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Assess the Advantages and Problems Facing an Employer Seeking to Manage Employee Relations in a Non-Union Environment.

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MSc EMPLOYEE RELATIONS Dr. Joe McBride Dr. Arjan Keizer 06003512 [pic] I certify that this assignment is the result of my own work and does not exceed the word count noted. Number of words: 1500 (Excluding references, title page) Assess the advantages and problems facing an employer seeking to manage employee relations in a non-union environment. The issue of the ‘non-union’ firm has come to the forefront in Britain principally because it has been seen as an exemplar of one strand of the new industrial relations (Beardwell, 1993). During her reign in the 1980’s, Margaret Thatcher was a staunch opponent of Britain’s powerful trade union and her government brought about its downfall (BBC News, 2004). As the overall level …show more content…

For example, In IBM Corp. , the National Labor Relations Board ruled that non-union employers may lawfully refuse an employee 's request to have a co-worker present during an investigatory interview that the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline (Lautz, 2004). This means that employers are free to conduct investigatory interviews with employees one-on-one in situation where disciplinary actions might be involved. Although, this is might not be in favour of the employee involved. In non-union firms, the employer can keep their company activities internal rather having an external arm which could cause division within the employment relationship. This supports the neo-unitarist approach which views trade unions as an unnecessary interference in management’s right to manage (Dundon and Rollinson, 2004 ) while neo-pluralist approaches incorporate more sophisticated HRM practices being developed rather than necessarily in place of, collective bargaining (Brunstein, 1995). In addition, management can focus better on the individual employees rather than making the employment relationship a case of “them” and “us”. Issues such as increments in benefits can progress faster within employees and their employers, which creates a sense of mutuality and security between both parties. The employer retains the decision-making power on employee relations; management are able to determine pay rates based on work performance or merit rather than being told that all

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