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BSSc Hons in IR (M113191) [Mabhiza Ishmael]Page 51
The impact of Industrial Relations on Organisational Performance: A case of Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre, Beitbridge.
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CHAPTER 1
1.0 Introduction
The concept of industrial relations is not new in human resources management and it has generated a lot of debate among group of historians, economists and scholars. Globally, continentally and nationally industrial relations have to some extent been of relevance to the economic growth. Different opinions have emerged due to the protracted definitions of what industrial relations field is all about and this instigated more research on how and why such a field is important in organisations and nations as a whole. Certain conditions around the system of industrial relations (political, ecological and technological environment) are alleged to be the causes of the decrepit nature of the organisational performance countrywide. Trade union activities, resistance, adversarial labour relations, and grievances have been discovered to be highly costly to many firms as they would affect productivity and quality of products or services. Most organisations are at halt, could this be because of Industrial Relations? Much of the answers in this chapter shall be drawn from the ideology of the research questions to avail the background of the study, statement of the problem and the theoretical framework.
1.1 Background of the Study
Recent trends and statistics reveal that Industrial Relations management was not recognised as a useful tool. Cooper, Johnson and Holdsworth (2012) studies show that there in the UK and United State of America there is a high rate of employees' ill-treatment as witnessed by an increased number of awards given to organisations from 2007 to 2009. Olson (1997) posits that, law makers have long attempted to control what goes on in the workplace, but the new laws differ greatly from what came before. Kaufman (2000) argues that, non-union employees' representation plans fell into disrepute in the 1930s in the United States, and were many were effectively banned in the decade. (Katz, Kochan and Weber, 1982) pinpoints that the slowdown in productivity growth and sluggish macro economic performance in recent years has drawn increasing attention to the U.S. system of industrial relations and various strategies for improving its performance.
Noah's (2008) research reveals that in the pre-colonial period, labour services were rendered on a subsistence level within the family unit. (Shadur, 1994) in (Dzimbiri, 2008) posits that, owing to the predominance of the white settler economy and the need for the State to meet settler's desire for cheap labour, the colonial state enacted several laws such as the Master Servant Act 0f 1901 to the Industrial Conciliation Act of 1959, the colonial sate aimed to suppress labour rather than develop trade unions among black works. In the, recent years the many African counties economies were shattered down due to the closure of some organisations. In support of the above, Armstrong (2009) posits that, the decline in relations and collaborations between employees and employers threatens the survival of an organization.
Sutcliffe (2013) purports that, Zimbabwe has long been considered a country in crisis. In support of that (Matombo and Sachikonye 2010) argues that, it stands at 173 out of 187 on the Human Development Index (UNDP 2011), and the social, economic and political rights of its population have been repeatedly disregarded. Zimbabwe's entrenched economic crisis saw inflation peak at 231 million per cent in 2008; poverty is endemic and approximately 3 million people, or a quarter of the population, have emigrated abroad. With a country running under poverty, (94%) unemployment rate and entrenched economic crisis, it is hard to balance the industrial relations. The Financial Gazette of 12 February (2015) has it that, thousands of people working in small fast food outlets were pushed out of employment abruptly without pay or benefits as companies abruptly terminate jobs and close shops. Murray (2013), Zimbabwe used to feature in all southern African overland itineraries but virtually all of the companies ceased operations in the country with the exception of a few tentative forays into Victoria Falls. In light of the above Elliot Hotel being in the same macro-economic environment has a lot, considering the harsh economic conditions which have succumbed the nation as a whole. The seasonal business type, have been blamed of its unbearable long recessions. This has become the prickling pear in an eye of the researcher to solve the unfavorable conditions of outputs. It is against this background that this research should be done.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Due to the exploitative nature of the employment relations and the harsh employment conditions brought about by the absurd Gross Domestic Product, there has been a lot of unanticipated labour strife in many nations including Zimbabwe. The legislation and the implementation of sound industrial relations principles has become bust and the labour laws have a lot of inflexibility to suit the current employment environment as the view on labour has been borrowed from the pre-colonial and colonial times of labour movement. Elliot Hotel and Conference has been affected by the macro-economic strife. The functions of human resources and industrial relations are void and the diminishing returns characteristics have become the dilemma encroaching in the output of the company given such a situation. High performance has become a thing of the past in many organisations in the Catering Industry and particularly in the companies like Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre. Therefore, it is against this background that this research should be done.
1.3 Objectives
To identify the causes of poor industrial relations
To evaluate the importance of sound employment relations
To identify the roles of the core industrial relations actors
To assess the impact of industrial relations on organisational performance.
To recommend ways of overcoming challenges to industrial relations
1.4 Research Questions
What are causes of poor industrial relation?
What certain performance elements do organizations meet in implementing industrial relations management?
What are the roles played by Industrial Relations actors?
To what extent do industrial relations impact organisational performance?
How can an organisation overcome challenges to industrial relations?
1.5 Significance of the Study
This research seeks to justify the reasons of the significance of the study in the national, industrial and enterprise level of industrial relations of the country. The parties that shall benefit from the study are as follows:
1.5.1 To the researcher
The study gives the researcher a fair understanding of the impact of industrial relations on organisational productivity and effectiveness.
1.5.2 To the Organisation
The research unleashes and provides managers and employers with a clear understanding on the importance or benefits of industrial relations so that the organisations remains productive and firm over the emerging business environment which is encompassed with inherent disputes.
1.5.3 To Great Zimbabwe University
Lecturers and students shall use this study as a reference point when carrying out research projects on related topic.
1.5.4 To Academics
The research shall add knowledge on the already existing body of knowledge in relation to the impact of industrial relations on organisational performance.
1.5.5 To the organizations
The research shall be published and help in the implementation of sound industrial relations in some organizations.
1.6 Limitation of the Study
As a full time student, the time for the researcher was limited; therefore the researcher utilized vacation time to collect all the data needed.
The management team had little time to spare for interviews because of their busy schedules; so the student visited them on their breaks.
1.7 Delimitations
The study focuses on Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre in Beitbridge. The area and organisation was chosen because it is proximity and the author has easy access to information of the organisation.
1.8 Assumptions
Participants have given correct data.
The sample size used is a true representation of the whole population.
Management has given the researcher permission to do the study.
The organisations has taken the research as an important step to analyse its importance
1.9 Definition of Terms
Industrial relations-
These are complex interrelations among the state, employer and the employees' representatives, working towards achieving the same goals, mission and values with the state being the regulator of the relationship.
Organisation Performance-
The term depicts the output or results as measured against the effort, input, capital, leadership and all other organisational processes.
Productivity-
A combination of organisational effectiveness and efficiency; it can be quantitative or qualitative
Organisation-
The term refers to a comprehended group of people who combine their efforts to produce goods and services that are valuable to the society and organisations.
Employment Relations-
The term refers to the broad spectrum of interaction between the employees and the management regulated by government legislation so as to achieve the organisational goals.
1.10 Summary
The chapter has looked at the introduction of the research, background of the study and the statement of the problem, on the study of the impact of industrial relations on organisational performance. In the next chapter, the researcher focuses on the literature review and the research gap.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
This chapter is focused on revealing of the theoretical and conceptual framework as well as revealing the related studies and research gap.
2.1 Theoretical Framework
This research shall be guided by the Dunlop's Systems Model (1958) and the Resource Based View by Barney (1991).
