ASSIGNMENT DRIVE SUMMER 2014

PROGRAM MBADS (SEM 3/SEM 5) MBAFLEX/ MBA (SEM 3) PGDHRMN (SEM 1)

SUBJECT CODE & NAME - MU0012 Employee Relations Management
BK ID B1734 CREDIT & MARKS 4 Credits, 60 marks

Q.No 1 Employees are the most important resource for any company. What do you
mean by Employee Relations Management? Explain the different Employee
Relations
(Management Tools applied in organizations
Definition of Employee Relations Management
Explaining the Employee Relations Management Tools) 2+8=10
Answer:
Definition:
ERM is all about management of relationship with employees in an organisation. It involves
providing required training to employees, maintaining clear communication, ensuring timely
redressal of grievances and providing them with a career growth path.
ERM is a process that develops and maintains employee relations, ensures employee
satisfaction, increases productivity and improves employee morale. ERM enables employees to
do their job in an efficient manner and achieve both corporate and personal goals.
Employee Relations Management Tools:
HR Information Systems: Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is used to
manage employee information, leave details and to administer benefits. HRIS handles payroll
and other company financial software and accounting systems. These are used by companies for
the following reasons:
Employees receive timely and correct wages
Employees apply for leave on their own
Training programmes for employees can be automated and streamlined.
Performance Management Systems (PMS): PMS helps to monitor the performance of
employees and link it with their salary increments and bonus payments. With PMS, managers
keep track of training activities and deadlines, maintain employee activity logs, which are used
for evaluation and planning. There are software tools which aid performance appraisals like
those from HR direct, Halogen Software, Cornerstone Performance and so on.

Work Flow Systems (WFM): These tools help in scheduling, organising and coordinating the work of employees. Teleopti CCC and SAP HR are some examples of WFM
software that are used in the workplace to manage, involve and improve the workforce.
Knowledge Management Systems: These help employees identify, create and share their
knowledge. Search and retrieval tools enable easy access of content. According to their role in
the organisation, employees view content that is relevant to their work. A single software
solution cannot be used for these systems. Knowledge management systems use document
management tools, e-learning software, knowledge repositories (databases), collaborative
technologies (groupware) and social software (wikis).
Project Management Systems: These help in managing and monitoring project activities
and in scheduling resources. Project management systems facilitate creation and approval of
project estimates. They define resources and tasks. They also create project milestones and
enable easy execution of projects. Project reports are generated easily. Gantt charts help in
scheduling projects. Critical path analysis (CPA) and Programme Evaluation and Review
Technique
(PERT) charts help in project planning. Log frames can be used for project monitoring. Software
tools like Microsoft Project and Source Forge help in project management.
Employee Feedback Systems: Surveys enable employees to voice their opinion about
routine tasks, management attitude, current procedures and ethics. Many software tools are
available to help in employee surveys like those from HR-Survey, and Benchpoint.
Employee Self-service Systems: These systems enable employees to update their
personal details. This system enables the employees to file their expenses, billing and time
reports, raise purchase requests and keep track of their project-related activities, retrieve human
resource related documents, update their tax-related information and view their salary details.
They can also update their bank information to enable direct salary deposits and
reimbursements. The system enables leave application and view leave balances. An open forum
is provided for employees to present their views, exchange ideas through e-mails and bulletin
boards, create and share calendars for better functioning. Tools are provided to employees to
perform routine tasks easily and thus focus on other important tasks. Oracles PeopleSoft
Enterprise Employee Self-Service is an example of an employee self-service tool.

