Labor Relations The Potential Conflict Regarding Employment Production Standards

Production standards have been a point of contention between employers and employees for many years, as both parties have legitimate, but potentially conflicting interests. Looking at both sides will demonstrate the different perspectives.

The primary role of a business is to make money for the owners, which include the shareholders. Employers may be the owners or the agents that act for the owners, so they have a responsibility to ensure efficient use of resources to create a profit. One of controls is the use of production standards; if production of employees can be increased this is a more efficient use of staff and the cost of production for each unit will decrease, as the same employees are doing more (Sloan and Whitney, 2010). If the employees production...

Employers will want to reduce costs, especially when there are pressures from owners and shareholders to maintain or increase profits. If production levels fall sufficiently it is possible the firm will not make a profit. Production standards are seen as a necessary control to maintain profitability (Sloan and Whitney, 2010).
From the perspective of the employees, production standards may be difficult to achieve. While it is possible there are some common interests; the company makes a loss and fold the employees will not have a job (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010). The main issue is in the way production standards are set, how they are monitored and how they are enforced (Sloan and Whitney, 2010). While employers may…