Todd (2012) has interviewed employer association representatives and examined their public statements and submissions. From her research, she questions whether the changes to the industrial relations system that employer associations advocate would enhance productivity. With regard to issues such as penalty rates and job security, there is evidence that these relate to cost cutting and enhanced managerial prerogative rather than productivity. Discuss

Introduction
During 2011 employer associations in Australia conducted an active lobbying campaign to introduce legislative changes with respect to industrial relations. Predominantly they were seeking to diminish the power of collective bargaining and increase managerial control under the …show more content…

Further research by Holland et al (2011) establishes that organisational flexibility typically leads to employee engagement and it is this which in fact drives improved organisational productivity. Kotey et al (2011) assert that it is only possible to create a flexible organisational culture with good leadership and open channels of communication. Unilateral amendments to employee working conditions are certainly not conducive to a flexible working culture.
Todd (2012) also examines whether the narrow focus on economic conditions and the capacity for organisations to pay fixed rates and penalties proposed in the FWA should be the sole driver of changes to this legislation. She believes that this narrow approach fails to ignore wider social and cultural issues and instead is a thinly veiled attempt to increase managerial prerogative at the cost of open discussion and negotiation between the unions and organisations. Instead she argues the case for collaborative workplace models which involved genuine communication and commitment from all stakeholders. She highlights the situation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's) that simply lack the resource or experience to negotiate effective enterprise agreements. Carroll and Australia (2010) share her view and provide evidence from case studies where large organisations have successfully negotiated such