Computing POST GRADUATE RESEARCH Proposal GUIDELINES 2022/2023 |
| Student name: Student number: Date: 22/06/2023 Course: MSc Engineering Management Adviser: Mr Dr Chris Gould. |
| Objectives of the proposed study (including provisional title) Provisional Title: “A Proposal for a Paradigm Shift Between Worker Union to Management Union”. Research Question: What is worker union and Management Union, what are the positive and potential negative attributes? And its functions. Why do the employees need the unions and why the organization don’t need them? Which Industries or countries are relying on unions? Difference and comparison of practice in India and UK trade unions. What is the relationship between labour union power, negotiation tactics, and the closure of companies in India? Objectives: Literature review (secondary data sources): Scope: Define a worker union and a management union and identify positive and potential negative attributes. why do we have Unions or don’t have them, with case studies, In which Industries/countries that use them. Focus on practice in India and UK. Literature review: This process entails examining the body of work on management, organisational behaviour, and labour relations to find key ideas and effective strategies for the paradigm shift. The literature study may include journals from academic institutions, industry reports, and other pertinent sources. Case Study Analysis (secondary data sources): In this approach, firms that have successfully implemented a transition from a typical labour union to a management union are examined. The case studies might feature employee surveys, management and union leader interviews. Primary data collection using interviews with UCU and Unison representatives, and one with University Management. Primary data collection using Surveys – Worker Union and Management Union Surveys. Survey research: Using this methodology, information is gathered from a sizable sample of employees and management union members in order to understand their opinions and perceptions concerning the change in workplace relations. The questionnaire can ask respondents about their interactions with traditional labour unions, what they would like from a management union, and how they feel about the advantages and disadvantages of the suggested paradigm shift. Relation of the topic to your course: The student has close to 16 years of professional experience in different areas of Manufacturing industries, which includes production, Quality department, and new different projects. In the 16 years of employment, The Student has been actively involved in management decisions as a member of the shop floor. Beginning in 2016, The Student played a Quality manager role and deeply understand the worker’s needs in the organization. Based on the experience had in the organization student have selected this topic for shifting the worker union to management unions. The student’s hands-on experience of research in how the management needs to address the worker’s demands without causing to the organization. The impact of the paradigm shift shows the real crisis that requires a holistic view and an in-depth analysis of how the organization will adopt the changes and a deep analyse of worker unions’ needs. According to the student, the results of the research will have substantial advantages for both management and employees. |
| The Context Abstract: Work and employment are fundamental societal and individual activities. Participation in the labour force also serves as a steppingstone for union membership and has a significant role in determining the chances that men and women will receive. (Visser.J, 2019) Unions have recently begun to play a more significant role in facilitating access to other financial services, as well as in providing health care and pension benefits. The traditional method of providing benefits to employees and their families is to obtain financing from employers to do so through collective bargaining and empowerment. (Koven.R, 2012) This paper seeks to address how the worker’s unions are bargaining for their needs and what are all the effects are facing by the organization through trade unions. And, how the trade unions are responses to HRM’s promise to ‘empower’ workers in the context of recent developments brought about by economic liberalization policies in India. This report will provide worthwhile suggestions based on the facts and data analysis that are advantageous to the organization’s management and the trade unions through the paradigm shift between the worker unions and management unions. Background Literature: Relevant Areas of Study: Labour relations in different types of organizations, Organizational behaviour to the trade unions, Industrial relationship, Human resources management, comparative studies Area of Importance: Leadership and Management Practices, Employee Voices and Participation and also Change in Management or Method. How Unions are created: Prior to the widespread emergence of industrialization, there were private contracts between employees and employers. There was therefore no need for any machinery regulating the relationship between employees and employers to develop up until that point. This relationship, however, lost significance after the development of the modern factory system due to widespread industrialization, which pushed employers to reduce production costs in order to compete successfully in the market and increase their profits by utilising cutting-edge technology. In turn, this led to the emergence of a brand-new class of workers who were entirely reliant on income to survive, which altered the pre-existing employer-employee relationship in which the employees were exploited by their employers. On this conflict of interest between employees and employers, as well as employee distress. Resulted in the growth of various trade unions. (Paliwala, 2019) Variations in Trade union members and Non-union members in India: In this case, members of trade unions who participate in collective bargaining have more advantages than non-members in obtaining higher wages and benefits. As per the earlier research, according to