Showing papers in "Public Personnel Management in 1998"

An Examination of Organizational Trust Antecedents

Abstract: The objective of this research is to empirically assess antecedents of organizational trust. To accomplish this objective, 83 managerial employees were surveyed in a branch of a federal governmental agency located in a large metropolitan city in the Southwestern United States. Multiple regression analysis showed that age, marital status, and work group cohesion were positively associated with organizational trust. Organizational trust did not differ by either race or gender. Results are discussed in light of competitive challenges facing human resource managers.

Job Values in Today's Workforce: A Comparison of Public and Private Sector Employees.

Abstract: Unlike workers in the ′70s and ′80s who valued interesting work above everything else, the results of this study suggest today's workers place the highest value on good wages and job security. A co...

Antecedents of Organizational Citizenship Behavior Revisited: Public Personnel in the United States and in the Middle East

Abstract: The antecedents of self-reported organizational citizenship behavior were examined in two samples of public personnel. Data for the first sample were collected from 155 workers in the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in the southeastern U.S. The second sample consisted of 378 police officers and military personnel in the Middle East (Egypt and Saudi Arabia). The results of separate step-wise multiple regression analyses showed that, for both samples, organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), need for achievement (n Ach), intrinsic job satisfaction, and low extrinsic job satisfaction were predictors of altruism, whereas low work-related stress and high organization-based self-esteem were related to compliance. The results are discussed in light of intrinsic motivation, dispositional variables, and cultural differences.

Organizational Commitment among Public Service Employees.

Abstract: This present study examined the factors associated with organizational commitment among blue-collar workers. Previous work in this area suggests that, among blue-collar employees, commitment should be more closely related to extrinsic rewards (e.g., pay satisfaction) than to intrinsic factors. In order to test this hypothesis, sixty-four public service employees in a waste, water, and sanitation department completed a questionnaire designed to measure organizational commitment and perceptions of extrinsic and intrinsic factors related to their jobs. The results indicated that the following were positively and significantly related to commitment: promotion satisfaction, job characteristics, communication, leadership satisfaction, job satisfaction, extrinsic exchange, intrinsic exchange, extrinsic rewards, and intrinsic rewards. Contrary to expectations, pay satisfaction did not correlate significantly with commitment. Both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards were equally predictive of commitment; this contradi...

Competencies and Managerial Effectiveness: Putting Competencies to Work

Abstract: To be effective the development of workplace and managerial skills must reflect the current and projected needs of the organization. It is a critical responsibility of senior management to identify...

Strategic Culture Change: The Door to Achieving High Performance and Inclusion:

Abstract: Diversity is one of the most significant forces influencing organizational change in the 1990s. The number of diversity workshops, videos, journal articles, boardgames, handbooks and CD-ROMs testif...

The Informal Communication Network: Factors Influencing Grapevine Activity:

Abstract: Although the grapevine is an inevitable part of organizational behavior, we know very little about how managers perceive the characteristics and functioning of this informal communication network. ...

Perspectives on Enduring and Emerging Issues in Performance Appraisal

Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to explore critical issues and emerging trends in performance appraisal, issues that are enduring and several “cutting edge” developments. A convenience sample of 18 pe...

College Education and Police Job Performance: A Ten-Year Study:

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between measures of college education and work performance for a cohort of 84 police officers over a 10-year period. College education variables showed a st...

Performance Appraisal: Maintaining System Effectiveness

Abstract: Although most organizations have some form of appraising individual performance, few have well-thought-out systems for ensuring that the appraisal systems they use are continuing to yield the best ...

Effective Communication in the Performance Appraisal Interview: Face-to-Face Communication for Public Managers in the Culturally Diverse Workplace

Abstract: This article first restates and then extends a thesis about the performance appraisal process first published in this journal almost 15 years ago—that the public manager's performance in the face-t...

Diversity: A Principie of Human Resource Management

Abstract: As more and more organizations implement diversity initiatives, personnel and human resource managers play increasingly significant roles. This arriele explores some of the challenges personnel and...

Progress toward Achieving a Representative Federal Bureaucracy: The Impact of Supervisors and Their Beliefs:

Abstract: Research conducted during the late 1970s and 1980s suggested that one reason greater progress was not being made in achieving a fully representative federal bureaucracy was that federal supervisors...

