Understanding Grievance Procedure in Human Resource
Management
If an organization
has to move towards excellence, maintenance of harmonious and cordial
relationship is a vital condition. Similar to organization’ expectations
from the employees. The employees do have more expectation in terms what
they have contributed to each other. Failure to meet with each others
expectation or the deviations from what has already been accepted may
lead to indiscipline, grievance and stress are of continuing in nature
and often judicial- legal process may not be of much help in resolving
them.
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Managing
Discipline:
In the modern management
process, discipline should be viewed as a behavioral modification process.
Although there may be many norms fixed for desirable behavior wherever
there are deviations. Appropriate corrective measures should also be taken
for overall effectiveness, of an organization. Promotion, maintenance
and strengthening of discipline will be a continuing affair, only if some
of the following conditions are fulfilled. They are normally
- A shared culture
- Inculcation of positive attitudes
- Scope for problem solving and
- A feeling of satisfaction
(1)Approaches to
Deal with Indiscipline:
This approach tends
to emphasize the coercive and punitive methods that fall with in the legal-constitutional
framework. It may not always be realistic.
(2) Judicial Approach:
This is only an after
effect approach. It follows the law of natural justice and provides the
offender all possible opportunity to bring out his side of the case. This
is a time consuming process and conducive climates are not often restored.
(3) Humanistic
Approach:
It lays emphasis on
a healthy inter personal relationship between the employer and employee.
Corrective steps are taken in helping the employees to get over their
difficulties and to the extent possible, punitive actions are avoided
inspite of some perceived inconsistency that may exist among other workmen.
(4) Human Resources
Development (HRP) Approach:
Keeping in mind the
Theory Y and its implications, organizational goals have to be enhanced
through adequate training, motivational patterns and personnel policies.
Groups are used as influences and often made to act as catalysts to emulate
norms of behavior. Likewise, the effectiveness in maintaining discipline
is also possible through the process of leadership. A leader has to exhibit
mutuality of interaction, persuation, highly interpersonal in his relationships
and get himself involved and should expect participation from others to
achieve the organizational goals and bear in mind not to indulge in favoritism
while taking appropriate actions.
To avoid displeasure
among the employees while enforcing discipline, it would be a desirable
course of action if only one employees his diagnostic skills and intervention
skills. If a change is to be expected in an individuals behavior, some
amount of influence had to be exercised in order to create a congenial
atmosphere.
Managing Grievance:
In a democratic set
up any employee should be in a position to express his dissatisfaction,
whether it be a minor irritation, a serious problem, or a difference of
opinion in the work assignment or in the terms and conditions of employment.
The feeling of discontent or dissatisfaction becomes a complaint when
(a) it has not assumed (b) the matter has been presented in a highly informal
way. A complaint turns into a grievance when (I) there is a feeling of
injustice (II) expressing the feeling formally, either verbally or in
writing and (III) it is related to policies, procedures and operations
of the organization. The National Commission on labour (1969) for example
defines grievance in the following way:
“Complaints affecting
one or more individual workers in respect of their wage payments, overtime,
leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, work assignment and discharge would
constitude grievance. Where the points at dispute are general applicability
or of considerable magnitude they will fall outside the scope of this
procedure”.
Nature and Causes
of Grievance:
In an organization
a grievance may be presented by an employee or group employees, with respect
to any measure or a situation that directly affects the individual or
is likely to affect, the conditions of employment of many workers. If
such a grievance is transformed into a general claim, either by the union,
or by a group of employees, then the claim falls outside the scope of
grievance procedure as it is a collective grievance and therefore it falls
under collective bargaining.
In ‘Grievance
Procedure, A survey of practices in industries in India’, it’s
classified in to 19 causes of employee grievances have been outlined.
They are
1. Promotions 2.Amenities 3. Continuity of service 4. Compensation 5.
Disciplinary action 6. Fines 7. Increment 8. Leave 9. Medical Benefits
10. Nature of job 11. Payment 12. Acting promotion 13. Recovery of dues
14. Safety appliances 15. Superannuation 16. Suppression 17. Transfer
18. Victimisation and 19. Condition of work.
The international
labour Organization (ILO), clarifies a grievance as a compliant of one
or more workers with respect to wages and allowances, conditions of work
and interpretation of service stipulation, covering such areas as overtime,leave,transfer,promotions,seniority,job
assignment and termination of service
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