interest and also by showing their rights they possess in the organisation but also their relation in state and in civil society. Unions encourage its members to be part of social welfare societies and take the given advantages. (Mike Donaldson 2008) talks about the history of labour union in Australian and how and when it came to its existence in Australia in early 1911. There it joined the linkage between the families and the organisation. It also tells about the very first stepping stone of labour trade union and their activities like the lockout at mining station and creating awareness of workers union. It is very important for union to make alliances with various forms of organisation and get interconnected within the states and the local working class and maintain strong relationship with other organisations. So the union keep term with the entire non government community organisation, small business and other organisation at state level and international level to form a productive relationship. (Gregor Gall 1998) With the help of these trade union organisations the workers can create a better working environment. It also helps to build trust within the organisation. Unions give a platform to employers to make good relationship with it employees and make critical but also constructive agreements for the welfare of the employees. (Rae Cooper, Bradon Ellem, Patricia Todd 2012) These articles talks about the new changes have been made in the Australian labour government fair work act 2009 and the restoration of collective bargaining as its main aim. The changes between 1996 and 2005 which are most important for assessing how the Fair Work Act was designed and has come to operate were those that altered bargaining arrangements and other changes which reduced union effectiveness. It briefly addressed each before dealing with the Fair Work Act itself. (Donna M. Buttigieg, Stephen J. Deery and Roderick D.lverson June 2008) article talks about the importance of union and shows us what all can go wrong without proper union in organisation. Its based on mobilization theory were in a large data is utilized for a survey done with financial service during renegotiation of collective bargaining contract. Through this survey it was clear that the masses would follow the union as they can experience sense of injustice done to employees when they held the collectivist orientation to work organisation. Perceptions of injustice are critical for collective action as they act as a means of separating workers from the employer in terms of shared interests, particularly where blame is attributed to management. Its the rights of the workers to join a union or be part of the union and accompanied by union official at disciplinary and grievance hearings. A fellow worker is chosen among the workers and is made a representative in non unionised setting who is more familiar with the association and can be the spoken person on behalf of the employees. These representatives perform various role in organisation they are many a times appointed by the management who carry the information from them and pass it widely within the employees.(Patmore 2006) non union representatives are normally functions in organisations which does not requires collective bargaining. All the employees are not part of unions and many times some employees disagree with the unions as well. Employees who are non unions members come to the representatives to take advice on legal duties or business transfers and also in situations of large scale redundancies. So she representatives help those employees who are not part of union and give them consultation on legal matters when it occurs. Many of the times these representatives are appointed by the management themselves so they can consult those employees who need them in performing legal duties and they dont have to search for such representatives when suddenly such legal duties are arise, these also helps the employees to improve their performance and be loyal and achieve their commitment done to employer.(Coyle-Shapiro, Jacqueline A-M. and Shore, Lynn M 2007) The different forms of non union representatives such as Representative of health bad safety, Representative of information and consultation representative, Pension representatives, work force agreement representative etc. These forms of non union representative also work for the welfare of the employees and they are well organised and have good terms with the management as well. Health and safety representatives of employees are appointed in the organisation, they are not part of any union but they are representatives who work for the health and safety issues of the employees. Under the regulation 1996 as amended in 1998, 1999 and 2005) these representatives are covered under health and safety of employees. These representatives are given proper training so that they can perform their duties well in the situation of safety and health measures, they are paid for these training programs which encourage the employees to get involved in such activites.Their main agenda is to provide better health facilities to employees at work place and maintain the safety rules. The form of non union representative is information and consultant representative who is been selected from the members of subsequent information and consultation body. These representatives have the rights to provide protection against dismissal. They have the rights to negotiate an agreement or the s tandard agreement under the regulations. They see to that the employees practise the following regulations and provisions established. Under the occupational and personal pension schemes (consultation by Employers and Miscellaneous Amendment) regulation 2006 the representatives of pension carry out their functions in the organisation. These pension representatives are parts of union and non union forms and are elected to give consultation on issues related to pension schemes to the employees in the organisation. Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, known as TUPE gives consultation over the transfer of undertaking. When there are no union to carry collective bargaining purposes the non union representatives consultation under TUPE. Then we have workplace representatives in the organisations that function under the workforce agreements. These agreements are between the employer and employees were they have mutual understanding on issues like working time, maternity and paternity and fixed term employment. The union have more rights as compare to the non union representatives but both try their best to protect the rights of the employees and their should not be any injustice done to them in terms of work aagrements.These various form of non union work representatives have come up together and performing the same role of union without being part of any particular labour union organisation. With the modern times the views of people are changing and they are excepting the concept of non union representatives. There has been tremendous decline in the trade union organisations. Many countries develop as well as developing countries are encouraging the non union forms of representative. These non union representative make employees views known to management , help strengthen both managements and employees understanding of workplace issues and other matters affecting the business, help create an atmosphere of mutual trust betwe en employees and management and therefore improve workplace relations.( Martin Upchurch, Mike Richardson, Stephanie Tailby, Andy Danford, Paul Stewart 2006) Non-union forms of employee representation have become increasingly encouraged at uk work place and soon the trend is started all across the globe. Many organisations are promoting and supporting the non union representatives for betterment of the employees. To improve the individual and organisational performance partnership working style has been encouraged by the new labour, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the Confederation of British Industry and the TUC. The article is based on the survey done in UK financial sector were interview were taken and full organisation was involved including the manager and staff. It showed the linkage between the working pattern of non union employees representative and the employer. The survey was based on the employees attitude. The result of the survey cleared showed tha t the non union partnership framework that was functioning in the organisation was constrained to a limited structure and because of these reason the demands of the employees was bounded. (Paul J. Gollan 2005) the article seeks the weaker side of non union form and tried to show that these representatives have less power than unionism organisations and it more controlled by management of the organisation. With the help of analysis it showed the importance of unions in terms support and sustainability. It showed the European directive on information and consultation and how it implemented in in the UK law and its increasing focus on workplace representation arrangements. It was clearly shown that many issues were raised like effectiveness, impact and legitimacy of union because of non union representatives. There was lack of effective voice of non union form of representatives and these were the major problem at Eurotunnel. In the forthcoming implementations into UK law this perceptions of the lack of effective voices is given importance in the recent introduction of the European directive. The main implication of this case study was that he non union representative an d management and the employees were not well coordinated and the representatives could not do much the of employees interest. It is essential to have effective employee voice over workplace to achieve and maintain employees satisfaction. The main difference between union and non-union forms of employee representation is joint consultation between the management and employees. These help the management to understand the problems of employees and choose the appropriate solution to problems. It helps in variety of decision making and exercise of power; in contrast to unionism. It gives equal opportunity to employees to join the agreement of the employers as its done in unionism(Salamon, 2000) so it is more of management preference instead of employee or unions representatives as they are the one encouraging employees , invest money on the activities in the organisation so their decisions it should be considered. The only motive is better performance and cost effective production. To remove the operational problems it very important that joint consultation method expands in organisations and these will help to make wise decision making which will even seek for the employees opinions. Union and non union representatives b oth work for the welfare of the employees in the organisation, their major motive is to give security to employees and to enhance their work performance in the organisation. These organisations also help the employers to know the need and area for betterment for the employees. But we can even denies the fact that many of the times these unions become a threat to the employers and take the undue advantage of the power were as the non union representation lack the independence and because of these there position is weaker compare to union. Both union and non union works for the betterment of employee and boost to employees performance.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Government Intervention Essay

Discuss the case for and against government intervention in an economy. In most of the countries, the government has intervened in the market system. To some extent there is a dire need of government intervention in the market system, although there is a debate over this point among the economists. Many economists believe that the role of government intervention improves the market system. The government can easily enforce the rules that can help in the smooth functioning of the market system. On the other hand, there are economists who believe that government interventions in a market system are the reason of inefficiency in the system. There are some goods that underprovided and underconsumed. Such goods are cold merit goods. They can be defined in terms of their externality effects and also in terms of informational problems facing the consumer. A merit good is a product that society values and judges that everyone should have regardless of whether an individual wants them. In this sense, the government is acting paternally in providing merit goods and services. They believe that individuals may not act in their own best interest in