HRM: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, NEGOTIATION SKILLS

HRM is planning, organizing, directing, controlling of procurement, development,

Compensation, integration, maintenance and separation of human resources to the end that
individual, organizational and social objectives are achieved-Edwin flipo.

Features of HRM :It is wide spread in nature as it is present in all enterprises, Its focus is on
results rather than on rules, It encourages employees to give their best to the organization, It is
all about people at work, It tries to put people on assigned jobs in order to produce good results,
It helps an organization meet its goals in the future by providing for competent and well-
motivated employees, It tries to build and maintain cordial relations , It is a multi-disciplinary
activity, utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from psychology, economics, etc.
Objectives of HRM: The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of competent
and willing workforce for an organization. Specifically, HRM objectives are four fold:
Personal Objectives: To assist Employees in achieving their personal goals, to enhance the
individual’s contribution to the organization. These must be maintained, retained and motivated.
Functional Objectives: To maintain the contribution of department at an appropriate level
organization should fulfil the needs. Organizational Objectives: To recognize the role of HRM
in bringing about organizational effectiveness, and to assist the organization with its primary
objectives organization. Societal Objectives: To be ethically & socially responsible for the
needs and challenges of society.
Functions: 1.Managerial functions includes planning, organising, staffing, direction,
controlling 2.Operative functions includes procurement, development, compensation,
maintenance, motivation, integration.
Scope of HRM: 1.Personnel aspect-This is concerned with manpower planning, recruitment,
selection, placement, transfer, promotion, training and development, layoff and retrenchment,
remuneration, incentives, productivity etc.2.Welfare aspect-It deals with working conditions
and amenities such as canteens, rest and lunch rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance,
education, health and safety, recreation facilities.3.Industrial relations aspect-This covers
union-management relations, joint consultation, collective bargaining, grievance and disciplinary
procedures, settlement of disputes, etc.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

A process by which employers on the one hand and representatives of employees on the other,
attempt to arrive at agreements covering the conditions under which employees will contribute
and be compensated for their services.-Michael J. Jucious

Objectives :To increase mutual confidence between the employer and employees, To regulate
terms and conditions of employment without intervention of a third party, To create cordial
environment in the establishment, To protect the interest of the employees; through collective
action and by preventing unilateral action on the part of the employer, To raise the socio-
economic attributes of the employees.
Main Features of Collective Bargaining: It is a Group Action: Employer is represented by its
delegates and, on the other side; employees are represented by their trade union. Continuous
Process: it does not end with one agreement. It provides a mechanism for continuing and
organised relationship between management and trade union. Bipartite Process: There is no
intervention of any third party. It is mutual given-and-take rather than take-it-or-leave-it method
of arriving at the settlement of a dispute Process: it contains certain steps, The starting point is
the presentation of charter of demands by the workers and the last step is the reaching of an
agreement, or a contract Flexible and Mobile and not Fixed or Static: It has fluidity. There is
no hard and fast rule for reaching an agreement. Industrial Democracy at Work: based on the
principle of industrial democracy where the labour union represents the workers in negotiations
with the employer or employers. Dynamic: It is relatively a new concept, and is growing,
expanding and changing. In the past, it used to be emotional, turbulent and sentimental, but now
it is scientific, factual and systematic. Complementary and not a Competitive Process:
Collective bargaining is not a competitive process, it is essentially a complementary where both
the parties can win—each party contributing something for the benefit of the other party.

Importance :Creates healthy environment for discussion, Develops better understanding

between parties Peaceful settlement of disputes, Avoids wastes and accidents, Controls labour
problems, Improves industrial relations, Labour productivity improves Quality and quantity of
production improve, Financial position of firm improves. Contributes to the development of
national economy.

Funtions:It is a process of decision making and mechanism for belonging the power between
the employer and employee, Working together ,sharing together ,deciding together ,and earning
together, It helps to prompt the cooperation and mutual understanding between workers and
management, It establish the uniform condition for employment ,It promotes stability and
prosperity, It increases the economic strength of employee and management, Provides fair rate of
wages and amenities for workers, Its provide a solution of industrial sickness, It provide new
methods of employment regulatory conditions.
Process of collective bargaining:
1. Preparation: the work is to prepare for the negotiation or acknowledge about the problem
that the employees are facing. This leads to the final acknowledgement makes it an easy process
before the bargaining so that the process is carried ahead effectively.2.Discussion:In this process
the issues are discussed among each other as well as their respective union heads about the
relevant topics and negotiations that is to be made at the time of bargaining.3.Proposal :it
involves proposing the discussed idea by the labour union in front of the management and vice –
versa.4.Bargain:This is the most known step in the whole process, where both the parties try to
achieve the best they can by negotiating to arrive at a mutual acceptable agreement.5.The Final
Agreement: this is the last step where the final agreement involves all the written documents
duly signed and agreed by the management and the trade union.
An effective collective bargaining required : Favourable organizational climate is a
prerequisite for effective settlement, Interference of outside political leadership would be
harmful, Trade unions must be strengthened by recognition, Government should made
legislation for compulsory collective bargaining preceding adjudication, There is no scope of
unfair labour practices in this process; therefore, both the parties should develop positive
attitudes towards each other, A ‘win-win situation’ should be adopted by both the parties.

NEGOTIATION

A process in which two or more parties exchange goods and services and attempt to agree upon
the exchange rate for them-Robbins
Four principles involved are Preparation: understanding the issues and the people and
equipping the team for the process. Relationship: developing a strategy for maintaining the
relationship before, during and after negotiations. Communication: building trust by applying
an open communication style .Problem-solving: exploring options and strategies for reaching
agreement.
Types of collective bargaining
1-Distrubutive type: it operates under a zero sum game, the gain made by one person is loss
incurred by the other person, and each person involved in the negotiation defines ultimate point
where the settlement will be made.2.Intergrative type: it relies in win-win situation, uses a
collaborative model of conflict resolution. Both parties involved in negotiation process jointly
look at the problem, try to search for alternatives and try to evaluate them and reach a mutually
acceptable decision or solution.

Essential negotiation skills

Negotiating salaries and raises, Dealing with employee conflicts, Motivating sales –staff,
Making downsizing and outsourcing decisions, Developing leadership skills among your talents
pool, Selling new strategic initiatives to department head, Managing cultural acclimation
Bringing in new management Working on budgetary allocations .

References: HRD manual,https://www.hrmguide.co.uk,https://www.economicsdiscussion.net