The existence of difference and discrimination in society, due to inadequate access to socially valued resources such as healthcare, housing, employment and the justice system, permits social differentiation and enables the formation of social classes. Social classes are a chief mechanism of organisation and social control in Australian society, allowing the distribution of power, wealth and privilege as well as the formation of socioeconomic statuses and thus a form of identification, which ultimately reinforces difference rather than commonality. They are, however, also an important mechanism of self and group identity. Those at the top of the social class hierarchy attain power, authority, wealth and political privileges, generally presenting a vested interest in maintaining their social position and socioeconomic statuses, thus consolidating and reasserting their power and authority. This action of consolidating ones power may lead to institutionalized discrimination, which is evident with evaluation of Indigenous Australians.

Indigenous Australians are overtly represented as underclass and underprivileged citizens, living in relative poverty. The mere of fact of being aboriginal can lead to identification in the lower rungs of the social class ladder, thus constituting a form of institutionalized discrimination, as they do not possess the power and authority to redress their situation, which ultimately gives those members of society with the power to redress, the ability to reassert their own power, status and authority. This is evident in the past protectionist policies adopted by the Australian "white" government, which throughout the 20th century adopted a range of assimilation, protection and integration policies placing Indigenous Australians at the whim of politicians and upper class socialites. The assimilation policies allowed breaches of human rights, presenting a level of conflict, with the forced removal of children, constituting cultural genocide and ultimately led to the degradation of that society and culture. Furthermore, the government's refusal to acknowledge native title and land rights until the Mabo v Wik cases of the early 90s constituted a form of discrimination as it provided belief that Australia was settled, as determined by the English law of terra nullius.

When considering the significance placed on equality of opportunity in Australian society, it is important to note the notion of a welfare state, which involves a belief that the government has a moral and ethical responsibility to protect those least able to protect themselves, in this instance, Indigenous Australians, supported through government policy regarding access to socially valued resources, such as education through the NSW department of education, public housing via the housing commission, Medicare to promote public health, Centrelink presenting a social security network providing financial assistance as well as Legal Aid to increase access to legal representation.

However, Indigenous Australians continue to have a very limited amount of power to redress their situation, presenting a great reliance on the government to do so. This is evident in the low level of access to socially valued resources and the poor living standards afforded to them, reinforced by minimal access to housing and healthcare, with an inquiry into Australia's health in 1994 revealing that indigenous Australians were three times more likely to die of childhood diseases than other Australians, with males being 7.3 times more likely to die of respiratory infections than non indigenous males and mortality rates being some 15-20 years lower then non Indigenous Australians. Furthermore, there is a significant disparity between the living conditions and health status of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and those of other Australians. According to 1996 census data 6.2% of indigenous households include more than one family, compared with 1.1% of other Australian households. Overcrowding leads to faster deterioration of housing and exacerbates environmental health problems.

Access and the ability to effectively use information and communications technologies (ICT) to obtain information and services are increasingly important to fully participate in contemporary Australian economic, political and social life. However, conflict still arises in online access and use especially for indigenous Australians. Due to their socioeconomic status they have a lack of access to ICT. This is known, as the "Digital Divide" and is best understood as part of a socio-economic context and related to the issue of social exclusion. Furthering digital inclusion will require a detailed understanding of the digital divide, policy and projects to focus attention on the social, cultural, economic, educational and material factors that continue to exclude people from participating in society and the information economy. With the potential for new technologies as a platform for stronger social cohesion and underpinning social development it is crucial that reforms be made to allow greater access and educate indigenous Australians of ICT in order to increase equality.

• Planning the human resource needs of the business.
• Acquiring people with the right skills.
• Developing and training employees to improve their skills.
• Performance management.
• Maintaining staff with different types of rewards.

Stakeholders in Employment Relations

Employment relations are concerned with how employers and employees behave and interact. This relationship is affected by a number of other stakeholder groups such as:

Employer:

• Exercises control over employees.
• Is responsible for pay.
• Has power to dismiss employees.
• Responsible for planning, leading, controlling, directing and motivating employees.

