Work and The Employment Relationship Assignment sample

Introduction Of Work and The Employment Relationship Assignment

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Employees get to experience a significant range of benefits from having a good professional connection with their employer. Individuals who have mutually supportive interactions with their employers seem to be more likely to be satisfied, committed, and efficient in the longer term, according to several relevant research. In spite of the fact that developing a relationship of this kind is more difficult than it appears, there are some grounds to persist to do so (Ansahetal., 2018). Because of the reciprocal commitment among employers and employees, the whole company works in a standard form in order to sustain a stronger association among various parties, which is known as employment relations. Employers who integrate their employees and create a strong relationship are more likely to get better results from their employees(Parkeetal., 2018). Employees who have a healthy relationship with the employers tend to cooperate more flexibly with others stakeholders and establish a sustained relationship with them to construct a productive operational cycle.

Marks and Spencer are chosen as the company context for better comprehension of the analysis(Taylor, 2019). In addition, the firm offers a wide range of products. People’s requirements are met by the corporation’s extensive retail shop networks and robust distribution network. The report will rationalize and discuss the significance and relevance of employee relations in a given organization, as well as how to improve employee relations. The company as well as the employees of the organization have distinct rights, responsibilities, and obligations, which will be illustrated within this analysis of the report. 

1. Value and Importance of Employee Relationsand The Fundamentals of Employment Law

1.1 Employee Relation

According to the interpretation of employee relations, a firm’s attempts to develop and keep a favourable connection with its employees are is regarded as the management of employee relations(Chams and García-Blandón, 2019). Organizations seek to retain workers who are loyal and motivate them by establishing pleasant, productive employee relations. An individual’s connection with his coworkers at work is defined by a specific set of circumstances. Unlike robots, humans cannot begin working by pressing a button. Someone with whom they may share their dreams and desires is needed. An individual cannot operate alone; he requires the assistance of others. It’s difficult to work if the authority is unsupportive. Having a proper relation with the employer can develop a sense of integrity and association with the professional responsibilities(Barikand Kochar, 2017). This enhances the urge and professional zeal of the employees which motivate them to perform with maintaining the highest standards.

A sustainable business is one that is both financially successful and ecologically and socially conscious. Approximately 85,000 individuals work for the company around the world, with over 90 per cent of them based in the United Kingdom. The people are the ones that make their ideas come to life. For M&S’s long-term success, they depend on their skill, devotion and passion(Nawaz and Koç, 2019).Workers in the UK and abroad are provided with a positive working environment, as well as a culture that values variety, inclusion, self-improvement and compassion. M&S’s success is attributed to its employees. Oppression, bullying and vilification are not tolerated at work, and the company wants individuals to look forward to going to work. Diverse cultural conventions, employee rights, and commercial factors are positively addressed when hiring employees in different nations.For a company like M&S, it becomes the cornerstone for establishing proper and effective organizational operations and resolving internal clashes.

Value And Significance of Employee Relations:

1. Workplace grievances: Employees have access to transparent and fair methods for raising issues since M&S understands that there may be occasions when people have concerns or complaints about their job(Genç, 2017). They want everybody to feel comfortable bringing up valid criticisms or concerns in a fearless manner. With the goal of finding a solution that is acceptable to all parties, this involves fostering informal settlement and developing grievance procedures that are suitable.
2. Communications with employees: In order to motivate employees and help them complete specific roles successfully, communication strategies are used on a constant schedule. As a result, distinct objectives at various levels of hierarchy are kept transparent and clear(Yal?m and M?zrak, 2017). It also enables employees to contribute their ideas through ideation, which has resulted in a higher level of job satisfaction since employees feel that the firm values their input.As part of the commitment to employee participation, M&S has established Business Involvement Groups and Works Councils. Additionally, they conduct an annual Your Say survey, offer anonymous helplines (upon request), and conduct yearly performance assessments to enhance the communication process. The firm was formed in 1884 and has followed this effective strategy ever since.

1.2 Employment law

A series of rules and norms that defines the relationship between employers and workers is known as employment law(al Habibi, 2019). Workers’ rights are protected by employment laws, which specify when a company can hire them and when they can begin working and under specific conditions. Employees’ wages are regulated by legislation. They provide minimum standards for employee work practices. By protecting the rights of employees, local governments are able to assist the operation of companies.

