Solution

Briefing paper Questions

(AC1.1) Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation and how they build relationships. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 400 words

Employees involvement Employees involvement is identified as a strategy used to allow the employees to offer their opinion on decisions impacting their work (CIPD, 2024). For example, in the merger, the public sector organisation would have been called into meetings, committees for evaluating how the process would impact them. Employee participation entail either directly or directly calling upon the employees to take part in organisation operations. This is by direct participation which is between the employers and employees or indirectly by employee representatives (CIPD, 2024a). For example, working in Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia (KSA), employees involvement entail employees members leveraging on a degree of input in organisation operations. Participation demand a team-based strategy to achieve assigned roles in Saudi Aramco. Example of Employee Involvement- Structured Suggestion Schemes This example of employees involvement entail use of well-designed suggestion scheme for raising issues to the organisation management (CIPD, 2019). It is relevant for empowering individuals in questioning and critiquing while making sure the organisation rules are anchored in their individual ideas for improvement. For instance, as part of the merger of the public company in the case study, suggestion schemes would be used to understand the employees appreciation of the decision. The outcome of this would include holistic satisfaction with the process hence strong relationships developed. In Saudi Aramco, by using suggestion schemes, employees are able to raise their issues with the management. For example, issues with lack of total rewards and employees recognition were identified through the structured suggestion schemes. The outcome of this was coming up with rewards and recognition programs hence strong working relationships. The strength of this approach include strengthening communication amongst the employees hence strong relations (Galeazzo et al., 2021). Nevertheless, in an event the suggestions are not noted or feedback rarely offered on presented suggestions, motivation is lost and resentful employees. Example of Employee Participation- Problem Solving Teams This example of the employees participation entail adoption of temporary structures bringing together the leadership and team members from organisation levels. This is for focusing on solving of a particular problem in place (Carmeli et al., 2021). In the case study, merger would affect the employees position in their organisation. For solving this, there would be a need to develop a team to solve the problem. During COVID-19, Saudi Aramco had developed a team for solving problem related to employees redundancy. This positively increased employees retention and turnover decrease. The disadvantage of this included immense time spent in the process implementation hence affecting the employees productivity.

(AC1.2) Compare forms of union and non-union employee representation. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 400 words

Employee Representation- Trade union The trade unions are defined as organisations with members either workers or employees. According to CIPD (2022), their role is protecting and furthering the interests of their members through negotiations over work conditions including wages. In UK for instance where trade unions have existed in centuries and peaked in 1970s, they consult and negotiate agreements with employers for representing views of membership identified as collective bargaining. Non-Union Forms- Employee Forums Also identified as consultative bodies or work councils, they are initiated in a voluntary manner by employers without referencing to legislations. According to CIPD (2022a) the non-union forms work for an organisation but non-membership of a collective bargaining unit. In Saudi Arabia, with trade unions not allowed, employee forums are used to negotiate employment terms for employees. Similarities In terms of similarities, both the trade unions and employee forums play a common function of offering employees a platform for sharing their voices. According to Dobbins and Dundon (2020), this is while collectively highlighting on their overall shared interests and issues of concern. Another similarity is that trade union and employee forums work for the welfare and interest of the employees in the organisation. This is with their core function offering security for employees and enhancing work-based performance in an entity. Their approach is the same as the organisations assists the employers in understanding the needs and areas of betterment of their staff. The final similarity is that both trade unions and employee forums have employees, employers and other stakeholders from the main participants . They have varying responsibilities for ensuring they are successful in improving their working relationships. Differences While the trade unions is found representing members in the collective bargaining agreements, this is not the case for the employee forums. According to Blanchflower et al. (2022) the trade unions achieve this through pursuing collective actions including strikes or work stoppages for enforcing their demands. The operations of trade unions is different from employee forums as it is just a platform established by employer for facilitating communication between the management and employees. Another difference is that trade unions are involved in negotiating wages and wage linked issues with workplace forms not dealing with pay and wages whatsoever. This difference is evidenced by the fact that employee forums cannot pursue an industrial action whereas the trade unions has a potential of taking part in the strikes and actions. Finally, trade unions are majorly funded by their members with restrictions evident on collection and spend of funds (UK Parliament, 2024). Conversely, employee forums are sponsored by the organisation for their success in active operations in their business environment.