An employee is a worker under an employee's control. Control may include:

• The location of a work place.
• The way in which work may be performed.
• The degree of supervision involved.

Employee associations are organizations that represent and assist employer groups:

Their main role is to act on behalf of employees and to defend their members interests Eg. Appearing before industrial tribunals on behalf of their members or representing their members in negotiation with unions.

Trade Unions are orgs formed by employees in an industry to represent them in efforts to improve working conditions of their members.

Social Wage refers to improvements in social benefits such as better health care which acts like a wage increase.

Government Organizations are orgs that represent and assist employer groups.

Their Key Roles Are:

1. Legislator: pass laws in parliament which provides the legal framework for industrial relations. Also develops commissions such as the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (an industrial tribunal) which resolves disputes.
2. Employer: Federal and State level employ one third of Aus workforce.
3. Responsible Economic manager.
4. Representative of Australia in foreign affairs.
5. Administrator of government policies on industrial relations.

Managing the Employment Relations Function

There are many aspects of employment relations:

• Employee selection.
• Employee recruitment.
• Occupational health and safety issues.
• Employee training and development.
• Handling grievances and disputes.
• Wage negotiations.

This means that employers need to plan, organize, lead, control and motivate their employees.

Line management and Specialist Management

ER is seen as an increasingly important aspect of a firm's overall human resource strategy. In large orgs, responsibility for managing ER is often the sole function of a specialist Human Resources or Employment Relations manager.

A line manager is responsible for the management of staff contributing to the prime function of the business, for example, a production manager, service manager or sales manager.

Specialist managers are responsible for:

• Recruitment and selection
• Induction
• Managing the implementation of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action legislation

Social Influences

Society is constantly undergoing changes which affect the quality and quantity of the pool of employees. Changes include:

• Increased immigration.
• Decreases in the natural rate of reproduction.
• Decreases in mortality rates.
• Increased school leaver retention rates.
• More people are acquiring post secondary education qualifications.

Changing Work Patterns

Traditional work patterns are rapidly changing. Many people today have periods as full time employees followed by periods of casual, part time or contract work, and sell their skills to different businesses. Some of the changes in work patterns are due to:

• Rapid growth of contracting out or outsourcing.
• Preference to a smaller permanent flexible workforce.
• Growth of Services - 78% of workforce is now engaged in the service sector.
• Reduction of workers in manufacturing sector.

Population Shifts

• Dramatic change in ethnic composition since 1950's.
• Increased importance of female employment.
• Training is needed to move younger staff into management positions - aging population.

Legal Influences:

The Employment Contract

• A legally binding agreement with associated rights and responsibilities of both parties.
• An employer has the responsibility to provide work, pay the relevant wage, and abide by employment relations legislation.
• The employee has the responsibility to obey all reasonable instructions, perform work without negligence and act in good faith to the business.

Types of Employment Contracts:

1. Award - Legally binding contract setting out minimum pay and conditions for employment.
2. Enterprise Agreement - Employers and employees collectively bargain over wage levels and working conditions.
3. Workplace Agreement - Individual contracts with employees .

Major Employment Legislation

1. Workplace Relations Act 1996.
2. Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission Act 1986.
3. Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
4. Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
5. Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission Act 1986.
6. Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

The employment contract creates obligations for both employer and employee and all businesses operate within a legal framework of common law and statute law. Legislation covers:

• The nature of employment contracts and agreements.
• Dispute settling methods.
• Protection of human rights in employment and employer responsibilities.

Social justice in the workplace involves businesses being responsible or behaving in a fair and ethical manner towards their employees, customers and the broader community. A centralized system is a collectivist approach in which disputes are referred to industrial tribunals, such as the AIRC, for conciliation and arbitration. In a decentralized system, employers and employees negotiate wages and working conditions in the individual workplace through collective or individual bargaining without the involvement of tribunals.

New Behavioral Influences for Organizations

There have been changes in styles of managing employees. Changes in organizational behavior have come about as management experts have attempted to use a better understanding of sociology (group dynamics) and psychology.

Hierarchical Vs. Flat Management Structure

U - Strict division of labor, employees undertake narrow specialized tasks, control technique - creates sharp division between employer and employees.