Fig .1 Dunlop's (1958) Systems Model
ACTORS(Employers, Employees and State)RULESCONTEXTS(Technological,Market, Power) IDEOLOGY INPUTSACTORS(Employers, Employees and State)RULESCONTEXTS(Technological,Market, Power) IDEOLOGY INPUTSTRANSFORMATIONTRANSFORMATIONINPUTINPUTOUTPUTOUTPUT
ACTORS
(Employers,
Employees and State)
RULES
CONTEXTS
(Technological,
Market, Power)
IDEOLOGY
INPUTS
ACTORS
(Employers,
Employees and State)
RULES
CONTEXTS
(Technological,
Market, Power)
IDEOLOGY
INPUTS
TRANSFORMATION
TRANSFORMATION
INPUT
INPUT
OUTPUT
OUTPUT
BargainingConciliationArbitrationLegislationJudgementsBargainingConciliationArbitrationLegislationJudgements
Bargaining
Conciliation
Arbitration
Legislation
Judgements
Bargaining
Conciliation
Arbitration
Legislation
Judgements
GENERAL ENVIRONMENTGENERAL ENVIRONMENT
GENERAL ENVIRONMENT
GENERAL ENVIRONMENT
Source: Singh and Singh (2011)
Dunlop (1958) developed the systems model of industrial relations as a tool for organisations to use in assessing the impact of industrial relations in organisations and the model consists of three categories which are the inputs, transformation and output. The input category contains two kinds of inputs which are; the three actors of industrial relations which are the employers, employees, and the state and the contexts in which industrial relations is contained which include the technological, market and power aspects among them. These actors and their organizations are located within an environment – defined in terms of technology, labour and product markets, and the distribution of power in wider society as it impacts upon individuals and workplace. Within this environment, actors interact with each other, negotiate and use economic/political power in process of determining rules that constitute the output of the industrial relations system. He proposed that the three parties' are the key actors in a modern industrial relations system. He also argued that none of these institutions could act in an autonomous or independent fashion; instead, they were shaped, at least to some extent, by their market, technological and political contexts.
The Dunlop's model gives great significance to external or environmental forces in which management, labour, and the government possess a shared ideology that defines their roles within the relationship and provides stability to the system. Thus, system depicts that industrial relations bears an important role for an organization to score high. Basically, the system should contain an ideology, environment, rules and actors; a system bears whether the organization will make impressive outputs and or a downward input. It is a system which bears whether employees espouse loyalty, satisfaction, commitment and also performance.
Fig .2 Barney's (1991) Resource Based View (RBV)
StrategyFormulation and implementationStrategic actions taken to earn above average returnsStrategyFormulation and implementationStrategic actions taken to earn above average returnsAn Attractive IndustryLocation of an industry with opportunities that can be exploited the firm's resources and capabilitiesAn Attractive IndustryLocation of an industry with opportunities that can be exploited the firm's resources and capabilitiesCompetitive AdvantageAbility of a firm to outperform its rivalsCompetitive AdvantageAbility of a firm to outperform its rivalsCapabilityCapacity for an integrated set of resources to integratively perform a taskCapabilityCapacity for an integrated set of resources to integratively perform a taskResourcesInputs to a firm's production processResourcesInputs to a firm's production process
Strategy
Formulation and implementation
Strategic actions taken to earn above average returns
Strategy
Formulation and implementation
Strategic actions taken to earn above average returns
An Attractive Industry
Location of an industry with opportunities that can be exploited the firm's resources and capabilities
An Attractive Industry
Location of an industry with opportunities that can be exploited the firm's resources and capabilities
Competitive
Advantage
Ability of a firm to outperform its rivals
Competitive
Advantage
Ability of a firm to outperform its rivals
Capability
Capacity for an integrated set of resources to integratively perform a task
Capability
Capacity for an integrated set of resources to integratively perform a task
Resources
Inputs to a firm's production process
Resources
Inputs to a firm's production process
Source: Barney (1991)
Source: Barney (1991)
The Resource Based Model by Barney (1991) is a five steps model which should be followed by an organization if it has to outwit its competitors and perform above the rest. It is a strategic method of Human Resources Management. The method is based on the uniqueness of the company's internal resources and capabilities. The five step model describes the linkages between resource identification and strategy selection that will lead to above-average returns.
Resources are inputs into a company's production process, such as capital equipment, individual employee's skills, patents, brand names, finance, and talented managers. These resources can be tangible or intangible. Capability is the capacity for a set of resources to integrately-or in combination-perform a task or activity. The external environment of a company is critically driven from the company's resources and capabilities. The company should be able to select; strategies to exploit its core capabilities relative to opportunities in the external environment.
The RBV is of the premise that, the potential to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage will be realized when company resources and capabilities are Valuable, rare, costly to imitate and non-sustainable. The model also brings out that whichever way the strategies are developed, they affect all the stakeholders and stakeholders determine the success or the failure of these strategies.
Wright, Dufford and Shell (2001) purports that, within the field of HRM, the RBV has made important contributions in the rapidly growing area of strategic human resource management (SHRM). In support of the above, (Wright, Dufford and Shell, 2001) posits that the emphasis on people as strategically important to a firm's success has contributed to the interaction and convergence of strategy.
2.2 Conceptual Framework
Miles and Huberman (1994) define a conceptual framework as a visual or written product that explains either graphically or in narrative form, the main things to be studied in a research.
2.2.1 Industrial Relations
Rose (2008) defines industrial relations as the study of the regulation of the employment relationship between employer and employee, both collectively and individually, and the determination of both substantive and procedural issues at industrial, organizational and workplace levels. Sharing the same sentiments, Macdonald (1997) posits that, "IR" may be defined as the means by which the various interests involved in the labour market are accommodated, primarily for the purpose of regulating employment relationships. Additionally Macdonald (1997) argues that, IR is essentially collectivist and pluralist in outlook. In light of the aforementioned, industrial relations is a system which comprises of the employees, employers and the state in which they collectively work to attain and achieve the organisation goals. The system is controlled by rules, ideologies and external environment.
2.2.2 Organisational Performance
Al-khouri (2010) pinpoints that, organisational performance is the ability of a firm to satisfy its employees, gain competitive advantage, retain employees, boost productivity and minimize costs, by recognising employees and also observing good leadership skills. Additionally Popova and Sharpanskykh (2007) postulates that, performance is usually evaluated by estimating the values of qualitative and quantitative performance such as, profit, number of clients and costs. Zumitzavan and Michie (2015) cements that, organisational performance can be referred to the level of productivity that the organisation can accomplish towards attaining its goals, increasing organisational resources, meeting customer's needs and improving internal processes. Having noted that, one can argue organisational performance can be referred to as the outcome of work done in an organisation. It can be referred to as productivity, job satisfaction, customer clientele, cost minimization, employee retention and gaining a competitive advantage.
2.3 Causes of poor industrial relations
A study by Chaudhuri (2012) revels that, there are a plethora of factors that leads to poor industrial relations .The following are some reasons for poor industrial relations. Additionally, Chand (2015) argues that, there are economic, social, political, psychological and organisational causes of poor industrial relations. Contrary to that, a case study in United States by Kaufman (1997) reveals the labour problems in the 20th century, were thought to stem from excess labour supply, minimal worker savings or social safety nets, and various labour market imperfections that gave companies a significant advantage in bargaining power over individual employees
2.3.1 Economic Causes
A survey on the pluralist paradigm of industrial relations by Budd, Gomez and Meltz (2004) revealed that, the employment relationship is viewed as a bargaining problem between stakeholders with competing outcomes depend on the varied elements of the environment that determine each stakeholder's bargaining power. Chand (2015) posits that, poor wages and poor working conditions are the main reasons for unhealthy relations among management and labour and unauthorised deductions from wages, lack of fringe benefits, absence of promotional opportunities, dissatisfaction with job evaluation and performance appraisal methods, faulty incentive. Chaudhuri (2012) concurs by saying inadequate fixation of wage or wage structure and unhealthy working conditions is another cause of poor industrial relations. Additionally, Ahmad (2004) cements that wages should be considered as need based, taking into account certain minimum need of a family for food, fuel, clothing shelter, and social needs like health and education. In general, the economic aspect of the work has to be taken into cognisance if the employers and the state are to keep the employment relationship in harmony.
