UNIT 8 HUMAN RELATIONS

MODULE - 2
 Human Relations

UNIT 8 HUMAN RELATIONS

Structure
NOTES
8.0 Introduction
8.1 Unit Objectives
8.2 Meaning of Human Relations
8.2.1 Human Relations Defined; 8.2.2 Characteristics of Human Relations;
8.2.3 Scope of Human Relations
8.3 Meaning of Employee Grievance
8.3.1 Features of the Grievance; 8.3.2 Understanding Employee Grievance; 8.3.3 Nature and
Causes of Grievances; 8.3.4 Need for a Grievance Handling Procedure; 8.3.5 Essentials of a
Sound Grievance Handling; 8.3.6 Basic Elements in Grievance Redressal; 8.3.7 Steps in
Grievance Handling; 8.3.8 Benefits of Systematising Handling; 8.3.9 Grievance Management
in Indian Industry
8.4 Discipline – Concept and Definition
8.4.1 Causes of Indiscipline; 8.4.2 Aspects of Discipline; 8.4.3 Objectives of
Discipline; 8.4.4 Essentials of a Good Disciplinary System; 8.4.5 Code of Discipline;
8.4.6 Kinds of Punishment/Penalties; 8.4.7 Procedure for Taking Disciplinary Action; 8.4.8 Role
of the HR Manager in Maintaining Discipline; 8.4.9 Principles of Natural Justice and Domestic
Enquiry; 8.4.10 Principles of Effective Discipline
8.5 Employee Empowerment
8.5.1 Empowerment Vs Disempowerment; 8.5.2 Conditions Necessary for the Success of
Empowerment; 8.5.3 Stages in the Empowering Process
8.6 Definition of Collective Bargaining
8.6.1 Characteristics of Collective Bargaining; 8.6.2 Objectives of Collective Bargaining;
8.6.3 Advantages of Collective Bargaining; 8.6.4 Types of Bargaining; 8.6.5 Process of
Collective Bargaining; 8.6.6 Steps to Ensure the Effectiveness of Collective
Bargaining; 8.6.7 Bargainable Issues; 8.6.8 Collective Bargaining in India; 8.6.9 Factors
Inhibiting Collective Bargaining in India; 8.6.10 Conditions Essential for Successful Collective
Bargaining; 8.6.11 Steps to Ensure Successful Collective Bargaining
8.7 Case Studies: KSRTC Ltd.; Mangalore Plastics Ltd.
8.8 Summary
8.9 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’
8.10 Questions and Exercises
8.11 Further Reading

8.0 INTRODUCTION
An organization, whether formal or informal, large or small, is composed of people – the
human resources – who come from different walks of life and who are different from one
another in their psychological make-up. Human beings differ from one another in their
basic mental abilities, personality, motor abilities, interests, skills, attitudes, educational
qualifications and training. The performance of human beings and their behaviour when
engaged on a particular job is influenced by intangible psychological and social factors. To
deal with them effectively is both difficult and challenging and different job from that of
handling inanimate resources. Human beings have to be handled with care by the HR
department and the HR professional should be experts in the art of what is usually called
“Human Relations or Human Engineering”.

8.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit you will be able to:
 Understand the meaning of Human Relations
 Appreciate the meaning of Employee Grievance
 Understand the Features of Grievances
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Human Resource Management  Explain the Need for a Grievance Procedure
 Know the Essentials of a Sound Grievance Procedure
 Comprehend the Basic Elements of a Grievance Procedure
 Explain the Concept of Discipline
NOTES  Understand the Causes of Indiscipline
 Identify the Objectives of Discipline
 Discern the Essentials of a Good Disciplinary System
 Understand the Code of Discipline
 Explain the Kinds of Punishment and Penalties
 Understand the Procedures for Taking Disciplinary Action
 Explain Employee Empowerment
 Understand the Difference between Empowerment and Disempowerment
 Understand the Conditions Necessary for the Success of Empowerment
 Understand the Stages in Empowering Organizations
 Define Collective Bargaining
 Understand the Characteristics and Objectives of Collective Bargaining
 Understand the Advantages of Collective Bargaining
 Explain the Process of Collective Bargaining
 Understand the Steps to Ensure the Effectiveness of Collective Bargaining
 Understand the Measures to Build up High Employee Morale
 Tell What is Job Satisfaction
 Understand What are the Determinants of Job Satisfaction
 Understand the Concept of Social Security
 Comprehend the Drawbacks of Social Security in India
 Understand the Provisions of the Factories Act Pertaining to Health and Safety.

8.2 MEANING OF HUMAN RELATIONS

8.2.1 Human Relations Defined

The Encyclopaedia of Personnel Management defines “human relations in these terms:
“The core of its philosophy is that managers respond:
(a) to clearly demonstrate interest by management in the work that they are doing and
their own opinions thereof; and
(b) to the informal social structure prevailing at the workplace. The human relations
school, therefore, aims to develop self-awareness in managers, and conscious
analysis of group dynamics and behaviour at work.”
In the words of Scott, “Human Relations are a process of an effective motivation of
individuals in a given situation in order to achieve a balance of objectives which will yield
greater human satisfaction and help accomplish company goals”.
Davis observes: “ Human relations is a area of management practice in the integrating of
people into work situation in a way that motivates them to work together productively, co-
operatively and with economic, psychological and social satisfaction.”

8.2.2 Characteristics of Human Relations

The main characteristics of human relations are:
(a) Human relations are an integral process through which an individual’s attitude and
work are integrated with a view to effecting a willing co-operation on his part in the
achievement of the interests of an organization as a whole.
(b) Members of the organization contribute their mite to get individual and group satisfaction,
i.e., the producers must receive satisfaction in the same way as the consumers.
(c) The satisfaction desired by employee may be economic, social, and psychological.
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8.2.3 Scope of Human Relations Human Relations

The scope of human relations arises from the problems which have many different causes
and perspectives. Halloran has stated these as under:
(a) Every person brings a unique set of talents, ambitions, and work experience to a job.
Matching so many unique set of personal qualities to a standardised technology can NOTES
create problems.
(b) The organizational aspects such as size, geographic location, and degree of automation
define the scope of work. These organizational aspects define the structure of the
organization and often create intense problems in human relations.
(c) Innovations in technology require the restructuring of job roles and responsibilities.
These changes cause strains between workers and management and create human
relations difficulties.
(d) Promotion of individuals to positions of greater responsibility creates a need for
changed behaviour which in turn create HR problems.
(e) Inexperienced workers may not be able to perform their roles or tasks in work
groups in a competent manner. This creates HR disputes between them and their co-
workers and supervisors.
By way of illustration, Prof. Mee provides some examples of common human relations
problems and how to handle them. This is given in the Table 8.1.

8.3 MEANING OF EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE

Every employee has certain expectations, which he thinks must be fulfilled by the organization
he is working for. When the organization fails to do this, he develops feelings of discontent
or dissatisfaction. Broadly speaking grievance means any real or imaginary feeling of
dissatisfaction and injustice, which an employee has about his employment relationship.
Effective grievance management is an important and integral part of the human resource
management. If an individual’s grievances are unattended and unresolved they will become
collective disputes. A grievance is a sign of an employee’s discontent with job and its
nature.
The concept “grievance” has been defined in several ways by different authorities. Some
of the definitions are given below:
According to Dale S Bearch, “grievance is any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice in
connection with one’s employment situation that is brought to the attention of management”.
In the words of Michael J Jucious, “a grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether
expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company
that an employee thinks, believes or even feels, is unfair, unjust or inequitable”.
According to Flippo, grievance is “a type of discontent which must always be expressed.
A grievance is usually more formal in character than a complaint. It can be valid or ridiculous,
and must grow out of something connected with company operations or policy. It must
involve an interpretation or application of the provisions of the labour contract”.
According to Kieth Davis, grievance is “any real or imagined feeling of personal injustice
which an employee has concerning his employment relationship”.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines a grievance as “a complaint of one or Check Your Progress
more workers in respect of wages, allowances, conditions of work and interpretation of 1. Define Human Relations
service stipulations, covering such areas as overtime, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, 2. What are the main
job assignment and termination of service”. characteristics of human
relations?
Grievances generally give rise to unhappiness, frustration, discontentment, indifference to
work, poor morale; and they ultimately lead to the inefficiency of workers and low
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Human Resource Management Table 8.1 Common Human Relations Problems

Problem Possible cause Possible action

Absenteeism Habit, lack of interest, trouble at Investigate, remove cause, have a
NOTES home, dissatisfaction with job, personal talk, create interest in work, help
transportation trouble. obtain transportation.
Complaints about Jealousy, favouritism, actual poor Better instructions, check supervision,
working conditions. transfer to other work.
conditions
Dirty work and Lack of interest, carelessness, Personal talk, explain safety hazards,
work place toleration by management. check supervisor's tolerance, allow clean-
up time.
Disloyalty Discontent, favouritism, lack of Investigate the cause, give a square deal,
recognition set up an objective merit-rating
procedure.
Complainer Work conditions poor wages, lack Transfer, investigate wage inequality,
spreads discontent of recognition, poor leadership. check if work has been recognised.
Excessive talking Lack of social outlet, idleness. Investigate and recommend social outlets,
redefine tasks, make employee realise that
talking disturbs others.
Insubordination Lack of interest, jealousy, Investigate reason, transfer, if the cause is
favouritism, personal issue. a personal issue, try to settle it or transfer
employee, build up his interest in job.
Misinterpreting Ignorance of facts, dissatisfaction. Better communication, give facts in
management understandable terms, builds up purpose
information of this job.
Not using safety Indifference, desire to turn out Show safety movies, talk on personal
aids more work, device improperly danger, check safety-aid design, penalise.
designed.
Plays on job Clownishness, desire to be Show safety hazards, get group product
important to group, lax discipline, action, check test assignment, allow
not enough work. break-time.
Quality of work Lack of knowledge, laziness, Show importance of job to final product,
poor desire to exceed piece rate. proper motion instruction, emphasis need
for quality, penalise for poor work order,
re-work.
Rumour-spreader Jealous, curiosity, desire to seem Investigate, recognise work add
important. responsibility if merited, personal talk.
Quitting ahead of Habit, transportation difficulty, Insist on quality work, provide adequate
time. lack of washroom facilities, desire bathroom facilities for all, check quitting
to get out, rate too high. time, allow employee to go to library so
as not to interrupt work if his task is
done.
Soldering Improper time standards, fear of Check time standards, maintain time rates
rate cut, lax discipline, lack of once set, be firm, show importance of
interest. good job.
Theft Severity of discipline, natural Cut opportunities for theft, use lie
dishonesty, low wage. detector tests, take disciplinary action,
send to psychiatrist, check home and
money needs.
Wastefulness Laxity, lack of acknowledge, lack Place of Waste Committee, show
of interest. importance of waste reduction, penalise.
Source: Mee John F., Personnel Handbook, Page 396 – 397.
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productivity. An HR manager should therefore see to it that grievances are redressed at the Human Relations
earliest possible.

