Impact of Unions on Human Resources Management Research Paper

Impact of Unions on Human Resources Management - Research Paper Example The approach taken by this paper focuses on the context of both the employees and the employer, in order to understand how basing on these two, unions influence the human resources management of an organization. Overall, this paper will show that unions have both negative and positive impact on human resources management of an organization. Literature Review Labor Laws, Unions, and Human Resources Management Labor laws are essential in guiding the relationship between the employers, the employees, and the unions. Therefore, through them, there arise various expectations, which influence the management of a unionized organization in various ways. Neuser and Barker (2010) wrote an article, which explores the state of labor laws in the United States. In their article titled â€Å"What Every Employer Should Know about the Law of Union Organizing,† Neuser and Barker explore the various labor laws in the United States, and interpret them to show how these influence employers, and wh at is wrong or right for employers to do when faced with unionization. Nonetheless, a major aspect of employers’ actions, which the labor laws guide, is the counter-campaign. Neuser and Barker (6) argue that, â€Å"An employer is permitted, and is almost always well advised, to conduct an employee informational campaign when confronted with a union organizing campaign.† However, the manner through which this is done determines whether the labor laws are violated or adhered to by the employer. The counter-campaign by the employer results in changes in the human resources and management practices in a company. However, an employer conducts a counter-campaign, in accordance with the Section 8(a) of the Act, as well as various opinions by the judicial and the board. Therefore, in a bid to prevent employees from unionizing, employers might adopt additional human resources practices, or improve on the existing human resources practices, in order to promote employee job satis faction. For instance, they might increase employee salaries, promote some employees to higher position, and generally improve on the working conditions of employees. Nonetheless, all these changes and new adoptions in HR practices will have been brought about by unionization. However, Neuser and Barker emphasize that this counter-campaign should not infringe on any labor law (26). Unionizing, Job Satisfaction, and Human Resources Management Various researches have been conducted to explore the effect of unionizing on employee job satisfaction. In their study, Bryson, Cappellari, and Lucifora (2010) explored the effect of unionizing on employee job satisfaction in Britain. Results show that there are no significant differences in the level of job satisfaction between union and nonunion employees. However, for those union employees that lacked collective bargaining, the level of job satisfaction was found to be lower. Nonetheless, collective bargaining is an important determinant of job satisfaction for union workers. In another study, Artz (2010) investigated how union experience influences employee job satisfaction. Results showed that job satisfaction was only higher among the employers, who were in unions for the first time, thus low experience in unions. However, the more an employee gained increased experience in uni