2.3.2 Organisational Causes
Chand (2015) faulty communication system, dilution of supervision and command, non-recognition of trade unions, unfair practices, violation of collective agreements and standing orders and labour laws are the organisational causes of poor relations in industry. Chaudhuri (2012) mentioned that, lack of human relations skill on the part of supervisors and other managers is another cause of poor industrial relations. Generally, the organisational setup needs to be conducive to accommodate the communication of the policies and procedures to the employees; training of new skills and line manager ability to manage their subordinates well is a critical aspect in causing poor industrial relations.
2.3.3 Social Causes
Chand (2015) states that, uninteresting nature of work is the main social cause; factory system and specialisation have made worker a subordinate to the machine and worker has lost sense of pride and satisfaction in the job, tensions and conflicts in society break up of joint family system, growing intolerance have also led to poor employer-employee relations and dissatisfaction with job and personal life culminates into industrial conflicts and thus poor industrial relations. Sharing the same sentiments, Manoj (2012) highlights that, non-economic causes may be due to victimization of workers, poor working condition, dismissal, discipline, disagreement of management policy underlying cause of the often observed union productivity differentials. Ahmed (2004) cements that, culture affects the functioning of the organisations by imposing its norms and cultural pattern of behaviour which is imposed on every worker. In general, the above studies are concurring that, is social aspect of employees are overlooked employees can reveal their disapproval.
2.3.4 Psychological Causes
(Chand, 2015) Lack of job security, poor organisational culture, non-recognition of merit and performance, authoritative administration and poor interpersonal relations are the psychological reasons for unsatisfactory employer-employee relations. Davar (2009) has it that, the main cause or cause of poor industrial relations resulting in inefficiency and labour unrest is mental laziness on the part of both management and labour.
2.3.5 Political Causes
Chand (2015) opines that, political nature of trade unions, multiple unions and inter-union rialry weaken trade union movement; in the absence of strong and responsible trade unions, collective bargaining becomes effective and the union's status is reduced to a more strike committee. Sharing the same sentiments, Ahmad (2004), concurs that, the political nature of trade unions, multiple unions and inter-union rivalry, weaker trade union movement are clear causes of poor industrial relations. Generally, poor trade union leadership is viewed to be the major cause of poor industrial relations, by squabbles which emanates to poor and weak representation of employees, hence leading to the emergence of strikes.
2.4 Importance of Sound Industrial Relations
2.4.1 Uninterrupted Production
Naukrihub (2014) highlights that, the most import benefit of industrial relations is that it ensures continuity of production; thus continuous employment for all from manager to workers. Therefore, one can safely argue that, the resources are fully utilised, resulting in the maximum possible production and uninterrupted flow of income for all.
2.4.2 Reduction in Industrial Disputes
Naukrihub (2014) posits that, good industrial relations reduce the industrial disputes; disputes are reflections of the failure of basic human urges or motivations to secure adequate satisfaction or expression which are fully cured by good industrial relations A sound industrial relations system is one in which relationships between management and employees (and their representatives) on the one hand, and between them and the State on the other, are more harmonious and cooperative than conflictual and creates an environment conducive to economic efficiency and the motivation, productivity and development of the employee and generates employee loyalty and mutual trust (Silva, 1995). The sound industrial relations reduce the number of industrial action. According to studies in Vietnam in Industrial Relations Promotion Project Team (2010) in 2010 the number of industrial actions continued to decrease. In 2008, the number of industrial actions was at a high reaching over 700 disputes, and in 2010, this number fell to a little over 400 disputes.
2.4.3 Increased Morale
Naukrihub (2014) posits that, good industrial relations improve the morale of the employees; they work with great zeal with the feeling in mind that the interest of employer and employees is one and the same, that is to say to increase production .A case study by Ahmed and Shaheen (2011) on the impact of employee commitment on organizational performance, shows that, it is the employee commitment that plays a very key role in improving the performance of an organization. Sharing the same sentiments, Agere's (2000) case study about good corporate governance, reveals that, increased morale of civil servants is determined by a number of factors within the political and economic environment; the improvement in the conditions of service, including salary adjustments, all play a part in ensuring that civil servants maintain their high morale with consequential effects on their efficiency. In general, Sound Industrial Relations (SIR) is a function that improves employee commitment and it generally increases production hence contributing to a higher organisational performance.
2.4.4 Mental Revolution
Daniel (2000) propound that, mental revolution is a real movement which should a source for changes for everyday life. (Naukrihub, 2014) adds that, the main object of industrial relations is a complete mental revolution of workers and employees; the industrial peace lies ultimately in a transformed outlook on the part of both, it is the business leadership in the ranks of workers, employees and Government to work out a new relationship in consonance with a spirit of true democracy. Therefore, one can argue that, SIR is tool for change, and change in the organisation is of greater importance if employees accept it. As mentioned by Naukrihub's (2014) industrial peace lies ultimately in a transformed outlook of the leadership and workers.
2.4.5 Reduced Wastage
(Naukrihub, 2014)purports that, good Industrial relations are maintained on the basis of cooperation and recognition of each other; it help to increase production and wastage of man, materials and machines are reduced to the minimum and thus national interest is protected. (Naukrihub, 2014) in support of that, it is evident that good industrial relations are the basis of higher production with minimum cost and higher profits. (Silva, 1995) pin points that, the starting point for any effective enterprise policy to install procedures and mechanisms to promote sound labour relations is communication, because it is relevant to a whole range of issues and other matters such as productivity, small group activities, joint consultation, performance appraisals, and motivation, as well as to organizational performance. Henceforth, in general one can argue that, reduced wages have significance in making the organisation gain its momentum. It enhances communication, SIR gives an organisation an opportunity to do joint consultation and do performance appraisal.
2.5 Impact of Industrial Relations on Organizational Performance
A case study by Godard and Delany (2000) on the reflections on the high performance paradigms implications for Industrial Relations field, brought out that Human Resources Management is key replacement of unions and collective bargaining. Also, they argue that; Positive performance effects arise impact from the creation of more cooperative labour management relations, which induce employees to work harder and share ideas in the pursuit of "mutual gains" with employees. Contrastingly, Patrice and Bergeron (2002) pin points that, Industrial Relations improve performance of an organisation through three economic dimensions and these are productivity, efficiency (production costs) and profitability.
2.5.1 Productivity
Patrice and Bergeron (2002) purports that, mobilization involving the presence of a monetary incentive plan, social activity committee, training program, succession plan, performance appraisal and information meetings helps meet productivity plans. Additionally, Ayantunji and Ayantunji (2013) states the parties involved in industrial relations have a common purpose that is production and they willing, bind themselves to work together. Commonly, industrial relations help in mobilizing and promoting industrial peace; where there is industrial peace there is unity and group cohesion. Industrial relations promote team work which is a channel for progress.
2.5.2 Efficiency
Patrice and Bergeron (2002) opine that, voices associated with problem/grievance resolution, labour-management/ personnel committee, written specification of working conditions, health and safety committee, and training committee will handled through the industrial relations field. A survey by Lewin, Kaufman and Gollan (2010) reveals that, as each of these elds shifted from a predominately descriptive focus to a prescriptive one, the emphasis on the contribution of workplace practices to the overall performance of the organization became increasingly prevalent. Thus, in general, efficiency is generated from the presence of industrial relations and the ability to involve the employees well.
