Human Resource and Employment Relations
Global fast food industries have continually grown in the various countries. Fast foods restaurants deal with fast food cooking that is characterized by limited table service. The fast food restaurants prepare fine foods that have created a high demand among people. In the United States of America, people have spent large amounts of money in the consumption of fast foods. Over the years, the consumers of fast foods have increased. Due to the high consumption rate, the fast foods organizations have boosted the economy of the many countries. There are many developed fast food corporations such as McDonald’s that have paved a pathway for other fast food companies in other countries (Kroc & Anderson, 2000). These organizations employ large workforce due to the numerous restaurants. These multinational corporations are obliged to developing human resource management and employee relations strategies. These strategies and practices should improve the performance of the employees within an organization. In an organization, employee relation is a body that caters for the employer-employee relationships. It is concerned with the contribution of the relationships in the organization such as productivity, motivation, morale, and fulfillment. Employee relation is vital in an organization because it aid in preventing and resolving vices concerning people which develop in work. It is also concerned with problems which arise out of work among the employees (Denton, 2001).
Generally, employee relation is concerned with the relationships of individual within an organization. The managers in the organization are advised on ways of correcting poor performance and behavior among the employees. In order to facilitate discipline within the organization, the managers should continually instill discipline among the employees through disciplinary actions. Disciplinary actions and regulations help in solving individuals’ appeal and grievances. Employee relation caters for all areas of human resource management that are concerned with relationships among the employees. Relationships among the employees could be initialized by mutual agreements that create unions. Employee relations improve communication in the organization. Through employee relations scheme, the employees acquire information that is vital for the comprehension of the management’s goals and policies. The knowledge of the management’s goals and policies among the employees aids them in working towards the achievement of the organizational goals. Moreover, employee relation in an organization boosts the performance of the employees. It is important t understand the needs of the employees and address them in order to avoid interference in the workplace. The organizations depend on the efficiency of the employees for high productivity (Farnham, 2000). Through employee relation, the managers ensure that they resolve cases of misconduct and personal issues that may be affecting the workers in the work place. The employees are educated about the organization’s regulations, legislation, and agreements. They are also advised about their appeal and grievance rights and also discrimination protections. Employees should be well acquainted with their rights in the workplace to avoid discrimination.
Over the years, the population of employees in organizations has continually grown. It has led to continuous modifications in the practices and polices in the human resources department. In these organizations, managers find it challenging to handle employee relations. There are numerous conflicts within the organizations. Employees require interpersonal and conflict management skills that could aid in controlling clashes in the organization. Still, employee relations strategies help in overcoming conflicts in the organization. They illustrate the organization’s aim to manage the relationships among the workforce and other organizations. Employee relations strategies boost the management of the employee sector and ensure the full participation of the employees in the continuous improvement of an organization (Armstrong, 2008). Employee relations strategies and policies should address the diversity of employees in an organization. They should aid in maintaining harmony within a diverse organizational environment by understanding the psychology of each individual. It is a great challenge for the employees to understand the employees individually. In every organization, the workforce is highly important for its productivity. Employee relations strategies aid organizations in achieving their goals. They improve the efficiency of the employees (Lamberton, 2009).
Human resource management strategy also plays a significant function in an organization. It facilitates the achievement of the overall organizational goals and objectives. Human resource management directs the movement of an organization. The department also supports the strategic objectives embarked on by the finance, marketing, technology and operational sectors in the organization. The human resource department is highly concerned with the workforce in an organization. This department ensures that the organization employs highly qualified personnel. Organizations highly depend on the expertise of the workforce. Therefore, the human resource department should ensure that the organization has the right people for the jobs. Still, the organization should have people that hold different skills. There are numerous departments in an organization which require efficient employees. Therefore, the human resource department should employ people according to the skills required in a particular department. An organization should hold individuals with a god mix of skills. The human resource department is also concerned with the behavior and attitudes portrayed by the employees. Employees portray different behavior and attitude in an organization due to various reasons. The human resource department caters for the needs of the employees (Cooke, 2003). The department should control the conflicts and challenges encountered by the employees. Human resource department should ensure that the employees improve their skills and upgrade their efficiency in the workplace. Employees in an organization should always remain informed in order to facilitate development in the organization. Most of the firms perceive their workforce as a significant asset that facilitates competitive advantage. These companies are persistent in adopting innovative resource management practices and policies that maintain their effectiveness. Successful organizations implement human resource management practice and policies in order to enhance the workforce behavior that could aid in achieving the organization’s strategic goals. The group of practices and policies in the human resource department act as a vital tool in achieving the leader’s strategic objective. Commonly, human resource strategies are developed in order to facilitate the achievement of the organization’s goals.
German economy has continually boosted the European economic status due to its high productivity levels. The country has maintained its economic dominance despite the global economy crisis. The industrial system in German is a significant element that has highly boosted its economy. It is highly regarded for its inhibition of organization conflicts and sustaining cooperative skilled personnel. German organizations offer their employees with rights to representation by creating work councils in the workplaces (Koyle, 2009). They provide a clear outline f rights and responsibilities for both the employees and the management. In German, there is a high production of bread, wursts, and many other fine foods. Numerous people in this country have developed a significant interest in the fine foods. Over the years, the Germans have been well known for great appetite of fast foods. In German sausages are highly regarded as a national dish like the common chips in British and American hamburger. Fast foods are commonly eaten among the Germans despite their negative effects such as obesity among adults and overweight children (Palmer 2007). Still, other foreign fine foods such as pizzas, hamburgers, and kebabs have gained significant popularity in German. There are numerous companies in the food-service sector in German. Most of these companies in German deal with purely fast foods. Fast food companies such as McDonalds’ dominate the fast food sector in German. In the seventies, McDonald’s company was established and has continually expanded. It developed many restaurants and employed an enormous number of employees (Schlosser 2005). German unions are highly accepted among the Germans employers and employees.