part because of imperfect information about the benefits that can be derived. Good examples of merit goods include health services, education, and work training programmes. Why does the government provide merit goods and services? * To encourage consumption so that some of the positive externalities associated with merit goods can be achieved * To overcome the information failures linked to merit goods, not least when the longer-term private benefit of consumption is greater than the shorter-term benefit of consumption * On grounds of equity – because the government believes that consumption should not be based solely on the grounds of ability to pay for a good or service Education is an example of a merit good. Education should provide a number of external benefits that might not be taken into account by the free market. These include rising incomes and productivity for current and future generations; an increase in the occupational mobility of the labour force which should help to reduce unemployment and therefore reduce welfare spending. However, there are some goods which are thought to be ‘bad’ for you. They are cold demerit goods. Examples include the costs arising from consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs together with the social effects of addiction to gambling. The consumption of demerit goods can lead to negative externalities. The government seeks to reduce consumption of demerit goods. Consumers may be unaware of the negative externalities that these goods create – they have imperfect information about long-term damage to their own health. The government may decide to intervene in the market for demerit goods and impose taxes on producers and / or consumers. Higher taxes cause prices to rise and should lead to a fall in demand. However high taxes increase unemployment because firms may relocate abroad increases cost of production for firms making the less competitive to firms in another countries where no tax is applied. But many economists argue that taxation is an ineffective and inequitable way of curbing the consumption of drugs and gambling particularly for those affected by addiction. Banning consumption through regulation may reduce demand, but risks creating secondary (illegal) or underground markets in the product. Market failure with demerit goods – the free market may fail to take into account the negative externalities of consumption because the social cost is less then private cost. Consumers too may experience imperfect information about the long term costs to themselves of consuming products deemed to be demerit goods. The social optimal level of consumption would be Q3 – the output that takes into account the information failure of consumers and also the negative externalities. One way to solve this problem is to try to remove the information failure. Information deficits can often lead to a misallocation of resources and hence the possibility of market failure. Information failure occurs when people have inaccurate, incomplete, uncertain or misunderstood data and so make potentially ‘wrong’ choices. Government action can have a role in improving information to help consumers and producers value the ‘true’ cost and/or benefit of a good or service. Examples might include: * Compulsory labeling on cigarette packages with health warnings to reduce smoking * Improved nutritional information on foods to counter the risks of growing obesity * Anti speeding television advertising to reduce road accidents and advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the risks of drink-driving * Advertising health screening programmes / information campaigns on the dangers of addiction Another dvantage of government intervention is the national minimum wage. The national minimum wage was introduced into the UK in 1999. It is an intervention in the labour market designed to increase the pay of lower-paid workers and thereby influence the distribution of income in society. In October 2005, the value of the minimum wage for adults was ? 5. 05 – following a series of small increases over recent years. The main aims of the minimum wage 1. The equity justification: That every job should offer a fair rate of pay commensurate with the skills and experience of an employee 2. Labour market incentives: The NMW is designed to improve the incentives for people to start looking for work – thereby boosting the economy’s available labour supply 3. Labour market discrimination: The NMW is a tool designed to offset some of the effects of persistent discrimination of many low-paid female workers and younger employees A diagram showing the possible effects of a minimum wage is shown above. The market equilibrium wage for this particular labour market is at W1 (where demand = supply). If the minimum wage is set at Wmin, there will be an excess supply of labour equal to E3 – E2 because the supply of labour will expand (more workers will be willing and able to offer themselves for work at the higher wage than before) but there is a risk that the demand for workers from employers (businesses) will contract if the minimum wage is introduced. Although all political parties are now committed to keeping the minimum wage, there are still plenty of economists who believe that setting a pay floor represents a distortion to the way the labour market works because it reduces the flexibility of the labour market 1. Competitiveness and Jobs: Firstly a minimum wage may cost jobs because a rise in labour costs makes it more expensive to employ people and higher labour costs might damage the international competitiveness of British producers. To the extent that rising unemployment worsens the living standards of those affected it has a negative impact on poverty. 