1. UK’s Modern Slavery Act: Their Worldwide Sourcing Principles, first announced in 1998, layout their baseline ethical and environmental requirements for global suppliers. All of their employees are bound by these principles. The Modern Slavery Act in the UK is also something they embrace as a company, and therefore hold forced labour of any sort in all operation and supply chain to a zero-tolerance policy(Gupta and Chowdhury, 2018). Traditional ethical audit methods have been found to be ineffective in identifying, preventing, reimbursing and remediating human rights impacts throughout the supply chain for many years.
2. ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: “ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work”, established in 1998, makes it obvious that these provisions are international and that they extend to all individuals in all countries, irrespective of the economic development level (McLaughlin,2018). Particular attention is paid to vulnerable populations, such as jobless people and migrants. For equity and social advancement, economic growth alone is insufficient. Accordingly, M&S has adhered to these regulatory principles.
3. UN Global Compact: Sustainable business practices begin with a corporation’s value system and ideal based business practices. Operationalizing in such a way ensures that, at the very least, human rights, labour, environmental protection, and anti-corruption commitments are accomplished (Nawaz and Koç, 2019). The ideals and principles of a commercial company remain similar no matter where it operates, and it is understood that excellent practices in one area do not compensate for harm in the other. A company’s incorporation of the UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles into its policies and processes together with the establishment of an ethical culture allows it to fulfil its basic duties to people and the world, while also putting it up for future success. In addition to the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, the “International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work”, the “Rio Declaration on Environment and Development” and the “United Nations Convention Against Corruption”, the Ten Principles of the “United Nations Global Compact” are developed from (Taylor, 2019). M&S follows the principles compiled in this standard to aptly serve the requirements of the people of the organisation.

Suggestions to improve employee relations:

• Taking the effort to individually set them up every morning and greet them with the same enthusiasm (Chams and García-Blandón, 2019). To assist them to settle in, introducing them to their colleagues and appoint a mentor who can help them adjust. Making them feel appreciated and welcome from the start can help them adjust to the organization and their new position.
• It is not only wasteful but also unpleasant to communicate with staff only through documents and emails (Genç, 2017). One may quickly make employees feel like they’re not a part of the corporation the authority only speaks to them rather the importance of two-way human contact needs to be developed and it cannot be overstated.

2.Different Types of Rights, Duties and Obligations an Employer and Employee Have Within the Workplace

2.1 Rights and duties of Employer

• M&S provides appropriate information about the professional responsibilities to its employees. all the written and unwritten formalities and conditions are properly conveyed to them.
• At M&S, employee data are kept safe from unethical practices and treated with utmost privacy (Gupta and Chowdhury, 2018). They also do not ask for unnecessary documents from the employees.
• Employees are kept safe from health or any other type of hazardous situation by the authority

2.2 Obligation of employer

• Hiring no one under the following age range. The minimum required age for work is maintained (al Habibi, 2019). If night work is required, or if their health, safety, or mental or moral welfare is at risk, M&S will never hire anybody under the age of 15 or under the age of 18 years old.
• Constantly revising the compensation and benefit contracts to ensure they are attracting and keeping talent, stay positive and free of bias or unequal treatment, which include meeting the equal pay obligations for males and females working in the same jobs and complying with the legal minimum requirements (Dagogo and Roseline, 2020).

2.3 Rights and duties of employees

• M&S employees are responsible for respecting their hierarchies and other colleagues
• The employees at M&S are responsible for not breaching the company confidentiality

(Source: Yee and Emmerick, 2021)

2.4 Obligation of employee

• To secure company information, workers must adhere to Information Security Procedures (ISPS)
• The employees of M&S need to follow the Smoke-Free Policy

(Source: Hosseini etal., 2021)

Explanation Of the Importance of The Adherence to These Responsibilities and Obligation:

In order to fulfil their job responsibilities, employees must adhere to all corporate policies and procedures, and perform all tasks outlined in their job descriptions. Workplace responsibility establishes one as a great employee and reliable colleague (Zelga, 2017). Workplace responsibility depends on everyday actions, the conduct of work-related activities, and how they treat other workers. Depending on the employment setting and position, one will have different obligations and responsibilities. Especially for a brand like M&S, maintaining corporate policies such as their code of conducts ad other obligations must be complied with by the employees (Gupta and Chowdhury, 2018). On the other hand, the obligation to provide employees with a safe and healthy workplace in terms of culture and settings is the priority of the employers. It is necessary for both sides to remain committed to maintain these policies and become conscious of their activities.