8.3.1 Features of the Grievance

An analysis of the above-mentioned definition reveals the following features. They are NOTES
(a) A grievance refers to any form of discontent or dissatisfaction with any aspect of the
organization.
(b) The dissatisfaction must arise out of employment and not from personal or family
problems.
(c) The dissatisfaction may be expressed or implied. Expressed grievances are
comparatively easy to recognise and are manifested in several ways. For example,
gossiping, active criticism, argumentation, poor workmanship etc. Unexpressed
grievances are indicated by indifference to work, daydreaming, absenteeism, tardiness
etc.
(d) The discontent may be valid, legitimate and rational or untrue and irrational or completely
ludicrous. The point is that when a grievance held by an employee comes to the notice
of the management it cannot usually dismiss it as irrational or untrue.
(e) A grievance is traceable to perceived non-fulfilment of one’s expectations from the
organization.
(f) A grievance arises only when an employee feels that injustice has been done to him.
(g) Grievances, if not redressed in time, tend to lower morale and productivity of
employees.

8.3.2 Understanding Employee Grievance

The best approach towards grievance is to anticipate them and take steps to tackle them
before the grievance assumes dangerous proportions. An ordinary manager redresses
grievances as and when they arise. An excellent manager anticipates and prevents them. A
manager can know about problems even before they turn into actual grievances through
several means. They are:
(a) Observations
A manager/supervisor can usually track the behaviours of people working under him. If a
particular employee is not getting along with others, spoiling materials due to carelessness
or recklessness, remains absent etc., the signals are fairly obvious. Since the supervisor is
close to the scene of action, he can always find out such unusual behaviours and report
promptly.
(b) Opinion Surveys
Surveys may be conducted periodically to elicit the opinions of employees about organization
and its policies. Group meetings, periodical interviews with workers and collective bargaining
sessions are also helpful in knowing employee discontent before it becomes a grievance.
(c) Gripe Boxes
A gripe box may be kept at prominent locations in the factory for lodging anonymous
complaints pertaining to any aspect relating to work. Since the complainant need not reveal
his identity, he can express his feelings of injustice or discontent frankly and without any
fear of victimisation. Gripe boxes are different from suggestions with their names written
on them.
(d) Exit Interview
Employees usually leave their current jobs due to dissatisfaction or better prospects outside.
Exit interviews, if conducted carefully, can provide important information about employee’s
grievances. If the manager tries sincerely through an exit interview, he might be able to find
out the real reasons why the employee is leaving the organization. To elicit valuable
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Human Resource Management information, the manager must encourage the employee to give a correct picture so as to
rectify the mistakes promptly. It should be remembered that those employees who believe
in keeping their relationship cordial, because they never know when their paths may cross
again, will not like to burn their bridges behind them by speaking about their grievances. If
NOTES the employee is not providing fearless answers, he may be given a questionnaire to fill up
and post the same after getting all his dues cleared from the organization where he is
currently employed.
(e) Open Door Policy
Some organizations extend a general invitation to their employees to informally drop in the
manager’s room any time and talk over their grievances. The manager can crosscheck the
details of the complaint through various means at his disposal. This policy is useful in
keeping touch with employee feelings. At a first glance, this policy may appear very attractive
but it has the following limitations:
(i) It is workable only in very small organizations.
(ii) The front line supervisor is bypassed.
(iii) Top management is unfamiliar with the work situation.
(iv) The doors may be physically open but psychological and social barriers may prevent
employees from actually entering.

8.3.3 Nature and Causes of Grievances

Just about any factor involving wages, hours or conditions of employment can be the basis
of grievance. Calhoon observes “grievances exist in the minds of individuals, are produced
and dissipated by situations, are fostered or healed by group pressures, are adjusted or

Box 8.1 Causes of Grievance

(A) Grievance resulting from working conditions:

 Improper matching of the worker with the job
 Changes in schedules or procedures
 Non-availability of proper tools, machines and equipment for doing the job
 Tight production standards
 Bad physical conditions of workplace
 Failure to maintain proper discipline (excessive discipline or lack of it, both are equally
harmful)
 Poor relationship with the supervisor
(B) Grievance Resulting from Management policy:
 Wage payment and job rates
 Leave
 Overtime
 Seniority
 Transfer
 Promotion, demotion and discharges
 Lack of career planning and employment development plan
 Hostility toward a labour union.
(C ) Grievance resulting from alleged violation of :
 The collective bargaining agreement
 Central or State laws
 Past practices
 Company rules
 Management’s responsibility
(D) Grievance resulting from personal maladjustment :
 Over-ambition
 Excessive self-esteem
 Impractical attitude to life etc.

Source: P. C. Tripathi, Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, Sultan Chand and Sons, New
Delhi (1999) page 365
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made worse by supervisors, and are nourished or dissolved by the climate in the organization Human Relations
which is affected by all the above factors and by the management”.
Causes of grievances relate to interpretation of all personnel policies. National commission
on Labour states, “complaints affecting one or more individual workers in respect of their
wage payments, overtime, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, work assignment and NOTES
discharge would constitute grievances”. The causes of grievances include the interpretation
of areas like placement, transfer, promotion etc.
P. C. Tripathi has broadly classified the causes of grievance in categories as in
Box 8.1.

8.3.4 Need for a Grievance Handling Procedure

Without an analysis of their nature and pattern, the causes of employee dissatisfaction
cannot be removed. The HR manager should help the top management and line managers,
particularly foremen and supervisors in the formulation and implementation of the policies,
programmes and procedures which would best enable them to handle employee grievance.
These policies, programmes and procedures are generally known as the grievance redressal
procedure. The grievance redressal procedure is a device by which grievances are settled,
generally to the satisfaction of the trade union or employees and the management. The
adoption of the grievance handling procedure is essential for variety of reasons. These are
given in the Box 8.2.

Box 8.2 Why Adopt of a Grievance Handling Procedure

1. Most grievances seriously disturb the employees. This may affect their morale, productivity and
their willingness to co-operate with the organisation. If an explosive situation develops, this can
be promptly attended to if a grievance handling procedure is already in existence.
2. It is not possible that all the complaints of the employees would be settled by first-line supervisors,
for these supervisors may not have had proper training for the purpose, and may lack authority.
Moreover, there may be personality conflicts and other causes as well.
3. It serves as a check on the arbitrary action of the management because supervisors know that
employees are likely to see to it that their protest does reach higher management.
4. It serves as an outlet for employee gripes, discontent and frustrations. It acts like a pressure valve
on a steam boiler. The employees are entitled to legislative, executive and judicial protection and
they get this protection from the grievance redressal procedure, which also acts as a means of
upward communication. The top management becomes increasingly aware of employee problems,
expectations and frustrations. It becomes sensitive to their needs, and cares for their well-being.
This is why the management, while formulating plans that might affect the employees – for
example, plant expansion or modification, the installation of labour-saving devices, and so on,
should take into consideration the impact that such plans might have on the employees.
5. The management has complete authority to operate the business as it sees fit – subject , of course
to its legal and moral obligations and the contracts it has entered into with its workers or their
representative trade union. But if the trade union or the employees do not like the way the
management functions, they can submit their grievance in accordance with the procedure laid
down for that purpose.

Source: C.B. Mamoria and S. V. Gankar, Personnel Management—Text and Cases. Himalaya Publishing
House (2001) Page 745 - 746

According to Armstrong T.O., a well-designed and a proper grievance handling procedure

provides:
1. A channel or avenue by which any aggrieved employee may present his grievance;
2. A procedure which ensures that there will be a systematic handling of every grievance;
3. A method by which an aggrieved employee can relieve his feelings of dissatisfaction
with his job, working conditions or with the management.
4. A means of ensuring that there is some measure of promptness in the handling of the
grievance. Self-Instructional Material 177
Human Resource Management 8.3.5 Essentials of a Sound Grievance Handling
The efficiency of a grievance handling depends upon the fulfilment of certain pre-requisites.
These are as follows:
(a) Conformity with Prevailing Legislation
NOTES
The procedure should be in conformity with the existing law. It should be designed to
supplement the statutory provisions. In other words, the existing grievance machinery as
provided by law must be made use of. The procedure may be incorporated in the standing
orders or collective bargaining agreement of the organization.
(b) Acceptability
The grievance procedure must be acceptable to all and should, therefore, be developed
with mutual consultation among management workers and the union.
(c) Clarity
There should be clarity regarding each and every aspect of the grievance procedure. An
aggrieved employee must be informed about the person to whom a representation can be
made, the form of submission (written or oral), the time limit for the redressal of grievance
etc.
(d) Promptness
The grievance procedure must aim at speedy redressal of grievances. The promptness
with which a grievance is processed adds further to the success of the grievance procedure.
Since justice delayed is justice denied the procedure should aim at rapid disposal of the
grievances. Promptness can be ensured in the following ways:
(i) As far as possible the grievance should be settled at the lowest level.
(ii) There should be only one appeal.
(iii) Time limit should be prescribed and rigidly enforced at each level.
(iv) Different types of grievances may be referred to appropriate authorities.
(e) Simplicity
The grievance procedure should be simple. The procedure should consist of as few steps
as possible. If there are too many stages in the procedure, too many forms to be filled up,
too much going around etc., the very purpose of the procedure is defeated. Instead of
resorting to the formal procedure an employee may ignore it. Information about the procedure
should be communicated to the employees.

Box 8.3 Basic Elements of a Grievance Redressal

1. The existence of a sound channel through which a grievance may pass for redressal if the
previous stage or channel has been found to be inadequate, unsatisfactory or unacceptable.
This stage may comprise three, four or five sub stages.
2. The procedure should be simple, definite and prompt, for any complexity or vagueness or delay
may lead to an aggravation of the dissatisfaction of the aggrieved employee.
3. The steps in handling a grievance should be clearly defined. These should comprise:
(a) Receiving and defining the nature of the grievance;
(b) Getting at the relevant facts, about the grievance;
(c) Analysing the facts, after taking into consideration the economic, social, psychological
and legal issues involved in them;
(d) Taking an appropriate decision to the aggravated employee;
(e) Communicating the decision to the aggravated employee.
4. Whatever the decision, it should be followed up in order that the reaction to the decision may be
known and in order to determine whether the issue has been closed or not.

Source: C.B. Mamoria and S.V. Gankar, Personnel Management—Text and Cases. Himalaya Publishing
House, Mumbai (2001) page 749 – 750.
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(f) Training Human Relations
The success of the procedure also depends upon imparting training to the supervisors and
union representatives in handling grievances. This will help to ensure effective working of
the grievance procedure.
(g) Follow Up NOTES
The working of the grievance procedure should be reviewed at periodical intervals by the
HR department. The department should periodically review the procedure and introduce
the essential structural changes making it more effective.

