2.7 HL

Question 1

possible reasons for employees and employers to have conflict

Answer 1

lack of job security
salary and benefits
working hours
poor communication
inequity
personality clash
leadership style
expectation - e.g. overtime
values
redundancies
organizational change, e.g. new offices
resistance to change

Question 2

what can conflict lead to

Answer 2

demotivation, employees leaving etc

Question 3

industrial action

Answer 3

actions to put pressure on the other side to solve conflict

Question 4

collective bargaining (unions)

Answer 4

EEs negotiate with the employer together, usually using chosen EE representatives
EEs should have more power when working together
EEs can also form/join a Trade union

Question 5

work-to-rule

Answer 5

only to do work which is outlined in their contract and refuse to do any additional work
e.g. stop working at exactly 5pm, no work during lunch break

Question 6

strike action

Answer 6

stop working for a period of time and refuse to work

Question 7

collective bargaining with ERs

Answer 7

saves the business time and makes the EEs feel listened to

Question 8

threats of redundancies

Answer 8

make them redundant if they don’t agree to terms

Question 9

changes to contract

Answer 9

increased working hours or job requirements when renew contracts

Question 10

lockouts

Answer 10

temporarily close the factory so workers do not get paid

Question 11

closure

Answer 11

completely close the factory - leading to redundancies

Question 12

Employee participation and individual democracy

Answer 12

achieve a closer working relationship between EE and ER. Give EEs more a say in the running of the business
e.g. employee on the board of directors, employee share ownership, democratic leadership style
increased motivation of EE should hopefully reduce the likelihood of conflicts

Question 13

no-strike agreement

Answer 13

Union members agree not to strike
usually in return for an agreement - e.g. pay will always increase in line with inflation
reduces EEs power in the future but will hopefully increase the image of the union, leading to more members

Question 14

single-union agreement

Answer 14

ER only negotiates with one union, rather than multiple unions
different unions may have different objectives, so only negotiation with one may increase the likelihood of an agreement

Question 15

conciliation and arbitration

Answer 15

The use of a 3rd party to help resolve a dispute
Conciliation = use of 3rd party to encourage EE and ER communication and reach a compromise
Arbitration - use of 3rd party to listen to both sides and then make a binding decision