Industrial Relations Thilfushi Corporation Limited

Question: Discuss about theIndustrial Relationsfor Thilfushi Corporation Limited. Answer: Introduction to the Organization The employees are an important asset to the organization. They are critical in the organization growth and assist it in achieving the organizations goals. Therefore, the business organizations implement different strategies to keep its workforce engaged and motivated. The employer-employee relations are dependent upon the strategies implemented by the business organization in favor of the employees. Moreover, the employees also try to connect themselves with the employee unions and other agencies to protect their rights (Colling and Terry, 2010). In this regard, in this report, the industrial relations of Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL) have been explored. The report has also evaluated other source of power which can influence the relation between the employees and the employer in the same organization. Subsequently, several recommendations are made so that Thilfushi Corporation Limited (TCL) can enhance its industrial relations (Thilafushi Corporation Limmited, 2017). Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL) was founded in 2009 as a government entity with the major focus on industrializing Thilafushi Island and the surrounding areas. Thilafushi is an artificial island which was developed in an attempt to solve the increasing the waste disposal problem of Maldives. It is strategically located near Male and previously managed by the Waste Management Section of Males Municipality. After 1990s, the growing demand for land for the industrial purposes resulted in development of the Thilafushi Corporation Limited with the sole purpose of developing the island for the industrial purposes. There are a number of operational needs for the organization and currently, the company has 121 job positions within the company (Thilafushi Corporation, 2017). The major departments of the organization are operations, human resource and administration, project management, finance and legal or corporate affairs department. As Thilafushi Corporation is a government organizati on focused on developing the industries in Thilafushi Island, it can be categorized as a tertiary industry. The tertiary industries comprises of the companies and business organization focused on services. Description on the Sources of Power The relation between the employee and the employer is termed is significant aspect in the success and the overall regularity in the operations of the organization and is commonly referred to as industrial relations. The industrial relations has three main components, namely, relationship between employer and the workers, labor law and the disciplinary procedure and employment contract. The said relationship between the employer and the employee is derived from the employment contract, in which the duties of the employer towards the employees and the duty of employees towards the employer are mentioned (Tolliday and Zeitlin, 2005). There are significant factors which impacts the industrial relations between the employer and the employee. In Malaysia, the tripartite system of industrial relations is followed, in which the government, employees and the employers have the power in the development of the industrial relations. Thilfushi Corporation Limited (TCL) is a government agency focu sed on the industrial development of the island and has a limited number of employees in the organization at different positions. Therefore, at present, there is no trade union in the organization. Specific to the company, power of the industrial relations is dependent upon the Management, HR manager, employees and the government. Management of the Organization: The management of the organization holds a significant power in the industrial relations as they provide jobs to the organization. The primary aim of the management is to secure the interest of the organization, align the business operations of an organization with the goals of the company. The management of the organization is focused on maximizing the productivity of the organization at the least expenditure for the organization. The management seeks the best practices for achieving the targets, increasing the profitability and efficiency of the organization. The profit-driven business owners hold the power and the authority of the business. The management also holds the responsibility to fire an employee and has the last mandate in deciding the employee pay. The management also has the power to control the benefit packages, total compensation packages and the working conditions of the employees. In regard to the present company, the management of the organization comprises of the board of director, managing director, deputy managing director, chief operating officer and the chief financial officer. The company follows the government legislations in the management and the operations of the company. Meanwhile, it is a development authority and the primary aim of the organization is to develop the industries in the island rather than increasing the profitability (Palacios-Valladares, 2010). Employees of the Organization: The employees are significant to the organization success and day to day operations. The employees have the power to halt the day-to-day operations of the company. Collectively, the employees have a significant power in the industrial relations of the organization. Therefore, the employees form trade unions and groups to resist the domination of the employers and represent the interest of the workers in the industrial relationship (Stephens and Scheb, 2011). The labor unions are formed for collective bargaining to protect the rights of the employees. They set the conditions and the terms of the employment and negotiate with the employers to deal with their rights. The labor unions represent themselves by conducting strikes, boycotts and sit-ins to coerce the employers to consider their employment proposals (Palacios-Valladares, 2010). In the context of the current organization, it could be evaluated that the employees have not formed any trade union. It is a small organization with a relatively low number of employees working at different positions. Therefore, no specific trade union is formed in Thilafushi Corporation Limited. However, the employees can show their grievances or complain to the HR manager if they are having issues with their employment in the organization. Government: The government plays a critical role in the development of labor and the employment laws. The government remains dedicated to protect the rights of the workers with these laws. Moreover, in the recent years, the government has also passed several regulations to increase the transparency of organization. The government legislations also include acts regarding social security, medical leaves and insurance for the employees (Tolliday and Zeitlin, 2005). Precisely, the government plays three important roles in the industrial relations, namely, legislator, administrator and the participator. As a legislator, the government passes legislations regarding the employee welfare, as an administrator, the government enforces the law through the Human Resources Ministry and as a participant, it is the biggest employer of the public sector. Human Resource (HR) Manager: The Human Resource (HR) manager of the organization is maintains all the activities related to career development, training, compensation and employment relations and the grievance issues. The HR manager is also responsible for implementing laws and legislations related to compliance, disciplinary issues and the employment laws. In the present organization, the HR manager plays a significant role in the implementation of the organization policies. The HR manager also works as a mediator between the employees and the management. They deal with all the grievance related issues of the organization. Therefore, the HR manager of the organization has significant power in the industrial relations of the organization (Ghiglani, 2010). The Influence of the Sources of Power on the Industrial Relationship In the above section, the four sources of power have been identified in the industrial relations. These sources of power are the employees, employer, government and the Human Resource manager. These sources of power can influence the employer-employee relationship in an organization. The management of the organization is