Is Smoking Stigma Clouding the Objectivity of Employee Performance Appraisal

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between supervisors' and project leaders' perceptions about the smoking behavior of their subordinate employees and their performance appraisals of their employees. Those who were perceived to be smokers were rated lower than those perceived to be nonsmokers on four of nine job performance measures when controlling for age, race, and gender. The findings suggest smoking stigma may negatively affect the perceptions of one's overall job performance, especially in terms of one's professional comportment, working relations with others, and dependability.

The Workplace: A Battleground for Violence

Abstract: The workplace has become a battleground for violence in society. With so much violence in newspapers, on television, and in homes, the workplace is not immune to this crisis. Employers will have to...

Diverse Self-Directed Work Teams: Developing Strategic Initiatives for 21st Century Organizations:

Abstract: This article proposes strategic planning and training initiatives that human resource managers and others may use to facilitate the development of diverse self-directed work teams. The proposed app...

Gainsharing in Zebulon: What Do Workers Want?

Abstract: Gainsharing, an instrument for implementing pay for performance, is a synthesis of participatory management and profit sharing.1 With increased interest in both pay-for-performance and total quality management (TQM), gainsharing programs have attracted the attention of public sector organizations. Gainsharing is a means for encouraging and motivating employees through extrinsic expectancy rewards within a group or organizational framework. It combines TQM's emphasis on the advantages derived from team work (and away from the distractions of individual competition) with the motivational effect of a strong individual reward system.2 This study examines employees' attitudes and perceptions about one local government's gainsharing plan. The employees' perceived ability to affect the savings on which the gainsharing award is based, their influence over the components included in the gainsharing calculations, control over the criteria used in determining individual eligibility for a gainsharing award and an emp...

Managing Diversity: The Department of Energy Initiative

Abstract: More and more executives are recognizing that managing diversity is not a quick fix program but a strategic process that must be aligned with the organization's strategic plan and implemented as a ...

Implementing Comparable Worth/Pay Equity: Experiences of Cutting-Edge States:

Abstract: This article focuses on the experiences of eight states that have implemented comparable worth statutes: Connecticut, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. Montana ...

Police Officer Candidate Background Investigation Law Enforcement Management's Most Effective Tool for Employing the Most Qualified Candidate

Abstract: The Crime Bill of 1994 has generated a large cash flow of federal funds into state and local coffers for hiring additional personnel. In the rush to get the federal funding, many agencies have alte...

Title VII Sex Discrimination in the Public Sector in the 1990s: The Counrts' View

Abstract: In the past thirty years, Congress has enacted a wide-range of laws aimed at bringing equal job opportunity to Americans. The major and primary piece of federal legislation is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA). This act prohibits all forms of employment discrimination based upon an individual's race, religion, color, national origin - and sex.(1) Thus it is unlawful to: refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate . . . with respect to . . . compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's . . . sex . . . ([section]703(a)(1)). At first sex was not included as a protected category under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In fact, it is omitted in other Titles (or sections) of the CRA. When Title VII was being debated on the floor of Congress, "sex" was introduced in an attempt to have the bill defeated.(2) Despite this strategy, the CRA passed - and sex discrimination was clearly prohibited under the law. As clear as this prohibition appears, however, there has continued to be confusion concerning precisely what Congress and the regulatory agencies meant when they prohibited discrimination based on "sex." Since passage of the CRA, Congress and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have returned again and again seeking to clarify Congressional intent. One major concern, which subsequently led to Congress amending Title VII, was whether or not pregnancy was protected under the Act. Following numerous unfavorable U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the 1970s, Congress amended Title VII with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. A second major problem involved unequal retirement benefits for women who worked. Frequently women were charged more for retirement benefits than their male counterparts because of longer life expectancy, or were awarded lower pension benefits than males based on the same fact. Both situations were subsequently struck down by the United States Supreme Court as being a form of sex discrimination prohibited under the law. During the 1970s the courts uniformly rejected the claims of women plaintiffs charging that harassment was a form of discrimination prohibited under the law. In response to this question, the EEOC issued its now famous guidelines on sexual harassment on November 10, 1980. Despite the conciseness and clearness of the guidelines, the courts continued to address the issue of both quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment.(3) As Congress, the regulatory agencies, and the courts have continued to broaden and develop these issues concerning sex discrimination, it appears that what has been forgotten in recent years is Title VII sex discrimination excluding any special issues as pregnancy, retirement benefits, or sexual harassment. This article will examine and analyze recent federal court cases dealing with such discrimination in the public sector. One important issue raised in numerous court cases reviewed is the fact that employment discrimination based upon sex includes both women and men, since: "A claim of sexual discrimination brought by a male plaintiff is cognizable under Title VII, since the word "sex . . . simply refer[s] to membership in a class delineated by "gender."(4) This article focuses on and is organized around five traditional categories of employment decisions covered under Title VII: (1) initial hiring decisions, (2) compensation and benefits, (3) transfer and assignment, (4) promotion, and (5) discharge. The number of court decisions(5) in the public sector which we have identified was relatively small for the first three categories and we will discuss them in toto. However, the number of promotion and discharge cases was so large that a complete discussion of all of them would render this article unmanageable. Therefore, only selected promotion and discharge cases will be reviewed in a similar manner as the first three categories, with the remainder simply summarized in the Appendix. …