2. Effect on relative poverty: Is the minimum wage the most effective policy to reduce relative poverty? There is evidence that it tends to boost the incomes of middle-income households where more than one household member is lready in work whereas the greatest risk of relative poverty is among the unemployed, elderly and single parent families where the parent is not employed. Government intervenes to stabilise farmer’s income and reduce price fluctuations using buffer stock schemes. The prices of agricultural products tend to fluctuate more violently than the price of manufactured products and services. This is largely due to the volatility in the supply of agricultural products coupled with the fact that demand and supply are price inelastic. Buffer stock schemes seek to stabilise the market price of agricultural products by buying up supplies of the product when harvests are plentiful and selling stocks of the product onto the market when supplies are low. The supply curves S1 and S2 represent the supply of wheat at the end of two different seasons. Supply is perfectly inelastic since farmers cannot change the quantity supplied onto the market post harvest. The organisation wishes to keep price fluctuations within a certain band: it will not allow the price of the product to rise above P max or to fall below P min. Assume that in one particular year there is a bumper harvest so that S1 is supplied onto the market. In absence of any intervention the market price would drop below P min, so the organisation buys up AB of the product to increase the market price up to P min. In the next year bad weather may result in a poor harvest so that only S2 is supplied. The market price would rise above the maximum permitted by the organisation, so the organisation sells CD of its stocks onto the market to reduce the price to P max. In contrast buffer stocks do not often work well in practice. Perishable items can not be stored for long periods of time and can therefore be immediately ruled out of buffer stock schemes. There are also high administrative and storage costs to be considered. Also education or healh sphere can suffer. The economists have a mixed view about the importance and effects of government intervention in the market system, it can be said that government interventions should aim at working with the market system that is already existing rather than implementing policies that make great changes. If the government intervention is such that it introduces inefficiencies greater than rationalizing the entire market system, there is a threat of damaging the economy. The distorted government intervention can lead to consumer dissatisfaction and higher costs. Most of the economists are of the view that government interventions should be facilitating in nature rather than having a direct control over the market.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

A Classroom Divided By Martin Luther King Jr. - 932 Words

A Classroom Divided, is a Classroom United On the day following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., third grade teacher Mrs. Elliot altered her lesson plans surrounding the class unit on discrimination to concretely teach the students by having them experience the unfairness of bigotry firsthand. In 1970, the lesson was filmed for a documentary to demonstrate the implications of stereotypes. The class was split into two groups based on a characteristic of minimal importance in the societal context: eye-color, to develop stereotypical behaviors among the students. On Tuesday, the first day of the experiment, the students were deemed the â€Å"blue-eyed students† and the â€Å"brown-eyed students.† In order, to develop the same type of racism that is generated among whites and colors, Mrs. Elliot started to describe the differences between the two groups. 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Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Differences Between Baleen and Toothed Whales

Cetaceans are a group of aquatic mammals which include all the varieties of whales and dolphins. There are over 80 recognized species of cetaceans, including both freshwater and saltwater natives. These species are divided into two main groups: the baleen whales  and the toothed whales. While they are all considered whales, there are some important differences between the two types.   Baleen Whales Baleen is a substance made of keratin (the protein that makes up human fingernails). Baleen  whales have as many as 600 plates of baleen in their upper jaws.   Whales strain seawater through the baleen, and hairs on the baleen capture fish, shrimp, and plankton. The salt water then flows back out of the whales mouth. The largest baleen whales strain and eat as much as a ton of fish and plankton each day. There are 12 species of baleen whales which live all over the world. Baleen whales were (and still sometimes are) hunted for their oil and ambergris; in addition, many are injured by boats, nets, pollution, and climate change. As a result, some species of baleen whales are endangered or near extinction. Baleen whales: Are generally larger than toothed whales. The largest animal in the world, the blue whale, is a baleen whale.Feed on smaller fish and plankton with a filtering system made up of hundreds of baleen plates.Tend to be solitary, although they occasionally gather in groups to feed or to travel.Have two blowholes on top of their head, one right next to the other (toothed whales have only one).Female baleen whales are larger than males of the same species. Examples of baleen whales include the blue whale, right whale, fin whale, and humpback whale. Toothed Whales It may come as a surprise to learn that the toothed whales include all species of  dolphins  and porpoises. In fact, 32 species of dolphins and 6 species of porpoises are toothed whales. Orcas, sometimes called killer  whales, are actually the worlds largest dolphins. While whales are larger than dolphins, dolphins are large (and more talkative) than porpoises.   Some toothed whales are freshwater animals; these include six species of river dolphins. River dolphins are freshwater mammals with long snouts and small eyes, which live in rivers in Asia and South America. Like baleen whales, many species of toothed whales are endangered. Toothed whales: Are generally smaller than baleen whales, although there are some exceptions (e.g., the sperm whale and Bairds beaked whale).  Are active predators and have teeth that they use to catch their prey and swallow it whole. The prey varies depending on species but can include fish, seals, sea lions or even other whales.Have a much stronger social structure than baleen whales, often gathering in pods with a stable social structure.Have one blowhole on top of their head.Unlike baleen whales, males of toothed whales species are usually larger than females. Examples of toothed whales include the beluga whale, bottlenose dolphin, and common dolphin.