Resolving Conflicts in a Business Enterprise - Essay Example

Resolving Conflicts in a Business Enterprise Abstract Hostile environment in a workplace is inevitable and it naturally happens in any business enterprise all over the world. Employees should not veer away from these dilemmas but instead they should be able to determine the origin of the conflicts, identify the effects, and pin-point the typology. Learning how to manage the interaction accordingly will be critical for the improvement of the working environment inside the enterprise. This paper will cover an instance of hostile environment among Group Managers and Division Controllers with their superior, the Executive Vice President. The paper will examine the prospective views on how to address the incident of hostility and how to resolve the conflict through the intervention of higher executives. A narrative report that would function similar to a deposition will then be generated to simulate the actual occurrence of the said incident. Supporting Statements Deposition According to Bergman and Moore (2007), a deposition can normally consist of a lawyer or a self-representing individual that asks the deponent with questions. It may seem informal in its sense since it is conducted within the premises of the enterprise, such as conference rooms with the absence of a judge. However, the deposition should be considered with an equal amount of importance as a testimony in court since it shares several characteristics with it. It is through the nature of a deposition that lawyers, as well as individuals that prepare the letter give utmost care on how they write as it could result to a major impact when taken to court. Conversely, the deponent must also be extra careful in attaining accurate deposition testimony as it may have great repercussion on the ruling of the case (Bergman and Moore, 2007). Investigation of Complaints Enterprise policies should ensure that complaints of illegal or unethical conducts are investigated and addressed as quickly and as effectively as possible. In addition, “whistleblowers” should also be given protection against reprisals for the complaints that they make that are in good faith. The enterprise should also support and follow reporting conditions which are mandatory and in accordance with government institutions. Policies such as The Code of Conduct and Harassment, Discrimination & Violence should also be enforced within the enterprise and among its employees regardless of position (OMERS, 2012). Investigations of complaints should protect independence and fairness in order to maintain the effectiveness of the policies, protecting the complainant as well as the offender. Also, persons that are involved in conducting and overseeing the investigation should be free from actual or perceived conflicts by prohibiting the involved parties in any aspect of the investigation and by choosing the appropriate persons that will conduct the investigation. These persons should not be in a lower position than the offender and should not be a peer of him. The offender should also be given a notification about the complaint providing him with the opportunity to respond (OMERS, 2012). In addition, there should be a certain degree of confidentiality with the complaint issued and only the persons that are conducting the investigation should have the authority to access the files. This ensures that legal privilege is still maintained throughout the process. Disclosure of the documents should also be set only on a need-to-know basis and whether the complaint is unable to be substantiated, it must remain as a confidential file. On the other hand, if the complaint is deemed to be substantiated only those responsible for the decision making can provide guidelines to what files should be internal only and what parts is allowed to be disclosed publicly especially to the files of the offender that was found guilty of the misconduct or the sanction imposed (OMERS, 2012). Factors that Influence a Worker’s Attitude towards His Enterprise There are certain factors that have great influence over the attitude of employees or workers towards the enterprise. This includes the way an employee perceives the labor environment, the valence that he attributes to the expected results of his work efforts, the tools he acknowledges regarding his work results, and the expectation that different efforts, strategies or work methodologies will lead to certain results (Mora, 2008). Components of the Organizational Climate The enterprise must observe the proper components for an effective organizational climate. Employees, especially those in the managerial positions, should be provided with individual autonomy wherein they will be able to make their own decisions on how he will go about with his work. Organizational structure must be strong and conducive to the employees, wherein the extent to which the methods and objectives have been properly elaborated, established, and clearly and fully communicated to the work team by their supervisor (Mora, 2008). General payment and incentive system should also be given much attention by the enterprise executives that will explicitly and directly relate to the performance outcome of the employees and their work. An important role of superiors is to be able to establish a system of Attention-Support-Interest-Warmth relationship with their subordinates that will translate to a more human relationship within the enterprise. Lastly, cooperation and the ability to solve conflicts especially between collaborators, colleagues, superiors and subordinates is very important to have a better environment within the section, the work group or the office (Mora, 2008). Role of the General Director to Motivate Personnel A key component of keeping employees motivated is through the system wherein the higher positions are being honest during communication that will foster trust with the administration. Keeping agreements will also enhance the trust and faith of the employees with the company that they are working with. It should always be the superiors’ responsibility to promote and support the employee with his work challenges and make it to a point that the environment within the enterprise is appropriate for learning. Also, by being directly hands-on with the work of the subordinates, the superior is able to discard practices and methods that are not effective or does not work at all. Lastly, and the most important aspect of all, is acknowledging the achievements of the employee. These concepts should always be employed to improve the environment inside the enterprise that can also result to higher productivity of the employees (Mora, 2008) Factors that contribute to group conflicts There are three factors that contribute to the onset of group conflicts. Work interdependence often results to conflicts between parties since the groups depend