Profit-making institutions constitute stakeholders whose collective efforts contribute to the financial success of organizations. Stakeholders of firms have distinct and uniquely adopted roles and responsibilities based on the professional background. Most importantly, these individuals have a direct or indirect impact on an organization’s financial success as guided by a Human Resource Management (HRM) department (Assets et al., 1984). Nevertheless, this discussion aims at providing critical analysis of workers’ representation in independent organizations, including unions. Employee satisfaction is critical in motivating workers towards achieving business sustainability through high-profit margins. As a result, their needs and grievances should be addressed with consensus to ensure high levels of financial revenues. Trade unions have been objective in representing workers’ interests to organizations in different industries since 1794 (Armstrong & Taylor, 2020). Through the unions, employees have managed to improve the Quality of Work Life (QWL) in modern organizations. This has been achieved by the strategic implementation of Human Resource Management practices aimed at enhancing employee satisfaction. The roles and responsibilities of unions, government regulators, and standardization agencies have played a collective role in enhancing safety and ensuring adequate employee protection in modern working environments.
Unions have been instrumental in representing employees’ grievances to management officials of organizations. They serve to address production activities among workers and ensure absolute safety and basic employment rights. Ideally, workers sign up with respective unions to become members protected by vital regulations. For instance, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) has been useful to skilled workers in demand for better wages, protective equipment, and working schedules (Sinha et al., 2017). The union is comprised of professionals providing high-end services, which, hence, requires sufficient compensation and a conducive working environment. Fundamentally, unions ensure QWL among employees by communicating worker grievances to state agencies tasked with labor standardization practices. In the U.S., unions have ensured adequate wages for employees working in different economic sectors. Thee have also ensured workers have reasonable working hours that improve productivity in organizations. Essentially, the unions collaborate with employees to stage regressive action whenever management officials of a firm disregard employee grievances.
Similarly, HRM personnel have adopted management practices that prioritize employee interests in an organization. Modern institutions are informed on organizational benefits attributed to employee satisfaction, hence ensuring workers have few or no complaints. For instance, competent human resource officers are trained on addressing employee-to-management conflicts that face production activities in firms (Armstrong & Taylor, 2020). In this context, HRM personnel integrate the Transformational Style of Leadership to resolve conflicts with adverse impacts on a firm. Showing such leadership promotes interaction in a firm leading to creative and innovative strategies that enhance an organization’s competitive advantage. Human Resource (HR) officials address worker rights and safety by establishing a positive relationship that promotes communication at personal and professional levels. Workers seek intervention from immediate officials who escalate an employee grievance to senior and executive officials operating at decision-making levels. For example, better working wages are noted by an HR official who professionally informs the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), resulting in well-deliberated decisions regarding the rates.
Moreover, government intervention has contributed to the safety and protection of workers in organizations. State agencies involved with commercial regulations come up with standards described by an economic zone. For instance, the Occupational Health Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the U.S. state agency developed to improve the working conditions of employees in North America (Sinha et al., 2017). The organization provides standards of operational procedures that can affect workers’ safety and protection. For instance, professionals working in construction, metal, and mining industries should put on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from hazardous working environments. Besides, multinational corporations are guided by standardized practices required to operate in advanced markets, such as the U.S. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has been objective in ensuring accurate government intervention using commercial laws that stipulate recommended wages, working conditions, and safety and protection of foreign employees.
Public organizations comply with commercial regulations that entail the management of resources required for production purposes. Contemporary institutions allow employees to join unions aimed at promoting worker satisfaction. The unions have been objective in addressing management practices that attract negative public criticism. For instance, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has promoted better working conditions and reasonable wages for teachers working in the U.S. since its formation in 1916 (Conchon et al., 2018). Essentially, unions have distinctive roles and responsibilities the implementation of which depends on member grievances, as evidenced in advanced economies. In this case, the teacher’s union has ensured that an average teacher receives wages that correspond with the prevailing economic status of a country – Unions direct worker grievances to the state agency responsible for protecting the safety and health of employees. Unions are also formed to protect interests of employers who encounter management challenges due to regressive commercial practices. For example, high taxation can result in commercial disputes with a government if the process reduces the profitability of a firm significantly.