Interest-Based Bargaining: Labor and Management Working Together in Ramsey County, Minnesota

Abstract: Imagine 48 union and management representatives looking on as two facilitators with flip charts record the views and concerns of those 48 individuals. They have a problem, but they have not taken a position, and they are working toward a resolution. This sounds like a 1990s-style meeting where co-workers meet to build teams and figure out new ways to do business. But this is not just a meeting - it is public-sector collective bargaining. The recent experience of Ramsey County and the six different bargaining units of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO Council 14 in creating a labor-management partnership for contract negotiations mirrors a new public sector trend taking place nationwide. Labor-management partnerships have attracted the attention of public sector leaders following publication in 1996 of the widely acclaimed U.S. Secretary of Labor's Task Force on Excellence in State and Local Government Through Labor Management Cooperation, Working Together for Public Service.(1) The report provides results of more than a year of extensive analysis and concludes that participation by employees and cooperation between labor and management offers local government an opportunity to improve delivery and quality of service. The report calls upon labor and management leaders to break molds and take risks in the pursuit of improved labor-management relations and better public service. Using the Secretary of Labor's report as a guide, Ramsey County moved to introduce interest-based bargaining in efforts to improve the labor-management negotiation process and overall relations. The results of this effort have been positive and show promise to spur expanded efforts in other labor-management areas. Communication between management and bargaining units has greatly improved, the negotiation process is now more amicable and more employees now participate in evaluating options and seeking solutions to difficult labor-management issues. The process also cut down the number of grievances filed under the traditional collective bargaining model. Agreement was reached on new contracts before current agreements expired, which cut both time and costs and improved efficiency. The interest-based bargaining model also provided for more flexibility both outside and during bargaining, which allowed participants to generate options and seek out creative solutions. The process in developing a productive interest-based bargaining approach posed many challenges and obstacles along the way. To gain a better understanding about the path taken by labor and management in Ramsey County, it is necessary to gain a historical perspective on labor-management relations and the factors that prompted the use of this new approach. Labor-Management Relations Underlying tensions developed over several years between management and AFSCME in Ramsey County. A strike in 1990, which occurred due to issues associated with medical insurance, also highlighted tensions from previous years. Following the strike, the county decided to separate labor functions into two areas. The county hired an outside negotiator to conduct negotiations, while other functions, i.e., grievances, assistance with negotiations, contract administration and labor relations training, remained with the personnel department. Relations between the county and AFSCME improved when labor negotiations were contracted out from July 1991 to June 30, 1996. Genesis of Labor-Management Cooperation In 1995, union and personnel representatives took action to chart a new course to take the improved labor-management relations one step further Tom Hennesey, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 14 and Richard Brainerd, Ramsey County Director of Personnel met in 1995 to discuss the bargaining process for the contract period beginning January 1997. They discussed whether to continue negotiations using the traditional adversarial approach, or to use a new model, such as interest-based bargaining, which is less adversarial and more collaborative. …

The Transformation of the South African Public Service, 1994-1997

Abstract: This article is a presentation of the case study on the transformation of the South African public service. The Public Service Commission has been in the privileged position to be at the helm of th...