8.3.6 Basic Elements of Grievance Redressal

C.B. Mamoria and S. V. Gankar have some basic elements of a grievance redressal procedure.
They are given in the Box 8.3.

8.3.7 Steps in Grievance Handling

Grievance handling is a formal process which is preliminary to an arbitration which enables
the parties involved to attempt to resolve their differences in a peaceful, orderly and expeditious
manner.
The Code of Discipline adopted by the Indian Labour Conference in 1957 laid down that
the management and unions should establish, upon a mutually agreed basis, grievance
procedure which would ensure a speedy and full investigation leading to a settlement. At
present, the Model Grievance Procedure in India provides for five successive time bound
steps, each leading to the next case. The aggrieved employee prefers an appeal. These
steps are as follows:
Step I
The aggrieved employee verbally explains his grievance to his immediate supervisor or in a
conference or a discussion specifically arranged for the purpose. The employee seeks
satisfaction from his supervisor. The supervisor must give his answer within forty-eight
hours of the presentation of the complaint. The grievance can be settled if the supervisor
has been properly trained for the purpose, and if he adheres strictly to a basic problem-
solving method.
Step II
The second step begins when the grievance is not settled by the supervisor. If the employee
does not receive an answer within the stipulated time or if he is not satisfied with the
answer, he shall either in person or with his departmental (or any representative) present
has grievance to the head of the department designated for this purpose. The head of the
department is generally the chief business manager, a superintendent or an Industrial Relations
Officer who goes into the grievance and gives his decision on the matter. He is required to
furnish his answer within three days of the presentation of the grievance.
Step III
If the employee is not satisfied with the answer, he can approach the Grievance Committee
which shall evaluate the case and make its recommendations to management within seven
days of presentation of the case. The Grievance Committee is composed of some fellow-
employees, the shop steward or a combination of union and management representatives.
The committee may suggest any one of the possible solutions–
 It may call upon the grievant to accept the employer’s proposed settlement.
 It may advise him that the trade union will not press for anything more than has
already been suggested.
 In some cases, it may recommend that the issue be submitted for arbitration.
The employee would be communicated the recommendation within three days.

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Human Resource Management Step IV
If the committee fails to take decision within the stipulated period or the employee is not
satisfied with the decision he can make an appeal for revision to management. Management
is supposed to communicate its decision within seven days of the worker’s revised petition.
NOTES Step V
If the employee is unsatisfied with the management’s decision, union and management
may refer the grievance to voluntary arbitration within a week of the receipt of management’s
decision by the aggrieved employee. The parties may agree beforehand that the arbitrator’s
award will be final and binding on both the parties.
Figure 8.1 shows the schematic of the five-step grievance handling procedure.

Management Union Time taken

Representative Representative
no time limit
Step 5 ARBITRATION

Step 4 Regional Union 7

Personnel Manager Representative
7 days
Company Union
Step 3
Grievance 3
3 days Committee

Step 2 Department Head Chief Steward

2
3 days

Step 1 Supervisor
Union Steward 2 days

EMPLOYEE

Figure 8.1 Schematic of the Grievance Handling Procedure

The Indian Institute of Personnel Management, Kolkata, has briefly summarized the grievance
handling procedure. These steps are given in Box 8.4.
Box 8.4 Steps in the Grievance Handling Procedure

1. In the first instance, the grievance should by settled at the lowest level, that is, the employee
should raise his grievance with his immediate superior.
2. It should be made clear to the employee that he may appeal if he does not get satisfaction from his
immediate superior. He should know who the next person in the echelon of management is to
whom he should refer his grievance.
3. The grievance should be dealt with speedily.
4. If the grievance is against any instructions issued by the superior, the employee should clearly
understand that, in the interest of discipline, the instructions must first be carried out before the
grievance can be considered and decided upon. It is only when this has been done that the
employer will register his protest and set the grievance handling procedure in motion.
5. It should be clearly understood by the employee that there will be no recourse to any official
machinery till the grievance redressal procedure has been set in motion and that in the event the
employee is still dissatisfied, there will be no direct action by either party which might prejudice
the case or raise doubts while the grievance is being investigated .

Source: Indian Institute of Personnel Management, Personnel Management in India, (1973) page 188-189

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8.3.8 Benefits of Systematising Grievance Handling Human Relations

Grievances are natural in any organization. These should be solved as early as possible;
otherwise they can create serious problems for the organization. The benefits of a good
grievance handling system are as follows:
(a) It brings grievance into the open so that management can learn about them and try to NOTES
settle them;
(b) It helps management to solve a grievance before it becomes a dispute;
(c) It provides the workers a formal opportunity for expressing their fears, anxieties and
dissatisfaction;
(d) It provides employees a formalized means of emotional release for their dissatisfaction.
It thus builds within him a sense of emotional security;
(e) It helps to maintain cordial relations in the industry by enabling both the parties to
settle the grievances to their mutual satisfaction.
(f) Management knows that it is arbitrary and biased action can be reviewed and challenged
and therefore will become more careful when dealing with its subordinates.
(g) It enables the management to know the attitudes and feeling of employees regarding
rules and practices of the organization, this helps it to frame rules which are more
acceptable to the workers.
The word discipline connotes that the members of a group should reasonably conform to
the rules and regulations (code of behaviour) which have been framed for it or by it so that
everyone may benefit by them. If the organization wants to succeed, its employees as well
as employers must follow discipline. Every organization has some rules and procedures
laid out and if the members do not abide by the rules, the organization, its goals and
achievements may suffer.

8.3.9 Grievance Management in Indian Industry

In Indian industry, adequate attention has not been paid to the settlement of grievances.
Legislative framework only indirectly deals with the redressal of individual grievances. At
present, there are three legislations dealing with grievances of employees working in
Industries. They are:
(a) The Industrial Employment (standing orders) Act 1946
(b) The Factories Act 1948
(c) The Industrial Disputes Act 1947.
(a) The Industrial Employment (standing orders) Act 1946
Requires that every establishment employing 100 or more workers should frame standing
orders. These should contain, among other things, a provision for redressal of grievances of
workers against unfair treatment and wrongful exactions by the employer or his agents.
(b) Factories Act 1948
The Factories Act 1948 provides for the appointment of a welfare officer in every factory
ordinarily employing 500 or more workers. These welfare officers also look after complaints
and grievance of workers. However, these provisions are not helpful due to the dual role
which these officers are called upon to play.
(c) The Industrial Disputes Act 1947
The Industrial Disputes Act, provides:
(i) The employer in relation to every industrial establishment in which fifty or more
workmen are employed shall provide for a grievance settlement authority.
(ii) When an industrial dispute connected with an individual workman arises in an
establishment referred to above, a workman or any trade union of workmen of which
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Human Resource Management such workman is a member may refer such disputes to the grievance settlement
authority for settlement.
(iii) The Grievance Settlement Authority shall follow such procedure and complete its
proceedings within such period as may be prescribed.
NOTES (iv) No reference shall be made to Boards, Courts or Tribunals of any dispute referred to
in this section unless such dispute has been referred to the Grievance Settlement
Authority concerned and the decision of the authority is not acceptable to any of the
parties to the dispute.
Under section 2 – A of the Industrial Disputes Act (which was added to the act by
amendment made in 1965), the term ‘industrial dispute’ includes all differences between
an industrial workman and his employer connected with, organizing out of his discharge,
dismissal, retrenchment or termination not withstanding that no other workman nor any
union or workman is a party to dispute. The effect of this provision is that the industrial
grievances of a worker of the kind noted above can in future pass through the settlement
machinery which has been provided for under the act.

8.4 DISCIPLINE—CONCEPT AND DEFINITIONS

According to Earl R Bramblatt, Discipline in the broadest sense means “orderliness, the
opposite of confusion. It does mean a strict and technical observance of rigid rules and
regulations. It simply means working, co-operating and behaving in a normal and orderly
way, as any responsible person would expect an employee to do”.
According to Richard D Calhoon, discipline is defined as “a force that prompts individuals
or groups to observe the rules, regulations and procedures which are deemed to be necessary
for the effective functioning of an organization”.
From the above mentioned definitions of ‘discipline’ we can understand that the term
means conformity and willingness to work for the objectives of the organization, has to
come from within, though at times they may have to be imposed by an external agency.
The purpose of this imposed disciplinary process is the development and furtherance of
the type of performance from the individual worker that will be conducive to the achievement
of organization goals. Discipline is not a glamorous term. It is viewed with fear and suspicion
in organizations. The multiple explanations advanced by different experts in the field have
only added to the prevailing confusion.

8.4.1 Causes of Indiscipline

Indiscipline means disorderliness, insubordination and not following the rules and regulations
of an organization. It is very difficult to prepare an exhaustive list of the reasons which lead
Check Your Progress employees to indiscipline. In fact, a number of social, economic, cultural and political
3. Define Grievance? reasons contribute to indiscipline in an organization. In an organization the parties responsible
for indiscipline are workers and their unions and the management. Politicised trade union
4. Explain the features of
Grievance? leadership in India encourages and instigates indiscipline. Intra-union rivalry and inter-
union rivalry are also major causes of indiscipline. Similarly, management tactics like
5. What is grievance redressal?
deliberate delay in discipline procedure, concealed penalties such as transfer to an
6. What are the essential
inconvenient place at a short notice, maintenance of confidential reports etc., are responsible
features of a grievance
redressal procedure? for indiscipline. C.B. Mamoria and S. V. Gankar have stated the major causes of indiscipline.
7. Explain in detail the From the comprehensive list of the causes of indiscipline (Box 8.5), one can conclude that
grievance procedure it is mostly non-cooperation that results in indiscipline. Various factors like social, economic,
followed in India. political and cultural also play a significant role in causing indiscipline. Henry Fayol observed
8. What are the benefits of a that, “discipline is what the leaders make it”. Many times indiscipline is due to managerial
good grievance procedure? faults, lapses, thoughtless words, deeds and poor management.

