Relationship Between Line Manager Behavior And Employee Relations

Workplace Practices by new yard manager

Discuss about the Relationship Between Line Manager Behavior.

Employee relation is a crucial aspect of handling of human resources by organizations (Shaw, 2009). Organizations make use of proper employee motivational tools, appropriate leader and job design to increase productivity and commitment from their employees. All these factors jointly in turn affect employee satisfaction levels. The scope of the current case analysis deals with the effects of handling employee relations ineffectively which results in employee dissatisfaction and low levels of commitment. The current case Company has been often accused of handling employees which constitutes its truck drivers in an inappropriate ways and means which resulted in its union leader bargaining with the organization (Alfes, 2013). Later the Company got taken over by a national level Company where employees are greatly valued. Thus, various aspects of employee relation are analyzed in the report.  

Work practices at Top Trucking Company at Wollongong yard were traditional in nature being functional as a family business. The family along with the employed manager had a reluctant attitude of negligence towards the truck drivers along with their union leader (Wright, 2007). Whereas in the new national transportation Company which taken over the business of the transportation company had a different attitude towards the drivers. The new Company along with its manager implemented new work practices within the Company that was complementary to the previous prevailing work practices. The new yard manager paid attention to needs and motivational levels of employees. The new Company had a contemporary approach in dealing with the employees by maintaining proper communication with them (Rasulzada, 2009). They had a technique of handling employee grievances and in dealing with any new changes that had to be accommodated with the organization.  

George, the newly employed yard manager was determined in transforming employee perception regarding the Company. With his determination he was capable of motivating employees and gaining an edge over the previous manager. While the previous manager had a negative influence on the employees, the current manager had a positive role to play. The new Company as a part of employee engagement process renovated and purchased new trucks and also provided drivers dresses, which can be worn during working hours. This led to employee feeling associated with the Company, lifting their morale and motivational levels (Crespo, 2011). The new yard manager along with his existing role of employee engagement was an active leader who worked towards establishing of proper employee relation. His motives were to involve more employees and union leader in order to get productivity to accomplish goals for the organization. This allowed him to establish a greater dependence on employees who were satisfied with their roles and current levels of responsibility.  

Dependence of new employee relation on leader

The manager often communicated regarding various work targets and pressures by discussing with drivers, which was not attempted earlier. The earlier manager used to treat the employees as not being a part of the Company whereas the new manager made the employees a part of the Company. There is a huge gap in the treatment received from the earlier manager and new manager. The union leader was often referred to for providing suggestions for employee job design and satisfaction. This attitude not only allowed the manager to revive the business but also adopt a suitable organization culture along with work environment. The new Company was greatly involved in establishing a positive employee employer relation that could lead to high levels in employee performance (Kuvaas, 2008).  

The truck Company was previously functional and operated in a totally unprofessional manner which led to decrease in productivity levels of employees (Runar Edvardsson, 2008). With the new Company taking over and placing a new leader or manager to handle operations at the truck Company there has been a drastic change undertaken. The role of the new manager had been that of an influential leader who has been able to bring about various changes especially in the field of employee relations. He has established a communication of the employees that constitute the most important resource along with developing relation. He has been greatly instrumental in changing and uplifting of employee morale from being negative towards the Company to being highly positive in nature (Amos, 2008).

The new manager deployed by the Company has played the role of transformational leader by incorporating in changes that was previously missing. Especially he has been effective in developing employee level commitment and reducing employee burnout from the current job scenario. His attitude has greatly helped the Company cope with pressures of employee turnover, dissatisfaction and low employee morale (Van De Voorde, 2012). Hence, it has been analyzed that the new visionary leader has been effective in bringing about a new plethora of changes that was otherwise unexpected in the current organization culture.

