Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Employer Associations & Modern Awards Essay Example for Free

Employer Associations Modern Awards Essay There have been substantial changes to modern awards over the years that employer associations have historically and are currently advocating. In this regard, issues such as penalty rates and flexibility stemming from employer association submissions have been researched and examined by (Sheldon Thornthwaite 2013) portraying evidence that employer associations relatively prefer cost cutting and enhanced managerial prerogative as oppose to productivity. Entailed within this essay the key concepts such as penalty rates, managerial prerogative, flexibility and productivity will be discussed with particular focus the modern award reviews combined with an overview of Sheldon and Thornthwaite’s argument in summary and concurrence. According to (Boxall Purcell, 2011) management goals are predominantly associated with cost efficiency, controllable flexibility, legitimacy and managerial power. It is these goals that evidently become the concern of relevant employer associations, as such they take on the role of combining, allocating and utilising resources in order to achieve organisational objectives. There have however been significant changes over the years regarding employer association involvement particularly seen over the course of the 1980’s. Employer associations aim to influence and negotiate with the Government of the day as well as tribunals in an effort to ensure that the mutual concerns of organisations are being met. (Sheldon Thornthwaite, 2013) discuss key system issues with regard to employer associations mainly focusing on restricting union’s right of entry, penalty rates and other provisions incorporating aspects of substantive and procedural rules. Modern Award reviews primarily began in 2012, it is during this time that leading associations took the opportunity to not only push for more workable provisions but also to campaign for more substantial changes within various awards. Employer associations accounted for a large number of submissions to the tribunal on a broad range of issued in particular penalty rates, public holidays and flexibility. In the technical sense, penalty rates are a form of tangible benefit within the financial context which generally refers to those payments made to workers outside normal working hours. Regulator motivations for including penalty rates in modern awards as stated by (Sloane, 2014) are twofold: firstly, to compensate workers for work performed during what was historically known as ‘unsociable hours’ and secondly, to dissuade employers from operating within those hours. However,  as advocated by (Sheldon Thornthwaite, 2013) the modern award reviews have ‘provided a forum for employers and their associations to escalate their campaign to the significance of penalty rates in industries operating during the traditionally ‘unsociable hours’, which is evidence that employer associations prefer to enhance managerial prerogative over productivity which is predominantly concerned with the cost of resources. The push for the examination of provisions regarding penalty rates has mostly been seen to affect the tourism and retail industries. Flexibility is made up of numerous components however, within in the context of the workplace involves thinking creatively about how working lives can be better structured to match individual and business needs (Job Access, 2012). Following the review of penalty rate provisions, amendments to the flexibility clause were sought after with particular attention paid to the manufacturing industry. Greater flexibility was requested in the taking and cashing out of annual leave in a further attempt to enhance cost cutting initiatives through control measures which ultimately leads to the underlying concept of elevated managerial prerogative. Managerial prerogative may be defined as management’s unqualified authority to exercise its discretion in certain areas under the belief that they have exclusive rights to make decisions and therefore resist any interference with that control (Storey, 1983). Sheldon Thornthwaite make reference to managerial prerogative in the defensive context through aggressive industrial action which has historically been used as a means of strengthening managerial prerogative. The 2011 Qantas lockout serves as one of the most significant demonstrations of managerial prerogative through the organisations decision to engage in a lockout. As part of a wider push to entrench managerial prerogative employers were also seen to be engaging in aggressive bargaining strategies in order to escalate disputes with the intention of gaining access to arbitration which has an adverse affect on productivity. (Stewart, 2005) promotes the fact that there needs to be greater emphasis on productivity which forges greater efficiency and high trust work systems founded on flexible and fair employment. Productivity is the economic factor stemming from the adequate use of resources; productivity is essentially the measure of achievement through the amount of output that is achieved as result of the input predominantly referring to land, labour and capital as the key resources. Between penalty rates and productivity there is no association they are separated by the contexts of which they are defined. (AI Group, 2012) identify key problem areas within the Fair Work Act Review and state that it is ‘hampering productivity growth, workplace flexibility and competitiveness’ thus meaning that penalty rates do not influence productivity levels. (Sheldon Thornthwaite, 2013) do make it apparent that employer association’s main concerns do in fact favour cost cutting and managerial prerogative rather than focusing on the importance of productivity enhancement. (Sheldon Thornthwaite, 2013) further explored critiques from employer associations whose predominant concern was based on the fact that managerial prerogative was reduced through the increasing weakness of employer’ freedom to contract. (DEEWR, 2012) Released a report referring to more productive and equitable workplaces which disappointed employer associations thus further confirming productivity enhancement to be of no concern. It is clearly demonstrated that employer associations’ main concerns were that of cost cutting and managerial prerogative it is however, the amalgamation of all the relevant key concepts discussed that essentially equip organisations with a competitive advantage. The core concepts behind the submissions made by employer associations clearly obscure the importance of larger issues which further represents that employer associations prioritise the ease of managements working lives over that of the worker. Bibliography Australian Industry (AI) Group (2012), Applications to Vary a Modern Award – 2012 Review, Stephen Smith, Director – National Workplace Relations. Boxall, P and Purcell, J (2011), The Goals of Human Resource Management, Strategy and Human Resource Management, 3rd Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp. 1-36. Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2012), Towards More Productive and Equitable Workplaces: An Evaluation of the Fair Work Legislation, Australian Government. Job Access, Flexibility in the Workplace, Australian Government, Accessed 1st May 2014 Sheldon, P and Thornthwaite, L. (2013), Employer and Employer Association Matters in 2012, Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 55: No. 3, pp. 386-402. Sloane, J (2014), Pay Penalty Rates, but not Through Awards System, The Australian. Stewart, A (2005), A Simple Plan for Workplace Regulation, Industrial Law News, Issue 7. Storey, J (1983). Managerial Prerogative and the Question of Control, Routledge Kegan Paul Publishing, London.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Persuasive Essay Men and Women are Equal -- essays research papers

