Reference no: EM133333966

Case Study: Lifestyle is retail group with 80 outlets mainly in the south of England selling various kinds of accessories - clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, etc. There are about 900 employees, mainly in the shops with a small headquarters team of buyers, merchandisers and administrators. Distribution is outsourced.
About 70 per cent of the workers are members of a trade union - it used to be 100 per cent when, some years ago, a closed shop was in operation. But the militant tradition has continued and the union has refused to countenance any formal arrangement for employee voice in the shape of a joint consultative committee that included non-union members. Traditionally, any attempt by the company perceived as an attack on the union's prerogative was opposed, often vehemently. For example, a company initiative to introduce quality circles a number of years ago had been rejected out of hand.
The firm has recently experienced problems with sales, which have declined steadily over the last two years. Employee turnover is high - a rate of over 20 per cent - and, so far as can be judged, morale is low. Conversations held by the head of HR with shop managers and their staff and leaving interviews suggest that there they do not really trust management, either to look after their interests or to provide them with secure jobs.
The head of HR proposed that an employee attitude survey should be conducted by an outside body. A firm specializing in such surveys in the retail sector recommended by an old colleague of the head of HR was engaged to design and conduct a survey and analyse the results. Benchmark figures for three comparable firms would be supplied.
MNU Final Examination - 2022 Term 1 Page 8
The results of the survey indicated that employees were concerned with work-life issues, performance appraisals and feedback from supervisors, and the relation with the managers. Job design issues such as boredom and lack of motivation were highlighted. Fewer learning and development opportunities were also a key factor highlighted by many employees.
Source: Armstrong (2014)
Questions
a. Explain the importance of providing learning and development opportunities to employees.
b. Explain what is meant by employee voice.
c. Analyse the employee relations issues in Lifestyle which contributed to the making and breaking of the psychological contract.
d. How can the jobs in Lifestyle be redesigned to better motivate employees? Explain your answer with examples.
e. Why do you think employees in Lifestyle are concerned with the performance appraisal and feedback? Suggest ways to improve performance management in the company.