During the earlier years, he McDonald’s system did not accept the work councils and mutual agreements. The leaders of McDonalds’ believed that work councils and mutual agreements slowed down the development of the system. The unions criticized McDonald’s system about its condition of employment, pay levels, and its activities in election of the works councils. According to certain findings from McDonald’s transactions, the employees that inquired about conditions of employment, breaks, and holiday could not be employed in the organization. Recently, McDonald’s has developed an employer’s federation that started negotiations for the mutual agreement. McDonald’s system joined unions such as German Hotel and Guesthouses Employer’s federation that catered for the numerous employees in the hospitality sector. Work councils in McDonald’s system are highly limited despite its many stores in the country. These work councils are few because a large percentage of the workers work during part time hours. Still, in McDonald’s system there is a significant employee turnover. Limited work councils in the system reduce unity among the employees and develop conflicts within the organization. Individuals that do not highly rely on McDonald’s for income do not work for a long time and are commonly disinterested in the work councils. The McDonald’s system is not highly fascinated by the work councils in the workplace (Luxenberg 2001).
In the fast-food sector, most of he corporations are multinational. Similarly, The McDonald’s corporation leads in the market of Singapore. As earlier mentioned, this corporation has numerous restaurants and it monitors the policies and practice carried out in them. In Singapore, the McDonald’s legal framework for employee relations is developed to support industrial tranquility. Employment policies and laws in Singapore were introduced in order to adjust the labor market. Over the years, Singapore has experienced economic growth due to the full employment. The State of Singapore had created legislated measures in order to protect the employees. The state’s legislation allowed eleven public holidays, seven day yearly leave, twenty eight days paid sick leave, two months maternity leave, and 44 hour working weekly period (Workinfo.com 2011). In Singapore, there was a developed organization relations act that increased the authority of the employers. However, they were relieved from duties such as offering transfers, promotions, retrenchment, dismissal, and retirement. These issues were opened to negotiation between the employees and the employers. There were also negotiations between the employers and the unions that happened after approximately three years.
The Singapore government realized that its competitive advantages would be facilitated by the availability of employees. The fast foods organizations, McDonald’s in particular operates similarly in the different countries. The McDonald’s corporation stores are located in many countries and have created a pathway in establishing modern fine food sector. In the United States of America, McDonald’s is also a market leader in the fast food industry. It also has enormous number of employees. People in these countries have highly embraced fast foods for consumption. The companies develop strategies and practices that facilitate a high productivity to satisfy high demand (Levinstein 2003). Moreover, the organizations should understand the importance of work councils and mutual agreements. Work councils in the organizations address the needs of the employees. They help in boosting the efficiency of the employees that increases productivity. Work councils also work on the solidarity of the employee. It is vital that the employees in an organization should be united to increase efficiency. In China, the fast food industry has continually grown due to the strong revenue expansion. In this country, people’s lifestyle has changed because the consumers have moved to eating fine foods (Bob 2012). The modification of china’s lifestyle to fast foods was highly contributed by the western influence. The western fast foods stores in China have increased more than the Chinese food stores. Consequently, the fast food industry in China has increased the economic growth. Most people especially the middle class have shifted to the consumption of fast foods in China (D’altorio 2011).
In the china fast food organizations, the management strives at improving the employee relations to avoid conflict. The employees are introduced to the unions that cater for their needs. These organizations have developed mutual agreements with the unions. Still, there are work councils in these organizations. As mentioned earlier, the work councils boost the efficiency of the employees. The works councils are concerned with the contribution of the employees to the organization. They ensure that the employees work in harmony to reduce the conflicts within the organization. (Waldmeir 2011). The global fast food organization should enhance on the employee relations and human resource management department to improve productivity. In an instance, the McDonald’s corporation encounters challenges in creating healthy employee relations because the workforce des not embrace employee relations strategies. Developing works councils in an organization would improve the relationships within an organization. The organizations would also encounter challenges in developing human resource management strategies because of high employee turnover. The organization could experience a high transfer of employees to other companies (Judge & Gennar 2005).
In corporations that allow employees to work for part time hours, developing human resource management strategies would be challenging. These employees who work for a short period in a certain company do not wholly rely on it for livelihood. Most of these individuals that work during part time hours are usually full time students. Most of them are not trained and hold minimum levels of academic qualifications. Therefore, they would not be interested in supporting employee relations strategies such creating works council. Other employees in the corporations such as the McDonalds’ firm are well trained. The executive leaders should be graduates while the restaurant managers should be at least high school graduates. Commonly, these employees are employed permanently in the organizations. In such an employment environment, developing human relations strategies would be challenging because others would not be intensely involved. Evidently, workforce unity is very essential for the productivity of the organizations (Kearns 2012).
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