Flat Management Structure - closer communication, less "middle" management - efficiency gains, more harmonious, reduces conflict, increases flexibility.

Team Structures - members and leaders - creates a culture of teamwork, equal authority, motivates - their work contributes to concrete outcomes, increase employee autonomy and lead to a degree of self management, must have strong commitment from employees and employers.

Economic Influences:

The way in which the economy can effect employment relations:

• Wage determination and the role of industrial tribunals.
• Pace of economic growth can affect employment levels, types of employment and recruitment policies.
• Changes in economic structure can affect the skills required by employees and the training programs of businesses .

Economic Cycle:

The economic cycle reflects changes in demand for goods and services and can effect employment relations in a number of ways:

• need to change recruitment and remuneration policies in times of strong economic growth to attract and maintain high quality staff.
• consider expanding training programs to overcome any skills shortages.
• make remuneration packages more generous.
• in times of recession businesses may need to cut back number of employees and reduce size of business - downsizing .
• Downturn can lead to more flexible employment - part time, casual and temporary employees.

The Economic Cycle:

1. Recovery.
2. Boom.
3. Recession.
4. Depression.

Globalization:

Affects Business In Many Ways:

• Opening of domestic markets to international competition through reductions in trade protection (tariffs).
• Need for greater flexibility - decentralization of employment relations, reducing role of unions and industrial tribunals.
• Change in workplace structure - implementing faster workplace change.

Effective Employment Relations

The Role of Employment Relations in Business Success

The employment relations function is to manage the relationship between the employer and employees effectively in order to develop competent, flexible, productive employees committed to the organization.

Communication Systems:

Good communications systems can improve business through a number of ways:

• Senior management can communicate their ideas and goals to employees quickly and more clearly.
• Employees may have useful contributions and ideas which may be wasted without effective communication systems.
• If employees feel that they are involved, their job satisfaction and motivation will increase.
• Greater focus on common goals, and efficient resolution of problems can avoid conflict in the workplace.

Grievance procedures are mainly used to deal with personality conflicts and disciplinary matters. They can help prevent a workplace issue from developing into a serious dispute.

• Stage 1: Employee and supervisor meet with union representative and line manager. If no resolution...
• Stage 2: Union officials meet with human resources specialist. If no resolution...
• Stage 3: Senior union official meets with senior manager.

Worker participation - Communication in the workplace is changing with the use of e-mails. Improvements suggested by employees are often critical to a firm's competitiveness and success.

Team briefings - A range of team strategies are employed in industry today, from project teams who work together for the duration of a project to quality circles. Team briefings allow senior management to communicate their "vision" to employees.

Quality circles involve employees meeting voluntarily to discuss, and analyze and resolve specific problems such as safety.

Semi-autonomous teams/self-managing work teams - A semi autonomous team is a form of participative work organization where a group of employees assumes a high degree responsibility for a task or a group of tasks. In a self-managing work team (SMWT), the employees take responsibility for planning and organizing their work including the allocation of the tasks within the group.

Rewards and Working Conditions

Intrinsic rewards are those that the individual derives from the task or job itself, such as a sense of achievement. Extrinsic rewards are those given or provided outside the job itself. They may be monetary or non-monetary.

Monetary Rewards:

• Bonuses and cash payments.
• Deferred payment schemes such as superannuation.
• Issuing of shares and stock options to employees.

Non Monetary Rewards

• Employee recognition schemes.
• Informal praise for a job well done.
• Skill development and on the job training.
• Promotional opportunities.
• Lateral career movement (into different occupations).
• Flexible hours of work - By supporting employees lives outside of work, a business will enable those employees to be more focused on their job.
• Study or parental leave/childcare - Can increase employee productivity, improve business recruitment and elevate employee morale.
• Exciting workplace environment.
• Decision making responsibilities.
• Job security.

Flexible Working Conditions:

This allows some firms to operate shifts at much more intensive levels during peak seasons, with the benefits passed on to employees all year round, eg longer holidays in the in quieter parts of the year.

