Employee Voice

Critically analyse and evaluate the conclusions of the article ‘The meanings and purpose of employee voice’ in relation to Gist Limited

Student Number: 20821133
Submission Date: 20 April 2010
Word Count: 934

Critically analyse and evaluate the conclusions of the article ‘The meanings and purpose of employee voice’ in relation to Gist Limited

Dundon, Wilkinson, Marchington and Ackers 2004 journal article entitled ‘The meanings and purpose of employee voice’ presents a framework for exploring the different practices and meaning of employee voice. The article puts forward a model to conceptualise the different meanings of employee voice and the mechanisms for putting the meanings into practice, articulating four different perspectives:
- Individual Dissatisfaction: the aim of this method of Employee Voice is to rectify a problem with management or prevent deterioration in relations
- Expression of collective organisation: the aim of this method of Employee Voice is to provide a countervailing source of power to management
- Contribution to management decision- making: the aim of this method of Employee Voice is to seek improvements in work organisation, quality and productivity
- Demonstration of mutuality and co-operative relations: the aim of this method of employee voice is to achieve long term viability for the organisations and its employees
The authors maintain that the perspectives overlap and the precise meaning of Employee Voice is subjective and organisational specific. After collecting research from 18 organisations on the interpretations of Employee Voice and methods used at each organisations, several conclusions were drawn:
- Employee Voice methods should not be limited on one particular set of voice practices alone and should encompass a variety of methods
- After attempting to explore the relationship between voice and performance outcomes it became evident that this area remains problematic for benchmarking and the difficult task

References: • CIPD (2010) Employee Voice Factsheet [Internet] Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/comconslt/empvoice.htm?IsSrchRes=1 [accessed 13/04/2010] • Dundon, T, Wilkinson, A, Marchington, M, and Ackers, P (2004) The meaning and purpose of employee voice International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 15, No. 6, 1149-70 • Department of Trade and Industry (2002b) High Performance Workplaces: A discussion paper. London, DTI • MacLEOD, D. and CLARKE, N. (2009) Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement. London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Available at: http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/employee-engagement/index.html • Marchington, M & Wilkinson, A (2008) Human Resource Management at Work (4 Eds) London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development