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Box 8.5 Causes of Indiscipline Human Relations

(a) Non-placement of the right person on the right job which is suitable for his qualifications,
experience and training;
(b) Undesirable behaviour of senior officials, who may have set a pattern of behaviour which they
expect their subordinates to follow; but their expectations are often belied, and an infringement of NOTES
rules follows;
(c) Faulty evaluations of persons and situations by executives leads to favouritism, which generates
undisciplined behaviour;
(d) Lack of upward communication, as a result of which the thoughts, feelings and reactions of
employees cannot be conveyed to the top management. This may lead to aggressive or rebellious
behaviour;
(e) Leadership which is weak, flexible, incompetent and distrustful of subordinates is often an
instrument which makes for the creation of indiscipline among the employees, particularly when
a decision is taken in haste and withdrawn under pressure;
(f) Defective supervision and an absence of good supervisors who know good techniques, who are in
a position to appreciate critically the efforts of their subordinates, who can listen patiently to
them, who are capable of giving definite and specific instructions, and who believe in correcting
their men rather than in uprooting them;
(g) Lack of properly drawn rules and regulations, or the existence of rules and regulations which are
so impracticable that they cannot be observed; and the absence of service manuals and a code of
behaviour;
(h) The ‘divide and rule’ policy of the management, as a result of which friction and misunderstanding
are created among the employees which destroy the team spirit;
(i) Illiteracy and low intellectual level of workers as well as their social background; for example,
there may be indebtedness, drinking habits, casteism and other social evils from which an employee
may suffer;
(j) Worker’s reactions to the rigidity and multiplicity of rules and their improper interpretation;
(k) Worker’s personal problems, their fears, apprehensions, hopes and aspirations; and their lack of
confidence in, and their inability to adjust with, their superiors and equals;
(l) Intolerably bad working conditions;
(m) Inborn tendencies to flout rules;
(n) Absence of enlightened, sympathetic and scientific management;
(o) Errors of judgement on the part of the supervisor or top management;
(p) Discrimination based on caste, colour, creed, sex, language and place in matters of selection,
promotion, transfer, placement and discrimination in imposing penalties and handing out rewards;
(q) Undesirable management practices, policies and activities aiming at the control of workers; eg:-
employment of spies, undue harassment of workers with a view to creating a fear complex among
them, and the autocratic attitude of supervisors towards their subordinates;
(r) Improper co-ordination, delegation of authority and fixing of responsibility; and
(s) Physiological and sociological reasons, including misunderstanding, rivalry and distrust among
workers and supervisors, an absence of fellow-feeling, a widespread sense of injustice or apathy
on the part of the management.

Source: C.B. Mamoria and S.V. Gankar, Personnel Management—Text and Cases, Himalaya Publishing
House, Mumbai, 2001 p. 768–769.

8.4.2 Aspects of Discipline

There are two aspects of discipline. They are:
(a) Positive Aspect (2) Negative Aspect.
(a) Positive Aspect
Employees comply with rules not out of fear of punishment but out of an inherent desire to
co-operate and achieve goals. Where the organizational climate is marked by two-way
communication, clear goals, effective leadership, and adequate compensation employees
need not be disciplined in the traditional way. This type of approach is called positive
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Human Resource Management approach or constructive disciplined or self-discipline. According to Spriegel, “positive
discipline enables an employee to have a greater freedom in that he enjoys a greater degree
of self-expression in striving to achieve the group objective, which he identifies as his
own”.
NOTES (b) Negative Aspect
Employees sometimes do not believe in and support discipline. As such, they do not adhere
to rules, regulations and desired standards of behaviour. As such, disciplinary programme
forces and constraints the employees to obey orders and function in accordance with set
rules and regulations through warnings, penalties and other forms of punishment. This
approach to discipline is called negative approach or corrective approach or punitive
approach. Negative or punitive discipline is one in which management has to exert pressure
or hold out threat by imposing penalties on wrongdoers. When this pressure becomes
increasingly severe each time a man is disciplined, it is called “progressive’ or “corrective”
discipline. The fear of punishment puts the employee back on rails. According to Spriegel,
“discipline is the force that prompts an individual or a group to observe the rules, regulations
and procedures which are deemed to be necessary to the attainment of an objective”.
Negative discipline connotes that personnel are forced to observe rules and regulations on
account of fear or reprimand, fine, demotion, or transfer. But these are helpful in extracting
just minimum standards of work from the employees since they work on account of fear.
In contrast, if the authority is exercised arbitrarily, or if rules of conduct are unreasonable
or if employees do not have sense of adhering to the rules and regulations, discipline is
threatened and if it is prolonged, it affects the organizational health. Any programme of
discipline will be effective and successful only when it is used to supplement and strengthen
self-discipline.
V.S.P. Rao summarises the differences between the two approaches as follows:
Table 8.2 Differences Between Positive and Negative Discipline

Point Negative Discipline Positive Discipline

CONCEPT It is adherence to established It is the creation of a conducive

norms and regulations, out of climate in an organisation so
fear of punishment. that employees willingly
conform to the established
rules.

CONFLICT Employees do not perceive the There is no conflict between

corporate goals as their own. individual and organisational
goals.

Source: VSP Rao, Human Resource Management – Text and Cases, Excel Books, New Delhi (2000)
page 433.

8.4.3 Objectives of Discipline

The objectives of discipline are:
(a) To gain willing acceptance of the rules, regulations, standards and procedures of the
organization from the employees.
(b) To develop the feeling of co-operation among the workers.
(c) To create an atmosphere of respect for the human personality and human relations
and to maintain good industrial relations in the organization.
(d) To increase the working efficiency and morale of the employees so that their
productivity is stepped up and the cost of production is decreased.
(e) To develop a sense of tolerance and respect for human dignity.
(f) To give and seek direction and responsibility.
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8.4.4 Essentials of a Good Disciplinary System Human Relations

While punitive discipline or punishment may sometimes be ineffective in changing behaviour

or may produce unwanted by-products, there is nevertheless considerable evidence that
punishment can be an effective tool under certain conditions. The principles of industrial
discipline to ensure a good disciplinary system are given below: NOTES
(a) Knowledge of Rules
The employees (both supervisor and the worker) must be informed clearly about what
constitutes good behaviour and the rewards that may emanate from it. For this purpose,
the organization should develop a code of discipline in co-operation with the workers. This
code should contain in writing the rules, regulations and procedures considered necessary
to maintain discipline. These must be known to all concerned along with the punishment
for their violations. Code of discipline should be published in employee handbook.
(b) Prompt Action
All violations and misconducts should be promptly enquired into. When the penalty is
imposed immediately after the misconduct, the offender identifies the punishment with the
act he has committed. Accordingly, the subordinate attempts to avoid the violation in future.
The principle followed here is “beat the iron when it is hot”. The greater the delay the more
one forgets and the more one feels that punishment is not deserved.
(c) Fair Action
All acts of indiscipline should be punished consistently and uniformly. All persons should
receive the same punishment for the same offence. If different rules were applied to different
persons, management would be accused of favouritism. An action in order to be fair must
possess the following characteristics:
(i) All violations–big and small–should be duly punished;
(ii) All individuals should receive equal punishment offer equal indiscipline;
(iii) Inconsistent behaviour of management leads to uncertainty in the minds of
subordinates. Discipline should be uniformly enforced at all times;
(iv) The alleged violation should be fully inquired into;
(v) The employee should always be given an opportunity to explain his action;
(vi) The burden of proving the violation always lies on the management.
(d) Well-Defined Procedure
The procedure to be used for disciplinary action should be clearly laid down. Definite and
precise provisions for appeal and review of all disciplinary actions should be provided for.
It should include the following steps:
(a) The supervisor must assure himself that some violation of the rules has taken place.
(b) The supervisor should state precisely and objectively the nature of the alleged violation.
(c) The supervisor should then proceed to gather full facts about the case and maintain
proper records.
(d) The appropriateness of a disciplinary action should be decided in terms of its
effectiveness in correcting the employee.
(e) The accused employee should have the right to appeal to higher authorities.
(e) Constructive Approach
The disciplinary system should be as far as possible preventive rather than punitive. Focus
should be on preventing violations rather than on administering penalties. Disciplinary action
should be carried out by the immediate line supervisor. The employee should be told not
only the reason for the action against him but also how he can avoid such penalties in
future.
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Human Resource Management Self-discipline is the best form of discipline and management should encourage this discipline
among employees. After taking the disciplinary action the supervisor must assume a normal
attitude towards the worker.
(f) Review and Revision
NOTES A supervisor must play the role of a judge enforcing the law with impartiality. He should
not engage in personal ridicule, insult or even criticism. All rules and regulations should be
appraised at regular intervals to ensure that they are appropriate to the changing times. If a
particular rule is violated time and again, it should be thoroughly studied to discover and
remove the causes of such violations.
Hot-Stove Rule: Disciplinary action against a delinquent employee is painful and generates
resentment on his part. Hence, a question arises as to how to impose discipline without
generating resentment? According to Douglas McGregor, this is possible through what he
called the “Red Hot Stove Rule”
According to McGregor, “hot stove rule” implies that if the rules and penalties are clear and
well understood a violation produces some natural consequences. Just as the penalty for
touching the stove is immediate i.e., the burning of fingers occurs at once, so in a sound
disciplinary system; the penalty for the violation should be immediate, almost automatic.
Disciplinary action delay can do positive harm to the organization and affect the morale of
other workers who are law abiding.
The “red hot stove” rule is based on an analogy between touching a red hot stove and
violating rules of discipline. When a person touches a hot stove,
(a) Immediate
The burn is immediate. If disciplinary action is to be taken, it must be taken immediately so
that the individual will understand the reason for it.
(b) Warning
He has a warning as he knew that he would get burnt if he touches it. In fact as you move
closer to the hot stove you are warned by its heat that you will be burned if you touch it.
(c) Consistent
Everyone who touches a red hot stove would be burned.
(d) Impersonal
A person is burned because he touched the stove and not because of who he is.
(e) Commensurate
The effect is commensurate with the gravity of misconducts. A person who repeatedly
touches the hot stove is burned every time he touches it.

