The re-assessment for this module consists of one part
Part    Type of assessment    Word or    Deadline for assessment
time limit
010    Essay    3000    21st July, 2014
011
Part 010 Assignment
Case: Multiple Levels of Collective Voice at Waterford Wedgwood
Background and Context
Waterford was established in 1783 to manufacture hand crafted glassware, and Waterford Wedgwood (WW) was created in 1986 with the merger of Waterford Crystal and

Wedgwood. With a combined history of over 600 years of heritage, tradition and craftsmanship, Waterford Wedgwood today is regarded as one of the world’s leading luxury

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goods manufacturers, and has world class brands that include Waterford Crystal, Wedgwood Designs, Rosenthal and All-Clad. It is now a multi-nationalorganisation with

enterprises in 80 countries, and employs over 9000 people worldwide. The employee voice arrangements described in this case are particular to one of its manufacturing

plants that employ around 1400 people.
WW has been highly unionised since its inception, with almost 100% of its manual and process operatives being trade union members. The company recognises the Transport

and General Workers Union (T&GWU) for collective bargaining, and three shop stewards are permanently released from work duties on a full-time basis to represent union

members. It would be fair to say that the union at the plant is generally regarded as militant; for example, there is a history of conflictual relations with strikes,

stoppages and go-slows at various times in the organisation’s history. Nonetheless, both company management and union officials describe employment relations at the

plant as ‘healthy, strong and robust’. The high union membership at the plant can be taken as an indication of the strength and legitimacy of the T&GWU in representing

the interests of workers with management.
Company Rationalisation
WW has undergone significant change and rationalisation, many of the antecedents of which originated in the mid-1980s. At that time the company faced economic

recession, and was plagued by a lack of technological innovation, conflictual industrial relations and a falling share of the high quality glass and crystal market. In

response, the company attempted to consolidate its position by disposing of unrelated companies within the WW group. In addition, changes were introduced at the

manufacturing plant which is the subject of this case study, many of which put considerable strain on the employment relations climate. For instance, around three

hundred redundancies were implemented and new technologies were introduced to replace traditional craft occupations. Wage freezes and pay cuts followed, and given the

external market pressures faced by the company, productivity savings and changes to work practices were introduced. Initially, the trade union opposed the scale of the

rationalisation programme and embarked on a 14-week strike in the early 1990s. Both management and unions eventually reached agreement with some comprise on both

sides.
Some of these changes involved acceptance by the union of a more market-driven approach to product manufacture, included in which was an internal ‘make or buy’

strategy. This effectively meant that workers at the plant had to tender for contracts to make WW products in competition with external suppliers; many of whom had

manufacturing facilities in less developed countries paying considerably lower wages. The criteria for the successful acquisition of a contract is based on the quality

of the product, as well as its price, and trade union stewards are now part of a process that submits commercial tenders to company management. To date, all tenders

have been awarded internally, although this has involved wage cuts and new attendance patterns to ensure production and delivery targets. Additional change also

included the introduction of direct forms of employee voice, such as staff briefings and quality initiatives. However, these have not replaced existing collective

voice mechanisms, but operate in tandem.
Multiple Forms of Employee Voice
Collective employee participation through a single union-channel has been the long established method for employee voice at WW. However, new and more individualised

voice mechanisms were introduced in the 1990s following company rationalisation. Consequently, both direct and indirect mechanisms now coexist in the plant.
The T&GWU representatives at WW service four collective voice structures, as follows:
?The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC): This meets on a weekly basis and sometimes daily, depending on the significance of a particular issue. The negotiating

committee includes union representatives, a full-time union official and the senior company directorsof the plant. The scope of issues includes almost anything, from

new products, production schedules to employees’ wages and terms and conditions.
?The Senior Monitoring Group (MG): The MG meets on a weekly basis and includes senior union representatives at the plant, together with company directors. The purpose

is to consult over a wide range of issues, including commercially sensitive information. The MG is not a decision- making forum and its role is to evaluate and monitor

progress on any change management issues. In practical terms, the MG is used by both management and union as a sounding board prior to the joint negotiating committee,

and this is believed to facilitate an open and constructive dialogue with no surprises for either side.
?Task Groups (TGs): There are number of TGs that include union representatives and management who meet on a regular basis, to consider production schedules, shipping

quantities, quality issues or costs. Task groups cannot make decisions, but often make recommendations to either functional or senior management, depending on the

issue. Matters can be referred from a TG to the MG or JNC for consideration.
?Sectional Consultative Committees (SCCs): These committees are lower level indirect voice mechanisms that operate below the senior and strategic forums described

above. Sectional Committees are relevant to specific departments or sections of the plant, such as glass blowing, cutters or packers. In effect, these are