New Manifestations of Open Systems: Can They Survive in the Public Sector?

Abstract: Public sector managers in the 21st century will have fewer workers and higher expectations from both the public and the workforce. Such a conundrum establishes a management challenge, which only the most skilled manger will be able to meet. Meeting the challenge means changing the culture in public sector organizations i.e., continuing the empowerment of the personnel function by changing to human resources management with a focus on total quality management.(1) As World War II ended, the Carlson(2) definition of personnel administration was dominant. The purpose of the personnel department was to: "Assist management in meriting and obtaining the enthusiastic and constructive help of all employees in constantly improving services and reducing costs . . . as called upon to help management carry on the approved personnel policies . . . and to maintain close contact with management and work with them in connection with their personnel problems . . . to appraise employee attitudes and overall performance . . . and foster methods which enable management to utilize the maximum abilities and interests of employees . . . This notion conceptualized the personnel function as an apparatus in a closed system inherently committed to serving management by regulating employee behavior. During this period, hierarchical structure, bureaucracy, complex work processes, individual work, and rewards for longevity, were paramount. The Social Security Act amendments mandated merit systems in state agencies, which managed federally assisted programs in health, welfare, employment security, and civil defense. Rising Influences Spurred initially by the federal government and later by the private sector, traditional public personnel administration has changed from a control-oriented supplier of employees to a developer of employees as one of an organization's resources.(3) During the half century since the end of World War II, the roles of merit, patronage, professional human resources management (PHRM), and total quality management (TQM), have forged an orientation in which customer service has replaced bureaucracy. Horizontal structure has replaced hierarchal structure; simple work processes are more valued than complex work processes; on-line client servers have replaced patch process technology; team work has been exalted over individual work; and rewarding performance has supplanted rewarding longevity. Simultaneously, the rights of public sector employees have been increasingly recognized in the courts. Stimuli from the Courts Over the past two decades there has been increased emphasis on worker rights in the public sector work place (as opposed to management rights). Cases such as Board of Regents vs. Roth(4) and Perry vs. Sinderman(5) (both litigated in 1972) facilitated the introduction of "doctrine of substantial interest," and brought new life to liberty and property interests in public sector employment. These cases could have generated personnel operating styles from management oriented, closed and adversarial postures to open or consensual systems,(6) ones that would capture the essence and spirit of PHRM. In 1976 the Court made it clear that it would use a more restrictive definition of liberty and property interests. In Bishop v. Wood(7) the Court decided not to set aside the dismissal of a police officer despite the fact that his employer refused to arrange a hearing. The Court based its ruling on its reading of city regulations, which did not appear to provide city employees with a right to be retained. There was, in other words, no property interest. However, in 1985 the decision in Loudermill v. Cleveland Board of Education(8) reaffirmed the doctrine of substantial interest when it mandated pre-termination hearings in due process procedures. This narrow but important ruling substantiates the fact of employment as a legitimate property interest. The decision, however, has not prevailed with the kind of command that would institutionalize egalitarian leadership styles. …

Consensus Bargaining in Wisconsin State Government: A New Approach to Labor Negotiation