• Job Sharing involves two employees voluntarily sharing one permanent full-time job. This arrangement is now popular with women returning t he workforce after having children, but requires commitment and communication between the two job-holders to be effective.
• Part-time work allows employees to work fewer than full-time ordinary hours. Conflicting views are emerging about the benefits achieved from flexible working hours and permanent part-time work from the viewpoint of employees.
• Family friendly programs are effective in retaining staff in the longer term as they recognize the interdependence of work and family life and reduce problems involved in managing family responsibilities.
• Common family friendly policies include provision of job sharing, flexible hours/conditions.
• Family friendly policies include: flexible working arrangements, leave, family support, childcare, flexible salary packages.

Training and Development

The aim of training is to seek a long-term change in employee's skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in order to improve work performance in the organization. Managers, supervisors and employees all require training and/or development in order to have the skills and competencies to achieve the goals and objectives of the business.

An effective induction program is carefully planned to introduce the mew employee to the job, their co-workers, the organization and its culture. A well prepared induction program includes:

• Positive attitude towards the job.
• Builds confidence.
• Stresses major policies.
• Helps establish good working relationships with co-workers and supervisors.

Steps For Induction:

1. Assess the needs.
2. Determine the objectives of the training program for the organization, job and individual.
3. Consider the internal and external influences.
4. Determine the process that is the content.
5. Evaluate the training program.

An important element in the training process is allowing the employee to learn by performing under actual working conditions, with close supervision that can identify any mistakes and continue to improve their performance.

Training strategies used by business:

• Apprenticeship and on the job training.
• Job shadowing.
• Scavenger hunt/research.
• Team training.
• Mentoring/buddy system.

Measures of Effectiveness

Effectiveness is measured by its impact on the human resource performance in the organization. Methods of measuring performance include; an information system, which measures each of:

Levels of staff turnover

While some staff turnover is inevitable and is cause by factors beyond the businesses control, if it becomes a regular occurrence it should be looked into. Happy and healthy work environments have low levels of staff turnover.

Absenteeism

Unhappy workers tend to have higher levels of sick leave which disrupt the work place.

Disputation

Dissatisfied workers are also involved with many more industrial disputes that in turn costs the employers, employees and society.

Quality

Quality is the worth of a good or service created by our ability to set and meet specifications. An emphasis on quality saves costs. Some businesses have quality circles which examine ways of improving the quality of their output.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is a way of analyzing the performance of an organization by looking at best practices outside the company. It compares manufacturing and management processes. Benchmarking can be defined as:

'A continuous, systematic process for evaluating the products, services, and work processes of recognized best practice organizations for the purpose of organizational improvement. It is a strategic response by organizations to an increasingly competitive international environment.'

The three major objectives companies seek from benchmarking are; improving quality of goods and services; reducing production costs; and improving delivery and response time. All are key aspects of customer satisfaction.

Employment Relations Audits:

• An Human resource audit can be used to systematically analyze and evaluate employment relations activities and their effectiveness.
• Quantitative evaluation based on key indicators and trends should be combined with qualitative evaluation based on analysis and feedback from staff and customers.
• Quantitative measures - these should be able to demonstrate the actual effect of indicators in economic terms.
• Benchmarking of indicators is undertaken frequently by business seeking to operate at world's best practice. Leaders in benchmarking focus on quality do more training and have fewer industrial disputes and accidents.
• Qualitative evaluation involves detailed feedback and research on key issues which allows judgments to be made about changed in behaviour or quality of service provided. Key areas includes: Industrial disputes, feedback from performance appraisals, supervisors and interviews.

Ethical and Legal Issues

To reflect the wider context of employment, governments have enacted laws that outline the ethical and legal responsibilities of the employer. By regulating pay and working conditions it is hoped that the businesses interests of low costs and competitiveness can be combined with employee interests of fair pay, safe working conditions and enjoyable work. The law of employment is based on common law wait many statutes modifying the legal situation. There are two main types of contracts related to work situations, and different rules apply:

Contracts of service:

These are based on employer/employee relationship whereby the employer has control over the employee and the right to tell them how work is to be performed. The employer is vicariously liable.