interdependent systems of collective representation at shop floor level that include supervisors, team leaders and local shop stewards.
Alongside the collective voice mechanisms there are several direct employee involvement schemes, including:
?Electronic Message Boards: These are located at different parts of the plant and convey commercial and other information to employees.
?Section Briefings: These take place on a monthly basis and involve immediate supervisors in informing staff about work tasks and company information.
?Company Newsletter: This is produced monthly and includes commercial, welfare and social information for employees.
?Workforce Meetings: On average, these are held three times per year at the plant. Senior managers convey information about the global group to employees, with

meetings organised in smaller groups on a consecutive basis over the next few days.
The Dynamics of Employee Voice at WW
The impact of these voice mechanisms is regarded as beneficial by both management and union. Managers believe that voice acts as conduit for the implementation of

change, while union representatives are prepared to accept and support change when they have had an input into the change programme. Although this particular plant has

a long history of conflictual relations, it is now regarded by both parties as an entirely different company to the one that existed pre-1990. Workers readily admit

that they are now in tune with vagaries of the market place, understand management strategies more fully and, above all, welcome the opportunity to have a say during

briefings session with their supervisors. Indeed, workers now question management when there are signs of slackness in orders, and union representatives report that

they have some influence over the direction the company is taking. This has been attributed to the access to information which was previously guarded by management by

excluding the union. It is believed that this flow of information has equipped union stewards to question management plans more accurately and constructively.

Ironically, senior managers now value the intervention by the trade union in devising and strengthening change issues.
Managers at WW are clear that they make and take responsibility for decisions. At the same time however, the union role has been one of questioning, influencing and

shaping management action; witness the following quotes:
It’s not our job to run the plant. That’s management’s job. We give out when things get screwed- up. And if they give out that a strike or disagreement could shut the

place down, then shut it down. You have to stop somewhere, management can’t take it all. (Union Convenor)
We negotiate change to an extent but the final decision rests with management. We know we will have fall-outs and no one is fooling each other. (Employee Relations

Manager)
Union and management explained that what is important is the way employee voice operates, and a high priority is placed on training, education and empathy in order to

manage divergent and even conflicting interests. Particular schemes include retraining redundant craft workers who moved into process operative positions. Moreover, in

the hope of minimising the effects of redundancy, workers were provided with training to develop their employability skills, so that they might be more attractive in

the external labour market.
Of course, making people redundant and retraining workers in the hope that they might find jobs elsewhere was an extremely unpalatable exercise, no matter how much

involvement and participation occurred. The commercial success of the company may have been vastly improved by the hard changes, yet many workers can feel

disillusioned and insecure, and tend to wonder if they might be the next ones to be made redundant. There is also a concern that obtaining agreement through the

multiple levels of participation can be longwinded. Managers are clear that agreements made through the voice channels tend to be more robust and achievable than those

implemented by unilateral managerial prerogative. At the same time however, there is an unease that the external market does not wait for robust decision-making;

rather, it demands rapid and flexible responses with immediate results. Such external pressures can at times put a strain on the collective voice channels.
Summary
Overall, WW has undergone significant change. Many of these changes have been painful and implementation has not always been smooth or straightforward. Nevertheless,

and despite the pain, there is durability to the representative system for employee voice that has stood the test of time, through both good and bad periods for the

organisation.
Page 28

Module Guide
Task: Drawing on relevant theory and empirical evidence:
1.Critically evaluate the situation of Waterford Wedgwood in the context of changing political/legal, economic, social and technological environment.
2.Outline and discuss the employment relations strategies that are developed by WW in response to the changing economic and business context
3.Given the related decline in trade union influence and trade unions-centred forms of employee voice, assess the merits or lack thereof, of the collective voice

channels that are employed by the company.
Learning
Mark    Outcome
5.    Clear structure, including; introduction and conclusion that show
evidence of clear understanding of the case, outline of the relevant    10/100    1,2,3
issues and how you intend to address them and summary of the main

arguments and conclusions.

6.    Clear and detailed description of the changes that occurred at WW and,
crucially, demonstration of awareness and ability to locate these    20/100    1,2,3
changes in the wider environmental changes through are clear and

sufficiently detailed PEST analysis.

7.    Extent of demonstration of knowledge of the various voice mechanisms
used by WW and ability to apply these to different theories of    25/100    1,2,3
employment relations and employee voice.

8.    Degree of critical evaluation of the direct (individual) and representative
(collective) voice mechanisms in the context of debates and theories    30/100    1,2,3
about the effectiveness of competing voice mechanism.

9.    Extent of research: evidence of level of engagement with course and
other relevant literature and extent of accurate and adequate    15/100    1,3
referencing of material.

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