Abstract: Labor Management Background in Wisconsin State Government is the largest and most diversified employer in Wisconsin - employing over 40,000 classified employees in more than 50 departments and agencies and the 26 University of Wisconsin campuses. Over 90 percent of the classified employees in State Government are represented by labor unions. These employees are organized into 19 statutorily-defined bargaining units represented by 6 parent labor organizations. The largest of these is the Wisconsin State Employees Union (WSEU), which represents about 27,000 employees. The WSEU is an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. During the last several years, Wisconsin State Government has established a national reputation for innovative personnel practices. In 1995, for example, the Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations (DER) received the IPMA Agency Award for Excellence, and the Department has also received awards and recognition from organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the National Association of State Personnel Executives, the National Center for Public Productivity, the Society for Human Resource Management, and others. DER, the state's central personnel office, administers Wisconsin's human resource system to ensure that State Government services are provided by a skilled, motivated, and diverse work force. DER is committed to providing responsive service to its customers - state agencies, state employees, and the public. The Department's long-term vision is to: * Be positioned at the forefront of human resources management by creating and administering a system that is based on excellence, diversity, efficiency, responsiveness, continual improvement, and innovation; and * Encourage and enable state employees to achieve their highest potential. A key element of DER's mission is to bargain collectively under the provisions of the Wisconsin State Employment Labor Relations Act with legally recognized labor organizations and administer labor contracts in good faith. Department staff serve as chief spokespersons during biennial contract negotiations, consulting frequently with legislative leaders on the Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER), which must approve all contract agreements. After JCOER approves contracts, they are forwarded to the full Senate and Assembly for approval, and then to the governor for final approval. Once signed, these labor contracts have the force of law for their two-year duration. Since 1992, DER has been successfully using "consensus bargaining" to reach labor agreements with large state employee unions. That year, under the leadership of Governor Tommy G. Thompson, Wisconsin became the first state to successfully use this approach with a major union - the WSEU. This union represents six bargaining units - blue collar and non-building trades, administrative support, technical, security and public safety, law enforcement, and professional social services. The state now negotiates contract agreements with the WSEU and several other unions using a consensus-based, problem-solving approach that is strongly supported by both union membership and state employer representatives. The consensus approach contrasts sharply with the traditional adversarial and confrontational approach to bargaining and has introduced a new era in bargaining for Wisconsin State Government, the WSEU, and other state employee unions. Since that first experience with consensus bargaining in 1992, DER and the WSEU have reached agreement on three other biennial contracts using the same approach, and the Department has used consensus bargaining to reach contract agreements with other unions, including the United Professionals for Quality Health Care (health care workers at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and correctional and other institutions) and the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers (the parent union for bargaining units that represent scientific and other professional employees in many different job classifications). …

A Labor-Management Approach to Health Care Cost Savings: The Peoria Experience:

Abstract: In 1993, the increasingly troublesome problem of skyrocketing health care costs became intolerable to city council members, city administration, retirees and active employees in the City of Peoria, Illinois. Because health care costs were rising at the rate of 18 percent each year, it became clear that unless a creative approach to this problem was found, the employee's premiums and deductibles would have to be dramatically increased and benefit levels slashed. Since health care is a mandatory item for labor negotiations in Illinois, the difficult problem of ever-increasing costs was a major source of contention between management and the city's eight labor unions. To deal with this problem, labor and management agreed to a precedent-setting decision. Both labor and management agreed to remove the emotionally charged issue of health care from the bargaining table and to form a Joint Labor Management Health Care Committee to manage the city's health care plan. Results of Peoria's Labor Management Cooperative Approach Considering this project was initiated and developed in an adversarial environment, it is amazing that positive results were derived from the cooperative effort. The following outcomes were attained: * Cost savings to the health care plan during the first year of the new plan design (1994) amounted to $1.2 million of a $6 million budget. Cost savings during the first four years exceeded $2.5 million. * The plan offered increased plan benefits while achieving high levels of cost savings without substantial cost shifting to participants. * The plan included an agreement that 50 percent of the cost savings would go to the city and 50 percent would be spent at the discretion of the Joint Labor Management Health Care Committee. (The committee chose to provide a 10 percent discount for retiree premiums during the first year of the plan, and 20 percent discounts on premiums for retirees during 1995, 1996, & 1997, as well as enhanced retiree coverage.) * Premiums have remained virtually the same for the last four years since project implementation. * The plan moved from an indemnity health care plan to one of managed care with preferred providers, utilization review and an emphasis on wellness and education. The committee developed a penalty system, which was a new and creative approach to steering plan participants to preferred providers. By utilizing this unique penalty system, the committee avoided implementing the normal 30-50 percent co-pays that hospitals normally require of participants if they use a non-preferred provider facility, and the plan received deep discounts from health care providers. * A high level of participant/patient satisfaction has been achieved. Providing personal assistance through the newly established position of Patient Advocate/Health Care Administrator facilitated accessing plan benefits. Paperwork to file claims was reduced through new annual eligibility enrollment procedures. * Due to the overwhelming success of the labor management efforts during the first three- year period, the city and unions agreed to manage the health care plan through the Joint Labor Management Health Care Committee for a second three-year period. * The work of the Joint Labor Management Health Care Committee has served as a guide when attempting to resolve problems and achieve goals in other areas of city government. Relationships Preceding the Health Care Committee In April 1992, the City of Peoria and the Peoria Fire Fighters Union Local #50 went through interest arbitration over the issue of health insurance premiums. The interest arbitration process generated a great deal of bitterness between the parties. The trust, confidence and relationship between the City of Peoria and the Fire Fighters Union, as well as other unions representing city employees, plummeted to an all-time low.(1) In October 1992, a special meeting of the city council was called to discuss the issue of health care premium costs. …