recent Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) data, union members typically experience larger wage increases than non-members do. (Benefits, 2012) They also typically earn more money and have better access to the majority of employer-sponsored benefits. These patterns seem to be continuing despite a decline in union membership. The National Compensation Survey (NCS) quantifies pay scales and benefits for a variety of workers and sectoral characteristics. (I. Long, 2013) International Labor Unions or Comparison of trade unions with the Indian Act: The United States, the United Kingdom and many more counties are given the legal status where in employees must make a legal collective bargaining agreement by the unions. Agreements are frequently centred on the benefits, welfare programmes, or working conditions of the employees. Under the laws, rules, and regulations of various countries, the unions are governed in various ways. As a result, the powers that the unions have to operate vary depending on the labour laws of the various countries. The members, organisation, activities, and society are frequently related to the functions. (Team, 2022) But the trade unions in India are preserved by the Trade Unions Act 1926. However, there is no specific law governing the registration of unions in India; there is legislation regarding the recognition of unions. The Indian Trade Union (Amendment) Act was passed by the parliament in 1947 after it became clear that there needed to be centralised legislation for the registration of unions. (Paliwala, 2019) Problem to be analysed: Mainly trade unions put forward their ideas to the management and they will respective arguments to achieve the ideas into well-structured plans through negotiation. (Singha, 2007) Based on the negotiation many organizations have lost their reputation in organizing the workers. While up until 2020, these factors were crucial in rendering labour unions practically ineffective, the Central Government’s passage of a new set of labour laws last year has only made matters worse. The difficulty of converting non-union jobs to union jobs has contributed to the decline in the unionisation rate. Further limiting the role of labour unions is the fact that both the quantity and rate of permanent jobs being created are falling. Most manufacturing companies have been using contract labour and outsourcing over the last few decades to get around the laws protecting workers’ rights. Because labour contracts are so ambiguous, contract workers cannot form unions. (Panda, 2021) Numerous trade unions disagree about when to offer the organisation collective bargaining in this regard. Due to excessive wage increases or other cost implications, the employer won’t accept all of the proposed bargaining agreements. Most unions will begin planning a strike or lockout of certain industries if bargaining is rejected. Some of the worst labour agitations in the Indian auto industry by the Trade Unions: The Indian unit of Italian auto component manufacturer, Graziano Transmission faced one of the worst industrial violence in September 2008. The MD cum CEO Lalit Kishore Chaudhary was bludgeoned to death by a 200-strong armed mob of dismissed workers. (www.ETAuto.com, 2016) The violence left at least 50 executives and workers of the unit injured. The unrest started when in June, the company declared a partial lockout leading to the termination of some 200 employees. There are many scenarios in Indian industries that are faced due to the failure of the negotiation by the trade unions. How to Overcome the worst scenarios without affecting the worker and the employer: The research aims to explore this area in great depth and will be one of the main focuses of the research by individually how the trade union can be adopted or merged or shifted with management unions with the same benefits. References:Benefits, E. (2012). EBS Home: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. [online] www.bls.gov. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefi [Accessed 17 Jun. 2023].Long, G. (2013). Union and Non-union Pay. [online] Available at: https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/04/art2full.pdf.Koven, R. (2012). Strategies for unions to provide benefits and financial services to workers: Experiences in the United States Working Paper No. 56. [online] Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_180223.pdf.Ramaswamy, E.A. and Schiphorst, F.B. (2000). Human resource management, trade unions and empowerment: two cases from India. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(4), pp.664–680. Doi https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190050075051.Sahoo, Chandan Kumar; Tripathy, Santosh Kumar (2014). Labour relations scenario in Orissa: A paradigm shift. JIMS8M: The Journal of Indian Management & Strategy, [online] 11(4), pp.13–21. Available at: https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:jims8m&volume=11&issue=4&article=002 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2023].Shrm.org. (2017). Vivek S Patwardhan | The SHRM South Asia Blog. [online] Available at: https://blog.shrm.org/sasia/author/1140 [Accessed 10 Jan. 2020].Team, W.E. (2022). Labor Union. [online] WallStreet Mojo. Available at: https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/labor-union/.TRADE UNION AND LABOR RELATIONS ADJUSTMENT ACT CHAPTER I General Provisions. (5310). Available at: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/46398/98328/F1771693212/KOR46398%2020.Visser, J. (2019). CHAPITRE A ACTRAV Bureau for Workers’ Activities Trade Unions in the Balance ILO ACTRAV Working Paper. [online] Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_dialogue/—actrav/documents/publication/wcms_722482.pdf.Paliwala, M. (2019). All You Need to Know About: The Trade Unions Act 1926. [online] iPleaders. Available at: https://blog.ipleaders.in/trade-unions-act-1926/.www.ETAuto.com (2016). 10 worst labour agitations in the Indian auto industry – ET Auto. [online] ETAuto.com. Available at: https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/10-worst-labour-agitations-in-indian-auto-industry/51099922 [Accessed 17 Jun. 2023]. |
