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Human Resource management is “designing formal systems in an organization to manage human talent for accomplishing organizational goals” (Mathis & Jackson, 2017, 1-1). Part of doing this effectively is being a liaison between the employers and the employees in order to find a plan that best suits both the company and the individual employees. This situation is a perfect example of needing to mediate between the two in order to find the best solution. I think employees typically respond best when they understand the reasoning behind things, especially something like not getting a merit increase they expect to receive. I would advise upper management to have a meeting with all of the employees to discuss the company’s successes and shortcomings from the past year. They should compare this year’s accomplishments to last years’ and to their current competitors – along with having talks about what the economy is doing. Next, they should address the areas in which the company can improve and what actions will take the company to their goals. Involving everyone makes it feel like a team effort and addressing these issues can make it clearer why the employees might not be getting merit increases this year.

As the Human Resource manager, I would also advise my supervisors to address the employees reasoning for wanting to unionize and hear their concerns about the company. Several researched have suggested that “’trust develops through effective listening, and that the process is reciprocal. If supervisors listen carefully to employees’ problems, subordinates are likely to respond by listening both to their fellow employees” (Brownell, 1994, p. 13). I would also advise my supervisors of the Wagner Act which “established the right of workers to organize free from management interference. Workers were provided with the right to participate or not to participate in union membership” (Mathis & Jackson, 2017, 16-3b). They are able to address concerns and tell the employees their thoughts and even try to negotiate with them, but they cannot prevent them from unionizing. The supervisors should also be truthful with the employees and not lie. Philippians 2:3-4 (ESV) says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” They need to still treat the employees with respect and be straightforward with them. They can, however, tell the employees that “ research has shown that unions improve wages and working conditions, but somewhat paradoxically that unionized workers are less satisfied than average with their job” (van de Meer, 2019, p. 363).