2.5.3 Profitability
Alkhouri (2010) posits that, human nature can be very simple, yet very complex, thus an understanding appreciation of this fact is essential to effective employee motivation and therefore effective management and leadership as results oriented organizations. Becker and Gerhart (1996) are convinced that, the most fundamental implication is that the choice of HR systems can have an economically significant effect on firm performance. Alkhouri (2010) also depicted that the exploration shows that the employee's performance based or reward and satisfaction is key to the improvement of organization's performance. Ayantunji and Ayantunji (2013) pin points necessarily, the field of industrial relations is a field of industrial relations interactions, modern day production systems make it almost compulsorily so that no individual can function effectively as employer and employee and meet today's standards of industrial processes. The parties involved in industrial relations have a common purpose that is production and they willing bind themselves to work together. Generally, understanding the relationship between the organization of work and the organizational performance has been at the heart of the study of HRM and industrial relations (IR) for the past two and a half decades. Considerably from the above studies, it can be viewed that organizational performance is the ability of an organization to satisfy its employees, gain competitive advantage, retain employees, create jobs, increase productivity, and minimize costs by recognizing employees, observing contingent leadership skills and also observing customer services clientele.
2.6 Roles of Industrial Relations Actors
A study by Dunlop (1958) revealed that, there are three parties which are; employers, labour unions and government, and these are the key actors in a modern industrial relations system. In support, Ayantunji and Ayantunji (2013) voluminously purport that there are three principal actors which are the workers and their associations and the government and its agencies. They also concur that each actor performs its functions with the expectation of certain rewards for their services. Koçer and Hayter (2011) posit that the industrial relations are the state, trade unions and the employer's organizations. Hyman (1995: 43 opines that, in Human Resources Management, industrial relations is one of the broadest field which espouses the role of each and every actor towards achieving the organizational goals and objectives therefore, an integrated perspective which encompasses structures, actors and practice is essential.
2.6.1 State
Kocer and Hayter (2011) are of the opinion that, the state is seen as the law maker in the relationship of the other two actors; regulation of labour market through laws and enforcement mechanisms, and, establishing institutions of coordination and consultation in order to ensure economic growth and sustainability are perhaps the two most crucial of roles of the state in industrial relations. Sharing the same sentiments, Ayantuji and Ayantuji (2013) posits that, the role of the government and its agencies is the provision of an enabling environment for the production of goods and services.
Therefore, in other words the state is the employment relations regulator, it provides rules, peace keeping agent and it helps in maintaining the harmony of the industrial relations.
2.6.2 Trade Union
A survey done in 12 countries in 2011 by Koçer and Hayter reveals that the Trade Unions in Africa during the entire post war period trade unions have been crucial actors whose influence exceeded beyond the realm of industrial relations and whose attitude and demands always surprised the ruling elite. Contrary to that, Koçer and Hayter (2011) reveals that Trade Unions were used for propaganda and they have been used as tools to overthrow governments they by noted as pseudo industrial relations actors. Ayantuji and Ayantuji (2013) depicts that the role of the workers and their trade unions is the supply of the skills necessary for the production of goods and services. This simply means that, trade unions are there to represent employees, though they can be abused by the opportunists like politicians. This stands as an inherent feature of trade unions since it contains the mob. The power to represent employees and bargain is the importance of trade unions in fostering high performance.
2.6.3 Employer
They provide employment to workers and try to regulate their behaviour for getting high productivity from them. Industrial unrest generally arises when the employers demands from the workers are very high and they offer low economic and other benefits to the workers. In order to increase their bargaining power, employers in several industries have organized employers associations. (OSN Academy, 2015). The role of the employers is the provision of the raw materials including human resources and finance for the production of goods and services (Ayantuji and Ayantuji, 2013)
2.7 Ways to overcome poor industrial relations
There are several ways of overcoming poor industrial relations or of improving industrial relations and these include; constructive attitude, communication of industrial relations policies and procedures, transparency, contingent leadership and union leadership.
2.7.1 Constructive Attitude
Kumar (2007) pin points that, both management and unions should develop constructive attitudes towards each other. In addition, Shelley and Calveley (2007) argue that, unions are a partnership approach to overcome poor industrial relations and high numbers of grievances. According to Marsden (1995) this would help to negotiate what was agreed at industry level to be discussed again at enterprise level. Therefore, this means that when unions and management are working together they are good results, sound industrial relations per se.
2.7.2 Effective Communication
Bendix (2001) reveals that, no relationship that can be conducted without communication, and that it is not a fact of communication, but the effectiveness of such communication which is of importance in any relationship, thus also in the labour relationship. Kumar (2007) posits that, the personnel manager must make certain that line people will understand and agree with these policies. Additionally, Albrecht (2011) argues that, employee engagement is a critical success factor for an organisational performance initiative. In essence, they heighten the importance of the basic concepts of information sharing, consultation and two-way communication. Sharing the same sentiments, Silva (1995) depicts that, the effectiveness of the procedures and systems which are established for better information flow, understanding and, where possible, consensus building is critical today to the successful management of enterprises and for achieving competitiveness. Silva (1995) adds that, the starting point for any effective enterprise policy to install procedures and mechanisms to promote sound labor relations is communication, because it is relevant to a whole range of issues and other matters such as productivity, small group activities, joint consultation, performance appraisals, and motivation, as well as to organizational performance. In other words, communication is the back born of organizations sound industrial relations and organizational performance. Effective communication, lures even improve employee commitment, and the sound industrial relations.
2.7.3 Good Leadership
Kumar (2007) highlights that; the personnel manager should remove any distrust by convincing the union of the company's integrity and his own sincerity and honesty, suspicious, rumours and doubts should all be put to rest and employers organizations need to overcome the criticism of being the rich men's poor clubs by upgrading the quality, relevance, usefulness and cost effectiveness of their services. Singh (2008) states that, they should learn to be proactive than reactive. Additionally, Singh (2008) argues that, the distinction between the reactive and proactive approaches may be described as the difference between settling disputes and taking preventive care, between raising demands and removing grievances, seeking amendments to the law and influencing the law in advance, controlling wages and providing incentives, enforcing discipline and promoting good relations. Sharing the same sentiments, Albrecht (2011) depicts that, organisational performance cannot be divorced from executive leadership. The leader's thinking style (cognitive style) also influences the collective thinking processes of everyone in the organisation under his or her leadership (Albrecht, 2011). One can safely argue that, leadership should be contingent; every managerial position in the organisation should be occupied by a strategist who knows how to best lead the people. Leadership can be separated from organisational performance and thus it contributes to the promotion of sound industrial relations.
2.7.4 Union Leadership
Giri (2008) propounds that, for the organization to attain good industrial relations it should maintain a strong and a stable union, the organizational parties should have mutual trust, the organization must implement worker participation methods and also mutual accommodation is another crucial move to take. Kumar (2007) additionally posits that, the personnel manager should not vie with the union leadership and while it is not for the management to interfere with union activities, or choose the union leadership, its action and attitude will go a long way towards developing the right kind of union leadership.
Therefore, in particular, the ways to overcome the untoward and anomalies of the work places vary from the employees, employers' organizations and the responsiveness of the government. This has been depicted by the different arguments made by the scholars above.
2.8 Related studies and Knowledge Gap
2.8.1 Related Studies
A Hyman and Marxism research by Frege, Kelly and McGovern (2011) brought out the politics of work, regardless of the field and thus, revealing the arrangements, activities of work irregardless of the implications to the output, and the ideology used.
This research was done in the major cities of Pakistan and they acknowledge that Organizational Performance can be enhanced by involving employees in decision making that will ultimately increase their commitment.
According to Budd, Gomez and Meltz (2004) from Dunlop's studies, traditional Industrial Relations has been frequently been criticism for emphasizing facts over theory. They posits that, in reality, with the theoretical foundations of imperfect labour markets and human agents, employment outcomes do not have to be viewed as completely (and mechanically) determined by rational individuals and market forces.
Some studies have shown much emphasis on the Human Resources Management as a field and its impact on organizational performance. The Godard and Delany (2000) research was analytical on the implications of the introduction of HRM field on the working of the Industrial Relations, nevertheless the information prior to the impact of IR field to organizational performance was less recognized.