on each other in order to accomplish and perform their work. Another factor is when employees or groups have different set of objectives, this usually occurs when each department of an organization or company provides its employees objectives that differs with other departments. Last is the perception difference that usually occurs when there is a disagreement on how reality is perceived by the employees (Mora, 2008). Responses to Complaints There certain responses to complaints which are somehow difficult to control, especially on the part of the offender. Most of the responses can be detrimental to the operations of the company in one way or another. Offenders usually address complaints with arrogance, particularly with those who are in superior positions, that considers themselves as far more above than anybody around him. It results to derogatory statements about other individuals that are involved in the conflict. Oftentimes, lower ranking employees’ complaints are not entertained due to the superiors that impose much of their powers to drop the complaint. Other offenders will resort to a method of going into battle, wherein he will hire the services of third parties to investigate and handle the complaint from outside the company such as consultants and experts, which may lead to dirty works in order to solve the case in favor of the offender (Mora, 2008). Methods to Address the Problem Action Protocol To be able to address the conflicts that can naturally arise between employees within the organization, there are action protocols that can be followed such as the acknowledgement and the definition of the nature of dissatisfaction. The persons that should be delegated to conduct the investigation must always begin with a hypothesis that the employee is filing the complaint in good faith and not prejudging from the past events in the organization. Facts should also be obtained specifically, free from any opinions and impressions that may become a subject factor in the development of a resolution to the case. The next step is for the management to analyze and decide on the conflict. The decision-making group should accept the fact that there could be several decisions for a certain conflict and that they must choose the best possible solution as it could have a precedent effect on the department or with the enterprise. Providing the answer to the employees, even if it does not favor the complainant, would be better rather than having no answer at all since employees will often accept unfavorable answers as long as it is fully explained to them. To further evaluate the decision that was made, a constant follow up should be done to assess whether the solution was satisfactory in addressing the dispute or if it has been handled incorrectly (Mora, 2008). Techniques to Provoke Functional Conflicts Communication plays a vital role in the establishment of a positive conflict by utilizing the organizational channels aiming to create ambiguities of conflicting positions or the need to reassess specific issues within the enterprise. Incorporating people from outside the group can also be used as a technique to reinvigorate the organization and bring it back to a productive unit. It may include hiring employees, including superior positions, whose attitudes, values, and background differ from those of the current group members. Modifying the organizational structure can also solve conflicts and can also create new ones. By changing the structure, departments can have increased competitiveness. However, it is still to be determined if it will have a positive or a negative effect on the productivity of the organization. Stimulating competitiveness by providing incentives and awarding bonds to employees that are more productive will help maintain a healthy competitive atmosphere in the organization that can also be a type of a functional conflict (Mora, 2008) Concluding Statement The perception of the work environment and the description of characteristics of an enterprise are similar to an individual’s perception and description. Perception of the work environment in an organization can be referred as the psychological environment. Employees usually describe the multiple stimuli encountered in the labor world as what defines their labor situation, which is the labor climate of an individual. This psychological behavior atmosphere exerts a strong influence on the employee’s behavior, reactions, and feelings inside the organization. The incidents that have transpired during the Operational Review have been a result of the lack of proper practices of the Executive V.P. towards the development of a healthy organizational climate. Attention, Support, Interest, and Warmth of the sector controller among his subordinates had somehow reduced the productivity of their work due to embarrassment that results to the low morale of a group. The misconduct, unethical behavior, and violence that were witnessed by the other managers and controllers greatly influence their ability to trust and look up to the Sector Controller as a leader of the sector. There was no support on the Group Managers work challenges and the environment that was created during the Operational Review was not conducive for learning and progress of the employees. Having a positive attitude and an atmosphere of support will nurture the innate strength of the employees that will improve their effectiveness, build assurance, self-confidence, creativity, and greater possibilities of generating successful work results. It is a fact that conflicts are inevitable since disputes are normal between human relationships. However, these conflicts should be managed effectively and addressed as quickly as possible so as not to have detrimental effects to the productivity of the organization. By doing so, the management should devote time in determining the type of conflict, its causes and the consequences as well. Every individual must be open to dialogue and express one’s feeling about a conflict. The conflict between the Group Manager and the Sector Controller has resulted to aggressive behavior that should have not occurred since the Executive VP should have known how to express, channel, and not lose control of his words and actions. References Bergman, P. & Moore, A. J. (2007). Nolo’s deposition handbook. Berkeley: Delta Printing Solutions, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.mineralaccess.us/images/Depose.pdf Kotler, P. & Keller, K. (2009). Marketing management. 13th ed. Pearson/Prentice Hall. Mora, J. L. (2008). Conflict in enterprises. Retrieved from http://holon.ladipu.com/resources/1//Conflict%20in%20enterprises.pdf OMERS. (2012). Enterprise investigation of complaints policy. Retrieved from http://www.omers.com/pdf/Tab_D-34_Investigation_of_Complaints_Policy.pdf Appendices Figure 1. Conflict Management Model Figure 2. Path of Conflict Read More