Every transformation within organization takes places through an effective leader who is capable of guiding the process of change. The leader handholds and focuses on employees by convincing them of the changes by making them followers of his. Only a capable leader is able to convince employees into following his footsteps and gaining confidence in him (Renee Baptiste, 2008). There is immense mental dependence that is created by such leaders in him which can be greater than the organization itself. A leader is able to mold his followers and able to maintain effective relations with them. In the current situation the newly employed manager have been able to handle the transition by convincing union leader along with employees to follow him. His charismatic styles and personality have provided impetus for employee productivity enhancement. Through continuing struggle and adaptation of such styles he has been able to change the mental set up of employees towards the organization making them focus on goals and objectives (Naseem, 2011). Hence, in case he is changed the employees will eventually lose trust and relation with the organization all over again. This can lead to employees looking for new leader elsewhere, lowering their commitment towards the current organization.    

Reasons for not accepting changes in Transport Workers Union

It is the first time in the truck company post employing George, the yard manager that a steady employee relation has been developed. It is due to his tremendous leadership qualities that his employees as well as union leader have followed and liked him. His efforts have empowered employees and eventually they have supported him with respect to all decisions undertaken. His followers seek direction from him and feel highly motivated to work along with him (Purcell, 2007). Due to his effort the organization has high levels of employee performance which has in turn enhanced the organization’s overall performance. Thus, it becomes imperative to maintain and keep George the newly employed yard manager as the organizational culture promoted by him has been highly effective to increase employee productivity and motivation. 

While globalization and competition amongst industries have led to a number of changes being adopted across organizations, it is always not possible to accommodate changes. Changes within organizations can only be brought about in case the human resource or employees within the organization with help from change management leader are willing to bring about changes. While incorporating in changes might be deemed necessary, various employees and their respective unions are opposed to the entire ideas of change (Innocenti, 2011). Stringent blue collar unions as Transport Workers Union are less likely to agree to changes been adopted within their organizations. These types of blue collar employee union play pertinent roles within employees of an organization and the organization itself, hence there are several fears they attach with the process of change.       

Influential blue collar employee unions have high roles which they apply in organizations as bargaining employee wages, leaves and other aspects of an employee working within an organization. Organization while adopting change might make roles of these popular employee unions redundant. Organization’s employ transformational leader, who is capable of bringing about change. A transformational leader generally applies employee relation and management technique directly with employees (Mowday, 2013). He also establishes communication within the employees which helps establish an organizational culture and employee relation with the Company.      

With adaptation of changes and improvised workplace related practices roles of employee unions might be viewed as unnecessary. Hence, they often oppose to the process of adopting a change or any practice that can lead to direct communication between the employer and employee. Every organization wants to adopt changes while unions are opposed to them as they are particularly unsure of the effects which such changes might have on the union itself. The goal of every trade union is to establish a relation between the employer and employee through them and not directly, they fear effective changes might dampen such prospects altogether. An effective and capable transformational leader will be capable of bringing about changes by convincing union leader along with employees and create changes for the overall organization. 

Conclusion

Employee relation handling has become the key to establish a higher productivity amongst employer and employee. Such employee relation in turn enable the organization to accomplish productivity and related output levels. The scope of the current case Company provides relevant examples to highlight and depict effectiveness of employee relations. An organization can adopt varied types of strategies such that it is able to attain employee relation management by deploying an effective leader. An organization can also have specific job design for each of its employees and a specific plan for motivation. An attractive job design is a tool often used by corporations to motivate and engage their employees productively. The new manager had been influential in implementing a varied type of strategies that uplifted and provided motivation for the employees. An employee is more likely to deliver high performance and exhibit high satisfaction levels in case he is more engaged with the organization. These effective human resource strategies can help greatly to attain work objectives of organization and help establish a proper employee relation. High employee turnover, employee dissatisfaction and low levels of commitment can greatly reduce employee performance within organization. An organization with dissatisfied employees incurs high costs due to turnover and low levels of commitment. An effective leader can help build bond between the organization and its employees such that employee’s develop a feeling towards the organization. Thus, it becomes imperative for organizations to deploy suitable strategies for employee engagement and employee motivation.

Reference Lists

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