What is the role of the Human Resource Manager under the centralised and decentralised approach?
What are the similarities and differences between the centralised and decentralised approach in employee relations?
So the main role of a human resource manager is to manage the relationship between the employees and employer within an organisation.
In a decentralised system of employee relations, a HR Manager has the role of co-ordinating the negotiation of the collective bargaining agreement on behalf of the organisation.
The HR manager has to take into account employee interests and desires such as an increase in wages or annual leave during the negotiations of the agreement as well as the financial situation of the organisation.
The HR Manager also needs to help bring about dispute resolution through communication, negotiation and problem solving if any conflicts arise. THis is relevant for both decentralised and centralised systems of employee relations.
A HR manager working under both systems of employee relations also needs to ensure that once new collective bargaining agreements or awards are created and established, that all necessary changes are successfully implemented into the organisation by the due date.
Similarities of the centralised and decentralised systems of employee relations is that they both have a fair work commision who oversees workplace relations. This was the AIRC under the centralised system and Fair work Australia in our modern decentralised system.
Both systems also use awards to set out the minimum wages and conditions for employees within a given industry.
Differences include that under a decentralised system of employee relations, an employee can be hired under either the industry award, a collective bargaining agreement or an individual contract, whilst in a centralised system, employees can only be employed under an industry wide award.
Another difference between the two systems is that in a centralised system of employee relations, governments have greater control over the economy as each employee in a particular indsutry was earining the same wage and had the same working conditions whereas in a decentralised system, employees wages and conditions will generally differ within the industry due to workplace agreememnts
Hope this helps