Q2. Define Organizational Culture. Discuss the dimensions of organizational

culture. Explain Charles Handys classification of organizational culture
(Definition of organizational culture, Explain the dimensions of organizational culture, Explain
Charles Handys classification) 2, 5, 3
Answer.
Organizational culture

Organisational culture describes the psychology, attitude, experiences, beliefs and values of an
organisation. According to Hill and Gareth (2001), organisational culture is defined as the
specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organisation
and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the
organisation.
Dimensions of organizational culture
National, religious and cultural groupings affect the organisational cultures. The different
dimensions of organisational culture are as follows:
Power distance: This is the degree to which there are differences in levels of power. A
high degree indicates that some individuals have more power than others. A low score
shows that people have more or less equal rights.
Risk avoidance: It reflects how the much organisation is willing to take risks.
Individualism versus collectivism: Individualism refers to the extent to which people
stand up for themselves. Collectivism refers to the interdependence of individuals in a
group.
Gender differences: It concerns the traditionally accepted male and female values. For
example, male values include competitiveness, assertiveness and ambition.
Long- versus short-term orientation: Perseverance is emphasised in long-term
orientation while immediate profits are emphasised in short-term orientation.
Charles Handys classification
Charles Handy (1972) classified organisational culture as follows:
Power culture: Power lies in the hands of a few people. Few rules and a little bureaucracy
are present, but decisions are quickly taken.
Role culture: A highly defined hierarchical structure is present. The position decides the
power wielded.
Task culture: Teams are formed to solve problems. Expertise of a person decides the
power of the individual. Such organisations have a matrix structure.
Person culture: Every individual believes that they are superior to the organisation. Such
organisations cannot succeed.
Elements of organisational culture
They are as follows:
The paradigm: It defines the mission and values of the organisation. It outlines the
functions of the organisation.
Control systems: It defines the processes and the rules which monitor the organisational
activities.
Organisational structures: It outlines the reporting lines, hierarchies and the direction of
work flows.

It includes organisational logos, designs and symbols of power like allocation of parking
space.
Rituals and routines: It outlines procedures like meetings and reporting.
Stories and myths: It conveys the organisational values.

3 List and explain the various types of Disciplinary problems existing in an

organization
Listing of the Disciplinary problems
Explaining all the Disciplinary problems 1 + 9=10
Answer: The main types of disciplinary problems are as follows:
Excessive absenteeism: Absenteeism occurs when an employee does not report to work
due to time off, illness or any other reason. Excessive absenteeism results in loss of productivity.
Absenteeism is corrected by employing progressive discipline. Employees need to be aware of
the absenteeism policy of the company. They also have to be aware that the company monitors
employee absence. They need to take responsibility for their absenteeism and substantiate their
absenteeism with valid records like medical certificates in case of health-related absences.
Poor timekeeping: Reporting late to work, leaving early, indulging in extended tea or
lunch breaks, doing personal work during office hours, and other time-wasting practices reduce
the time spent doing productive work. Poor timekeeping disrupts business and creates a bad
atmosphere. These habits have to be curbed and employees need to know that it is mandatory
for them to spend certain fixed hours at their workstations or premises doing productive tasks.
Improper personal appearance: Dress codes are enforced in organisations to project a
professional appearance or for safety reasons. Employees are to be made aware of the
consequences of their inappropriate attire. For example, synthetic clothes can catch fire easily.
Company policy also needs to describe situations where the employee has to dress formally.
Substance abuse: Alcohol and drug abuse can lower employee concentration and decrease
performance. Substance abuse also results to absenteeism, accidents at workplace and
inappropriate behaviour. Organisational policies on substance abuse need to be communicated
with the staff. Employees who are addicted to alcohol or drugs have to be counselled or helped
in other ways like therapy and detoxification programmes.
Defective performance: Defective performance results when a task is not completed on
time, or is of sub-standard quality, or the task is not done according to requirements. An
employee may perform poorly either due to lack of interest or due to lack of capability.
Managers need to assess poor performances individually, determine the constraints and take
corrective actions.

