Thursday, January 27, 2011

Function of Trade Unions


The Function of Trade Unions
Trade unions have a number of functions, some of which have been more prominent than others at different periods in history. But over the course of time trade unions have developed five principal functions. These are respectively: a service function; a representation function; a regulatory function; a government function; and a public administration function. This paper examines these different functions and argues that the balance is shifting, with more emphasis being placed on service, governmental and public administration functions. We are witnessing the emergence of a new ‘supply side trade unionism’ with a corresponding dilution of their representative and regulatory functions. These developments—engineered by governments of both parties in recent years—are assessed in the context of the Warwick agreement in 2004 where the trade unions and the Labour Party concluded a deal on the shape of a possible third term Labour government. Handling Employee Grievances



Employee grievances are an unfortunate but constant reality in the workplace. As much as you would like to think you create an ideal work environment, your employees will always have individual conflicts from time-to-time. These conflicts can increase in an economic recession. Employees are under financial stress and may even fear losing their jobs. It is essential to address all grievances in a bad economy in order to keep employee productivity and morale high despite the slow business cycle.
Be Accessible
As a business owner, you will always be seen as the boss. This means your employees will not think of you as a friend. Most professionals agree this is actually a good thing, because you should maintain a level of distance between yourself and the rest of your employees in order to gain respect. However, making the gap too big can actually decrease employee morale. Instead, you should seek the balance between being a boss and being an accessible manager. This means coming out of your office and walking around the workplace. Make connections with your employees when you see the opportunity to do so. It is easy to want to handle all communications by email or online messages with today's technology, but face-to-face contact will make you a more accessible figure around the office. Share in your employee's accomplishments at work and at home by simply asking them how they are doing. You will find employees are more likely to be honest with you on the big issues if they connect with you on small issues.
Create a System for Complaints
Employees need to know the proper way to air grievances. If not, they will air them to whoever will listen. This form of complaining, through gossip or spreading bad news, will not help the morale in your office. Instead of tolerating this, ask your employees to address grievances directly through the system you have established. This system may create liaisons in the office who can be trusted to handle the issue discretely. Often, this is the human resource department in large offices. You may not have a dedicated human resource department, but you can still select employees you feel would be well-suited for the confidentiality required in this type of role. Department managers often serve as stand-in human resources representatives for their respective employees.
Allow Employees to Take Ownership
Successful business owners realize that most employee grievances can be resolved by empowering the employee to make the necessary change. For example, if an employee is having a problem with the current system of vacation requests, ask the employee for suggestions on how to change the system. You may find your low-level employees, who are the ones dealing with the policies you create, have a better suggestion than the managers who are not subject to the same policies. Many companies form task forces to deal with the most common grievances. This is particularly important in a bad economy. Some small business managers ask employees for suggestions on how to cut expenses and become more productive instead of laying people off. If you must put a hiring freeze or a pay freeze in place, allow your employees to talk about the concerns they have with the decision. You may find their concerns are different from those you anticipated. Ask them for suggestions on how to improve the situation.
Document Grievances in Writing
Handling grievances is important, but you cannot give into every single grievance or request that is made of you. This is particularly true when employees ask for raises in an economic recession. Sometimes, the profits just do not allow for the standard salary increases. Honesty is a good policy here, but you should also be looking out for the way your honest words could be misconstrued or used against you. Always document serious grievances in writing, whether they are financial or not. Once you have discussed the issue with an employee, have that person sign a document stating the situation was addressed to his or her satisfaction. This may seem excessive, but you will be thankful if you ever face a lawsuit with a disgruntled current or former employee. These files will be the only way you can prove in court that you are telling the story correctly.

Industrial Disputes


Industrial Disputes

The various types of Industrial action include:

Overt    obvious
 Lockouts
 Picket   protest
 Bans
 Strikes
 Covert       secret
 Exclusion from decision making
 Labor turnover
 Sabotage      damage
 Absenteeism   absence
Overt action is action undertaken that is clearly visible. Covert action is secretive, hidden forms of industrial action which may be undertaken by bother employers and employees.
Industrial conflict is simply the disagreement between employees and employers.

Causes of industrial disputes include:

 Bad management policy
 Poor physical working conditions
 Political and social issues
 General working conditions may not be suitable.

Over the years, it is a known fact that industrial disputes have been dramatically decreases, due t a realization in business that ER is a very vital aspect of the business operations.
Industrial conflict involves measures taken because of dissatisfaction with the existing Management employee relationship.

Causes of industrial conflict include wage demands, working conditions, changes in management policy or the desire to achieve social or personal goals.
There are many types of industrial action. Overt action or highly visible action includes strikes, pickets, lockouts, bans and work to rule. Less obvious covert action includes absenteeism, sabotage and staff turnover.

Resolving industrial disputes will involve a number of stakeholders with specific interest in the disputes. These include employees, employers, unions, employer associations and agencies such as the AIRC o in NSW, the Industrial Relation Commission.

Processes used in resolving disputes include conciliation where the disputing parties are encouraged to reach an agreement. If this does not work, arbitration or a court order decided the outcome is used. This decision is legally binding on all parties.

Grievance procedures allow negotiation to take place in a formal framework.
It is difficult to measure the costs and benefits of a dispute. Costs and benefits can be social, where individuals are affected of political where a whole community is affected.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Strategic Management


Strategic Management.

