Introduction
Employment relations are considered the foundation on which the majority of corporations in the present business world have been able to acquire a competitive advantage. Moderation of employment relations emerged as a profound revolution in the domain of human resource management and added a new chapter in the domain of academic-industrial relations. The scope of employment relations largely comprises references to the general interpersonal relationships existing among employees and employers (Marsden, 2000).
However, the significance of employment relationships cannot be encompassed within a generic description. Practically, employment relations are directed towards addressing the developments as well as dynamics of the industry and organization alike. Furthermore, employment relations are not limited to the association between trade unions and management and extend further to include all parties involved in an enterprise (Heery & Noon, 2008). The subsequent evolution of employment relations and human resource management approaches led to an increase in emphasis on job regulations.
The following essay clarifies the definitions associated with job regulations and the significance of unions in realizing the objectives of the regulations. The illustrations in the essay are further complemented with a discussion on internal and external regulations from unilateral as well as bilateral perspectives. Comprehensive interpretation of the definition of job regulations in the context of union influence helps draw critical perspectives for the evaluation of different forms of job regulations.
The origins of job regulation
The concerns for job regulations were derived from the prominence of employment relationships. Employment relationships are formidable social and economic entities that promote the sustainable advantages of organizations all over the world. The proliferation of insights into job regulation could be traced back to the nineteenth century when subcontracting was prevalent with outcomes that could be precisely defined and monitored (Cummings, 1978).
However, the introduction of complexities in the operational framework of production-based firms and technological advancements led to requirements such as direct control of the operational aspects and flexible modification of tasks according to the specific requirements of the organization (Marsden, 2000). Hence, employers had to face the dilemma between redefining the job responsibilities of employees and the need for negotiation. Employers perceived open-ended employment relations as the most reasonable option to address the emerging HR management issues while employees suspected foul play in open-ended contracts. Open-ended contracts had to be supported with safeguards for employees that would prevent their exploitation by employers.
Therefore job regulations came into the scenario as employers had to comply with the limitations of defining workers’ tasks without depending on vague contingency clauses and exhaustive job roles. Examples of the competence ranking rule followed in Japanese firms and the qualification rule followed in Germany account for increasing task flexibility (Marsden, 2000). It is imperative to observe that emphasis on functions rather than individuals can be assumed as a formidable aspect of job regulations.
Job regulation
Job regulation is a widely preferred term in the domain of industrial relations and has been addressed as a significant input for determining academic industrial relations. The rules governing the employment relations in an organization, activities, and behavior of employers, employees, and representatives are included in the scope of job regulations. The profound aspects related to job regulations include the creation, implementation, and outcomes of the same and are studied comprehensively in HR management and industrial relations literature (Heery & Noon, 2008).
Classification of job regulations based on distinct criteria has been imperatively observed in the formal and informal job regulations, substantive and procedural regulations, and distinctions based on the approach followed for formulating the regulations. Formal job regulations could be noticed in written forms and examples of formal regulations include employment statutes and collective agreements while informal job regulations are found in the form of customary understandings and widely assumed precedents for workplace behavior. Substantive regulations are directed towards moderating the underlying aspects of employment relations while procedural regulations illustrate the guidelines for the management of behavior of employees, managers, unions, employer associations, and involved parties in industrial relations (Heery & Noon, 2008).
Approaches followed for creating job regulation also account for classifications such as inherently acquired regulations and the process of joint regulation. With industrial relations at the center of the objectives of job regulations, it is essential to emphasize the ideology followed by the organization as well as the context in which the organization operates. The formulation of regulations is reflective of outcomes for improving payment benefits and prolific working conditions.
Necessity for job regulation
As identified earlier, the concerns for the origins of job regulations were dependent on the evolving requirements of higher technical proficiency, differentiation of skills and competence requirements as well as direct control of operations desired by management. The domain of industrial relations comprises references to issues that led to the formation of trade unions and increased the frequency of negotiations and agreements. Adaptability to technology and the contemporary modifications in job design required the implementation of precise job regulations according to which employees can deliver potential performance (Marsden, 2000, p. 343).
The managers primarily guide the formulation of job regulations according to managerial prerogatives and employees. The rationale for developing job regulations according to managerial prerogatives is the effective management of employment relationships for acquiring higher profitability and returns for stakeholders. Job regulations are needed to outline the elements of supervision and authority over employees, the behavior of employment relationships, and the standard terms and conditions for the job (da Motta Veiga & Turban, 2014).