Poor attitudes: Sleeping on the job, being careless while working, fighting with co-workers,
gambling in the work place, insulting supervisors, being rude to customers and colleagues, and
such practices reflect poor attitudes. These actions can adversely affect other employees. Thus,
these attitudes have to be corrected to maintain a good and productive work atmosphere.
Violation of health and safety rules: Smoking in unauthorised places, failure to use
safety devices, not following safety rules regarding fire safety, dealing with hazardous chemicals,
electrical and mechanical equipment and radiation protection are serious violations and have to
be dealt with immediately and effectively.
Insubordination: Insubordination can take the form of refusing to perform a legitimate
task that has been assigned, ignoring the instructions of managers, criticising or challenging the
orders of a superior, using abusive language or making disrespectful gestures like rolling the
eyes. Insubordination can affect the morale of the entire team. Organisations need to spell out
their policies on insubordination. Managers have to be equipped with proper procedures to deal
with insubordination.
Workplace violence: Companies need to have training programmes for its security
personnel so that they recognise warning signs and know how to deal with violent behaviour of
employees. Employee handbooks need to clearly state that violent behaviour will not be
tolerated and will result in termination.
Harassment: This behaviour causes discomfort to co-workers and reduces employee
morale. Making crude and sexual remarks or forcing another co-worker to do certain nonlegitimate tasks constitutes harassment. For example, a manager may repeatedly ask an
unwilling subordinate for a date. Companies need to have in place a clear sexual harassment
policy and employees have to be trained on what constitutes harassment.
Theft and sabotage: Sometimes employees steal money, equipment, supplies or
confidential information belonging to the company. Some aggressive employees may damage or
destroy organisational equipment and facilities. Some employees may falsify records and accept
bribes and indulge in actions that are detrimental to the organisation. Organisations have to
strictly deal with such problems.

4 Discuss the Collective Bargaining Process and its issues

Explaining the Collective Bargaining process
Explaining the Collective Bargaining issues 5 + 5= 10
Answer:
Collective Bargaining Process:

Having understood what collective bargaining is, let us now discuss the general process involved
in collective bargaining and negotiation towards resolving employee issues. The process includes
negotiations between an employer and a group of employees to determine the conditions of the
employment. The result of the collective bargaining process is called the Collective Bargaining
Agreement (CBA). It is a type of negotiation that is used by the employees to work with their
employers. During the process, the employees representatives approach the employer and then
attempt to negotiate a contract that both sides can agree upon. Once both the parties have
reached a contract that they find agreeable, it is signed and kept in place for a specified period of
time. This final contract is called the CBA.
Figure 10.1 illustrates the various steps of the collective bargaining process.
The process comprises of the following steps2:

Figure 10.1: Process of Collective Bargaining

1.Prepare: This phase facilitates the formation of a negotiation team. The team is selected in such
a way that the representatives of both the parties have necessary skills that are required for
negotiation. It is essential that the representatives of both the employers and the union examine
the situation in order to prepare a basis on which the
negotiation takes place. It is also vital to analyse whether there is actually any reason to
negotiate at all. It is important to intimate information regarding various operations, working
conditions and other relevant norms to the members participating in the process of bargaining
and negotiation.
2.Discuss: Both the parties are responsible for deciding the rules that support the negotiations. It
is important to create an environment of trust and understanding. This ensures that the
discussion progresses towards reaching an agreement.

3.Propose: This phase can also be termed as brain storming. It is a technique to solve any queries
in a creative manner. It facilitates in opening up of various and options to resolve any issues.
This ensures that the opinions of both the parties are sought.
4.Bargain: The process of negotiation becomes easy if a problem-solvingattitude is adopted. This
stage comprises the time when what ifs and supposes are set forth and the drafting of
agreements take place.
5.Settlement: Once both the parties agree on all the issues discussed, an agreement is reached.
Collective bargaining issues
Table 10.1: Collective Bargaining Issues
Working
Wages
Hours
Conditions

Job Security

Regular
Regular Work
Compensation Hours

Rest Periods

Seniority

Overtime
Overtime Work
Compensation Hours

Grievance
Procedures

Evaluation

Incentives

Vacations

Union Membership Promotion

Insurance

Holidays

Dues Collections

Layoffs

The scope of the issues discussed includes the following:

