Unions and Leadership

Alonzo Johnson

Team Leadership Paper

Re: Research topic: Unions effect on High Performing Organizations/Teams

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of high performing work teams and unions; specifically, researching the effect or impact a union may have on high performing teams.

By characteristics, a high performing team is described as a group of interdependent individuals who work together in a specific manner to achieve a common objective. The team is created to achieve the goal in as little time as possible with the most productivity and effectiveness. High performance teams are commonly developed to solve a problem during a crisis or brainstorm marketing strategies. High performing teams are highly focused, ensure leadership roles and are result oriented.

In regards to a union, a union’s goal is to have an influence, sense of power and an independent voice for its general members.

So, how can an effective team or high performing organization be impacted by union membership? What barriers play a role in this type of organization? Is there autonomy between a union and a high performing organization?

I was curious on this topic since I had worked in union environments with my previous and current employers, thus the purpose for my exploration on the matter.

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To my surprise, as I was researching this, I had found little studies completed on this exact topic. However, I did find two similar reports on the subject. One study was conducted by University of Montreal and the other study was conducted by Melbourne Business School. Interestingly, to my surprise both studies concluded little impact in the relation to unions and high performing work teams.

In the Montreal Study (completed in 2007), their research aimed to review the positive effect of trade union presence on work team autonomy. In the review they evaluated two aluminum companies. One company was a unionized workforce and the other was a...