Obstacles to Sustaining a Labor-Management Partnership: A Management Perspective

Abstract: Labor-management cooperation is a revolution in the way we do business. Thanks to the City of Fort Lauderdale's vision and support, I have been fortunate to work with one of the most successful public sector labor-management partnerships in the country. This effort, referred to as CALM (the Cooperative Association of Labor and Management), was initiated in 1993. In that year we experienced budget cuts and staff reductions. Revenues were flat and taxpayers were asking for tax cuts. Under these conditions, I turned to Cathy Dunn, President of AFSCME Local 532, which represents 1,000 general city employees, and suggested that we try working together to tackle these problems. Dunn was more than willing to try something new since our traditional approach to labor relations offered no solutions. Since the establishment of CALM, Fort Lauderdale has seen its labor-management partnership grow throughout city departments, saving taxpayers millions of dollars and promoting a work culture based on cooperation. I never imagined that labor relations could play such a significant role in moving a public sector organization toward a high-performance workplace. The City of Fort Lauderdale's CALM partnership has been involved in a number of successful labor-management ventures, some of which include: * Eliminated redundant equipment and vehicles resulting in a $400,000 savings; * Developed training programs resulting in a 35 percent cost savings for entry-level positions; * Reorganized the city's beach maintenance program resulting in a 12 percent increase in productivity; * Underbid private pipe-laying contractors, saving taxpayers up to $4 million while expanding city work crews to replace contractors; * Initiated a long-term labor-management partnership to develop and implement a comprehensive re-engineering plan for the operation and maintenance of the city's water and waste/water program; * Underbid private contractors for the operation and maintenance of the city's detention center; * Reduced overtime costs through consolidation of four telecommunicators jobs into one flexible, higher-paying job; * Reduced purchasing time by 15 percent through implementation of a credit card program; * Conducted and implemented a pay and classification study for 1,000 general employees; * Developed a model for work units to identify customer expectations and measure outputs. A number of models exist for creating a labor-management partnership. However, in all cases, the difficulty is sustaining a long-term partnership. It is common to see jurisdictions initiate a labor-management committee only to see it "die on the vine" within a period of months to a year. Our experience has shown that, in most cases, the partnership falters and loses effectiveness because the parties forget some of the fundamental principles of the partnership. As a manager, I have found that I must continually return to these fundamental principles. It is a good idea for those interested in sustaining the partnership to periodically evaluate their efforts in the following areas: Understand and Honor Cultural Differences A labor-management cooperation venture is similar to a marriage. Each partner brings to the relationship his own values, rituals, priorities and habits. The marriage will survive and prosper only to the degree that the couple learns to understand and honor their different backgrounds and ultimately form a partnership blending those two perspectives into one. To nurture a labor-management partnership, it is necessary to understand and honor the significant differences between the traditional union and management workplace cultures. Each side has its own assumptions, values, and "way of doing business." Unless these differences are properly managed, they will get in the way of the partnership. For example, sometimes what looks easy for management to accomplish is very difficult for the union side. …