Modern HRM practices have been adopted strategically by management officials to improve a firm’s competitive advantage. Normally, HR officers are professionally trained to manage employees by addressing their needs that ensure employee satisfaction. For instance, these officials establish working jurisdictions of operational officers, supervisors, and management officials. Employees are referred to this department, which links employees with senior or executive members of an organization. As described above, unions can be formed to represent the interests of specific stakeholders highlighted by AFT. In contrast, HRM entails representing employee interests and grievances to decision-makers operating at the top of a firm’s management hierarchy. There are instances when the roles of unions and human resource practices overlap when representing workers’ interests (Assets et al., 1984). For instance, poor working conditions communicated by HR to the procurement department also involve unions. Advanced management practices in contemporary institutions have enhanced employee satisfaction levels among employees.
The U.S. economy attributes success to high levels of professionalism that promotes employee satisfaction in different dimensions. Modern workplaces in America assure workers of safety and protection by implementing stipulated working rules and regulations in the U.S. For instance, providing health coverage to protect employees in volatile and difficult working conditions has enhanced workers’ productivity. This is acknowledged by the implementation of human resource practices that determine employee integrity from varying perspectives. For instance, global communication has necessitated the integration of internet technology to enhance stakeholder interaction (Melo & Machado, 2018). State and federal commercial regulators promote the integration of modern information systems that, in turn, promote collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders. Internet technology has improved information awareness to workers seeking employee satisfaction through better wages, safety, and protection from workplace (Frey, 2020). HRM practices have evolved since the inception of unions to protect professionals in competitive industries within the U.S.
Government interventions and unions have improved the advocacy of employees resulting in the safety and protection of workers. Traditionally, unions collect common grievances of employees and present workers’ interests as a unit. It implies that professionals cannot agitate for grievances as individuals. Most fundamentally, unions and government regulation policies on safety and protection have enhanced professionals in the U.S. by mobilizing involved labor agencies. For instance, unions have collaborated with the ILO to determine minimum working hours and wage rates for American employees (Conchon et al., 2018). These agencies’ external intervention has assured the working population of safety as non-complying firms are legally challenged with hefty fines. Improving working conditions in the U.S. has been complemented by modern HRM practices in firms. Human resource officers operate as internal agents of employees who present worker’s interests to senior management officials for prompt responses. For instance, these officers ensure a conducive working environment for optimizing on the professional talent of employees.
In conclusion, unions and regulation institutions have promoted workers’ safety and protection in the U.S. Unions have ensured that employees’ interests are addressed by state and government officials. Membership of workers in representative organizations has improved involved industries attracting both local and foreign professionals in America. Government agencies that provide commercial regulations have enforced policies that enhance employment practices among organizations. The agencies have intervened in vital conflicts involving workers and management officials of the firm’s accused of malpractices. Standardization firms have also contributed to employee satisfaction by guiding production activities in firms. Collective roles and responsibilities of ensuring accurate representation of workers’ interests have modernized contemporary institutions’ recruitment and professional retaining practices.
References
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2020). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice (15th ed.). Kogan Page Publishers.
Assets, M. H., Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P. R., Quinn Mills, D., & Walton, R. E. (1984). Managing human assets. The Free Press.
Conchon, A., Franca, V., Hagen, I. M., Hennig, J. C., & Movitz, F. (2018). European board-level employee representation. Kluwer Law International BV.
Frey, C. B. (2020). The technology trap: Capital, labor, and power in the age of automation. Princeton University Press.
Melo, P. N., & Machado, C. (Eds.). (2018). Management and technological challenges in the digital age. CRC Press.
Sinha, P. R. N., Sinha, I. B., & Shekhar, S. P. (2017). Industrial relations, trade unions and labour legislation. Pearson Education India.