SWOT Analysis And Strategy Evaluation On The Transportation Services Sector

Case 5-3, "Did the Company Violate....?", p. 232; and Case 5-5, "Bulletin Board Use", p. 236. Answer the questions at the end of each case in typewritten format, 3 - 5 pages.

A union is an organization of workers who join together in order to have a voice in improving their jobs and the quality of work within the organization. In many occasions, unions help employees of an organization negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours and other work conditions that may arise. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management (Noe, 2003). In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of unions and labor relations within an organization.

In this chapter, it is mentioned that the United Auto Workers (UAW) was one of the largest unions in the United States, but it seems like it has been declining in the last couple of years. The traumas experienced by the auto industries in 2008-2009 required the UAW to make major concessions to help Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and GM survive. I think that the UAW hasn’t been successful in its attempts to unionize U.S. workers employed at Toyota, Nissan, and Honda plants because these employees are convinced that the benefits they are receiving are pretty good and that the union wouldn’t do any better. For example, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda plant employees feel like they are earning satisfactory wages, have adequate benefits, have satisfactory

The changes brought up labor unions in the United States over recent history has brought about a movement. This specific movement has shaped the way that employees and workers are treated in the workforce,and how they maintain their quality of life through this employment. Many people think that the labor unions’ influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In many cases this can be considered true, as there have been countless feuds between management teams and labor unions, especially in recent history. In today’s times, on the one hand, some people believe the existence of unions are a necessity in order to ensure and promote employee freedom; while on the other hand some people view labor unions as just another problem in the line of employee success.

In any organization, unions act as binding agreements between employees and management. In this case, a group of persons are responsible for conducting negotiations with the management for the purpose of enhancing the welfare of workers. Unions originate from the period of American depression when workers faced various work challenges including low remuneration, and unfavorable working conditions. The purpose of this essay is to explore the pros and cons of unions in America in the current times.

Throughout American history, labor unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A labor union can best be defined as an organization that exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages and terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). Labor unions’ principal objectives are to increase wages, shorten work days, achieve greater benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter).

The role of unions and their importance has changed over the years. A mixture of poor wages, high unemployment, non-existent benefits and insignificant professional stability amongst the more youthful era makes a ready demographic for restoration. The younger era is the slightest unionized section of our general public today by a long shot. Unions are important in today’s society because checks and balances are necessary entities in business and government, so if CEOs are just focusing on themselves and profits, unions are a necessary check to all that corporate power. Today and in the future, labor unions will continue to play an important role in our country 's work force and the quality of life for working families.

While the public opinion towards unions has softened in the recent years, unions still face a monumental task in trying to regain, or even maintain membership levels. In order to maintain their current proportion of the workforce, unions must organize 300,000 workers a year. In order to even begin to approach the

Being part of a union gives members the benefit of negotiating with their employer collectively, as part of a group; giving them more power than if they were to negotiate as individuals (Silverman, n.d.). Overall, unions demand fairness which can lead to the unions influencing and changing ‘managerial decision-making at the workplace level’ for decisions in which employees are affected (Verma 2005). Unions are also beneficial to have present in the workplace because their bargaining of better condition will often benefit non-members as the conditions negotiated with management are implemented across the organization with no regard to membership status. Management is also able to avoid union disagreement by benchmarking conditions to that of an already unionized workplace.

A union is an organization of workers who join together in order to have a voice in improving their jobs and the quality of work within the organization. In many occasions, unions help employees of an organization negotiate pay, benefits, flexible hours and other work conditions that may arise. Unions have a role because some degree of conflict is inevitable between workers and management (Noe, 2003). In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of unions and labor relations within an organization.

Though, unions are declining, the role of union have evolved over time. Now, it is more common to view unions’ primary role as collective bargaining, which is the product of the economic decision and making process with unionism of the private sector. A long time ago, Union was seen as the shield that protects American workers against some of the abusive employers. Many public sector employees have unionized. However, the National Labor Relations Act was designed for the private sector. Despite that, union has become a model for most public sector collective bargaining right. Regardless of the success that Unions have with collective bargaining in the private sector, there are still a few who are opposed collective bargaining in the public sector. Of course, there are some differences between the public and private sectors.

The relationship between unions and organization is a touchy one. Dating back to the start of unionization in the 19th century, the two bodies have held opposing viewpoints. Unionization was formed from the opinion that organizations took advantage of workers and some form of a negotiating agreement was needed. There were documented events of workers working long taxing hours for insignificant pay; no healthcare coverage; dangerous working conditions; and gender and or racial discrimination. Companies believed that unionization caused less productivity which endangered profits. Companies also believed that unions interfere in daily processes, and limits the employer’s say over compensation and benefits. The

Information about competitive transportation services will be gathered. Questionnaires will be distributed to students and faculty of Kent State University in order to gather customer insight. Also, a financial consulting firm will be hired to provide professional assistance.

The transportation sector is continually evolving. Whether moving people or products by land, sea, or air, all transportation strategies need to balance proficient network design and operations with rising intricacy, government supervision, environmental accountability, security risks and demands for flexibility and performance from consumers. Transportation solutions saturate all facets of business and comprise about ten percent of all economic action. Global economic disruption and explosive fuel pricing are driving the need for more restricted operations, ground-breaking service offerings, and inspired business models. The capability to manage change and drive continual process improvements are vital to transportation enterprises that want to uphold competitive advantage and survivability (Transportation and Logistics, n.d.).

The transportation and logistics industry is one of the key components of modern life. It provides the framework through which every raw material and finished consumer good is moved through the supply chain into the hands of consumers. This industry is generally taken for granted by consumers. When consumers do think about the industry it is thought of in terms of unchanging and stagnate transportation modes. This vision of the industry is not an accurate reflection of the reality of modern transportation industry. During the last several decades the technological innovations that have changed the face of modern life, have also had far reaching effects on the transportation industry. The pressures driving innovation in the industry