Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Instructor’s Manual
Chapter 14: Employee and Labor Relations
Chapter Summary
– Employee relations influenced by many factors such as culture, perceived treatment,
working conditions, employment laws, and unions.
Chapter Learning Objectives:
After completing this chapter, students should be able to:
LO 14.1: Define employee and labor relations and identify key factors that influence them.
– Factors influencing employee and labor relations
Culture
Unions
LO 14.2: Compare different types of organizational policies and procedures.
– Employee handbooks
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
LO 14.3: Recognize the role that the labor movement plays globally.
– Reasons employees unionize
– Working conditions
– Employee disengagement
– Why do organizations resist unionization?
Profit concerns
– Unions and Laws
Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)
– Trends in union membership
– Union membership in the United States
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
LO 14.4: Outline the collective bargaining process.
– Conflict management approaches
– Negotiation phase and collective bargaining content
Phase 1: Investigation
LO 14.5: Evaluate the possible courses of action when negotiating parties fail to reach an
agreement.
– Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mediation
Fact finders
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Suggested Exercises or Projects
Exercise 14.1 As unions ebb and flow, governments must occasionally step in. Ask the students
what specific occupations or industries should be exempt from being allowed to unionize due to
Exercise 14.2 Southwest Airlines is arguably one of the most successful organizations, not to
mention airlines, in the United States. Have the students review the birth, growth, and life of
Southwest Airlines and the ebb and flow of the management relations with various unions. Why
is Southwest still seen as one of the most successful airlines?
Discussion Questions:
1. Suppose you were trying to organize a union in a large mall with 150 employees. How would
you convince your fellow employees that they should consider it a positive move and vote for the
union? Consider the manager’s position. How would you respond?