Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management

(Steven Felgate) #1

recognize that voice can be seen as challenging to supervisors; for example, the
creation of autonomous teams can dispense with supervisors altogether (Batt 2004 )
and grievances may threaten their authority (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005 ).
Supervisors are more likely to be positive if they are trained and developed in HR
skills rather than being blamed for failing to develop voice (Fenton-O’Creevy 2001 ).
As we saw in the previous section, the more that voiceWts with the rest of the HR
system the more likely it is to make a meaningful impact on organizations.





    1. 6 Worker Interests




Voice is critically dependent on workers being willing to contribute through
upward problem-solving and active membership of a team as well as choosing to
raise grievances through procedures rather than working without enthusiasm or
quitting the organization (Noon and Blyton 1997 ). The high-commitment model
assumes workers want to contribute to organizational success, and whilst there are
examples when this does happen it cannot be taken for granted. Workers are more
inclined to use their voice if they believe something will change as a result of their
involvement or they will remain with the organization long enough to reap the
beneWts of their eVorts. Consequently, voice is more likely toXourish if workers are
committed to organizational goals (Allen et al. 2003 ). Conversely, voice is unlikely
to develop if workers see little point in putting forward ideas or raising issues with
their manager because they feel nothing will be happen or, worse still, they will be
bullied or harassed for articulating their views (Ramsay et al. 2000 ). When workers
are employed on short-term or insecure contracts, say through agencies or sub-
contracting arrangements, there may be little incentive to make their voice heard
(Marchington et al. 2004 ). Godard’s ( 2004 ) distinction between ‘involving’ and
‘intensifying’ cultures is critically important here. This argues that even with high-
commitment HR practices in place, there are diVerences in how these are applied
by employers and how they are perceived by workers. Employers that appear to
take voice seriously and ensure managers are trained in how it should operate are
likely to be very diVerent from those where it is applied partially or uses the labels
as a device to intensify work. Worker interest in voice will soon disappear if beneWts
are not shared (Osterman 2000 ).


12.5 Summary and Conclusions
.........................................................................................................................................................................................


The main points made in this chapter can be summarized brieXy. There are two
points relating to methodology. First, whilst there are powerful arguments that


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