THE PLACE OF EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYER RELATIONSHIP IN AN ORGANIZATION
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.       
Employer and employee relation refers to the communication that takes place between representative of employees and employers. Much of the relations involve employee and employers working together. Indeed part of the European Union social policy is to create a system of shared responsibility of employers and employees for practice, conditions and other areas of life. This policy of shared responsibility is called co – determination discussion between employees employers typically covers the following areas, pay, bonuses, the work environment, disputes work schedule, grievances, health and safety, hours of work and production targets.
The advisory conciliation and arbitration service (ACAS) was set up in 1974 to try and create more harmonious working relationship in the country. It negotiates in disputes between employers and employees as well as establishing codes practice and principles for harmonious relationship. It has been tremendously successful in it works because today, there are relatively four employment relation dispute in the country. Successful employer / employee relation involved striking a balance of interest from the employer’s point of view.
Industrial relation is about the right to manage the ability to plan for the company so that it can continue to be a success, to make profit for its share holders and to keep its employees motivated. From the employees’ point of view, it is all about securing the best possible conditions and living standard of employees where employees are not happy with working condition, this frequently leads to high labour turnover, bad time keeping high level of absenteeism. It may also in the form of slackness by individuals, poor working, and deliberate time wasting and similar practices. Other evidence of discontent will be revealed in complaints friction ignoring rules and apathy. There are a number of forms of organized traded unite actions including; withdrawal of goodwill, working strictly to the rules set out in work rulebooks and sticking rigidly to only doing task set out clearly in a job description, refusing to work overtime and going on strike.
All of these actions are undesirable
1    They reduce company’s profitability and its ability to fulfill orders.
2    They harm employment prospects and reduce ways of employee.
3    The lead to fostering discontent.
4    They cause problem to customers and the economy as a whole.
    Thus it is important to create harmonious workplace for the benefit of all     concerned.
1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.
Overtime, there has been incessant occurrence of industrial actions from different labour group in various organizations both governments owned, public and private. There seems to be no peaceful and harmonious relationship existing between employees and employers. If there is a peaceful relationship organization, there will be need to investigate or research into their relationship. Take for instance, the issue of Assu, local government workers and the Nigeria Union of Teachers with the federal government.
Hence, this research is to look into possible reasons for conflicts, as well discover conflict and effect of conflict and find solutions to conflict.
1.3    PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This research is aimed at discovering the cause of conflict, type of conflict, effect of conflicts and from possible solution to the conflict and form possible solution to the conflict areas in the organization.
The effective management of employees and employers relationship is to provide atmospheric working condition to avoid conflict because when conflict ceases to exists in organization, productivity will improve, thereby boosting national economy.
Hence, this study will access the conflicting areas in an organization and offer solution measures of enhancing good atmosphere for employees and employers relationship. This is to be able to foster the labour force that forms the productivity sector of the society.
1.4    RESEARCH QUESTION
The question will focus on the topic “The meaning of employee and employer relationship in Nigeria.”
1    Does management of employee and employer relationship have a role to play in an organization?
2    Does conflict affect the relationship between employees and employers in an organization?
3    Is management of employees and employers necessary in an     organization?
4    Do different perception, norms and value affect employees and employers relationship in an organization?
5    Does a personal counseling enhance and improve employees and employers relationship in an organization?
6    What can management do to resolve the conflict between employee and employers in an organization?
1.5    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The significance of this study cannot be over-emphasized because the relationship that exists between employees and employers is of immense importance to our society. Today, it is the labour force that forms the productive sector of the society; they contribute greatly to the growth of the nation’s economy.
Moreover, their contribution to the nation’s economy is in relation to the level of their job performance because their attitude or behavior towards their job is always reflected in their job performance. As such, dissatisfaction, low morale, biasness etc, among employee will surely be reflected in their job performance thereby causing low output which definitely reduce national economic growth. But when there is increase output through motivational factors, fairness, high morals etc. Productivity will be improved thereby increasing their contribution to national economic growth.
Conventionally, this study will prove useful to students, government, management, employee and the society in general. Whoever is interested in human resource management and the management of employees and employers relations?
1.6    SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study is restricted to conflict in different organization, ranging from private to public and government organization. To properly evaluate the different employees and employers status in various business practices and how it affects their relation.
Similarly, the impacts or role of collective bargaining and labour union in industrial organization will be covered. Attention will also be given to the causes, effect the resolution of conflict in this study, grievances procedure and different conflict styles will be compared to identify, the most effective could be resolved in future to be able to effectively manage employee and employer relationship in different organization.