Significance of trade unions
The role of trade unions in the formulation of job regulations cannot be undermined. Furthermore, unions act as external influences on the realization of unilateral and bilateral negotiations. Some of the prominent functions executed by unions could be aptly reflective of the contributions that can be facilitated by them toward job regulations. Unions are responsible for negotiating collective arguments which can be a promising factor for the estimation of job descriptions and framing job regulations to the requirements of employees (Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt, 1984).
Unions are capable of communicating the needs of neglected bargaining units to employers thereby leading to balanced outcomes for employees and employers alike (Nibusinessinfo, 2017). The role of unions in the context of job regulations can be validated based on decreasing the exhaustive job responsibilities of individual employees and the limits for negotiation which can be applied to the requirements for forming job regulations. Informing and consulting are considered notable aspects of the functions of trade unions and these functions of trade unions are capable of delivering competencies in circumstances such as transferring business ownership, health and safety concerns, occupational remunerations, and personal pension schemes of employees, and the collective redundancies observed in the administrative framework of an organization.
The introduction of novel reforms in the context of job regulations is considered a viable response that can be obtained from trade unions. Trade unions are more likely to access comprehensive information about industry and the labor market which enables them to frame suitable proposals for designing job regulations.
Internal and external job regulations
Job regulations are also classified based on the context wherein regulations are impacted. Internal job regulations are affected by an organization’s internal framework of values and beliefs and are subject to modifications without the requirement of external authority (Grimshaw et al., 2001). Internal regulations are framed with the consent of the management of the organization and the members i.e. employees, managers, and stakeholders. On the other hand, external job regulations are framed due to the influence of external agents such as political, economic, social, and technological changes.
The external influences are not under the control of any organization and thereby external regulations could be considered well beyond the autonomy of internal rulemaking. The commonly accepted subcategories in the internal and external job regulations refer to unilateral and bilateral classifications. Unilateral regulations involve the exercise of influence in one direction i.e. employee influence on trade union or management and vice versa. Bilateral regulations are indicative of an association between the involved parties in the regulation.
External job regulation
From a critical perspective, unilateral regulations are observed in union rules, employer’s association rules, and customary trade practices at national, district, and organizational levels. One of the prominent disadvantages of unilateral external job regulation is the lack of dynamism in these regulations.
The regulations cannot be challenged and therefore they can exercise strenuous influence on employees in unprecedented scenarios (Heery & Noon, 2008). Bilateral external rules are observed in bargaining between employers on a multinational, national, or regional level and organizational, divisional, and factory levels.
Internal job regulation
Internal unilateral job regulation is associated with the imposition of rules by workgroups, management, or union committees. This form of regulation is subject to critical gaps such as disparities between required and observed competence among employees to cater to the job regulations and the unauthorized influence of management in the formulation of critical decisions about job regulation (McCarthy, 1964).
Bilateral internal job regulations could be observed in the negotiations between employees and employers and are primarily inclusive of the association of work councilors, elected union officers, and workgroup delegates. The critical perspective of bilateral internal job regulation depicts the role of apprehensions on behalf of employees in the fabrication of employment regulations (Simms, 2015).
Conclusion
The essay clarified the concept of job regulations through a depiction of the causes leading to the origin of job regulations, definitions, and categories of job regulation alongside the importance of unions in realizing the objectives laid out in the job regulations. Furthermore, the essay also emphasizes the internal and external categories of job regulation alongside the underlying unilateral and bilateral forms of each type of regulation to provide a critical analysis.
References
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da Motta Veiga, S.P. and Turban, D.B., 2014. Are affect and perceived stress detrimental or beneficial to job seekers? The role of learning goal orientation in job search self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 125(2), pp.193-203.
Greenhalgh, L. and Rosenblatt, Z., 1984. Job insecurity: Toward conceptual clarity. Academy of Management Review, 9(3), pp.438-448.
Grimshaw, D., Ward, K.G., Rubery, J. and Beynon, H., 2001. Organizations and the transformation of the internal labor market. Work, Employment and Society, 15(1), pp.25-54.
Heery, E. and Noon, M., 2008. A dictionary of human resource management. OUP Oxford.
Marsden, D., 2000. A theory of job regulation, the employment relationship, and the organization of labor institutions. Industrielle Beziehungen/The German Journal of Industrial Relations, pp.320-347.
McCarthy, W.E.J., 1964. The closed shop in Britain. Univ of California Press.
nibusinessinfo.co.uk. 2017. The role of trade unions and their representatives. [Online] Available at: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/role-trade-unions-and-their-representatives [Accessed 17 Mar. 2017].
Simms, M., 2015. Unions and Job Quality in the UK Extending Interest Representation Within Regulation Institutions. Work and Occupations, p.0730888415618729.