8.4.5 Code of Discipline

This code was formulated after a great deal of discussion and on the recommendations of
the Indian Labour conference (15th session) held in New Delhi in July 1957. The conference
discussed the question of discipline in Indian industries and laid down certain principles
governing it. These were:
1. There should be no lock-outs or strike without due notice;
2. No unilateral action should be taken in connection with any industrial matter;
3. There should be no recourse to go-slow tactics;
4. No deliberate damage should be caused to plant or property;
5. The existing machinery for the settlement of disputes should be utilised;
6. Acts of violence, coercion, intimidation or incitement should not be indulged in;
7. Awards and agreement, which is likely to destroy cordial industrial relations, should
be avoided.
Any agreement, which is likely to destroy cordial industrial relations, should be avoided.
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8.4.6 Kinds of Punishment/ Penalties Human Relations

For various types of misconduct there are various types of Punishment / Penalties. These
punishments / penalties can be divided into major penalties and minor penalties. Table 8.3
shows the kind of penalties.
Table 8.3 Kinds of Punishment/Penalties NOTES
Minor Penalties Major Penalties
1. Oral Warning 1. Withholding Increments
2. Written Reprimand 2. Demotion/Stopping Promotion
3. Loss of Privileges 3. Discharge
4. Fines 4. Dismissal
5. Suspension

Minor Penalties
Is a mild form of disciplinary action. This punishment is generally given for some minor
offences. The type of penalties are set below in the ascending order of their severity.
(a) Oral Reprimand: This is the mildest form of disciplinary action. The issue of reprimand
does not involve loss of status or wages. As people (subordinates) invariably value the
social approval of their actions by their superiors and fellow beings a reprimand is generally
effective in correcting subordinates. Oral reprimand should be used sparingly; otherwise it
will not produce any effect on the subordinate.
(b) Written Reprimand: When oral reprimand proves to be ineffective and the worker
continues with the misconduct, it becomes necessary to issue a written reprimand and to
bring into record the misconduct. A written reprimand may state that certain privileges
would be withheld or withdrawn if the subordinate continues with his present conduct.
(c) Loss of Privileges: For such offences as tardiness or leaving work without permission,
the employee may be put to loss of various privileges such as good job assignments, right
to select machine or other equipment and freedom of movement about the workplace or
company.
(d) Fines: Means a deduction from the remuneration of the employee by way of punishment.
(e) Punitive Suspension: Punitive suspension is inflicted on the workman as a punishment
for some misconduct. Under punitive suspension an employee is prohibited from performing
the duties assigned to him and his wages are withheld for so long as the prohibition subsists.
Major Punishments
It is a severe form of disciplinary action initiated against the workmen. It is given for some
major offences. The various forms of major punishments are given below.
(a) Withholding of Increments: Withholding of annual increment of an employee in a
graded scale is a major punishment. The cumulative effect of losing an increment is
considerable. It is equal to
The amount of increment × 12 × the number of years of service still remaining.
(b) Demotion: Demotion implies condemnation of the employee as being unfit for the
position occupied by him. It should not be used as a penalty if the employee is properly
qualified for the present assignment. Demotion should be used only in a case where an
employee does not meet present job requirement.
(c) Discharge: The term ‘discharge’ is used to denote removal of an employee from
service by way of punishment. But no stigma is attached to the expression “discharge”.
Hence, it is not a disqualification for future employment.
(d) Dismissal: Also referred to as industrial capital punishment, dismissal is the ultimate
penalty which is rarely resorted to nowadays. Though discharge and dismissal both have
the same result, i.e., termination of service of the employee, dismissal is a more severe
punishment. There is a stigma attached to the expression “dismissal” which makes it a
disqualification for future employment.
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Human Resource Management 8.4.7 Procedure for Taking Disciplinary Action
The following should be the steps for taking disciplinary action:
(a) Preliminary Investigation
The first step should be to hold preliminary investigation in order to find out whether a
NOTES
prima facie case of misconduct exists. Only if a prime facie case of misconduct exists, the
management should proceed further. Otherwise, the case should be dropped.
(b) Issue of a Charge Sheet
If a prima facie case of misconduct exists, the management should proceed to issue a
charge-sheet to the worker. The following guidelines may be followed in framing the
charges:
 Each charge must be very clear and precise.
 There should be a separate charge for each allegation.
 Charges must not relate to any matter which has already been decided upon.
 Proposed punishment should be avoided in the charge sheet.
(c) Suspension Pending Enquiry (if needed)
If the nature of misconduct is grave and if it is in the interest of discipline and security in
the establishment, the management may suspend a worker even before the charge-sheet is
issued. In case the worker is suspended he should be paid subsistence allowance at the
following rates
 For the first 90 days of suspension, half his wages
 For the remaining period of suspension, three-fourths of his wages
(d) Notice of Enquiry
On receipt of reply to the chargesheet, either of the following two situations may arise:
(i) The worker may admit the charge. In such a case, the employer may award
punishment without further enquiry.
(ii) The worker may deny the charge. In this case, the employer must hold the enquiry.
(e) Conduct the Enquiry
The enquiry officer is a judge, so it is necessary that he must be impartial and qualified to
act in that capacity. A fair opportunity should be given to the chargesheeted employee to
examine the management witnesses.
(f) Recording of Findings by the Enquiry Officer
At the conclusion of the enquiry proceedings the enquiry officer should decide as to whether
the charges made are valid or not alongwith reasons for his findings.
(g) Awarding Punishment
The punishment awarded to the accused employee should be communicated to him quickly.
The letter should contain the following
 Reference to (i) the chargesheet, (ii) the enquiry, (iii) findings of the enquiry
 Decision
 Date from which the punishment is to be effective.

8.4.8 Role of the HR Manager in Maintaining Discipline

Insofar as maintenance of effective employee discipline is concerned, the HR manager has
a crucial role to pay. He has a number of responsibilities in this regard.
(a) Advising and assisting top line management in determining and developing an
appropriate disciplinary procedure.

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 (b) Assisting in communication of the disciplinary procedure to all employees of the Human Relations
organization.
(c) Making sure that the disciplinary policy conforms to the legal provisions.
(d) Making sure that the disciplinary action is fair and conforms with appropriate principles
of personnel management. NOTES
(e) Training the supervisors and executives in dealing with disciplinary cases and problems.
(f) Involving the trade unions and the employees in determining and implementing
disciplinary procedures.
(g) Developing of self-discipline and self control on the part of the employees and winning
over the confidence of employees in disciplinary policies and procedures.
Analysing the role of the HR manager in regard to employee discipline, the Indian Institute
of Personnel Management indicates, ‘In advising management whether to proceed with a
disciplinary case, the personnel officer must give careful through to the likely repercussions
on discipline and general relationship in the organization. Even when there is a prima facie
case against an employee, it is to be considered whether an enquiry, with all publicity and
excitement that it causes, is advisable, or whether some other line of action might prove
more effective in improving discipline for the future, such as consultation with the trade
union or works committee in the hope that social pressure may be brought on the delinquent
to apologise and not repeat the offence’.

8.4.9 Principles of Natural Justice and Domestic Enquiry

Before taking disciplinary action against a worker, management must hold a domestic
enquiry, following the principles of natural justice. The principles of natural justice state
that no man should be held guilty without getting an opportunity to explain his point of
view. It states that the worker be given a fair chance:
 To present evidence of his own choice;
 To cross examine the management’s evidence;
 To explain his point of view without pressure or fear.
The charges made by the employer against the employee are explained to the worker. If the
worker agrees with the charges made against him, the enquiry is dropped. The employer
may then proceed with the disciplinary action as per rules. If he pleads innocent, the
proceedings continue in the presence of the accused. The enquiry must be conducted by
an impartial person who is fully conversant with the intricacies and procedures of domestic
enquiries. During the course of enquiry, examination and cross examination should be free
and proper and all documents are open to be seen by the parties. If the worker does not
turn up at the appointed date and time, the proceedings are held ex-parte. The findings of
the enquiry are then conveyed to management in writing. Before taking any punitive action,
management should keep in view the gravity of misconduct. The punishment awarded
should not be out of proportion to the misconduct of the employee.

8.4.10 Principles of Effective Discipline

Whenever employees go against the pre-determined rules and regulations and commit serious
mistakes or create serious problems to the organization and its interests, the employee’s
misconduct should not be condoned since it amounts to the encouragement of misconduct
which ultimately leads to serious repercussions on the morale of the organization and its
discipline. At the same time, the HR manager should also endeavour to develop self-discipline
on the part of the employee. The HR manager has to follow certain principles for effective
discipline. They are:
(a) He must be interested in the welfare of each employee.
(b) He must view discipline as a corrective measure.
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Human Resource Management (c) He must NOT take disciplinary action unless it is a must.
(d) He must NOT administer discipline on a routine basis.
(e) He must give a fair chance to the worker to defend himself.
(f) He must maintain consistency in disciplinary action. (ie., he must not show favouritism)
NOTES (g) He must admit his mistakes willingly.
(h) After taking disciplinary action, the HR manager must resume normal behaviour and
attitude towards the employee.

8.5 EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT

Employee empowerment is a technique of involving employees in their work through the
process of inclusion. Empowerment encourages employees to become innovators and
managers of giving them more control and autonomous decision making capabilities.
“Empowerment” is a term which is currently in vogue. It is one of the most popular
buzzwords in management today. Almost every approach to quality, meeting the competition,
getting more out of employees, productivity enhancement and corporate turnarounds deals
with employee empowerment.
The characteristics of an empowered organization are given below:
(a) An assumption of competence – the belief that people can be trusted and therefore
minimal needs for checks, controls and directives.
(b) Learning from others about how the company operates.
(c) Empowerment requires a situation of high trust and high competence.
(d) Togetherness – this means working inflexible teams regardless of members’ status
or position in the hierarchy and operating with shared goals and values.

8.5.1 Empowerment Vs Disempowerment

Most of the employees in most of the organizations are victims of disempowerment. What
are the differences between “empowered” organizations and traditional ones? One answer
is that empowered organizations value autonomy as an end in itself – an end that contributes
to personal fulfilment, advances democratic ideas, and responds to rapid changes in the
Table 8.4 Empowerment Vs Disempowerment

Associated with empowerment Associated with disempowerment

 Accepts responsibility  Avoids taking responsibility
 Being active  Being passive
 Boldness  Timidity
 Creative  Conventional
 Energetic  Lethargic
 Enjoys life  Gets little joy out of life
 Happy  Depressed and miserable
 Healthy  Many health problems
 Imaginative  Dull and unimaginative
 Independent  Dependent
 Individualistic  Conforming
 Innovative  Sticks to routines
 Interesting  Dull and boring
 Motivated  Unmotivated
 Prepared to take risks  Reluctant to take risks
 Observant  Unobservant
 Satisfied with job  Frustrated in job
 Sensitive to subtleties  Non sensitive to subtleties
 Uses full potential as a human being  Uses only fraction of potential
 Uses intelligence to the full  Does not use intelligence to the full
190 Self-Instructional Material
business environment. Mike Van Oudtshoorn of Saket Lynd and Laurie Thomas of Brunel Human Relations
University distinguished the characteristics associated with empowerment. These
characteristics are given Table 8.4.

8.5.2 Conditions Necessary for the Success of Empowerment NOTES

(a) Employees must be encouraged to take control of their work.
(b) The environment must be receptive for employees with innovative ideas and
encourage people to explore and take reasonable risks at reasonable costs.
(c) Employees must have access to a wide range of information.
(d) Empowered employees should be held accountable for their behaviour towards
others.
(e) Culture of the organization should be open and receptive to change.

8.5.3 Stages in the Empowering Process

John Nicholls suggested three stage models that help to build a sustainable empowerment
programme in organizations:
(a) Stage I
Get the basics right by fully using current capability: The idea would be to empower
people to the fullest extent of their current capability, within the scope of their current
job/task. Therefore, in this stage, an organization should be looking at empowerment
through delegation in the current job/task. In other words, managers should be enablers.
(b) Stage II
Stretch people beyond their current capability to fulfil their full potential: This occurs
when enablers act as coaches to stretch people by delegation and empowerment slightly
beyond their current limits. The coaching process must include:
 Devoting time to show people how to perform their tasks in a better way.
 Delegate a real task that will use the capability that is being developed.
 During implementation, avoid temptation to over control.
 When the task is successfully completed, offer congratulations, praise and
recognition.
(c) Stage III
Strengthen empowerment by creating commitment throughout the organization. In this
stage the foundation should be laid for a change of attitude and behaviour in the
organization as a whole. It is at this stage that managers begin to realize that by letting go
of authoritarian power they gain the power to energize people achieving results beyond
expectations.
At the heart of empowerment is trustworthiness which is a function of character and
competence. Character is what we are; competence is what we can do. And both are
necessary to create trustworthiness. Both character and competence are necessary to
inspire trust. Given the responsibility workers deliver extremely well.