Union and Management Cooperation and Communication: It is very essential to have
cooperation and effective communication between the union organisation that represents the
workforce and the management. This includes various activities such as the responsibilities of
the employers in making decisions by cooperating with the union. This also includes the extent
of support given by the employer to the activities of trade unions.
Employment and Working Conditions: This includes various factors such as contracts of
the employees, employee termination, redundancy principles, working time and schedules of the
employees, holiday and paid leaves of the employees.
Wages and Remuneration: This includes various activities such as wages, minimum wage
tariffs, overtime payment, extra payment for risky working conditions and payment for working
on holidays.
Occupational Safety and Health: This includes safety and health measures for employees.
This ensures that preventive and corrective measures are taken that facilitates improved
working conditions in the organisation. This allows reduction of risks at work place.

Human Resource Development: This includes various activities such as training and human
resources development activities, creation and utilisation of various social funds in the
organisation for employees.
Management and Union Conflict Resolution: This includes various procedures like
mediation and arbitration that can be applied in situation such as serious disagreements
between the management and the unions that represent the employees of the organisation.

Q5. As an HR of a Company, you are asked to focus on the causes of Grievance and
the Grievance handling procedure. What according to you are the reasons of
Grievance? Explain the pre-requisites you will consider while addressing
Grievance Explain the causes of Grievance
(Explain the essential pre-requisites of a Grievance Handling procedure, causes of Grievance)4,6
Answer.
Essential pre-requisites of a Grievance Handling procedure
Every organisation needs a methodical grievance redressal procedure in order to resolve
grievances effectively. Unresolved grievances may end in the form of aggressive conflicts later
on. We have learnt about the various steps of grievance redressal procedure and the policies
associated with it.
The essential pre-requisites of grievance redressal procedure.The
prerequisites are as follows:
Conformity with statutory provisions: Due thought must be given to the laws of the land
while formulating the grievance handling procedure.
Clarity: Every aspect of the grievance handling procedure has to be clear and definite. All
employees have to know whom to approach first when they have a grievance, whether the
grievance is to be written or oral, and the maximum time in which the redressal is guaranteed.
The redressing spokesperson also has to know the limits within which the employee can take the
required action.
Simplicity: The grievance handling procedure has to be simple and short. If the procedure is
complex it may discourage employees and they may fail to make use of it in a proper manner.
Promptness: The grievance of the employee has to be quickly handled and essential action
must be taken at once. This is good for both the employee and the management because if action
is delayed or deferred, it may affect the confidence of other employees as well.
Training: The manager and the union representatives need appropriate training in all matters
of grievance handling so that no complications arise during the grievance handling process.

Follow-up: The personnel department needs to keep track of the efficiency and the
performance of the grievance handling process and make necessary changes to improve it with
time.
Causes of Grievance
There are a number of causes of employee grievances. Some of the reasons are as follows:
Economic: Issues related to wages like wage calculation, overtime, and bonus. Employees
often feel that they earn less than what they deserve.
Working environment: Issues related to the employees work environment like poor working
conditions, defective equipment and machinery, tools, materials.
Supervision: Issues like behaviour of the boss towards the employee, perceived ideas of
partiality, discrimination, preferential treatment, prejudice.
Work group: Issues with co-workers like stressed peer relations or inaptness with peers.
Work organisation: Issues related to the organisation like rigid and unfair rules and lack of
recognition.
It is not always the case that the organisation is at fault. There are times when the grievances are
due to the employees. Some of the instances where grievances of management are against its
employees are the following:
Disobedience on the part of employees
Going on leave without prior permission, absenteeism
Indiscipline
Illegal strikes
Wrong conclusions
Go-slow tactics
Improper methods adopted by the trade unions in dealing with management
Arrogant behaviours of the employees
Reckless charges by the employees. trade union leaders against the supervisors or
management
Whatever the cause of grievance, efforts must be put in to find out the best possible solutions or
methods of settling grievances. For that purpose, there should be an effective grievance
redressal procedure.