(AC1.3) Evaluate the relationship between employee voice and organisational performance. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 400 words

Relationship For the new people practice teams, employee voice would have a positive relationship with organisation performance. According to Mowbray et al. (2021) there is a direct correlation of the employee voice through open forums and meetings and performance. For example, the people practice professionals in the merging organisations, they would engage in proposing new strategies in the form of weekly meetings and annual-based surveys. By different suggestions and recommendations provided which are diverse, performance is assured for people practice professionals. Further, employees voice and performance for the people practice professionals link owing to the opportunity for asking for assistance and support. According to Singh et al. (2021), by consistently being supported and facilitated, it becomes possible for the employees to increase their commitment to the organisation. The commitment increase leads to a guaranteed increased performance. The employees are also able to note the gaps in their performance or lack of resources to support their operations. Relevant recommendations for improvement are successfully provided hence an increased performance. Evaluation Considering the positives of employee voice, trust between the people practice and the organisation management/employers is established. As evidenced in Wæraas and Dahle (2020) the outcome of this is improving the employees morale. With employee voice enhancing transparent communication regarding decisions and rationale of them, fostering a positive organisation culture which increase workplace morale is evident. For the people professionals, by feeling highly valued and heard, there is a high likelihood of increasing their engagement in their roles and commitment. Another strength include fostering of innovation and creativity. For instance, the merging people practice professionals, they are the first in identifying issues and inefficiency. To address the potential issues and continuous improvement, employees voice is essential. This is while improving the decisions made and organisation adaptability. The negatives of the process entail challenging to implement the process. There is a likelihood of resistance from the employees fearing repercussions for their opinions expressions. According to Nechanska et al. (2020) address of the encountered challenges demand strategic and thoughtful approach. Also, for the people practice professionals in the organisation, varying opinions emergence lead to likelihood of issues with organisation harmony. Judgement Based on an individual point of view, employee voice has a positive implication on organisation outcomes. For the case study organisation involved in a merger, employee voice would mean success in their operations evidenced by ability to leverage on competitive advantage and dominate their sector of operations. Further, through enhancing employee voice, entities have a direct access to experts and knowledgeable individuals hence successful achievement of organisation goals/objectives.

(AC1.4) Explain the concept of better working lives and how this can be designed. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 300 words

Definitions Adopting the definition in CIPD (2022b) better working live include a process of fulfilment of working life, job satisfaction and achieving individual potential. For the case study organisation, better working lives would include improved working lives leading to an improvement in individual wellbeing and hence contributing to better and highly successful entities. Further, in CIPD (2024b), it identify different dimensions which could be capitalised on for achieving better working lives. The case study organisation need to prioritise on areas of pay and benefits, contracts, work-life balance, job design and nature of work and relationships at work. Also, the employee voice and health and wellbeing are required to be prioritised. For the case study organisation, designing a better working life would include; Pay and Benefits In an organisation setting, investing in total and strategic rewards has a direct impact on developing better working lives. According to CIPD (2022), when employees are well remunerated they are similarly well positioned to pursue their living standards appropriately. The pay offered can be used in their other living standards including taking care of their families and health management. All these areas are meant for improving their overall quality of working lives. Lacking appropriate rewards and benefits means that the employees would not feel appreciated by their organisation. For the case study organisation, this would lead to negative implication on their ability to maintain commitment in their organisation. This is with commitment and ability to execute their job functions. Health and Safety Through an investment of appropriate health and safety initiatives in an organisation contribute to employees better working lives. For the case organisation, as they are pursuing merger process, Oakman et al. (2020) recommend that the employees would work with zero worries on risk or potential of being injured or encountering accidents in workplaces. Importantly, for the case study organisation, poor work environment could lead to risks of physical health and mental ill-health. The working environment scope beyond their physical surrounding.

(AC2.1) Distinguish between organisational conflict and misbehaviour. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 400 words

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