There is usually an agreement to perform a specific task for a specific sum on money. The person providing the service is the independent contractor. The employer does not control the way the contractor does the work. The employer is not vicariously responsible for civil wrongs of the contractor.

Independent contractors are unlikely to have the same entitlements as employees, such as holidays, sick leave, working conditions and rates of pay, protection from unfair dismissal.

Statute law has added to these common law duties. For example the common law duty to provide a safe place of work was supplemented by the OH&S Act 1983 (NSW).

There are three types of contracts in the workplace; awards, workplace agreements, and certified agreements. Contracts are enforceable in the courts.

Awards:

Includes a minimum of 20 conditions including:

• Hours of work.
• Pay.
• Leave.
• Grievance procedures.

Workplace Agreements:

Is an agreement directly between the employer and employee. The employee can have anyone negotiate on their behalf. They are confidential. The Employee Advocate who uses the “no disadvantage test” examines them.

Certified Agreements

Employees and unions negotiate matters concerned with the contract at the enterprise. These are certified by AIRC.

The employment contract is a legally binding, formal agreement between employer and employee. They include: Duties, Supervision, Hours, Location, and Promotion policy procedures, O/T, Leave, and Super etc.

The contact is legally enforceable when:

• One party offers and the other accepts
• Consent is genuine and not pressured

Employment Relations in the workplace is governed by:

• Common Law.
• Statutes - Federal and state legislation.
• Awards and agreements determined through, or ratified by, industrial tribunals.

Common Law is developed by courts and tribunals. Under common law, judges made decisions based on the facts of a case, guided by precedent (decisions made in the past).

Employer responsibilities include the following:

1. Providing work - Employers are not allowed to "stand down" employees if here is no work.
2. Payment of income and expenses - required to pay the income stipulated in the award, enterprise agreement or contract.
3. Meeting requirements of industrial relations legislation.
4. Duty of care - OH&S.

Equity in the workplace is the provision of equal opportunities for all employees to gain access to jobs, training and career paths in the workplace.

All employees are to observe the following:

1. Obey lawful and reasonable commands.
2. Use care and skill.
3. Act in good faith.

Statutes are laws made by federal and state parliaments, for example, laws relating to employment conditions, wage and salary determinations and dispute resolution. These statutes require employers to:

1. Meet occupational health and safety requirements
2. Maintain workers' compensation insurance
3. Provide all employees with superannuation, annual leave and long service leave
4. All practices free from discrimination

Awards are legally binding agreements which set out minimum wages and conditions of employees.

The main difference between state and federal awards is in the way they apply to employees. State awards apply by "common rule" to employers employing someone. At the federal level awards are one of three streams of agreements available to businesses and employees. They are made by the AIRC following lodgment of a dispute by a union.

Agreements

• At federal level, employees must be covered by Certified Enterprise Agreements (CA's) or Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA's). AWA's co-exist with awards to remain as a safety net and agreement made must not disadvantage the worker overall in relation to the relevant award.
• Certified agreements are between an employer and a union(s), or between an employer and a group of employees.
• AWA's operate only at federal level. They exclude union involvement.

Individual contracts exist when an employer and an individual employee negotiate a contract covering pay and conditions. They are more common in the private sector and professional and managerial level. One third of Australia's employees are now covered by individual employment contracts.

Types of Employment Contracts

Part Time Employment - defined as work that is performed by an employee who is engaged for a number of hours that are either fixed or variable but are fewer than the standard hours in the relevant award for that industry. They are entitled to holiday and other leave entitlements on a pro rata basis.

Casual Employment - Refers to those employed for short term irregular or seasonal work and who are paid by the hour or day with no entitlements to sick or annual leave

Apprenticeships and Traineeships - Covers employees who contract to work for an employer in return for the opportunity to learn a trade or vocation.

Flexible - Employment which introduces flexibility to normal work practices such as starting and finishing times, standard hours and meal breaks.

Permanent Employment - Refers to employment for standard hours continuing unless terminated by the employer or employee, with payment by salary or wage.