1.7    LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
This research work has some limitations worth mentioning. The major limitations were that of time factor, availability of funds and research materials. The duration of time given to the researcher to carryout this research was short and the researcher has some other academic commitment to pursue, this time constraint affected the scope of work.
There are also lack of sufficient funds for the researcher to purchase certain require journals, this also make it possible to cover the whole organization and use a case study, hence, a few branches were selected. This research work was also limited to the information or material available. There was not enough material such as textbooks, newspapers, journals, etc to be consulted even some available carries information of a decades, also the attitude of organization members was not encouraging as most of them were reluctant to give out the information needed.
1.8    THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ECOBANK NIGERIS PLC.
EcoBank Plc is a commercial bank in Nigeria. It is one of the commercial banks licensed by the central bank of Nigeria, the national banking regulator.
The bank began operation in 1986; it operates as a universal bank providing wholesale, retail, corporate investment and transaction banking service to its customers in the Nigeria market. The banking divides its operation into three major divisions, retail banking, wholesale baking and treasury and financial institution.
The bank also offers capital market and investment banking services. During the fourth quarter 2011, EcoBank Nigeria acquired 100% of the share holding in Oceanic bank, creating the expanded EcoBank Nigeria controlled total asset valued approximately US$ 8.1 Billion (NGN 1.32 trillion) making it one of the five largest bank in Nigeria at the time. At the time, the bank had 610 free standing branches, making it the second largest bank in the country by the branches network.
EcoBank Nigeria is a member of EcoBank, the leading independent pan-bank headquartered in Lome, Togo, with affiliates in West Africa Central and East African which was established in 1985 has grown to a network of over 1000 branches, employing over 10,000 people with offices in 32 countries including Benin, Burkinafaso, Cameroon, Cape Verd, the central Africa republic, Chad, the republic of Congo, the democratic republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra lone, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
EcoBank transactional Inc (ETI) is the parent company of the EcoBank group, which include the following specialized subsidiaries;
EcoBank development corporate (EDC) Lome, Lonnie
EDC, Investment corporation – Abidjan, Ivory Coast
EDC Security Limited- Lagos, Nigeria.
EDC Investment Corporation – dovali, Cameroon
EDC stock brokers limited – Accra, Ghana
EcoBank asset management – Abidjan, Ivory Coast
E-process international SA – Lome, Togo
EVC service – Praia, cape verds.
The stock of ETI is traded on three African stock exchanges; the Ghana stock exchange (GSE), the Nigeria stock exchange (NSE), and the BRUM stock exchange in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. As of December, 2011 the expanded EcoBank Nigeria plc. Is projected to have in excess of 600 branches in all parts of the federal republic of Nigeria, following the merger of Oceanic Bank.
1.9    DEFINITION OF TERMS
The most important terms used in the research study are conflict, management, motivation and organization.
1    Conflict: This could be termed as a quarrel or disagreement between employees and employers which can hinder the existence of good relation between them. According to Oxford Advance Dictionary, conflict is a situation in which people groups or countries involve in serious disagreement or argument. A good emphasis need to be laid on conflict between e3mployees and employers because the total absence of conflicts cannot be achieved in an organization as a result of human element involved.
2    Management: According to Oxford learners advance dictionary, management is the act of running and controlling of a business or a similar organization. Again management is the process of organizing, directing and controlling available resource including material and man employee and employer effectively and efficiently which is to say without management, organization cannot function effectively.
3    Motivation: The word motivation is derived from the term “Motive” which means a factor influencing people or person to act in a particular way. This is either a need to derived, desired or aspiration. Motivation refers to that force that channels, direct, energize and sustain a people’s behavior to satisfaction of the needs and desire.
4    Organization: The term organization has been derived in various ways because of the different meaning it bears. The two common ways in which organization has been defined are: in terms of an institution or entity and as a process of organizing.
a    As an Institution or entity, organization is seen as functional group of individuals working on a mutually dependent relationship towards achieving a common goal or objective.
b    From the above point, as a process of organizing, it indicate the way in which work is arranged and allocated among members of an organization in order to achieve a goal.
5    Negotiation: This is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes to produce an agreement upon courses of action to bargain for individual collective advantages or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interest it is the primary method of alternative disputes resolution. (Hiltrap and Rubin 1981).
6    Conflict resolution is the effort used by educational institutions and communities to reduce violence and bullying and help young people to develop communication and problem solving skills.
7    Controversy: A controversy occurs when one person ideas, information, conclusion, theories and opinion are incompatible with those of another and the two seek to reach agreement.
8    Employer: Is a person contracted to provide a service for payment either by organization or individual.
9    Hierarchical: In a hierarchical organization employees are ranked at various level within the organization; each level is one above other. At each stage, one person has a number of workers working directly under them within their control.