📋 Written Ability Test (WAT)/Essay Analysis Guide

Should Companies Allow Employees to Unionize Freely?

🌐 Understanding the Topic’s Importance

This topic connects to labor economics, corporate social responsibility, and ethical management—key themes for B-school aspirants.

⏳ Effective Planning and Writing

• Time Allocation:
  • Planning: 5 minutes
  • Writing: 20 minutes
  • Review: 5 minutes
• Preparation Tips: Research case studies and statistics, note relevant legal frameworks, and identify global best practices.

📝 Introduction Techniques for Essays

• Contrast Approach: “While unionized workers earn significantly more, corporations argue that unions hinder competitiveness. This duality drives the debate on unionization.”
• Timeline Approach: “From the labor movements of the 20th century to modern tech-sector unionization drives, the question of unions remains pivotal.”
• Solution-Based Approach: “Allowing unionization, when balanced with collaboration, can drive sustainable corporate growth and fairness.”

📚 Structuring the Essay Body

• Achievements: Discuss increased wages, reduced workplace risks, and lower income disparity, citing global examples.
• Challenges: Analyze operational inefficiencies and resistance to unionization using Amazon and Starbucks as cases.
• Future Outlook: Suggest collaborative approaches such as participative management and modern union frameworks for gig workers.

📄 Concluding Effectively

• Balanced Approach: “Unionization is essential for equitable growth, but effective implementation requires proactive collaboration between employers and workers.”
• Global Perspective: “As corporations navigate globalization, adopting successful models like the Nordic partnership framework can ensure equitable and efficient outcomes.”

📊 Analyzing Successes and Shortcomings

• Key Achievements: Higher wages, improved safety, greater equity.
• Ongoing Challenges: Employer resistance, economic pressures, global disparities.
• Global Context: Nordic cooperation, U.S. union struggles, China’s controlled unions.

✨ Recommendations for Sustainable Progress

• Encourage transparent policies for union recognition.
• Promote shared governance models to reduce conflicts.
• Introduce legal safeguards for fair union practices.

✍️ Sample Short Essays

• Balanced Perspective: “Unionization empowers employees but requires corporate flexibility for effective integration.”
• Solution-Oriented: “Companies should embrace collaborative union models to balance equity and efficiency.”
• Global Comparison: “Learning from Nordic countries can help develop equitable union frameworks globally.”