Laws and Regulations which Govern Workplaces

Occupational Health and Safety

Occupational Health and Safety is important as it can be a significant workplace issue due to its high cost to society (injury and death), high cost to business and its role as a cause of industrial disputes. In NSW the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 set out the guidelines that employers must follow to ensure the health and safety of their employees. The states work place safety legislation is administered by WorkCover NSW.

WorkCovers six step approach:

1. Develop appropriate OHS policies and programs
2. Set up a mechanism to consult about OHS matter with employees
3. Establish a training strategy
4. Establish a hazard identification and workplace assessment process
5. Develop and implement risk control strategies
6. Promote, maintain and improve these strategies

Workers Compensation:

Workers compensation provides injured workers with weekly payments to cover loss of earning capacity and payment of medical expenses and training expenses to assist their return to work. Under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 and NSW Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 all employers are required to have a workers compensation policy to protect them from financial claims when a worker suffers from a work related injury.

Anti Discrimination

Employers and employees are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of any personal characteristics such as:

• Sex, color or age.
• Physical or mental disability.
• Religious faith or political opinion.
• Social origin.
• Marital status and family responsibilities.
• Pregnancy or potential pregnancy.

Acts such as the following protect from this discrimination being allowed:

1. Disability Discrimination Act 1973.
2. Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
3. Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
4. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act (1986).

Those discriminated against can appeal to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (federal level) or the Anti Discrimination Board (state level).

Equal Employment Opportunities

Affirmative action refers to measures taken to eliminate direct and indirect discrimination and for implementing positive steps to over some the current and historical causes of lack of equal employment opportunity for women. This involves acts such as Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987.

Unfair Dismissal

Retrenchment and redundancy refer to employees losing their jobs as they are no longer needed in an organisation, that is, they exceed the organisations needs. If an employee feels they were unfairly dismissed they can appeal to the courts for either:

• Reinstatement to their former position.
• Reemployment in another position.
• Awarded compensation.

Managing Conflict in the Workplace

The causes of Industrial Conflict:

Industrial conflict is caused by a clash between employees and employers. They are generally caused by:

Wage Demands

To employees wages represent a cost. Whilst employees want the highest income, employers want to keep costs low, thus placing the two in conflict.

Working Conditions

These refer to the organizational environment of the workplace including hours of work, rosters, and amenities.

Management Policies

These involve the methods used, the division of labor and the sharing of tasks between workers. Problems can arise from technological change, and alienation.

Political Goals

These can be aimed at trying to ensure the election of a party to government, or protests.

Social Issues

Unions have moved from economic benefits for their members and now include social issues such as childcare.

In industrial relations, a dispute officially exists when workers withdraw from work or place bans on work.

Perspectives on Conflict:

A unitary approach to employment relations assumes stakeholders, such as employees and their employers, work "hand in hand" to achieve shared goals. It believes there is no fundamental conflict between employers and employees. The business is seen as a unified entity where everyone shares the same purpose and is "part of the same team."

A pluralist approach recognises the active roles played by unions and the employer associations and the framework developed by the government. This "employment relations/ industrial relations" approach sees conflict as a legitimate outlet for pressures and tensions between the stakeholders and their competing interests. It believes that conflict in the workplace is inevitable due to the competition between different group's interests. Pluralists argue that employees are in a position of power and that employees need to act collectively through unions as otherwise they have no individual power.

The radical (Marxist) approach also recognises conflict as inevitable and reflects the traditional view of an "us versus them", conflict-based relationship between employer and employees. This approach sees the employment relationship as part of a social structure of classes. Conflict is caused by the class war in capitalist (market based) economies between workers and business owners. Government is seen to be on the side of the business and thus is unable to resolve conflict.

Types of Industrial Action

Overt industrial action:

Lockouts - Occur when employers close the entrance to a workplace and refuse admission to the workers. This cuts their supply of income and means they may be forced to accept a management decision.

Pickets - Are protests which take place outside the workplace. The workers block the delivery of good and try to stop the entry of non-union labour into the workplace.

Strikes - Involves the withdrawal from work of a group of employees to disrupt business operations as a means of expressing dissatisfaction with some aspects of employment relations. They are the more overt form of industrial action. Sympathy, rolling, rotating and revolving strikes, political, wildcat, lightning, general and stop-work meetings are all different types of strikes.