responsible for providing jobs and recruiting people. The management also has a critical role in implementing the laws and organization policies within the workplace. The management of the organization influences the industrial relations at various instances. For instance, offering performance based incentives, implementing minimum wages policy and dispute prevention policies can establish positive relationship between the organization and the employees. It will also enhance the productivity of the employees (Peetz, 2012). Although the government policies are formulated to control or encourage trade unions or to control the extent and the impact of collective bargain ing; they have little impact on the economic performance or the productivity of the organization. However, they are significant in controlling the exploitation of the employers and the employees. For instance, the employees can complain in the employee tribunal, if the government policies are not followed in the organization (Romaniuk, 2008). The employees are the integral part of the industrial relations. Inadequate wage or compensation structure will result in poor industrial relations. If the companies do not consider the interest of the workers, it will result in strikes and serious unrest in the organization. The companies should device the best practices to enhance the interest of the employees. The employees hold the power as they can complain the practices of the company to the employment tribunals. Moreover, if the employees are not satisfied, it will compromise the productivity and efficiency of the organization. The employees show their power by collective bargaining in which the company can suffer a huge loss, if the operations of the company are halted (Bercaw, 2016). The employees can also fight for other conditions such as sudden heavy workloads and inadequate welfare facilities and retrenchment or sudden dismissals. Thilafushi Corporation Limited is a government development agency in which there is absence of trade unions. However, the productivity and the efficiency of the workers will decline if the workplace culture or environment is inadequate. Although there is no trade union, they can complain to the HR manager or in the extreme cases, outside the organization. The HR managers of a business organization play a critical role in the recruitment, retention, appraisal and the retirement of the employees. They also work as a mediator in the employer-employee disputes and play a critical role in the implementation of the human resource management policies. The employee knows about the employment conditions, his duties and the rights through HR manager only (Hernandez, 2009). Therefore, the HR manager plays a critical role in the industrial relations of the organization. They have several power such as power to address the employee-employer disputes, negotiate the terms with both employer and the employee so that they both can arrive at a common platform. Suggestion to Improve Relationship Between Employer and Employees in the Selected Organization It is established from the above discussion that the industrial relations are significant for the success of the organization. Therefore, the business companies implement different strategies to establish sound relations with the labor at the enterprise (Manzoor, 2012). Thilafushi Corporation Limited is a government development agency and is a part of the tertiary industry. Therefore, the human resources are a significant asset to the organization. The organization should implement strategies to enhance their relation with the employees to increase the productivity of the organizations. In this regard, a few recommendations are made in this section to increase the efficiency of the organization. Employee Participation and Involvement: The importance of communication and transparency in an organization is an undisputed fact. In the present information age, information sharing and consultation are considered critical for the organization success and business productivity, performance and the employee motivation. Therefore, it is a suitable approach for Thilafushi Corporation Limited to establish strong relations with the employees and encourage employee motivation. Establishing transparency and strong communication system in the organization is also essential in the development of effective corporate strategies. The companies can use the valuable suggestions of the frontline workers to further advance the business of the organization. An organization n should voluntarily develop an organization culture in which consultation and communication mechanisms are included rather than imposed (Griego, Geroy and Wright, 2000). The information should naturally flow within the organization and contribute to the efficiency and productivity of the organization. Proper communication and consultation with the employees would establish stronger relationships with the employees. The mode of communication should fit the purpose and the culture requirements of organization. The communication between the management can be introduced through formal structured meetings or parallel unstructured communication according to the needs and the requirements of the organization (Martin Whiting, 2013). Programs to improve the workers quality of Life: The employees satisfied with their work life are expected to perform better in their job duties. These programs should be focused on addressing the employment dissatisfaction in the organization. They should encourage the workers involvement and engagement with the organization. In order to establish stronger relationships with the workers, these programs should try to increase the flexibility and the employee comfort in the organization. It can positively correlate to the employee productivity by reducing absenteeism, grievances and employee turnover (Brun Dugas, 2008). Training: Employee training and development is a significant method in improving the employer-employee relationship in an organization by providing employees adequate skills to remain competitive and grow within the organization (Cuevas-Rodrguez, Gomez-Mejia Wiseman, 2012). A large number of employee-employer disputes occur due to negligence on the part of employer and the lack of awareness of the employees regarding the operations of the organization. Therefore, the employee training is essential in establish robust relations with the employees in the organization. When the employees are provided training to advance their career in the organization; they are less likely to seek outside opportunities for themselves and looks for the growth within the organization. The business organization also gets benefited by developing employees with the proper skill set and in-depth knowledge of the organization culture and working. Conclusion It can be concluded that the industrial relation is significant for the organization to achieve its organizations aims and objectives. The industrial relation can be defined as the relationship between the employer and the employees. Thilafishi Corporation Limited (TCL) is a government development agency situated in the Thilafishi Island, Maldives. It is due to the strategic position of the island that the government wants to industrialize it. The company comes under the tertiary industry as it provides service for the development of the island. Therefore, the human resource is an important asset to the organization. Currently, there is no specific trade union of the company; however, it is important for the organization to address the employee grievances to establish strong work culture in the organization. The power in the industrial relation belongs to the government, employers, employees and the human resource manager of the organization. The organization can establish strong rel ation with the employees by establishing communication and transparency culture, providing employee training and introducing programs to improve workers quality of life. References Bercaw, R. (2016). Lean Leadership for Healthcare: Approaches to Lean Transformation. Oxfordshire: CRC Press. Brun, J., Dugas, N. (2008). An analysis of employee recognition: Perspectives on human resources practices. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 19(4), 716-730. Colling, T. and Terry, M. (2010). Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice. John Wiley Sons. Cuevas-Rodrguez, G., Gomez-Mejia, L.R., Wiseman, R.M. (2012). 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