8.6 DEFINITION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

The phrase “collective bargaining” was coined by Sydney and Beatric Webb. According to
them collective bargaining is a method by which trade unions protect and improve the
conditions of their member’s working lives. Collective bargaining is a process in which the
representatives of the employer and of the employees meet and attempt to negotiate a
contract governing the employer-employee union relationship. Some important definitions
of collective bargaining are given below:
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Human Resource Management According to Walton and McKersie, “a collective bargaining process generally consists of
four types of activities – distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining, attitudinal structuring
and intra-organizational bargaining”.
In the words of Jucious, “collective bargaining refers to a process by which employers on
NOTES 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”.
The ILO has defined collective bargaining as “Negotiations about working conditions and
terms of employment between an employer and a group of employees or one or more
employee’s organizations with a view to reaching an agreement wherein the terms serve as
a code of defining the rights and obligations of each party in their employment, relations
with one another; fix a large number of detailed conditions of employment; and, during its
validity, none of the matters it deals with can in normal circumstances be given as a ground
for a dispute concerning an individual worker”.
From the above definitions, we can state that collective bargaining is the process in which
conditions of employment are determined by agreement between representatives of the
union, on the one hand and those of the employer on the other. Collective bargaining
involves discussion and negotiation between two groups as to the terms and conditions of
employment. It is called “collective” because both the employer and the employee act as a
group rather than as individuals. It is known as “bargaining” because the method of reaching
an agreement involves proposals and counter proposals, offers and counter offers. Collective
bargaining is usually resorted to in respect of “interest issues” where some new rights are
to be created or existing rights are to be expanded or modified. When a dispute arises over
the enforcement of an existing right – a “right issue” arises. Collective bargaining is a
rational process in which appeals to facts and to logic reconcile conflicting interests in the
light of common interests of both parties. It is a bipartite and dynamic process.

8.6.1 Characteristic of Collective Bargaining

Some of the important characteristics of collective bargaining are:
(a) It is a Group Action as Opposed to Individual Action
It is collective in two ways. One is that all the workers collectively bargain for their common
interests and benefits and on the management side are its delegates at the bargaining table.
They (workers representatives and management delegates) jointly arrive at an amicable
solution through negotiations.
(b) It is Flexible and Mobile and not Fixed or Static
It is a group action where representatives of workers and management expend energies in
order to arrive at a consensus. It has sufficient flexibility, since no party can afford to be
inflexible and rigid in such situations. According to Bakke and Kerr “Essentially, a successful
collective bargaining is an exercise in graceful retreat – retreat without seeming to retreat.
The parties normally ask for more or offer less than they ultimately accept or give”. Collective
bargaining is therefore not a one way street but a give and take process. The “take-it-or-
leave it” proposition is not viewed as being within the rules of the game.
(c) It is a Bipartite Process
It is a mutual give-and-take rather than a take-it-or-leave-it method of arriving at the
settlement of a dispute. Both parties are involved in it. The employers and the employees
negotiate the issues directly, face to face across the table. It can flourish only in an atmosphere
which is free from animosity and reprisal. There is no third party intervention.
(d) It is a Continuous Process
Collective bargaining is a continuous process. It does not commence with negotiations and
end with an agreement. The agreement is only a beginning of collective bargaining. It is a
continuous process which includes implementation of the agreement and also further
negotiations.
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(e) It is Dynamic and Not Static Human Relations
Collective bargaining is a dynamic process because the way agreements are arrived at, the
way they are implemented, the mental make-up of parties involved keep changing.
(f) Power Relationship
Workers want to gain the maximum from management, and management wants to extract NOTES
the maximum from workers by offering as little as possible. This involves ascertaining the
maximum concession of the opposing negotiator without disclosing one’s own ultimate
concession. In this sense, all negotiations are exploratory until the agreement is consummated.

8.6.2 Objectives of Collective Bargaining

The main objectives of collective bargaining are:
(a) To maintain cordial relations between employer and employees by settling disputes/
conflicts;
(b) To protect the interest of workers through collective action and by preventing unilateral
action on the part of the employer;
(c) To resolve the differences between employers and employees through voluntary
negotiations;
(d) To avoid the need for Government intervention in matters relating to employment.
(e) To ensure the participation of trade unions in industry;
(f) To promote industrial democracy.

8.6.3 Advantages of Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining offers the following advantages:
(a) Collective bargaining is a pragmatic and democratic method of regulating the terms
and conditions of employment. It provides a method for the regulation of conditions of
employment by those directly concerned. The parties directly concerned with
employment (employers and workers) who best know the problems participate in
collective bargaining. It is a voluntary process without any third party intervention.
(b) Collective bargaining often leads to mutual understanding. The employers gain a greater
insight into the problems and aspirations of the workers, while the latter become more
aware of the economic and technical factors involved in industrial management.
(c) Collective bargaining provides a flexible means of adjusting wages and conditions of
employment to changes in economic, social, technological and political environment.
Both the parties can meet whenever necessary and can adapt the terms and conditions
of their agreement to the changing environment.
(d) Collective bargaining provides a code defining the rights and obligations of each party
in their employment relations with one another. Basic standards are fixed and every
worker knows that he cannot be required to work under conditions less favourable
than those stipulated in the agreement. A sort of ‘industrial jurisprudence’ is created.
(e) Collective bargaining facilitates better implementation of decisions due to the direct
involvement of both the parties. Parties know that the decisions are their own and
nobody has imposed them.

8.6.4 Types of Bargaining

The different types of bargaining are given below:
(a) Conjunctive Bargaining
In this type of bargaining, the employers and employees try to maximise their respective
gains. Issues like wages, bonus etc. are negotiated under conjunctive bargaining. The
principle “my gain is your loss and your gain is my loss” is practiced in conjunctive bargaining.
Self-Instructional Material 193
Human Resource Management The parties want to yield as little as possible while getting as maximum as possible from the
other party. Conjunctive bargaining is also called distributive bargaining.
(b) Co-operative Bargaining
In co-operative bargaining, both parties realise the importance of surviving in difficult
NOTES times (like recession) and are willing to negotiate the terms of employment in a flexible
way. Labour may accept wage cuts and management may agree to modernise and make
additional investment. Co-operative bargaining is resorted to with a view to survive the
recessionary trends.
(c) Productivity Bargaining
In this method worker’s wages and benefits are linked to productivity. If they are able to
exceed the standard productivity norms they will get substantial benefits. Standard
productivity is finalised through negotiations. Productivity bargaining agreements are
important for raising productivity and for survival and growth of the organization.
(d) Composite Bargaining
In composite bargaining method, labour bargains for wages as usual but goes a step further
by demanding equity in matters relating to work norms, employment levels, manning
standards etc. Through composite bargaining unions are able to prevent the dilution of
their powers and ensure justice to workers by putting certain limits on the freedom of
employers. For the employer this is lesser evil when compared to strikes and lockouts.

8.6.5 Process of Collective Bargaining

The whole process of collective bargaining takes place mainly in two stages:
(a) The Negotiation Stage (b) The Stage of Contract Administration.
(a) The Negotiation Stage
The following steps briefly explain the negotiation stage:
(i) Identification of the Problem.
(ii) Preparing for negotiations.
(iii) Negotiations of Agreement.
Identification of the Problem: The nature of the problem influences the whole process.
It influences the selection of representatives, their size, period of negotiations and period of
agreement that is reached ultimately. Hence, it is important for both the parties to be clear
about the problem before entering into the negotiations.
Preparing for Negotiations: The preparation starts with selection of representatives.
While selecting representatives for negotiations, the following points should be borne in
mind:
(i) He should be able to carry out negotiations with patience, and composure.
(ii) He should present his views effectively.
(iii) His authority and power should be clearly spelt out.
(iv) He should be educated about the problem.
After selection of the negotiator, the other preparations will include fixing up time for
negotiations, period of negotiations etc.
(b) The stage of Contract Administration
During negotiations the representatives should be attentive so as to find out what the other
party is arguing for. By understanding their problems and weighing them, sometimes solution
may be reached, which is more acceptable to both the parties. It is very important that
representatives reach the negotiating table with a positive attitude. Unfortunately, some
representatives tend to focus on how effectively they can say “no” to the proposals put
forth by the other party. This is a major obstacle in the bargaining process.
194 Self-Instructional Material
When a solution is reached, it is put on the paper taking the concerned legislation into Human Relations
consideration. Both the parties concerned sign the agreement which becomes a binding
contract for both the parties. If no amicable solution could be reached, both the parties
resort to arbitration.
NOTES
8.6.6 Steps to Ensure the Effectiveness of Collective Bargaining
The following steps may be taken to make collective bargaining more effective.
(a) Trade unions should be made stronger and responsible so that they are able to honour
the collective agreements.
(b) The government should declare its policy of encouraging the parties to settle their
disputes through bipartite consultation and negotiation consistent with public safety
and social interest.
(c) Compulsory adjudication of disputes should be used only as a last resort.
(d) It is essential to build internal leadership and to free unions from political control. In
this regard workers should be educated so to build up internal union leadership and to
improve knowledge of workers.
(e) Both parties should develop a positive attitude towards each other. They should try to
understand the viewpoints of the other side.
(f) Collective bargaining should be restricted to matters concerning interests. Disputes
concerning rights would be better settled through grievance machinery.
Recommendations of the National Commission of Labour for successful functioning of
collective bargaining:
(a) Government intervention in industrial relations, particularly in the settlement of
industrial disputes, should be reduced gradually to the minimum possible. Compulsory
adjudication of disputes should be used only as a last resort.
(b) Trade unions should be strengthened both organizationally and financially by amending
the Trade Union Act of 1926 to make registration of unions compulsory, enhance the
union membership fee, and reduce the presence of outsiders in the union executive
and among the office bearers and increase the minimum number of members in
respect of the union applying for registration.
(c) Legal provision may be made either by a separate legislation or by amending an
existing enactment for:
 Compulsory recognition of trade unions and certification of unions as bargaining
agents.
 Prohibition and penalisation of unfair labour practices;
 Bargaining in good faith by both employers and unions; and
 Conferring legal validity and legitimacy on collective agreement;
(d) Intensification of workers education for building up internal union leadership and
making workers more knowledgeable and conscious about their rights and obligations.
This may help to de-politicise unions and also reduce union rivalry.
(e) The idea of one union for one plant or one industry should be popularised and made
a reality.
(f) The government should declare its policy to allow and encourage the parties to settle
their conflicts and disputes through bipartite consultation and negotiation consistent
with public safety and interest of the society in general.

