ABSTRACT
One of the most pressing issues facing most organizations today is
the need to raise employee productivity. There is a widespread belief
that productivity improvements can only be achieved through a
fundamental reform in the area of employee relations. Changes are
thought to be necessary both in the organization and structure of work
and in the way in which employees are trained, remunerated and
motivated. Moreover, it is argued that these changes cannot be
separated from the need to overhaul our system of interest
representation and dispute resolution. The activities of trade unions
and the operations of arbitration tribunals are often viewed as
impediments to management efforts to lift the competitive performance
of their organizations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate these
arguments, identify ways employee relations affect productivity, and
how to improve productivity in organizations. South Akim Rural Bank
was used as a case study for this research, as various employees and
management of the bank were used as respondents for the study.
Responses gotten from the employees and employers were analyzed to
bring out findings as well as recommendations for this study. With
regards to the research methodology of this study, the casual research
design was chosen as the most appropriate research design for the
study. Data was gathered form both primary and secondary sources of
information. Responses from questionnaires and interviews with
management of the bank formed the basis for the primary data, while
books, articles and journals on employee relations acted as the
secondary data. Findings from this study revealed that employee
relations practices affect productivity through employee morale, quality
and quantity of output/product. Other findings include various
challenges that employees face at workplace and various ways to enhance
healthy relationship between employees and their employers in an
organization. The most valuable recommendation given is to treat
employees with great care.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Maintaining healthy employee relations in an organization is a
pre-requisite for organizational success. Strong employee relations are
required for high productivity and human satisfaction. Employee
relations generally deal with avoiding and resolving issues concerning
individuals which might arise out of or influence the work scenario.
Strong employee relation depends upon healthy and safe work
environment, cent percent involvement and commitment of all employees,
incentives for employee motivation, and effective communication
system in the organization. Healthy employee relations lead to more
efficient, motivated and productive employees which further lead to
increase in production level. Over 40 percent of the companies listed
in the top 100 of Fortune magazine’s “America’s Best Companies to
Work For” also appear on the Fortune 500. While it is possible that
employees enjoy working at these organizations because they are
successful, the Watson Wyatt WorldwideHuman Capital Index study
suggests that effective human resources practices lead to positive
financial outcomes more often than positive financial outcomes lead
to good practices.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE
Employee relations had its roots in the industrial revolution
which created the modern employment relationship by spawning free
labour markets and large-scale industrial organizations with thousands
of wage workers. As society wrestled with these massive economic and
social changes, labour problems arose. Low wages, long working hours,
monotonous and dangerous work, and abusive supervisory practices led
to high employee turnover, violent strikes, and the threat of social
instability. Intellectually, industrial relations was formed at the
end of the 19th century as a middle ground between classical economics
and Marxism, with Sidney Webb and Beatrice Webb’s Industrial
Democracy being the key intellectual work. Industrial relations thus
rejected the classical econ. Institutionally, employee relation was
founded by John R. Commons when he created the first academic
industrial relations program at the University of Wisconsin in 1920.
Early financial support for the field came from John D. Rockefeller,
Jr. who supported progressive labour-management relations in the
aftermath of the bloody strike at a Rockefeller-owned coal mine in
Colorado. In Britain, another progressive industrialist, Montague
Burton, endowed chairs in industrial relations at Leeds, Cardiff and
Cambridge in 1930, and the discipline was formalized in the 1950s
with the formation of the Oxford School by Allan Flanders and Hugh
Clegg. Industrial relations were formed with a strong problem-solving
orientation that rejected both the classical economists’ laissez
faire solutions to labour problems and the Marxist solution of class
revolution. It is this approach that underlies the New Deal
legislation in the United States, such as the National Labour
Relations Act and the Fair Labour Standards Act.
1.1.2 PROFILE OF THE ORGANIZATION
For the purpose of this study, the South Akim Rural Bank has been
selected as a case study to illustrate the effects of employee
relations on the productivity of a firm. South Akim Rural Bank has its
Head Office situated on the main Suhum – Koforidua road opposite the
post office, Nankese. The South Akim Rural Bank Limited was
commissioned and started banking business in 1984 at Nankese in the
Suhum/Kraboa/Coaltar District.
The bank is still rated first in the Eastern Region in terms of
deposits and among the first ten rural and community banks in the
country as a whole in terms of deposits and assets.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In recent times, while most workers are on job, they do not
produce more simply because of the un-healthy relationship they have
with their fellow colleagues and employers. A recent study conducted by
Blyton (2008) revealed that employees do not put up their best
performances at workplaces when they are un-happy with management,
government, or even their fellow colleagues. Bad employee-employer
relationship results in strike actions and lockouts. All these actions
taken by employees to display their grievances only do the
organization harm than good as productivity will be reduced
drastically.
By many accounts, employee relations today are in crisis. In
academia, its traditional positions are threatened on one side by the
dominance of mainstream economics and organizational behaviour, and on
the other by postmodernism. In policy-making circles, the industrial
relations emphasis on institutional intervention is trumped by a
neo-liberal emphasis on the laissez faire promotion of free markets.
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The objectives for this study are:
- To identify various employee relations practices, and its effect on the productivity of an organization.
- To identify the challenges faced by employees at work places.
- To identify ways of enhancing healthy relationship between employees and employers in an organization.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following questions were used to achieve the above objectives:
- What are the various employee relations practices in your organization, and how do they affect productivity?
- What challenges do you face in your organization?
- In what ways can healthy relationship be enhanced between employees and employers in an organization?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study seeks to bring out the various employee relations
practices which South Akim Rural Bank has undertaken to increase its
productivity and contribute its quota in the economic development of
the communities which it operates, and the country at large. This study
will therefore help enlighten management of various organizations of
the various effects of relationship practices between employers and
employees in an organization. The study will also bring out
specifically, the employee relations practices which the bank has been
able to make available to its employees. It also seeks to bring out
the level of encouragement and motivation the bank has given to its
employees to work effectively, among others. The importance of this
study is therefore to highlight the various employee relations
practices and how it affects the productivity of an organization. This
study will go a long way to illustrate how organizations should treat
employees’ in-order to increase productivity.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of the research will be limited to South Akim Rural
Bank at the New Juaben Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region of
Ghana. The research will rely on the bank for vital information as well
as information from secondary source. The research will take
duration of four months to complete.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The researcher encountered a limitation in regards to availability
of information. Thus due to the institutions working ethics, the
researcher could not get access to vital information since it was
treated as confidential and the targeted respondent’s number was not
attained since some employees were on leave. Inadequate funds and
availability of time also became a limitation.
1.8 CHAPTER SCHEME
The project will be organized around following chapters;
Chapter one gives an introduction to the research work. It gives
the basic information about the company and the research being
undertaken. This chapter therefore consists of the background of the
study and organizational profile, statement of the problem, objectives,
research questions, significance of the study, scope of the study,
and limitations encountered by the researcher.
Chapter Twoconsists of the literature review and the theoretical framework
Chapter three gives details of the research methodology. The
research methodology represents the various ways and methods which the
researcher used in order to gain his information.
Chapter Fourgives the analysis and interpretation of the information gathered by the researcher.
Chapter five gives the findings and conclusion of the researcher.
Here, conclusions will be drawn based on the findings and their
implications will also be given.