Aggression, Peaceful Co-Existence, Mutual Cooperation—It's up to Us

Abstract: Background From the ashes of an aggressive labor relations posture, Phoenix has moved to a mutual cooperation labor-management relations model Current labor relations literature discusses adversarial vs interest-based, win-win relationships Mutual cooperation can incorporate the principles of interest-based negotiations or relationships, but "conflictive partnership" provides a more useful model US Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) Director John Calhoun Wells, who uses "conflictive management" to define labor-management cooperation, talks about forging a new relationship based on shared interests and a new spirit of cooperation between labor and management(1) Conflictive partnership is the middle ground between peaceful co-existence and full interest-based relationships, which the City of Phoenix is striving to achieve A positive labor relations program seeks to promote and maintain a positive labor relations climate, which will ensure an effective, efficient, and productive organization Mutual cooperation between labor and management works Management must take the first step to share relevant information with labor Honest communication, a willingness to listen, a problem-solving orientation and a belief in the labor-management process are all factors that must be present to develop mutual cooperation Not every labor-management interaction, however, involves mutual cooperation The parties must be flexible enough to move back and forth between mutual cooperation and peaceful co-existence, depending on the circumstances They must believe that the labor-management process is the key ingredient At times, they must agree to disagree and let the established systems work The diagram below traces the movement between aggression and mutual cooperation, a path that illustrates Calhoun's "conflictive partnerships" Strike ULP Labor- Impasse Collective Management Arbitration Grievances Mediation Bargaining Committee AGGRESSION PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE MUTUAL COOPERATION In order to discuss the City of Phoenix labor relations philosophy, it is necessary to briefly discuss the environment The City of Phoenix employs more than 12,000 workers - 93 percent of these employees are represented by one of the city's five bargaining units or two associations This article will examine the city's labor relations experience with the five bargaining units, which represent 69 percent of the work force The five unions are: * Field Unit I, Laborers' International Union of North America, Public Employees, Local 1297(2) * Field Unit 2, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 2384(3) * Office Clerical Unit 3, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 2960(4) * Police Unit 4, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association(5) * Fire Unit 5, Phoenix Fire Fighters Association, Local 493(6) An Aggressive History In Reverse The City of Phoenix operates under a Meet and Confer Ordinance originally adopted by the city council in 1975 The first labor agreements were negotiated in 1976, and there have been several amendments to the Meet and Confer Ordinance, the most recent amendment effective February 28, 1990 Under the guidance of a five-member Phoenix Employment Relations Board appointed by the city council, the Ordinance provides for collective bargaining relating to wages, hours, and working conditions; Unfair Labor Practice charges (ULPs); definition of the bargaining units; elections; and impasse procedures Labor relations in Phoenix may be categorized in three general periods From 1975 through 1985 the posture was one of aggression Phoenix had adopted a new Ordinance, many ULPs and grievances were filed, and the city regularly went to impasse rather than resolving collective bargaining issues through the negotiation process …

Making a Good First Impression

Abstract: First impressions are the most lasting. At least that's what we've been told since the time we were children. One of the first and most lasting impressions new employees have of their employer is how they are greeted and treated on their first day of work. As employee communications professionals and human resources trainers know, employee orientation is perhaps the critical introduction to an organization for a new employee. based on their experience during orientation, an employee often can tell how an organization truly views its work force. Most organizations, particularly large ones, have some type of mission or quality statement that affirms, "our employees are our greatest resource." In organizations where such statements are merely lip service, the employees often liken the affirmation to the story of the farmer and his three-legged pig. You remember that story: A visitor to the farm keeps questioning the farmer about his three-legged pig, while the farmer keeps boasting of the spectacular feats performed by the pig. When pressed as to why the sow has only three legs, the farmer finally explains, "When you have a great pig like that, you don't eat it all at once." Part of the challenge for an organization that touts its employees as its greatest resource is walking that talk. And because many public and private enterprises in the United States were at least loosely patterned after archaic business models that emphasize employees blindly following a regimen of work, we see great conflicts between what organizations believe and how they behave. The will to change may exist, but making the transition from the current behavior to desired behavior doesn't happen all at once. It often begins with small improvements that have lasting meaning. One such example is how Mecklenburg County government revamped its employee orientation in an attempt to live up to the credo of employees being the organization's greatest resource. Mecklenburg County is one of 100 counties in North Carolina. It is the largest, most populous and most urban county in the state. The annual budget of federal, state, and local funds approaches a billion dollars, with more than 4,400 full-time and part-time permanent employees. Mecklenburg County hires about 650 new employees each year, to fill vacancies and, in some cases, fill newly created positions. There are five core businesses of Mecklenburg County government, comprising approximately 30 distinct departments providing services to Mecklenburg County residents. Geographic distribution of the work force is within the borders of the 540 square miles of the county, though dispersed in several buildings throughout that area. Like most governments, it's not always common for residents or new employees to be aware of all the services Mecklenburg County provides. Compounding that problem is that the city of Charlotte is the county seat, and numerous services of the city and county are consolidated, though there remains separate work forces, organizational leadership, and often corporate philosophy. Still, many new employees will be expected by customers to have a working knowledge of various county services, not necessarily only those the employee is responsible for providing. For example, a customer may contact the Tax Office to obtain information about their property value, then want to find out about obtaining a building permit. Now, the Tax Office is the appropriate place to obtain details on property values, but a different department handles building permits. If the Tax Office employee has not been provided with information on other services provided by the organization, not only will the customer's needs be unmet, but the employee has been short-changed by management; they will have been given insufficient resources (i.e., information and training) to do their job properly. Therefore, a successful new employee orientation serves not only to answer employees' fundamental questions about health insurance and other benefits, but also to begin the ongoing communications and training that helps employees succeed in their jobs. …