2.8.2 Knowledge Gap
There is a lot of empirical research on industrial relations in USA and European countries. However, research on the effectiveness of industrial relations in boosting the performance of organizations is limited in the third world countries especially in Africa and particularly in Zimbabwe. Research and many studies has revealed that there is a growth in non-standard employment including part time, more labour cases, businesses winding up and poor employment relations in most developing countries although these tend to be ad hoc.
The sample sizes that have been used in many studies was drawn from developed countries like United States of America, United Kingdom and Pakistan and many more, however, the researcher is going to take his sample from the developing country and do the research in the parameters of a developing country.
The unstable and dissonant employment relations in most organizations in Zimbabwe reflect the traditional patterns of work and reactive approach to the demands of the market rather than a clearly defined resourcing strategy. There is a massive negation of research on the applicability of industrial relations in Zimbabwe hence the need for a particular research that focuses on the Zimbabwean context since it exhibits macro-economic circumstances.
Most researches done where based on the view of Human Resources Management's impact on organisational performance in general. The researches generated the predisposition that it is the human resources management in general that leads to organisational effectiveness, yet there is room for the analysis of nation's legislation and how it impacts on the day to day running of organizations.
2.9 Summary
This chapter looking at the theoretical and conceptual frame work of the researcher and it also revealed the research gap and related studies. The next chapter shall be focusing on the research summary, recommendations, discussion and conclusion.
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the research methodology in which a clear and concise description of how the study was conducted is given. This is a vivid description of all the activities and procedures undertaken during the course of the research.
3.1 Research Philosophy/ Research Paradigm
Saunders et al (1996) propounds that, research positivism, seeks to explain and predict what happens in the business world by searching for irregularities and casual relationships between variables whilst the anti-positivism oppose this arguing that the business world can only be understood from the point of view of individuals directly involved in the activities understudy. In light of the aforementioned, the researcher used a positivist paradigm. Thus the researcher identified key themes and concepts the researcher was guided by themes in the development of the literature review.
3.2 Research Approach
Lincoln, Lynham and Guba (2011) reveal that, research approaches are plans and the procedures for the research that span the steps from broad assumptions to detailed methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation (Usually research approaches leads to the decision of finding the research design. According to Lincoln, Lynham and Guba (2011), the nature of the approach is based on the research problem or issue being addressed, the researcher's personal experiences and the audiences for the study.
Lincoln et al (2011) studies depicts that there are three research approaches which are advanced are qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. It is prior to the same company's observation that quantitative and qualitative approaches should not be viewed as rigid, distinct categories, polar opposites or dichotomies, but they represent different ends on a continuum. The researcher therefore shall, because of the concepts applied in industrial relations and organizational performance facets, use a mixed method research where, both the quantitative and qualitative data shall be collected and an integration of the two shall take place.
3.3 Research design
A research design is a plan which specifies the methods which have been used in acquiring and analyzing data (Cooper, 2005). Panneersekvam (2004) purports that, a research design, is all the procedures selected by the researcher to answer a particular set of questions of the hypothesis in the research to be carried out. In addition, Best and Khan (1993) define a research design as a systematic and orderly approach taken towards the collection of data so that information can be obtained from those data. The researcher used both exploratory and causal research design in this research.
3.3.1 Exploratory research design
Exploratory research design is a basic research design which was used by the researcher to increase his understanding on the impressions understudy that is industrial relations and organizational performance. The researcher explored the impact of industrial relations on the performance of firms in the catering industry. Exploratory research design was used as it facilitated the comprehension of why and how things happen. It was also used because of the flexibility it offers in terms of data sources and data collection procedures.
3.3.2 Causal research design
The researcher used a causal research design. Punch (2005) vies that, the causal research design method deals with the relationships between variables, principles and theories that have universal validity. The causal research design was abetted in determining whether or not the relationship between industrial relations and organizational performance is causal.
Thus, the resolutions regarding what, where, when, how much by what means concerning an inquiry or a research study institute a research design. Thus, a "research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedures" Kothari (2004)
In this regard the researcher is looking forward to find out if the employment of industrial relations principles in the catering industry focusing much on Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre Beitbridge. A witness of high labor turn over, dwindling numbers of sales, a dreading number of awards and dissatisfaction of employees leading to poor performance as mention in the theoretical framework has made a call for the researcher to investigate if there is link between the field of industrial relations and organizational performance. The Hotel was once a three star rated entity however it declined to none other than a small chicken and ironic business.
In order to make organizations alert and capture more accurate data the researcher dealt with numbers from the period of 2014 to the period of 2015. The Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre is going to be the Centre of the study sample. Thus, according to Kothari (2004) the research design must, at least, contain the population to be studied and methods to be used in processing and analysing data.
3.4 Population and Sampling Procedure
Labovitz and Hudgedon (1971) define population as the largest body of individuals being researched for example industrialized societies, urban riots, delinquents, college students or infants. In this regard, the targeted population for this research consisted of a registered hotel and catering services providers in Zimbabwe and this is the Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre. The estimated size of the population was 83 employees.
3.5 Sample and Sampling Procedure
There are a number of sampling procedures which are usually used for research purposes. The researcher shall employ a stratified sampling procedure. According to Muchengetwa (2005) stratified sampling is a procedure in which we first put the population into non-overlapping groups or subgroups called strata and then select a random sample from each stratum. The researcher has seen this as a tangible sampling procedure. The researcher therefore shall make use of the Director, Management, Housekeeping Supervisor, Front office, and Electrical departments supervisors from Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre.
The sample consisted of 33 participants who were drawn equally from selected departments. The researcher selected five departments to represent the population namely, Human Resources, Front Office, Security, Housekeeping, Administration, Maintenance, Canteen, Marketing and Procurement. The sample size was determined using Krejcie and Morgan sample determination method. The sample size was subdivided into:
3Top management
12 Middle managers
18 Shop floor workers
3.6 Data collection procedure
Cohen and Marion's (1994) advice that researchers should not take it for granted that they can demand access to any institution as a matter of right. In line of this recommendation, the researcher shall be given a letter by the Department of Human Resources Management in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Great Zimbabwe University. The researcher will seek permission from the Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre, Beitbridge. From the province, the researcher narrowed down to the District where the researcher was finally armed with the permission letters to seek permission from the organization.
The data that was used for the research was derived from both primary and secondary data.
3.6.1 Secondary data
Secondary data is information that has already been collected and analyzed by other researchers for academic and other purposes (Blumberg and Donald 2005).Secondary data was gathered from various sources namely, internal memos, text books, journals and newspaper articles. The researcher also downloaded journal articles on the impact of industrial relations on organization performance. The researcher also used the data that was recorded by the organization's Human Resources Management and those responsible for procurement and finance departments.
3.6.2 Primary data
Primary data is raw data that is being collected for the first time and for a specific purpose (Cooper, 2006). The researcher collected the data in person. Primary data was gathered from employees through the use of structured questionnaires and interviews. Primary data was used because it enabled the researcher to gather recent, unbiased data which was relevant for the purpose to which it was gathered for.
3.7 Research Instruments
Research instruments are simply devices for obtaining information relevant to your research project, and there are many alternatives from which to choose (Wilkinson and Birmingham, 2003). Thus the researcher shall utilize interviews and questionnaires. These are also tools used to elicit the views and opinions of the participants.
3.7.1 Questionnaire
Borg and Gall (1963) define a questionnaire as a set of questions which are to be responded to by different respondents in writing. Johnston (1977) shares the same sentiments with the above scholars when he posits that a questionnaire is "A list of structured questions which are marked or given to a selected group of individuals who record their responses." To these views Best and Khan (1993) adds that, "Questionnaire is the best instrument for obtaining information from widely spread sources." As such, this instrument was seen as the most relevant tool in this particular study, for a number of reasons to be articulated later.
