A STUDY INTO THE MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCES IN AN ORGANISATION (A CASE STUDY OF SOME SELECTED FIRMS)

CHAPTER ONE
1.0     INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

There are three basic things to manage in life and they are human resources, non human resources and time. Organization effectiveness is being defined as the extent to which an organization as a social system give certain resources and means, fulfills its objectives without placing under straight (grievance) upon its members. The most important element of an organization is its employee. This is because, machine cannot operate themselves without human assistance, hence for human being to perform efficiently, he must have the spirit to perform, this means he must be satisfied. An unsatisfied worker has grievance.
The issue of employee grievance is as old as industrial societies, but in recent time the question of management of employee grievance in Nigeria and Enugu State in particular has reached learning proportion. It is a versed issue that been eaten deep into the fabrics of every well organized industrial establishment the problem has also becomes the order of the day in private and public establishment. Generally, the researcher is of the believe that the employee grievance in any establishment, establishes the fact that the employees of the organization are not happy with e scheme of things in the organization.
An aggrieved employee who feels he has a grievance against manager a supervisor is against the company as a whole is an unhappy employee and unhappy employee cannot do effective work. He becomes depressed, his morale is low and as a result his efficiency drops. Satisfaction at work in terms of all circumstances that surround the job is key to high morals. It does not matter how well paid and interesting a job may be, unless the individual performing the job feels that he is being fairly treated his morals will be adversely affected.
When workers go on strike, we realized the importance of human element. This is because under such conditions everything comes to a half. Was unit the how throne’s experience was discovered. The fact that there are grievances in the organization is not an easy thing to detect, because many grievances go unexpressed and unexposed for a long period of time and required only a competent anger to handle before it turns it to a critical situation.
Human assets are more valuable than physical assets and should be carried on the organization balance sheet. After all each production employee represents and training add to this, the cost of it would take to find, hire and train someone else to do the same job and you can begin to see the significance of human resources management in periods of economic recessions a firm would be wiser to reduce inventory drastically and sell machinery than to dispose on their most important assists “the employee”, staff, therefore is to create and maintain a high level of morale which will induce full co-operation from his staff to obtain maximum operation and efficiency through out the units of the organization for job satisfaction which reduces grievances and job increase job performance and continuity.
The existence of grievances in organization is inevitable because for an organization to have grievances free relationship means that they will have no relationship at all improper handling of grievances leads to disruption of work in the form of go show work to rule, demonstration, violence, strike and resignation which ultimately amount to labour turnover with its effect on the organization.
Therefore an organization wising meaningful productivity and improved labour management relationship must design adjust and equitable grievance handling system.
Ohiri A.U (2002:100) asserts that employee grievance in organizational or industrial relation context as a state of dissatisfaction or discontent on the part of either labour or management. He also said that grievance is negative feeling which commonly find expression in various forms ranging from complaint to strike action or destructive reactions.
He also pointed the following causes of grievance, which are.
 

1.         Non-payment or delay of employees entitlement

2.         Unfair-treatment by management

3.         Poor welfare

4.         Branch of terms of contract by management

5.         Management’s in sensitivity to the problems of labour

6.         Denial of information etc.
 

In order to have efficient grievance handling which will ensure an “in built mechanism” for absorbing resolving and eliminating grievance in the form of destructive differences in an organization he (A.U. Ohiri) gave the following rules of handling of employee grievance which are:-
 

1.         Determination or both parties to stop it in their mutual interest.

2.         Sincerity and empathy

3.         Spirit to forgive and take compromise during its resolution.

4.         Preparedness on the part of the affected parties to admit faults and make amends 

5.         Use of third party mutually agreed upon by the parties.

6.         Adoption of conventional and statutory approaches
7.         Preparedness on the part of both parties to accept statutory and impartial resolutions advanced by the mediator.

This project will go to the root in examine the various methods in handling grievance as an inevitable sign of a healthy relationship of organizational members. This will enable the organizational members. This will enable them to develop the necessary constructively. Considering the desirable effect of a healthy human relations on productivity in any organization, a study and careful labour turnover of the effect of grievance handling and labour turnover becomes necessary by the researcher for the purpose of isolating their individual or respective contributions to dividing productivity.  
 