8.6.7 Bargainable Issues

Any issue that has relevance to management and workers becomes the subject matter of
bargaining. Traditionally wages and working conditions have been the primary focus areas Self-Instructional Material 195
Human Resource Management of collective bargaining. However, in recent times, the process of collective bargaining has
extended to almost any area that comes under the employer-employee relations. A list
covering some of the issues that come under collective bargaining is given below:
 Wages and working conditions.
NOTES  Rules and regulations pertaining to work.
 Incentive payments.
 Job security.
 Changes in technology and its impact on employees.
 Transfer and promotions.
 Grievances and Grievance handling procedures.
 Discipline and Disciplinary procedure.
 Techniques and practices pertaining to work.
 Employee benefits.
 Recognition of employee’s unions.
 Union activities and responsibilities.
 Management rights.
Thus, over the years, the nature and content of collective bargaining has changed
dramatically.

8.6.8 Collective Bargaining in India

Collective bargaining is the ultimate in negotiations and is possible only when worker’s and
employer’s organizations are equally strong, mature and conscious of their rights and
duties. Collective bargaining grew with the growth of Trade Unionism. It had its roots in
Great Britain and developed in response to conditions created by the Industrial Revolution.
In early part of 18th century when trade unions came into existence, the idea of collective
bargaining gained strength. Initially the negotiations were carried out at plant level. By early
1900, industry and national level agreements were quite common. But there was no
considerable growth until the Second World War. Even then the growth not the result of
Management and union’s influence but due to Government’s efforts. After a century of
rapid growth, collective bargaining has more or less, become the gospel of industrial relations.
It is being increasingly viewed as a social invention that has institutionalised industrial
conflict.
In India, the resolution of conflict through collective bargaining agreements did not gain
popularity. The legal steps taken by the government after the Second World War revived
interest in the subject once again. The legislative measures included the setting up of a
machinery for negotiations, conciliation and arbitration. Only after Independence, was
there considerable growth in collective bargaining. Trade unions gained importance. From
management’s side, there emerged a new class of managers, who saw labour with sympathy
and understanding. A majority of disputes were resolved through this mechanism. But
collective bargaining process took place mainly at plant level and organization level unlike
western countries where the agreements are reached at industry level. In India, collective
bargaining has not made much headway particularly at industry and national levels, due to
the following reasons:
(a) Lack of strong and central trade unions and employers’ organizations who can
represent countrywide interests.
(b) Excessive dependence on compulsory adjudication for the settlement of industrial
disputes.
(c) Multiplicity of unions and inter-union rivalry.
(d) Conditions of work differ widely in different parts of the country.
(e) Weak trade union movement because of poor leadership and political dominance.
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 (f) Legislation and regulatory bodies have reduced the area for collective bargaining. Human Relations
(g) Government provides little support to collective bargaining.
(h) Attitude of employers and workers to depend on third party intervention.

8.6.9 Factors Inhibiting Collective Bargaining in India NOTES

Though it is argued that collective bargaining has grown in India due to the statutory
provisions and voluntary measures, its success is limited. Collective bargaining has not
made headway in India when compared to other industrialised nations. The reasons are:
(a) Weak Unions
Collective bargaining process mainly depends on the strength of unions. Indian unions are
marked with multiplicity, inter and intra-union rivalry, weak financial position and non-
recognition. Weak trade unions cannot initiate strong arguments during negotiations.
(b) Problems from Government
The Government has not been making any strong effects for the development of collective
bargaining. The regulatory framework covering the industrial relations scene is quite tight,
leaving very little room for bargaining to flourish on a voluntary basis.
(c) Legal Problems
Now adjudication is easily accessible. No attempt has been made by the Government to
rationalise or simplify the multifarious laws covering labour management relations.
(d) Attitude of Management
Employers have failed to read the writing on the wall. They do not appreciate the fact that
unions have come to stay with almost equal bargaining strength. Such negative attitudes
have come in the way of negotiating with unions voluntarily.
(e) Employers Uncertainty about Who is the Recognised Bargaining Agent
Employers are often not very sure about who is the recognised bargaining agent. When
there are multiple unions, bargaining with one union may prove to be a tough battle.
(f) Statutory Fixation of Conditions of Work
Areas of collective bargaining have not grown in view of the encouragement given to wage
boards, pay commissions, statutory fixation of other conditions of work and social security
measures.
(g) Political Interference
Almost all unions are associated with some political party or the other. The political parties
interfere in the smooth functioning of the union.

8.6.10 Conditions Essential for Successful Collective Bargaining

For collective bargaining to be fully effective there are certain essential prerequisites. These
are given below:
(a) A favourable Political Climate
The Government and public must be convinced that collective bargaining is the best method
of regulating employment conditions. The Government should remove all legislative
restrictions which hamper collective bargaining. It can also confer a right to bargain
collectively, lay down the form and content of collective agreement, register these agreements
and assist in their enforcement.
If collective bargaining is to be fully effective, a favourable political climate must exist.
(b) Freedom of Association
Freedom of association is essential for collective bargaining. When such freedom is denied
collective bargaining is impracticable, and when it is restricted, collective bargaining is also
restricted. Freedom of association can be facilitated by removal of legislative restrictions
on combinations where they exist, leaving workers and employers free from associations
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Human Resource Management as they please. Collective bargaining is not possible if employees are not free to form trade
unions as they are required to bargain with the employer on equal basis.
(c) Stability of Trade Unions
Workers may have freedom of association but, unless they make use of that right and form
NOTES and maintain stable unions, collective bargaining will be ineffective. If a union is weak,
employees can say that it does not represent the workers and will refuse to recognise it or
negotiate with it. Before entering into agreements with a trade union, employers will want
a reasonable assurance that it will be able to honour its understandings and this implies both
that the union can exercise authority over its members and that its membership is sufficiently
stable.
(d) Recognition of Trade Unions
Employees should be required by law to give recognition to representative trade unions. It is
in the interest of an employer to give recognition to representative trade unions. Once a trade
union is strong enough, employers may decide that it is in their interest to recognise it and
negotiate with it; otherwise, they may be faced with strikes and the ensuing financial losses
may be far greater than the cost of any concessions on wages and conditions they may have
to make in negotiations with the union. The granting of recognition will improving industrial
relations and this may react favourably on productions.
(e) Willingness to “Give and Take”
one or both sides merely make demands when they meet there can be no negotiation or
agreement. Each side normally puts forward claims which are intended to provide a basis
for bargaining and as the negotiations proceed one side will agree to reduce its demand on
one item in return for some concession by the other side. Willingness to “give and take”
during negotiations does not necessarily mean that concessions from the other. One side
may make greatly exaggerated demands which it will have to tone down considerably if
agreement is to be reached. Also depending on the relative strengths of the two parties,
economic conditions at the time and skill in negotiation, one side may win more concessions
than the other.
(f) Mutual Recognition and Respect
The management has the right to manage and the union has the right to organize itself and
fight for justice. This must be fully recognised and accepted by both sides. Unless there is
this basic unanimity of views collective bargaining is a mere trial strength.

8.6.11 Steps to Ensure Successful Collective Bargaining

The recommendations of the National Commission of Labour for successful functioning
of collective bargaining are:
(a) Government intervention in industrial relations, particularly in the settlement of industrial
disputes, should be reduced gradually to the minimum possible extent. Compulsory
adjudication of disputes should be used only as a last resort.
(b) Trade unions should be strengthened both organizationally and financially by amending
the Trade Union Act of 1926 to make registration of unions compulsory, enhance the
union membership fee, reduce the presence of outsiders in the union executive and
among the office bearers and increase the minimum number of members in respect
of the union applying for registration.
(c) Legal provision may be made either by a separate legislation or by amending an
existing enactment for:
 Compulsory recognition of trade unions and certification of unions as bargaining
agents.
 Prohibition and penalisation of unfair labour practices.
 Bargaining in good faith by both employers and unions.
 Conferring legal validity and legitimacy on collective agreement.
198 Self-Instructional Material
 (d) Intensification of workers education for building up internal union leadership and Human Relations
making workers more knowledgeable and conscious about their rights and obligations.
This will help to de-politicise unions and also reduce union rivalry.
(e) The idea of one union for one plant or one industry should be popularised and made
a reality. NOTES
(f) The government should declare its policy to allow and encourage the parties to settle
their conflicts and disputes through bipartite consultations and negotiations consistent
with public safety and interest of the society in general.

8.7 CASE STUDIES

Case I: KSRTC Ltd
It is the private bus operators who largely writgal the road transport inm the South Kanara
district, with the only excephion being the Mangalore-Putturnonte which is operator by the
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). As the private bus operators are
providing exceptionally good service to the conumuters, there is a demand that Mangalore-
Puttur route should also opened up to the private bus operators.
In order to improve the service, the Mangalore depot of KSRTC introduced an incentive
scheme for the bus crew so as to provide better transport facilities to the maximum number
of passengers as also to prevent the public from raising the demand of allowing private bus
operators.
The incentive scheme fixed certain amount of the level of revenue to each route as base
revenue. If the revenue earned by the particular trip was equal to the base revenue, the
conductor and driver of the bus would be eligible to receive the incentive amount of 1% of
the base revenue. If the revenue exceeded the base amount the conductor and driver could
get 2% of increment revenue as incentive bonus. However if the revenue earned were less
than the base revenue the conductor and driver would not be eligible for the incentive.
In a bid to take advantage of this scheme, the bus conductors of Mangalore – Puttur route
started overloading the buses, and doubling the seating capacity. This scheme has been
functioning successfully, benefiting the passengers, the bus crew and particularly the KSRTC
(only Mangalore depot is currently making profits for the corporation) as the cost of
operation of the bus did not increase in proportion to the increase in revenue.
Mr. Sathish has been working as a conductor in the Mangalore depot of KSRTC since
1980. He was on duty on 4th September 2002 on the Mangalore – Puttur route. He had
overloaded the bus by almost double (enquiry revealed that there were 89 passengers for a
seating capacity of 50). Mr. Tingu, a passenger of that bus did not purchase a ticket despite
repeated enquiries of the conductor, because of the overloaded condition of the bus and his
illness. The conductor was unable to count the passengers because of the overload. When
the ticket, checking officers stopped the bus at B.C. Road to verify the tickets; they found
that Mr. Tingu had not purchased a ticket. They blamed the conductor Mr. Sathish for not
issuing the ticket. Mr. Tingu appealed to the checking staff stating that he had not purchased
the ticket despite repeated enquiries by the bus conductor because he was ill and the bus
was heavily overloaded. The copassengers also confirmed that the conductor had made
repeated enquiries asking passengers to buy tickets. In spite of this the ticket checking
staff suspended the conductor.
The suspension of the conductor created an uproar among all the bus crew of the Mangalore
Depot. The drivers and conductors held a meeting in Mangalore on 5th September 2002,
and resolved to limit the intake of passengers to the seating capacity. This decision was
implemented with immediate effect. Consequently, the passengers of the Mangalore – Puttur
route experienced many difficulties while travelling. The average revenue per day of
Mangalore Depot which was Rs. 2,50,000 prior to September 4th 2002, fell to Rs. 1,50,000
Self-Instructional Material 199
Human Resource Management per day from September 5th 2002 to 30th September 2002. In an emergency meeting, the
Director of the corporation in their emergency board meeting re-examined the whole case
and withdrew the suspension order served on Mr. Sathish on 30th September 2002.
Questions:
NOTES 1. Was the conductor guilty of negligence of duty?
2. Should a genuine mistake call for the drastic punishment of suspension?
3. Should the disciplinary rules be applied for the sake of mere discipline or should they
contribute to the goals and objectives of the corporation?

