Establishing good management-employee relationships
Yvonne Harvey, Contributor

Good day to you all. As promised, I will begin this lesson by looking at the three specific ways of settling internal conflicts I listed in last week's lesson and then move on to ways of establishing a good management-employee relationship.

Mediation

This refers to intervention between persons or groups for the purpose of reconciling them in terms of getting them to come to some sort of agreement or by restoring peace. The person who intervenes is known as the mediator.

Arbitration

This is the process of listening to a dispute, examining the facts and finally handing down a ruling or decision to the disputing parties. The person who intervenes here is known as the arbitrator and that person is selected based on an agreement between parties. The Industrial Disputes Tribunal is the arbitrator in most cases. Both parties also agree that they will accept the ruling or decision of the arbitrator.

Trade unions

Conflicts can also be resolved through the actions of trade unions. A trade union is made up of a group of workers who combine so that bargaining with the employer on issues that affect them is made stronger. Trade unions may intervene in disagreements and conflicts especially when they exist between worker and management. The main person is known as the union delegate or the shop steward. As a means of conflict resolution, the manager can also establish a grievance procedure, which refers to the steps an employee can take in resolving a conflict within the organisation. These steps may include mediation, arbitration, Ministry of Labour and the final court of appeal.

Guidelines for establishing good relationships between managers and employees

Management and labour need each other. Therefore, it is essential that good working relations exist between them. What can managers do? What can workers do?

1. Keep the lines of communication open. Various forms of communication should be encouraged to suit the different personalities and preferences of workers. Communication should also be two-way.

2. Management should encourage input and ideas where possible so that workers will feel good about themselves and their jobs.

3. Both parties must learn to be tolerant of the other, bearing in mind that personalities, backgrounds, religious leanings etc. will differ among persons.

4. Show respect for other persons.

5. Do not breach rules.

6. Display self-control where needed.

7. Encourage cooperation and teamwork.

8. Choose effective leadership styles.

9. Motivation of workers.

10. After-work socialising. This helps to breakdown the formal barriers and allows people to relax and relate more freely with each other.

11. Ensure there is no overlap of authority and responsibility in the organisation.

12. Remove all discrimination and exploitation.

13. Reward positive actions with praise and other forms of reward.

14. Be flexible.

15. Express sympathy and empathy.

16. Be polite.

Now see if you can think of other ways of establishing and maintaining good relationships between management and workers. Add the additional ways to the list.

Next week we will look at teamwork. I am encouraging those of you who are sitting the POB examination in a few weeks from now to begin studying. I will give you some examination tips soon. Bye for now.

Winston Jones High School's finest (from left) Carlett Hall, deputy head girl, Patrick Russell, head boy and Sherica Smith, head girl, take time to show the 'Youthlink' around their campus. Photo by Michael Lee

Yvonne Harvey teaches at Glenmuir High School.