| Research design (including methods) or critical approach: Methodology: There may be more than one efficient methodology for analysing the paradigm shift between worker unions and management unions, depending on the specific research question and the available resources. Laying forth a new approach to labour-management relations that challenges the traditional division between the interests of employees and management would be a suggestion for a paradigm shift between the goals of the worker union and management union. The strategy would aim to promote a cooperative, collaborative approach to handling workplace issues that recognises the interdependence of staff and management. However, the suggestions listed below may be used: Survey research: Using this methodology, information is gathered from a sizable sample of employees and management union members in order to understand their opinions and perceptions concerning the change in workplace relations. The questionnaire can ask respondents about their interactions with traditional labour unions, what they would like from a management union, and how they feel about the advantages and disadvantages of the suggested paradigm shift.Literature review: This process entails examining the body of work on management, organisational behaviour, and labour relations to find key ideas and effective strategies for the paradigm shift. Journals from academic institutions, industry reports, and other pertinent sources may be included in the literature study.Based on past case studies, research work, and scrutinizing the impact of trade unions and how the organization adopting the trade unions when they created. Possible way of adopting the management union instead of trade union. Case study analysis will be done based on the survey and interview or through questionnaire with the UoG and UNISON representatives. To provide a more thorough understanding of the paradigm shift between worker unions and management unions, a mix of these approaches may also be applied. Data Collection Techniques: In this research mostly we are doing Qualitative analyses, In Some cases quantitative data collection will include the distribution of questionnaires and surveys targeting both trade union members and non-members in different organizations. These surveys and questionnaires will be designed so that it adequately covers a wide population of the demographics that make up employees. All data collected will be digitized and stored safely electronically. Qualitative data collection will include interviews and Q&A sessions with the relevant players in the industry, particularly with executives who are directly involved in trade unions, members of organised trade unions and also managers of organizations representatives. The interviews may be conducted face-to-face or via electronic channels such as video calls, online chats and e-mails. The data collected will be transcribed, digitized and converted into a standard format. Stakeholder Analysis: This analysis will conduct for external stakeholders such as customers or regulators. Because the customer is mainly affected by the unions. Recently most of trade unions are involved in public and private sector bargaining when they failed their response will be a lockout or strike. This is mostly affected by the customers. There will also be extensive literature research conducted for both types of data above, which will be used for cross-validation with the new data collected. There is a vast number of valuable resources on this topic available online. The data collected will go through the same classification process as the other data sets in order to maintain the integrity and uniformity of the data. Participants or Host Organisation: A survey will be offered to my Ex-Organization. Which is already affected by the worker unions.Interviews with UCU and Unison representatives, and one with University Management.Some general data will be collected from the worker families.Members and representatives of the Worker Union and data collection from different organizations from the HR department. Data Analysis Technique(s): Qualitative data collected will be used to perform inferential analysis. The level of measurement used is expected to be primarily ratio, but interval measurement may be used where necessary. The decision will be based on the survey and questionnaire design and based on the availability of qualitative data obtained from other sources. The objective of the analysis is to provide workers and management can help understand their perspectives, concerns, and expectations. Survey responses and feedback data can provide valuable insights into the attitudes, motivations, and potential challenges. The specific data analysis techniques employed will depend on the available data sources, organizational context, and research objectives. The below-listed techniques, some will be used for data analysis techniques, Historical data analysis,Survey and Feedback,Network analysis,Comparative analysis,Key performance indicators. |
| Ethical issues: Ethical Issues will be handled in accordance the ‘University’s ethical principles and guidelines for research’ as outlined in UoG Ethics Guidelines.Interviews will include a consent form that requests the respondents’ express authorization and specifies that their answers will be totally anonymized.Survey invitations will have opt-in clauses for anonymity, and all data will be handled properly with online survey technologies and anonymization. All data collected will be stored securely and encrypted at rest. It will only be accessible by The Student. The questions for data collection will be carefully designed as per the research guidelines by the university of Gloucestershire.Data collected will be used strictly for this research and not for any other purposes. |
| Special Resources required: No special resources are required from the University of Gloucestershire. |
| Timetable of main stages of the study |
| Signature: Date: I have read and agree to abide by the ‘University’s ethical principles and guidelines for research’ as outlined in UoG Ethics Guidelines. Submission of this form binds you to this requirement. |