1.2     STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Grievance in the organization if not resolved or of properly handled creates ineffective workers and consequently undermine efficiency which would result into high labour or employee.
The researcher ahs observed that in Nigeria improper or unsatisfactory handling of grievance in many organizations including the selected firms I used as my case study has caused high labour or employee turnover, repeated training of new staff, strike and down tool, poor human relation and in effective communication of objectives.
Assumptions are made that all organization irrespective of their locations and other environmental factors have the same characteristics.
 

1.3       PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1.       The purpose of this study is to investigate the various methods organizations employ in handling and resolving staff grievances and the effectiveness of such matters. The study shall relate the methods of grievance handling to the rate of labour turnover.
2.       To determine the various type of employee grievance that exists in organizations in the category of the management staff, senior staff and junior staff.
 

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTION
In the light of the above, the researcher has presented the following research questions.
 

a.       To what extent ahs the ways grievances are handled affected labour or employee turnover? 

b.         What are the grievances that can be associate with labour turnover in organization?

c.         Is there any need for grievance in government organization in Enugu State?

d.         To find out the factors that are affecting grievance rates?

e.         To determine the principles and rules of grievance handling.

f.          What are the approaches to grievance handling?

15      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
 

The importance of this study is in many folds, this study will reveal to management of organizations the various methods of handling grievances in a manufacturing out fit and the effect of such methods on labour turnover. This study will also reveal to management organizations the types of employee grievances. The fact that some grievances in the organization do not arise out of frustration which in turn is a result of an amalgamation of factors which can only be isolated by patient and skillful management, this study will be used to leads of departments of human resources of various organizations in handling grievances that arises is their organizations and in checking labour turnover as a result of such grievances.  
Finally recommendations made from the study would lead to a better handling of grievances when they occur in the organization, which would therefore reduce labour turnover.
 

1.6     SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of the stud comprised of the Nigeria government establishment in Enugu state, they are:-
1.         Nigeria Railway Corporation

2.         Nigeria Water Corporation

The study adopted the means of balloting to select two establishments are sample represent active. The scope of this study is wide if it has to be carried out in all government organizations in Enugu state. This will involve a lot of research’s and funds, which an individual cannot afford. Hence the scope of the study management of employee grievances (A case study of selected Government establishment in Enugu State as restricted to Nigeria Railway Corporation and Nigeria Water Corporation respectively.
 

1.7     LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 
The research encountered some difficulties in the course of carrying out this research work, notably they include firstly:
The unco-operative attitude of many respondents many thought that the researcher have some thing to do with information given considering the sensitive nature, other than for academic purpose.
Secondly, it is difficulties for the researcher to collect data from some employees of the organizations of the case study.
Finally, the constraints also contributed immensely to limit the extent to which data are collected. Time constraint contributed to a measurable extent to the assumptions made because the researcher is working to beat the time stipulated for this work.
Despite this constraint, the researcher endeavored with great patience and determination acquired the amount of information that enable her to produce this work which is hoped could make some contribution for future study research in this filed.
 

1.8     DEFINITION OF TERMS
1.       Management in this context means the top managers and decision-makings in an organization.
2.         Grievances:- Is any discontent or sense of injustices expressed or not felt by an employee in an organization
3.         Bargaining Agreement:-  A record of all binding conclusion and agreement reached between management and employees especially through negotiation.
4.         Contract:- A legally enforcement agreement between one or more parties which include exchange, of commitments.
5.         Productivity:- Rate of out per man hour of work volume of out in relation to input 
6.         Employee:- Any person who enters into a contract of employment to offer his labour
7.         Labour turnover:- IS the term given to the management of employees leaving a company and their replacement.
 

REFERENCE
Ohiri A.U (2002) Personnel Management and Application in he Nigeria Environment, Luton Management Services.
Fouiker F.K & Livernash E. R (1986) Human Resources Management Prentice Hail Eagle Wood Cliffs.
Coleman C.Z (1984) Personnel an Open System Approach Administration R.M Garcia Publishing House, Quezon City.