Strategic management is the process of large scale, future oriented plans for interacting with the competitive environment to optimize achievement of an organization's objectives.

 According to L.L. Byars, L.L Rue, Strategic management is the process by which top management determines the long-run direction and performance of the organization by ensuring that carefully formulation effective implementation and continuous evaluation of the strategy take place.

Stoner says that, Strategic Management is the process of boarding program for defining and achieving an organizational objective, the organization response to its environment over time.

Weihrich and Kooiztz says, Strategic management is the process of determining of the purpose and the basic long term objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action and allocation of resources necessary to achieve these aims.

Strategic management is defined as the set of decisions and actions that result in the for­mulation and implementation of plans designed to achieve a company's objectives. It com­prises nine critical tasks:
I . Formulate the company's mission, including broad statements about its purpose, phi­losophy, and goals.
2. Conduct an analysis that reflects the company's internal conditions and capabilities.
3. Assess the company's external environment, including both the competitive and the general contextual factors.
4. Analyze the company's options by matching its resources with the external environment.
5. Identify the most desirable options by evaluating each option in light of the company's mission.
6. Select a set of long-term objectives and grand strategies that will achieve the most de­sirable options.
7. Develop annual objectives and short-term strategies that are compatible with the se­lected set of long-term objectives and grand strategies.
8. Implement the strategic choices by means of budgeted resource allocations in which the matching of tasks, people, structures, technologies, and reward systems is emphasized.
9. Evaluate the success of the strategic process as an input for future decision making.

The above discussion bring to the conclusion that, Strategic management is the art science and craft of  formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its long term objectives.



The three steps of Strategic Management.

The strategic management process consists of three steps are Strategic formulation, Strategic implementation and Strategic evaluation.
Strategic Formulation: Strategic formulation includes developing a vision and mission, identifying an organization's external opportunities and threat, determining internal strengths and weakness, establishing long term objectives, generating alternative strategies and choosing particular strategies to pursue.
Strategy-formulation issues include deciding what new businesses to enter, what businesses to abandon, how to allocate resources, whether to expand operations or diversify, whether to enter international markets, whether to merge or form a joint venture, and how to avoid a hostile takeover.

Strategic implementation: Strategic implementation requires a firm to establish annual objectives, devise polices, motivate employees, and allocate resources so that formulated strategies can be executed. Strategy implementation includes developing a strategy-supportive cul­ture, creating an effective organizational structure, redirecting marketing efforts, preparing budgets, developing and utilizing information systems, and linking employee compensation to organizational performance.

Strategy implementation often is called the "action stage" of strategic manage­ment. Implementing strategy means mobilizing employees and managers to put formulated strategies into action. Often considered to be the most difficult stage in strategic management, strategy implementation requires personal discipline, com­mitment, and sacrifice. Successful strategy implementation hinges upon managers' ability to motivate employees, which is more an art and a science.

Strategic evaluation: Strategic evaluation is the final stage in strategic management. Strategic evaluation is the primary means for obtaining this information. All strategies are subject to future modification because external and internal factors are constantly changing. Fundamental strategy-evaluation activities are
a)        Define parameter to be measured.
b)       Define target value for those parameters.
c)        Perform measurements.
d)       Compare measured results to the pre-defined standard.
e)        Make necessary change.
It's extremely important to conduct a SOWT analysis to figure out the strengths, weakness, threat and opportunities of entity in question.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Portfolio Management


Discuss the different phrase in portfolio Management.
Portfolio Management is complex process, which tries to make investment activity more regarding and less risk. In a word we can say Portfolio Management is provides how to maximum returns without minimum risk. Portfolio Management comprises all the processes involved in the creation and maintenance of an investment portfolio. Five phases can be identified in this process. As following-
  • Security analysis: Security analysis is the initial phases of the portfolio management process. This step consists of examining the risk-return characteristics of individual securities. 
  • Portfolio analysis: Portfolio analysis phase of portfolio management consists of identifying the range of possible portfolios that can be constituted form a given set of securities and calculation their return and risk for further analysis.
  • Portfolio selection: Portfolio selection phase of portfolio management consists of the goal of portfolio construction that provides the highest returns at a given level of risk. By this set of efficient portfolios, the optimal portfolio has to be selected for investment.
  • Portfolio revision: Portfolio revision is an important in the entire process of portfolio management. Some investor-related changes such as availability of additional funds, change in risk attitude, need of cash for other alternative uses.
  • Portfolio evaluation: Portfolio evaluation is useful in yet another way. It provides a mechanism for identifying weaknesses in the investment process and for improving these deficient areas. It provides a feedback mechanism for improving the entire portfolio management process.
Each phase is an integral part of the whole process and the success of portfolio management depends upon the efficiency in carrying out each of these phases.

Objectives of investment


What do you mean by investment?
Investment is a financial activity that involves risk. It is the commitment of funds for a return expected to be realized in the future. Investment may be made in financial assets or physical assets. The objectives of investors can be stated as:
(i)                 Maximization of return 
(ii)               Minimization of risk
(iii)             Hedge against inflation
Or, Objectives of investment:
1.      To have some extra money
2.      To lead a better life
3.      To set a hedge against inflation
4.      To contribute in the economic development