A ban is a refusal to work overtime, handle a product or even a refusal to work with individuals that are not specified within their legal contracts.

Work-to-rule in this action workers refuse to perform any duties additional to the work they normally are required to perform that is specified in the strict terms of their employment contract. This tends to decrease productivity.

Covert Industrial Action

Absenteeism - High levels indicate worker dissatisfaction.

Sabotage - Involvement of workers destroying the image of the firm via vandalism and disrupting the businesses production.

Turnover - Resignation through absenteeism rates. Indicates poor staff morale or conflict in the workplace.

Exclusion from decision making in business - Employers excluding groups or individuals from decision making. Not inviting them to meetings, using them as a scapegoat when things go wrong. This diminishes the power of the employees in the workplace. Makes like difficult for employees (undesirable shifts, reducing weekly hours) who then may be forced to resign.

Role of Stakeholders in Resolving Disputes

After the introduction of enterprise bargaining, resolving conflict is now in the workplace with employers required to include dispute resolution procedures in agreements.

Employers and managers

Use grievance procedures and negotiate agreements with employees to resolve disputes.

Employees

Use grievance procedures and negotiate with employers.

Trade Unions

Represent employees in disputes, represent employees in tribunals, and negotiate.

Employer Associations

Provide information and support to employers, represent employers at tribunals

Governments

Provide the institutions and policy and legislative framework for the resolution of conflict. Investigate breaches.

Industrial Tribunals (AIRC)

Make and supervise awards and agreements. Provide conciliation and arbitration.

Dispute Resolution Process

1. Grievance procedures - are mainly used to deal with personality conflicts and disciplinary matters within the workplace. They can help prevent a workplace issue from developing into a serious dispute.
2. Negotiation - discussions between the parties compromise a formal or informal agreement.
3. Mediation is the confidential discussion of issues in a non-threatening environment, in the presence of a neutral third party. Neither party are bound by the mediator's suggestions.
4. Conciliation - a third party such as AIRC is appointed to hear both sides and attempts to reach a mutual agreement.
5. Arbitration - if conciliation fails this is the next step. A panel of judges - court room setting. A decision is then imposed on the parties in a legally enforceable decision. A process that is usually avoided as one or both parties may not agree with the outcomes but must enact them.
6. Common law action - is open to any party involved in or affected by industrial action. An employer may ask a court to stop interference with the employer's trade or business. E.g. where a nuisance is created by a picket line.

Costs and Benefits of industrial Conflict:

Financial:

Benefits of IC:

• Increased productivity
• Fewer disputes
• Reduced absenteeism

Costs of IC:

• Lost production and sales
• Firms may close
• Legal rep costs

Personal:

Benefits of IC:

• Gains managements attention to major issues
• Better work relationships
• Greater employee involvement

Costs of IC:

• Stress from work changes
• Threats of downsizing cause fear
• Absenteeism and accidents can occur

Social:

Benefits of IC:

• Jobs can be saved.
• Common welfare can be enhanced.
• OH&S problems reduced.

Costs of IC:

• Community bitterness can be directed at unions.
• Abuse can occur.
• Demonstrations can disrupt communities.

Political:

Benefits of IC:

• Gov can change their policies.
• Industries may be restructured to improve the economy.

Costs of IC:

• Disruptive conflict impacts on gov opposition policies.
• Conflict between unions and governments can cause large civil unrest.

International:

Benefits of IC:

Changes to work practices following conflict improve a business's competitiveness.

Costs of IC:

Loss of export income can occur. Nations reputation for stability can be lost as well as overseas customers.

• Have a business plan. Jot down the business plan because it helps you in estimating the cost used to set up things from the scratch whether it is office supplies, office space, number of employees' salary you need to manage, insurance, etc.
• Start from a smaller model of your business, but aim high and keep improving.
• Calculate your initial time flow. Time is equivalent to money here.Also figure out the initial cash flow.
• Correctly estimate your start up time.As I said earlier, when you start a new business, time can be equivalent to money.
• Be realistic about the cost of money.Self financing may help to some extent but not riskable entity for larger business.