Men and Women There is constantly cessation why women and men cohabitate, nurture, desire, and endure. Many shrug the similarities and differences to the side due to the complex nature that is involved in understanding the progression. Since the beginning of time, according to the bible, man was placed as the dominant sex, fending for the families well being. The woman has tended to the important jobs around the homestead as situations arose. Often in society, one will find himself in a battle depending on the views of the receiving recipients. Following is a dialogue explaining a safe and metro sexual view as a general whole. Based on scientific beliefs, one is to think we come from a less intelligent species through evolution. There is also the often believed but sadly never proven fact that we could have possibly derived from a higher power that designed our every millimeter. Also possible we started as a single celled organism by a higher power, but not monitored throughout growth into what we are now. Whichever the...

Sunday, January 12, 2020

It Is Often Easier to Figth for Principles Than to Liv Up to Them

Adlai Stevenson once commented, â€Å"It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them. † Based o your reading, observation, or experience, to what extent to you agree or disagree with Stevenson’s words? Please give examples that support your point of view. One man said, â€Å"I don’t agree with what you say, but I defend with my life your right to say it†, thus, expressing the importance of the right of free speech. Many principles, for example justice, democracy and equality, which nowadays are taken for granted in the developed world, are the outcome of a long struggle through the ages. However, it is often said that people are more eager to fight for what they believe is right and just, than to live by the rules they have fought for. In my opinion, this is a solid argument which can be proven by several examples. Throughout human history there have been many examples of rebellions, which begun urged by idealism but afterwards lost their way. The most recent are the ones who took place for the sake of communism. To be more precise, communist rebels declared equal rights and a society without social classes, principles that were left aside as soon as the revolution was over and the government was a communist one. Communist leaders then, justified extreme measures as the only way to establish and maintain their ideals against capitalistic foes, depriving human rights, which were the main incentive of the rebellion. Another clue is how most people differentiate their principles and priorities as they grow older. It is mostly youngsters, especially the literate ones, who demonstrate a rebellious spirit against any violation of their principles. However, as years go by and student life is replaced by career and family obligations, these principles begin to fade away. Life is full of dilemmas and only the strong ones put aside personal interest for the sake of principles and beliefs. When someone is fighting for an ideal, he is comforted by the thought that, despite the danger, he is doing the right thing. He is doing something for the common good and that makes him feel a part of a larger group of common believers. One the other hand, when the goal is achieved and his ethical defenses are down, it is difficult and inconvenient to live by lofty principles. Priorities change and principles are considered a luxury for those with no responsibilities.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

The Tobacco Industry Profiting From Death - 1091 Words

The tobacco industry in America is one that every person is affected by. In the past year over 3,000 people died from second-hand smoke related deaths (Above the Influence.com). Even non-smokers are heavily affected by this moneymaking industry. The real question though, is how is a product that kills justified in the market? This product is not only addictive, but also highly threatening to the lives of its users. The majority of users do not realize it, but in reality they are paying for their own funeral. Tobacco and cigarette companies continue to feed lies to the public through their marketing strategies and product makeup. Hidden documents containing information on the toxicity and pharmacological properties of nicotine†¦show more content†¦The surgeon general warnings on a pack of cigarettes expose many of the astonishing effects of smoking. With the massive amount of knowledge and warnings publicized, why has a significant impact not been made on the lives of smoker s? In the past year over 440,000 people died from smoking cigarettes, in which the majority were people that began smoking before they were 18 years old (Above the Influence.com). The clear scientific fact that the tobacco industry targets adolescents is an epidemic that needs to be stopped. An experiment was taken with a base consisting of people under the age of 18 that had never smoked a cigarette. The study showed that after several years, the majority of the original people reported that they either had tried a cigarette, or would have if it was presented to them (Pierce). The experiment proved the targeting of adolescents by cigarette and tobacco companies. Living on a college campus of over 25,000 students, it is clear that the tobacco industry affects us all. Whether it is an addiction to cigarettes, the use of other tobacco products, or second hand smoke that we are forced to inhale, we are all influenced and subjected to the tobacco industry’s harms. 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