Case II: Mangalore Plastics Ltd (MPL)

Mangalore Plastics Ltd is a small sized industrial unit located in Bikampady Industrial Area
in Mangalore. The unit has been in existence since 25 years. The management of MPL
started negotiations with All Mangalore Plastic Workers Union (AMPWU) for renewal of
the wage agreement.
In union-management relations collective bargaining is essentially a power relationship. It
is through the implied and actual use of power that parties are compelled to resolve their
conflicts and MPL was no exception.
Mr. Sandeep Shenoy the new managing director, was surprised at the list of demands by
AMPWU’s secretary, Mr. Goga Shetty, a non-employee and an ex-MLA, who would stand
firm on the issue of wage negotiations. Throughout the discussions with Mr. Shenoy, Mr.
Shetty exhibited his strength as an efficient organizer of workers.
The three main demands put on behalf of AMPWU by Mr Shetty and the management’s
views on them were:
(a) A four-year agreement with 30% wage-hike during the first year followed by 20%
each during the subsequent period. As in the past, Mr Shenoy had offered 10%
wage-hike each year which he thought was the average rise in the cost of living
index;
(b) Free house site for employees who have served the organization for more than 20
years;
(c) Reintroduction of loyalty scheme which included cash benefits of Rs 50,000 for
those workers who had completed 10 years of service; Rs 75,000 for those who had
completed 15 years of service and Rs 10,000 for those who had completed 20 years
of service.
Three years ago, MPL had started making large-sized water containers which had a huge
demand because of the water shortage in Mangalore. The production of water containers
resulted in doubling the staff strength. The company now had 100 workers. Recently,
many more manufacturers have come into the market offering better products at less price
and this has led to declining profits and apprehensions about the success of the new
product venture. To add to the problems of Mr Shenoy, AMPWU championed the cause of
the workers even when the fortune of the enterprise was not bright.
During a private meeting between Mr Shenoy and Mr Shetty, it was suggested by Mr
Shetty that he was personally against a strike, but the workers were really exercised over
the three demands. The situation caused considerable anxiety to Mr Shenoy because the
existing wage agreement was valid for 2 months only. However Mr Shenoy and Mr Shetty
had the first when Mr Shetty appeared to appreciate the problems of management as an
individual
Questions:
1. What should Mr Shenoy do to prepare for the next session with the AMPWU
2. Is it advisable to meet a Union leader in private and discuss about the wage revisions?
200 Self-Instructional Material
 3. What strategy would you suggest to Mr Shenoy? Should he organize a strike or try to Human Relations
avert it, why?

8.8 SUMMARY
NOTES
Human relations are a process of effective motivation of individuals in a given situation in
order to achieve a balance of objectives, which will yield greater human satisfaction and
help accomplish company goals. The scope of human relations springs from the problems,
which have many different causes and perspectives. Every employee has certain
expectations, which he thinks must be fulfilled by the he is working for. When the fails to
do this, he develops a feeling of discontent or dissatisfaction. Grievance is a sign of employee
discontent with job and its nature. Effective grievance management is an important and
integral part of HRM. The best approach for grievance handling is to anticipate them and
take steps to tackle them before they assume dangerous proportions. Grievances are natural
in any. These should be solved as early as possible. Discipline in the broadest sense means
orderliness—the opposite of confusion. There are two aspects of discipline—positive and
negative. Employee empowerment is a technique of involving employees in their work
through the process of inclusion. Collective bargaining is a process in which the
representatives of the employer and of the employees meet and attempt to negotiate a
contract governing the employer-employee union relationship.

8.9 ANSWERS TO ‘CHECK YOUR PROGRESS’

1. Human relations is a area of management practice in the integrating of people into
work situation in a way that motivates them to work together productively, co-
operatively and with economic, psychological and social satisfaction.
2. The main characteristics of human relations are:
(i) Human relations are an integral process through which an individual’s attitude
and work are integrated with a view to effecting a willing co-operation on his part
in the achievement of the interests of an organization as a whole.
(ii) Members of the organization contribute their mite to get individual and group
satisfaction i.e., the producers must receive satisfaction in the same way as the
consumers.
The satisfaction desired by employee may be economic, social, and psychological.
1. Grievance is any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice in connection with one’s em-
ployment situation that is brought to the attention of management.
2. The features of grievance are
 A grievance refers to any form of discontent or dissatisfaction with any aspect of
the organisation.
 The dissatisfaction must arise out of employment and not from personal or fam-
ily problems.
 The dissatisfaction may be expressed or implied. Expressed grievances are com-
paratively easy to recognise and are manifested in several ways eg: - gossiping,
active criticism, argumentation, poor workmanship etc., unexpressed grievances
are indicated by indifference to work, daydreaming, absenteeism, tardiness etc.
 The discontent may be valid, legitimate and rational or untrue and irrational or
completely ludicrous. The point is that when a grievance held by an employee
comes to the notice of the management it cannot usually dismiss it as irrational or
untrue.
 A grievance is traceable to perceived non-fulfilment of one’s expectations from
the organisation.
Self-Instructional Material 201
Human Resource Management  A grievance arises only when an employee feels that injustice has been done to
him.
 Grievances if not redressed in time tend to lower morale and productivity of
employees
NOTES 3. The grievance redressal procedure is a device by which grievances are settled, gen-
erally to the satisfaction of the trade union or employees and the management.
4. The efficiency of a grievance procedure depends upon the fulfilment of certain pre-
requisites. These are as follows
 Conformity with Prevailing Legislation
 Acceptability
 Clarity
 Promptness
 Simplicity
 Training
 Follow up
5. At present, the Model Grievance Procedure in India provides for five successive
time bound steps, each leading to the next case the aggrieved employee prefers an
appeal. These steps are as follows
Step I: The aggrieved employee verbally explains his grievance to his immediate
supervisor or in a conference or a discussion specifically arranged for the purpose.
Step II: If the employee does not receive an answer within the stipulated time or his
is not satisfied with the answer, he shall either in person or with his departmental (or
any representative) present has grievance to the head of the department designated
for this purpose.
Step III: If the employee is not satisfied with the answer, he can approach Grievance
Committee which shall evaluate the case and make its recommendations to manage-
ment within seven days of presentation of the case.
Step IV If the committee fails to take decision within the stipulated period the em-
ployee is not satisfied with the decision he can make an appeal for revision to man-
agement.
Step V: If the employee is unsatisfied with the management’s decision, union and
management may refer the grievance to voluntary arbitration within a week of the
receipt of management’s decision by the aggrieved employee.
6. The benefits of a good grievance procedure are as follows:
 It brings grievance into the open so that management can learn about them and
try to settle them.
 It helps management to solve a grievance before it becomes a dispute.
 It provides the workers a formal opportunity for expressing their fears, anxiety
and dissatisfaction.
 It provides employees a formalized means of emotional release for their
dissatisfactions. It thus builds within him a sense of emotional security.
 It helps to maintain cordial relations in the industry by enabling both the parties to
settle the grievances to their mutual satisfaction.
 Management know that their arbitrary and biased action can be reviewed and
challenged and therefore become more careful when dealing with their subordi-
nates.
 It enables the management to know the attitudes and feeling of employees re-
garding rules and practices of the organisation, this helps them to frame rules
which are more acceptable to the workers.
202 Self-Instructional Material
 Human Relations
8.10 QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES
Short-Answer Questions
1. Define ‘grievance’ and give its characteristics.
NOTES
2. Define grievance. Why does grievance arise?
3. What are the approaches to discipline?
4. What are the important causes of indiscipline?
5. What is empowerment?
6. What is the importance of collective bargaining?
Long-Answer Questions
1. An effective grievance handling procedure is preventive rather than curative. Explain.
2. Outline the various forms of indiscipline and examine the factors leading to it.
3. Explain the procedure for taking disciplinary action.
4. Differentiate Empowerment and Disempowerment.
5. Explain the stages in building empowered organizations.
6. Explain the process of collective bargaining.
7. “Collective bargaining assumes collective wisdom of both management and labour”,
Discuss.

8.11 FURTHER READING

1. Agarwal R. D., Dynamics of Personnel Management in India, Tata McGraw Hill
Publishing Company, New Delhi (1977)
2. Armstrong M., A handbook of Personnel Management Practices, Kongan Page London
(1996)
3. Basu K. S., New Dimensions in Personnel Management, Macmillan and Company of
India, New Delhi (1972).
4. Beach D. S., Personnel: The Management of People at Work, Macmillan, New York
(1975)
5. Carvel Fred J., Human Relations in Business, Macmillan and company London (1973)
6. Chabbra T. N., Ahuja N.K and Jain S.P., Managing People at Work, Dhanpat Rai and
Sons, New Delhi (1977)
7. Chandan J. S., Modern Management, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi (1986)
8. Dubin R (Ed), Human Relations in Administration, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi
(1974)
9. Devivedi R. S., Human Relations in Organizaional Behaviour, Oxford and IBH
Publishing Company, New Delhi (1979).
10. Grant, Valerie J and Smith, Geoff, Personnel Administration and Industrial Relations,
Longmans Group Ltd., London (1977)
11. Halloran Jack, Applied Human Relations: An Organizational Approach, Prentice
Hall of India (1978).
12. Monappa A and Sayaddin M.S., Personnel Management, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing
Company, New Delhi (979)
13. Morrision J. H., Human Side of Management, Addison Wesley Publishing Company
(1971)
Self-Instructional Material 203
Human Resource Management 14. Rudrabasavaraj M.N., Human Factor in Management, Himalaya Publishing House,
Bombay (1980)
15. Stanford Aubery C., Human Relations: Theory and Practice of Organizational
Behaviour, Merrill, Ohio (1977)
NOTES 16. Valerine Grant J and G Smith, Personnel Administration and Industrial Relations,
Longman Group, London (1971)
17. Yoder Dale , Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, Prentice Hall, New
Delhi (1982).

204 Self-Instructional Material

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