The researcher opted for the questionnaire because of its advantages. Analyzing is easy in a questionnaire and since it ensures anonymity of respondents, people may be willing to give true information. Also the other advantage of the questionnaire is that answers can be recorded quickly and it's relatively cheap.
Salkind (1994) notes some of the disadvantages when he observe that the completion and return is much lower than if you could personally ask questions to each potential respondent through an interview. Also, it is the literate only who can respond well to questionnaires. Structured questions were used in order to determine whether there is a causal relationship between industrial relations and organizational performance in the catering industry. The questions were designed in such a way that they were able to address the research objectives. The researcher shall issue 30 questionnaires to respondents. Questionnaires were used by the researcher since they were effective in giving employees the prerogative to respond at their own convenience given that most of the employees were busy during the day. The other advantage that was derived from questionnaires by the researcher alluded to its relatively low cost and ease of administering.
3.7.2 Interviews
Best and Khan (1993) define an interview as a collection of specific and precisely formulated questions which are asked specific people by an interviewer. Borg and Gall (1963) share the same sentiments when they note an interview as a set of oral questions which are answered orally by respondents.
Heimann (1998) highlights that, an interview do possess its merit as observed and an interview can react to the information provided by a participant, either question, clarifying information or exploring additional topics that arise. On the contrary, Graziano and Rukuni (1977) pin point that, the interviewee may be unwilling to participate in the process, an interview is time consuming and expensive to conduct.
3.8 Reliability and Validity Issues
Cooper (2005) noted that, validity means whether the questions truly measure accurately what they are supposed to measure. In support to that, Bell (2007) concurs that; validity can be broken down into content validity, factorial validity and criterion validity. Additionally, Bell (2007) depicts that , criterion validity means that the questionnaire is measuring what it is supposed to measure, content validity is established when questions relate to the construct being measured and factorial validity is established when questions which are broken down into sub questions emerge as components of the original question when conducting a factor analysis. To improve the validity of the questionnaire, measurement scales which had been developed and used by other researchers in similar research studies were used to guide the development of the questions.
McMillan and Schumacher (1993) define pilot study as a small scale preliminary study carried out on a group of subjects not used as part of the main study. The researcher carried out a feasibility study with ten respondents who were not part of the study from Beitbridge Express Hotel. The researcher wanted to determine whether the questionnaire possesses the desired qualities or measurement. Thus a pilot study can uncover a variety of findings. It enables the researcher to restructure his questionnaire.
The researcher carried out a pilot test of the questionnaire using 6 respondents 1 from Human resources, 1 Front Office, 1 Maintenance, 1 Procurement, 1 Housekeeping and 1from Marketing to ensure its validity. The purpose of pretesting was to ensure that the questions were clear, meaningful and measuring the intended concepts and values.
The researcher also ensured that the questions were defined precisely and that the sample size was representative of the population to improve reliability of the research findings.
The researcher also used triangulation to improve on the validity and reliability of the research findings. To this regard the researcher used both questionnaires and interviews to collect data so that the two methods complemented each other and counteracted the weakness of each method.
3.9 Data Analysis
The research used Miles and Huberman framework of qualitative data analysis. Data from interviews and questionnaires was reduced to come up with themes. Themes were presented on graphs, charts and tables. Croucher and Cronn-Mills (2014) a thematic approach requires; finding stacks of articles related the research, reading the articles and identifying the themes (key issues, concepts, and patterns) that permeate through the articles and organizing the themes into a coherent whole.
Punch (2005) suggests that data familiarization is the key to thematic analysis. Thus, thematic analysis also assists the researcher through identifying limited number of themes which adequately reflect their textual data, since the researcher was extremely familiar with the data.
Data have meaning only in terms of the interpretations made by the researcher. Frequently, social researchers have a large amount of data that must be reduced to some statistical measures before meaningful interpretations can be made (Clough and Nutbrown, 2002). Data reduction consists of grouping the information into categories or of computing a small number of statistics to adequately describe the characteristics of the sample to adequately describe the characteristics of the sample or population.
3.10 Ethical Considerations
To obtain data the researcher has to note of some ethical considerations and these are informed consent, reserving the right to withdrawal of participant, getting the gate pass for access, respect the right to privacy and allow self representation among other ethical issues. A research which is done under duress or misguided methods can have a lot of biased information. The researcher also employed deception when the data might be critical to acquire.
Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre is a private entity and it needs the researcher to get a pass from the University authorities and from the Hotel's authorities since these are very critical to be recognized. The author got permission from the Security and the top representation of the highest position in the organization.
According to Yates (2004), informed consent is how much does the researcher tell the participants about the research project and it is also giving participants rights and also ensuring the usefulness of the data collected. Therefore the researcher in the first place informed the participants about the research and explained before they consent. This was a measure to prevent being sued by the participant.
The participants have the right to withdraw from the exercise if they have find it be inconvenient and also the participants have the right to privacy and can be a right for the prospects not to participate in the research project.
3.11 Summary
The chapter provided an explanation to the research methodology used in the research study. A qualitative research design was used. These instruments were interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis. The data collection procedures were also articulated in the chapter. The next chapter shall be focusing on the presentation of data and analysis.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION
4.0 Introduction
The nerve centre of this chapter is specifically a presentation and analysis of data collected to address the research questions. This section is set to present findings that were obtained from the field through questionnaires and interviews conducted from both managerial and non-managerial employees at Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre.
4.1 Response rate
Table .1.Questionnaire Response Rate
Level
Target
Actual
%Response rate
Top Management
2
1
50
Middle Management
13
8
67
Shop flow workers
18
11
61
Total
33
20
61
Source: Primary data
Of the 33 questionnaires handed out to Elliot Hotel and Conference centre employees, 20 were returned signifying a 61% response rate. 18 questionnaires were also distributed to general employees selected for the study and 61% of the questionnaires were returned. The high response rate can be attributed to the sampling method and the data collection method employed by the researcher. The researcher conveniently selected respondents for the research and waited for the respondents to finish completing the questionnaire before collecting it.
Table.2. Interviews Response Rate
Scheduled interviews
Interviews held
Response rate
6
4
67%
Source: Primary data
The researcher had a total of 6 interviews scheduled at Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre as indicated on table 2 above. However, due to circumstances beyond the researcher's control 4 interviews were conducted at Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre. A response rate of 67% percent from Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre was obtained from interviews. It is from these interviews that the researcher found out that the organisation had ceased receiving labour awards cases since 2013 when the Human Resources Department was introduced. Also the managers exclaimed that the organisation even scores higher and improved in competitive advantage. So the 66% holds waters to claim that the information is validly reliable.
Table.3 Demographic characteristics for Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre
Age
Gender
Education
Level
M
F
O-level
A-Level
Dip.
Deg.
PostGrad
Mstrs.
Mgnt
Non-Mgnt
20 -
1
1
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
2
21-30
7
5
3
-
4
3
1
-
-
11
31-40
-
1
1
-
-
1
-
-
2
41-50
1
2
2
-
1
-
-
-
-
3
51+
2
-
1
-
1
-
-
-
1
1
Total
11
9
8
1
6
4
1
0
1
19
Source: Primary data
Table 3 above shows that 1 of the of the respondents is below the age of 20 years whilst 11 are above 40 years of age and only 1 occupies management level. In addition, most of the respondents are between 21– 30 followed by those between the Age of 41-50 years. It appears that these are the economically active groups and they are at the peak of their careers and hence they were very keen to know what industrial relations is and how it brings organizational performance. Table 3 also shows that only 3 employees in the 21-30 age range have at least a Degree. The majority 7of respondents are holders of O'levels.100% of the employees have acquired the minimum education requirements. This implies that the research was done on literate people hence suggesting that the results are informed results.