Employee Involvement in Seattle: Reengineering Government in a City Lacking a Financial Crisis

Abstract: The question of "what services ought government provide?" has been the source of much debate this decade. Municipalities across the United States have grappled with decisions over contracting out what has traditionally been government work to the private sector, aiming to save money and/or improve services. Experience, however, at the local and national level has revealed that contracting-out has not been the panacea that was hoped, and results have been mixed. Such answers have not come easily in part because of the difficulty in measuring comparisons between the public and private sectors at both quantitative and qualitative levels, insofar as government exists to serve citizen interests beyond the profit concerns of the private sector. In 1994, the City of Seattle attempted to pass legislation which, in management's view, would have reinforced existing rights to contract out local government work as it deemed necessary and, in labor's view, was an attempt to give the city carte blanche authority to eliminate union jobs. Approximately 75 percent of Seattle's 10,000-member work force is represented by 45 different bargaining units. The proposed city ordinance was met uniformly with outraged opposition by labor, to the point of that citywide strike became imminent. Energies had shifted from mutually supportive relationships to strategizing how to "win" and "beat" the opposition. In the eleventh hour, united at least in a partnership of exhaustion, the parties began to sketch out a "peace process." It marked the genesis of the Task Force on Service Delivery Efficiencies whereby both sides agreed to unite to examine all possible means for making government more efficient and effective, rather than focusing on contracting out with the private sector. Focus on Productivity Among the many issues the Task Force on Service Delivery Efficiencies agreed to pursue was employee productivity. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was negotiated over the course of several months. The MOA solidified a labor/management partnership to provide the best service delivery and the highest quality products to the citizens of Seattle at the lowest cost possible through, in part, the Employee Involvement Program. The MOA was premised on a shared belief by labor and management that employees who are actually doing the front-line work in the city have some of the best ideas for achieving positive change. The MOA provides a citywide structure whereby each department establishes an umbrella Labor-Management Committee to charter Employee Involvement Committees (EICs) around areas of business that seem ripe for change. The EICs are prohibited from discussing wage and benefit issues but can refer the issue to the appropriate forum if necessary. They are, however, free to discuss other issues which, in Washington State, are considered mandatory subjects of bargaining, namely, hours of work and working conditions. Discussion on these issues can take place without union or city negotiators in the room. This does not mean that the EIC members can "cut a deal" with respect to the latter subjects; but they can make recommendations for change in these areas. At the point that their recommendations are considered for implementation, the Department Labor-Management Committee must become involved. The Department Labor-Management Committee might decide that formal bargaining and ratification by union membership is required in certain cases. A citywide involvement oversight committee, comprised of both labor and management, was also formed to oversee the entire program and to support department efforts. Along with the multitude of worksite issues they are tackling, EICs are also spurring re-examination of union jurisdictional boundaries and Seattle's labyrinthine system of some 750 job classifications. While the city had previously experimented with such strategies as quality circles and total quality management, much of these efforts focused on workplace morale, recognition programs or traditional safety matters. …