3. A Stakeholder Analysis and Positive Employment Relationships

Shareholder’s analysis: It is used to discover people’s interests and classify them into actions that affect their conduct and complement their capabilities or talents (Andriof and Waddock, 2017). As a result of this technique, an organisation is able to communicate effectively and engage its personnel in order to carry out commercial tasks.

• Keep satisfied

Due to their enormous authority, it is important for M&S’s representatives to keep them happy. Customers and suppliers, who are less engaged in the business issue, are included in this group.

• Manage Closely

This involves high-ranking stakeholders as well as investors in the firm (Caputo, Evangelista and Russo, 2018). As a result, the company’s management takes steps to ensure that the business’s operations are expanded in order to increase profitability.

• Monitor

They have a lot of authority, but they’re not very interested in the day-to-day functioning, such as the government (Desai, 2018). Private companies are not subject to government meddling since they have a legitimate stand.

• Keep Informed

This segment mostly featured employees with minimal decision-making authority. M&S is a well-regarded firm, and employees are drawn to it because of its reputation.

Figure 1: Power Interest Grid

(Source: Desai, 2018)

InfluenceOf Stakeholder Engagement OnPositive Employment Relation:

In essence, stakeholder engagement refers to the process through which a company engages with its stakeholders and influences them to stay faithful to it(Greenwood, 2007). In order to influence each person’s choice and execute company functions, measures are necessary to satisfy their needs and expectations. If the management hires a candidate based on his or her interests, it’s called hiring the most attractive applicant(Caputo, Evangelista and Russo, 2018). The approach to strengthening the engagement with the various stakeholders, such as the workers, customers, investors and the governments enhances their zeal to function efficiently and effectively in order to achieve the desired goals.

Stakeholder engagement leads to many optimistic results such as:

1. Creating associations with the stakeholders to gain competitive dominance: Customers, employees and suppliers are the key stakeholders of M&S. The company aims to strengthen its core competency in the globally expanding market place which requires it to have a proper stakeholder relationship with all its partners (Bruce and Shelley, 2010). Especially the company keeps good relations with its investors so that they constantly support the company with required funding for uninterrupted operations. The company, therefore, keeps engaging in communication with its suppliers for a sustained resource supply, employees to properly execute the operations and customers so that the people remain satisfied with the company.
2. Establishment of Rewarding System: Reward and compensation programs are integrated into the core strategies of M&S as the company evaluates the performance of the employees (Hedstrom, 2018). It is necessary for the company to maintain this system as it assists the brand to enhance the relationship with the employees.

An Analysis of The Impact of Both Positive and Negative Employee Relations on Different Stakeholders:

Stakeholder	Positive Impact	Negative Impact
Employees	Employees are the biggest assets of the company. M&S being one of the leading global organisations relies mostly on its employees for effective performance. Employee relations can influence the employees in an optimistic manner by enabling them to connect with their employers. Employees feel that their employer knows their requirements and support them throughout. It engages them and builds a sustained commitment from their side.	A negative employee relation can give the impression of a negative company which cannot tressure their staff. It makes the employees less confident and non-dedicated towards the company. They feel that their efforts and existence are not valued.
Customers	Customers are the most significant stakeholders of the company. The customers feel valued if the company provides them with adequate importance and communicates with them properly. Customers remain loyal in that scenario.	When a company does not value their customers and do to focus on keeping a strong and relation with them through proper communication and support, customers feel neglected. In this scenario, the customers seek other options and change their preferences sometimes.

(Source: Hedstrom, 2018)

Conclusion

The entire report has been constructed to bring out the significance of employee relations and how that impacts the stakeholders and the company both positively and negatively. The report has been established in the context of M&S. Through a complete analysis of the nuances associated with the core subject, it can be observed that companies need to concentrate more on the development of strong and valuable relations with their stakeholders. Stakeholders are the pillars of a company. They need to be kept satisfied and therefore a proper and comprehensive two-way communication process is required. Along with that, the stakeholders need to feel that they are supported thoroughly to feel confident. It enhances the possibilities of good performance and also strengthens the market existence of a company. In a nutshell, a company like M&S needs to focus on expanding its approaches to form a greater relationship with its stakeholders and create a sustained bond with them to gain the benefits in a positive manner.

References

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