4.2 Conceptualisation of Industrial Relations
4.2.1 Industrial Relations
The majority of the managerial staff defines Industrial Relations as the relationship between employees and management. This concurs with Macdonnald (1997) who defines industrial relations as the relationships which arise at and out of the workplace that is to say, relationships between individual workers, the relationships between them and their employer, the relationships employers and workers have with the organizations formed to promote and defend their respective interests, and the relations between those organizations, at all levels). The minority of the respondents defines Industrial relations as a broad title which is mainly concerned about the relationship between the management and the employees and how they work. Thus it concurs with the study of the regulation of the employment relationship between employer and employee, both collectively and individually, and the determination of both substantive and procedural issues at industrial, organizational and workplace levels by (Rose, 2008). Response of the conducted research shows more or the same definitions from the previous researches conducted.
4.3 Conceptualisation of Organisational Performance
4.3.1 Organizational Performance
The majority of the employees' defined organisational performance as the achievements of an organisation and other answers were revolving around the referring of organisational performance as organisational outcomes. In relation to Zumitzavan and Michie (2015);Popova and Sharpanskyk (2012) organisational performance can be referred to the level of productivity that the organisation can accomplish towards attaining its goals, increasing organisational resources, meeting customer's needs and improving internal processes. They also propounded that performance is usually evaluated by estimating the values of qualitative and quantitative performance (e.g. Profit, number of clients, costs). It is essential for a company to determine the relevant indicators, how they relate to the formulated company goals and how they depend on the performed activities this according to a journal written by Richard et al. (2009) defines organizational performance can be measured through three basic outcomes which are financial performance, product market performance and return to the shareholders.
4.4 Causes of poor Industrial Relations
Fig 3.Causes of poor industrial relations
Primary Source
The majority of 30% shows that much of the poor industrial relations are caused by economic factors. This concurs with Chaudhuri (2012) studies that brought out that, poor industrial relations is causes by mental inertia, Mental inertia on the part of management and labour, intolerant attitude of contempt towards the workers, inadequate fixation of wage or wage structure and unhealthy working conditions, lack of human relations skill on the part of supervisors and inadequate welfare facilities. The minority of 14% shows that poor industrial relations is politically induced. This concurs with Chand (2015) who opines that, political nature of trade unions, multiple unions and inter-union rivalry weaken trade union movement; in the absence of strong and responsible trade unions, collective bargaining becomes effective and the union's status is reduced to a more strike committee, and, Ahmad (2004), concurs that, the political nature of trade unions, multiple unions and inter-union rivalry, weaker trade union movement are clear causes of poor industrial relations.
Poor industrial relations is caused by a lot of factors as shown in that though economic factors are prevalent, the organisational, social and psychological causes are also important to note. This concurs with Chaudhuri (2012), Chand (2015) and Kaufman (1997) argues that, there are economic, social, political, psychological and organisational causes of poor industrial relations. Interviews also revealed that poor industrial relations are as result of organisational and social challenges.
4.5 Importance of sound Industrial Relations
Fig .4 Importance of Sound Industrial Relations
Source: Primary Data
The majority of 55% and 28% of the sample population reveals that sound industrial relations increases productivity and industrial harmony. This is in concordance with Silva (1995) who posits that sound industrial relations creates an environment conducive to economic efficiency and the motivation productivity and development of the employee and generates loyalty and mutual trust. However, a minority of 14% also shows that sound industrial relations system reduces wastage of raw materials, and resources. This concurs with a study by Naukrihub (2014) that revealed that, good Industrial Relations are maintained on the basis of cooperation and recognition of each other; it help to increase production and wastage of man, materials and machines are reduced to the minimum and thus national interest is protected.
4.6 Impact of Industrial relations on Organisational Performance
Fig. 5 Impact of Industrial Relations on Organisational Performance
Source: Primary Data
Fig. 5 shows that majority of 55% of the respondents agree that industrial relations increases productivity, in support to that, Patrice and Bergeron (2002) reveals that mobilization involving the presence of a monetary incentive plan, social activity committee, training program, succession plan, performance appraisal and information meetings helps meet productivity plans, This is aligned to Ayantunji and Ayantunji (2013) studies when they depict that, mobilization involving the presence of a monetary incentive plan, social activity committee, training program, succession plan, performance appraisal and information meetings helps meet productivity plans. Nevertheless, the minority of 22% shows that, profitability is met to some extent, which is a fulfilment of Barney's (1991) model, which states that, whichever way the strategies are developed, they affect all the stakeholders and stakeholders determine the success or the failure of these strategies. Also, the capability is the capacity for a set of resources to integrately-or in combination-perform a task or activity and the external environment of a company is critically driven from the company's resources and capabilities.
4.7 Roles of Industrial Relations Actors
The responses from the interviews and questionnaire the majority of the population reveal that in the industry there are three actors of industrial and their roles in the organisation is towards attaining a sustainable performance of the organisation. (Dunlop (1958), Ayantunji and Ayantunji (2013) and Koçer and Hayter (2011), concurs in declaring industrial relations as a process with three actors. The majority of the respondents' revealed that the industrial relations actors are not familiar to them. The employees as observed by the researcher are not receiving the labour law information as witnessed by the structured questions. There were a lot of Disagreeing sentiments on the questions pertaining to labour law information dissemination and this has been noted by Chaudhuri (2012) researches. As Dunlop denotes that, there are three industrial relations actors which are trade unions, employers and their organisations and the state to generate the rules that govern the workplace. The few viewed employers as an oppressor and as a capitalist and the managerial staff saw employees as people who are lazy and they also viewed the labour laws as a tool for supporting employees.
Fig .6 Ways of overcoming poor industrial relations
The majority of 74% reveals that if the Elliot Hotel is to overcome poor industrial relations it has to introduce good leadership skills among the managerial employees. Singh (2008) concurs that personnel managers should remove any distrust by convincing the union of the company's integrity and his own sincerity and honesty. Suspicious, rumours and doubts should all be put to rest (Kumar, 2007). The minority also show that, there should enhance good union leadership so as reduce and overcome the poor industrial relations. This is also seen by Giri (2008) who propounds that, for the organization to attain good industrial relations it should maintain a strong and a stable union, the organizational parties should have mutual trust, the organization must implement worker participation methods and also mutual accommodation is another crucial move to take. Additionally, Kumar (2007) posits that, the personnel manager should not vie with the union leadership and while it is not for the management to interfere with union activities, or choose the union leadership, its action and attitude will go a long way towards developing the right kind of union leadership.
4.9 Summary
This chapter presented the findings and analysed that finding so as to link with the theories and answer the research objectives. The next chapter shall provide the summary, recommendations and conclusion to the whole research.
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0Introduction
This chapter presents summary of the study in which the major findings of the research are briefly outlined. It goes on to look at research based conclusions. Under this section, answers to the research questions outlined in chapter one are summed up. The conclusions are drawn from the research findings. Finally, recommendations are put forward whereby the researcher examines the research findings in the light of the suggested applications. The chapter concludes by putting forward suggestions for further studies.
5.1 Summary
The findings of the research showed the existence impact of industrial relations on organisational performance witnessed by the responses given from the findings. The assessment of whether industrial relations management can have impact on how the organisation achieves its goals, attains the sentiments of the mission statement and fulfil its vision is the core business of this thesis.
The major findings of the study revealed that:
Industrial Relations is a complex term which needs to be studied with caution and its meaning is brought about through a voluminous list of words. It has been observed from the Dunlop's definition of industrial relations. People can define it and live some of the important words. This is the reason why it has been misconstrued by a lot of scholars. Kaufman (2004) and Dunlop (1958) concur on the definition of industrial relations that it has three actors and the absence of each actors co-corporation they will be poor and redundant resources.
The absurd gross domestic product which has been witnessed in Zimbabwe has caused a lot of consequences in the management of Human Resources, it even led to the decrease of employee welfare, unfair labour practises and above all trends have shown that due that decay of the economic pounce there is little or no legalised bargaining. This even affected the fostering of sound industrial relations, the responses shows that most of causes of industrial relations emanate from economic factors.
