Management Rights? Or not?June 2010
I wonder how many people in management today even know what the term “Management rights” means. I have talked with a large number of people in human resources and senior management in general over the last seven years and find few who really know what the term means.
It seems the typical thought among them is “If we don’t have a policy to cover it, we can’t do it.” That’s puzzling to me. Maybe it’s the thought of union organizing potential, possible violation of some state or federal law, or a lawsuit by an employee.
All too often I find human resource people counseling their CEO’s that in order to do something, they must first create a policy to cover it, then have the policy vetted by legal and only then post it.
So why does this thinking seem so prevalent? Lack of experienced human resource people? Paranoia of being sued? Afraid of offending their employees?
“Management rights” means that unless you have given the right away by policy or there is a law covering the situation, you as the management of your company, have the right to run your business as you see fit.
Here is a typical management rights clause included in a company/union contract. This one is from a union contract dated 1971.
“It is understood and agreed that all the customary and usual rights, powers, functions and authority of management including the management of the plant and the direction of the workforce, the right to hire, discharge, discipline, promote, demote, transfer, relieve employees from their duties for lack of work or other legitimate reasons, to maintain order and efficiency, to decide plant locations, number and locations of departments, type and quantity of tools and equipment to be used, products to be manufactured, schedule of production, and control of materials shall be vested exclusively in the Company.”
The above rights, powers, and authority of management are not all inclusive, but indicate the type of matters or rights which belong to and are inherent to management. Any of the rights, powers or authority the Company had prior to the signing of this Agreement, including those in respect to rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work are retained by the Company, except those specifically abridged or modified by this Agreement or any supplementary agreement arrived at through the process of collective bargaining.”
What this says is “Unless we have given it away in the bargaining process or a law covers a particular situation, the management of this company retains the right to run the company as we see fit.”
What does this mean for non-union organizations? Note the sentence which says in part …… the type of matters or rights which belong to and are inherent to management.
That’s the part that needs to be understood by CEO’s and human resource people. In effect, unless you have given something away by policy, or the law has taken it away, you decide how you want to run your business.
If you see a problem in your organization, you do not have to check to see if you have a policy to cover it or create one before you can act. You just handle the situation. Some employees may say that you can’t do something because there isn’t a policy in place. They are wrong.
In one company I came into, they had one employee who was a disruptive influence. I took care of the situation. When I asked why the supervisors had let this guy get away with that behavior for over two years, their answer was surprising. They said the guy never broke any rules so they couldn’t discipline him!
Do you think that way? If so, you need to change your mind set. If you see something that needs to be corrected, fixed or otherwise taken care of, take care of it!
Another example. One employee used the company email system to promote his personal agendas, including his religious preferences. When we told him to stop, he claimed he had a right to do so. That he was just stating his personal opinion. And other employees used emails to say personal things.
We told him we didn’t care what his personal beliefs were. Was there a specific policy in place that covered this situation? No, but that did not matter. We have an inherent right to run the business and his use of the company communications system to broadcast his private beliefs was not acceptable.
The bottom line ………. Unless you have given away the right to manage parts of your business, take the action necessary to correct a problem.