6 Write a brief note on the following Acts :

a) Indian Trade Unions Act,1926

b)Employee State Insurance Act,1948

(Indian Trade Unions Act,1926, Employee State Insurance Act,1948) 5 +5=10
Answer:
a) Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926
The Indian Trade Unions Act was passed in 1926 and has been amended in 1928, 1960 and 1964
and 2001. The Indian Trade Union Act is applicable to the whole of India.
The main activity of trade unions is collective bargaining. Trade unions stand up for the rights of
the workers and ensure better working conditions. The Trade Union Act of 1926 recognises the
rights of workers to form trade unions and to resort to strikes to enforce their demands. For
example, a civil court granted permission to the workers to conduct strike in the trade dispute
between Ahmedabad Textile Research Association and ATIRA Employees' Union in 1995. The
Trade Union Act specifies the rights and duties of the trade unions and also grants immunity to
the leaders and members of the trade union from civil and criminal proceedings for legitimate
trade union activities. This Act regulates the membership rates to the unions and also specifies
the refund procedure. This Act specifies that at least half of the office bearers of the trade union
must be engaged or employed in the industry with which the trade union is connected.
According to this Act, the funds of the trade union can be spent only for the following purposes:
For payment of salary, allowances and expenses of the office bearers of the trade union.
For payment of expenses incurred for the administration of the trade union.
For the legal expenses incurred for legitimate trade union activities for any member of the
trade union.
For compensating the loss of members at times of disputes.
For paying allowances to members or their dependants on account of events like death,
sickness, or injury.
For providing education or religious benefits (like funeral or religious ceremonies) to
members or their dependants.
For publishing of periodicals related to trade union activities.
Two or more registered trade unions can be amalgamated together as one trade union with or
without dissolution or division of their funds, provided that at least 60 percent of the members
of the unions vote in favour of the proposal.
b) Employee State Insurance Act, 1948
The Employee State Insurance Act provides benefits to employees in case of sickness, maternity
and employment injury. An employee can avail medical benefits, cash benefits, and disability
benefits. This Act extends to the whole of India. All factories and establishments that have 20 or
more employees are governed by this Act. This Act ensures that no employer can dismiss,
discharge or punish an employee during the period the employee receives sickness or maternity
benefit. Employer also cannot take any disciplinary action against such employees.
According to this Act, the definition of employees do not include those drawing wages over Rs
7,500 per month, members of the Army, Navy or Air Force, partners of firms, persons employed
in government establishments, and construction workers employed to raise additional building

after the initial set up of factory. Both employers and employees contribute to the Employee
State Insurance Corporation Fund in every wage period. Normally, the wage period is a month.
The employees contribution is 1.75% of wages and the employers contribution is 4.75%.
Employers cannot deduct their contribution from the salaries of the employees.
The various benefits provided by the Employee State Insurance Corporation
(ESIC) under this act are as follows:
Medical benefits: Employees and their workers can avail medical treatment from ESI
hospitals and dispensaries.
Sickness benefits: An employee can avail a maximum of 91 days of sickness benefits at a rate
corresponding to the average wage rate, provided the employee has made ESI contributions for
at least 78 days.
Maternity benefits: A female employee can avail a maximum of 10 weeks paid maternity
leave, provided she has made contributions for at least 70 days. Six weeks of paid leave can be
claimed for miscarriages. Nominees can claim full cash benefits if a female employee dies during
delivery.
Disablement benefit: A worker can claim 40% of the standard benefit for temporary
disabilities lasting more than 3 days. A worker can claim cash benefits corresponding to the loss
of earning capacity for partial and total disabilities.
Dependants benefit: The wife, minor children or the widowed mother of an employee who
dies in service are entitled to a pension.
Retirement benefit: Workers who have made contributions for five years or more and who
have retired from work can claim medical benefits for themselves and their spouses.