As the Systems Theory expatiates, there is a broken system whereby the normal rules made by the laws are not recognised by the two parties. The Resource based view as it views employees as an important source of a good strategy, there is no room to support the theory when there is no good management of industrial relations.
Industrial Relations has a great impact when it comes enhancing of productivity and profitability. Sound industrial relations reduces wastages and it helps organisations propel in production without interruption of labour awards and cost.
It has been also found that, by the time Elliot Hotel involved industrial relations department the sales started rising, it reduced its labour awards.
5.2 Discussion
The Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre management exhibited that there is a strong correlation between the management of industrial relations and organisational performance. The management instead highlighted that they introduced the Human Resources Department and employed a personnel to tackle labour and employee grievances. From the chapter 2 studies, Chaudhuri studies revealed that lack of employee welfare leads to poor industrial relations, as presented from the findings, employees showed that they are satisfied with the welfare they are getting from their employers.
However, due to mental inertia, the management demands that all employees should show respect by exhibiting their skills and work hard to show their commitment. As a way of revoking the satisfaction of employees Elliot Hotel, the researcher, asked the employee respondents is they get enough rewards, trainings, and if the employees are given their right to bargain for salaries and working conditions. According to Dunlop's Systems model, collective bargaining is part of a system which keeps the employment relationship warm and viable. The Resource Based View by Barney (1991), show that, as the organisation would need to utilise its resources, which are the employees, it needs to allow bargaining and give a platform for employee negotiations. The findings shows that the, employees have a full bargaining ground and are allowed to negotiate at enterprise level since the industrial and national platforms have become obsolete.
The ideology brought about by Dunlop is that, the advent of rules in organisation is a way to regularise employment environment for easy exploitation of the resources which is labour for a strategic management. Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre findings presents the employee respondents' percept that the organisation is observing the labour laws, whilst they also disagree that they don't have full access to labour laws. This shows a paradox and doubt if the organisation has full implementation of labour laws.
5.3 Recommendations
Elliot Hotel and Conference Centre espouses that it has good industrial relations practises however the organisation has no platform to communicate the circulating labour laws, thus it should practise industrial relations in a national level to avoid complication in the future. When the organisation has been found be breaching the labour laws it may make a grave mistake that can cause more depleting troubles to its affairs.
The firm has employed a lot of lowly qualified employees, and relying on the contract system, its show that the employees are not permanently employed and they there is a breach of clause from the Labour Act Chapter 28:01 which prohibits of employment of employees under contract bases of over a period of 6months.
EHCC has no Workers Committee or Trade Union representation, as regulated in the Labour Act Chapter 28:01, this can results from the threatening environment of the workplace or the satisfaction of the employees. The researcher recommends the establishment of a WC so that if another way the employees feels short changed they can resort to a best practise of employee's ways of showing their grievances.
There is a history of suppression, exploitation and unrecognition of non-union employees as witnessed from the background of the study in USA. This can be one of a typical example from nowadays organisations a since it's a rapport created on that basis. The organisation should give an opportunity to the employees to form their working committees and this may help the organisation to have all its responsibilities and information revealed without any fear. Thus, one institution declares that there is power in numbers and collectiveness.
Recommendations for further study
The sample of this research is therefore small and directly directed at the local level. To generate achievable observation of the impact of the industrial relations on organisational performance with regards to diversification of industries, there is need for more case studies at the local level to allow further assessment of local dimensions of the subject. Exploring the following as future research strategies can facilitate the attainment of this goal
5.4 Conclusion
The Research has proven that sound industrial relations has an impact to the productivity, customer satisfaction, and employee retention which are more like indicators of organisational performance. The external environment which happens to be technology, politics, and the government interventions have been denied as the causal of organisational decline.
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Appendix 1
My name is Ishmael Mabhiza (Reg Number : M113191) and I am conducting a research in partial fulfillment a Bachelor of Social Sciences Honours degree in Industrial Relations with Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo. My research focuses on the impact of the industrial relations management of organisational performance in the catering industry particularly in the prevailing harsh macro-economic conditions. My objective is to expand the board of knowledge surrounding the relationship between the employment relationships as a prominent driver to organisational performance.
Please take a few minutes to answer the attached questionnaire. Responses provided will be in strict confidence and will be used for academic purposes only.
SECTION A: DEMOGRAPHICS
Please indicate your answer by ticking the appropriate box.
1 a) Gender
Male Female
b) Age Category
20 or below 21 – 30 31 – 40 41 – 50 51 – 60
c) Highest Level of Education and Professional Attainment
Ordinary Level Advanced Level Diploma Degree
Post Graduate Masters Doctorate
d) Job Position
e) Work Experience
On Contract 5yrs and Below 6yrs and Above
f) Job Category
SECTION B: INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE
What do you understand by the term industrial relations?
What does organization performance mean to you?
In your opinion is there a relation between industrial relations and organisational performance?
What is driving you to continue working for this organization?
In the table below please tick the box that best describes your response
The codes for the symbols are as follows:
SASAAADDSDSDStrongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
SA
SA
A
A
D
D
SD
SD
In your opinion:
SD
D
A
SA
EHCC espouses shared values, visions, strategies, routines and beliefs
Employees are given opportunity to bargain
I am proud to represent EHCC at any place
I feel sense of belonging, loyalty and committed to the EHCC
My organization is concerned about employee welfare
I know how the labour laws work
I have full access to information of labour law
EHCC is an organization which espouses excellence
EHCC has a workers committee
I feel employees are heard if they speak
Negotiations are permitted here at EHCC
Customers are happy about our services as EHCC
There is in-house trainings
There are HR policies to be followed
Government officials often visit employees at EHCC
Employer and employees are working together in unison
What factors do you feel affect individual performance in EHCC, given the low and depleting disposable incomes, company closures and liquidity constraints?
Tick the appropriate box or boxes Yes No
Financial Rewards
Leadership Style
Job characteristics
Employment relationship
7) In your opinion does employment relationship have a direct impact on customer satisfaction which is an organisational performance indicator? If yes or no please explain why in the space below.
8) What strategies do you suggest should be implemented by EHCC to promote employee retention considering the harsh macro-economic environment?
Appendix 2
Interview Guide for Managers
SECTION A: DEMOGRAPHICS
Please indicate your answer by ticking the appropriate box.
1 a) Gender
Male Female
b) Age Category
20 or below 21 – 30 31 – 40 41 – 50 51 – 60
c) Highest Level Of Education and Professional Attainment
Ordinary Level Advanced Level Diploma Degree
Post Gradaduate Masters Doctorate
d) Job Position
e) Division
Section B: Organisational Preview
2a) How long have been worked for EHCC?
b)What is driving you to continue working for EHCC?
c) Do you have any idea about what industrial relations is as a field?
d) What are measures you put in place to maintain harmonious industrial relations?
e) Is there any relationship between industrial relations and organisational performance?
Yes No
Please give reasons for your above response:.
f) What do you think is the impact of industrial relations on organisational performance?
g) In your opinion, what measures do you view as key indicators of industrial relations and organisational performance?
h) How has the organisation been performing the past 2 years?
i) How many employees have you retained in the past 2 years?
j) How many job posititions have created and recruited employees in the past 2 years?
Jobs Employees Recruited
k) As a management employee do you think that the organisation has been achieving its objectives and plans?
l) Do you think that employee relations can affect or has affected the achievement of those objectives?
m) What practises do you use in your department to promote employee satisfaction and competitive advantage?
n) What challenges are you facing in promoting employee satisfaction and competitive advantage?
o) Is customer satisfaction an important performance indicator to EHCC?
p) What is the role of the HR function in facilitating employee retantion to enhance organisational performance?
q) What strategies do you suggest should be implemented by the organisation to boost productivity?
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
