IRE240 Efficiency, Equity, And Voice In The Employment Relation

Efficiency, equity, and voice in the employment relation
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Are Unions the most effective way to ensure a balance between efficiency, equity, and voice in the employment relation?
The rise of Labor Unions in the liberal economies like Canada and the United States empowered the workers to bargain collectively with their employers about wages, hours and favorable working conditions. Interestingly, business owners often resist the union so mightily while the workers are in an obsession with the formation of unions. According to workers, unions would primarily be important for defensive purposes. The unions would protect against what they perceive as an arbitrary decision from the firm. The sudden wage cuts, layoffs, and firing issues were the central pillars for the formation of unions. The dangerous working conditions alongside the overly working hours would collectively be negotiated through the unions (Pohler & Luchak, 2014).. The need for certainty in employment prompt the formation of Labor Unions. Meanwhile, the business owners do not appreciate the contribution of unions in the workforce for a variety of reasons. The nature of the liberal economy of Canada requires extreme flexibility in wage and workers' contracts. Regarding these reasons, this paper will establish whether the unions are the most effective way to ensure a balance between efficiency, equity, and voice in the contemporary employment relationship.
Establishing a balance between efficiency, equity and voice in the employment relationship between the employers and employees are inevitable for profit-maximization and delivery of quality services. Efficiency refers effective use of labor and scarce resources within an organization (Pohler & Luchak, 2014). Conversely, equity refers to fairness in the distribution and administration of rewards and policies. Voice, on the other hand, refers to the ability of participants to have meaningful input within the organization. The employment relationship between the business owners and workers is viewed as a bargaining huddle with competing for interest. The employment contract is based on various elements of the market that determines the bargaining power of each stakeholder. According to pluralist perspective, modeling the employment relationship as a bargaining challenge prompts critical concerns about the rules and policies governing the interactions between the employers, employees and other stakeholders. The contribution of labor unions in collaboration with corporations and public agencies, comprehensive dispute resolution has been established within the workforce.
The primary goal of unions of in establishing employment relationship is the efficiency. The strained and unfriendly relationship between the employers and the employees may jeopardize productive efficiency of an organization. Frequently clashing between supervisors and the junior staffs or other organizational actors may compromise the organizational performance. When fair arbitration processes are not established, then the firm may suffer massive loss due to high turnover rate and production of low-quality services and goods (Johnstone, & Ackers, 2015). The unions act as a conflict management system which aid in solving conflicts to clear the barriers to effective performance of the organization. The unions are preferred as the most effective way to ensure a balance of efficiency in employment relation because they conserve and maximize the use of scarce resources while resolving conflicts within an organization. According to the pessimistic school of thoughts, a system which manages conflict over long duration with a huge amount of resources to generate resolution is inefficient. The unions have a fundamental goal of establishing a consensus between the employer and the employees through limited utilization of scarce resources.
The second way of fostering employment relation is through equity. Equity in an organization captures concerns with the administration of justice, fairness, and due process. Unions are not after capricious decisions prompted by the prevailing situation. However, they ensure strict administration of justice through evidence. Embracing equity within the contemporary employment is an essential aspect of productions. Initially, many organization restricts equity to the workers. The workers did not have a say in work. This formed a fundamental cornerstone for the establishment of the union to advocates for the equity. Even though all the employees would desire to have a say within the firms, the due process of expression should be laid down. There should be due process in handling the complaints from the employees since they are invaluable assets of the organization. Equity in the workforce originates from the need to protect human labor from extreme manipulation and abuse. The employees are equally human beings who deserve meaningful work and fair compensation. Moreover, secure employment without intimidation from any quarters is inevitable. To strike a balance on this intrigue issues of equity, the labor unions act as an arbitrary between the two parties with competing for interest. In most cases, the union represents and advocates amicably without bases on either side. It collects the views from the business owners and employees and brings the two parties into a consen...