Conflict, Decision Making and Organizational Design - Assignment Example

1. Discuss how you could apply negotiation strategies to address potential conflicts in the workplace. It has been said that conflicts may be averted by maintaining open and effective communication. However, there are people who may hold on to their own ideas and fight for it till the end without attempting to listen to other alternatives. This may cause much miscommunication and hurt egos especially for people whose voices are silenced by more dominant and closed-minded individuals. In the workplace such a stressful situation should be resolved so as not to further complicate strained working relationships. One way is to engage negotiation strategies. Negotiation can be observed everywhere in strong and subtle ways – in the market, haggling for the best prices, commissioning a young, talented artist for a new project; or closing a huge deal with a known company. There is more to negotiation than mere compromise. Negotiation is an interaction that occurs when 2 or more parties attempt to agree on a mutually acceptable outcome in a situation where their preferences for outcomes are negatively related. Two opposing positions come to a compromise. Lax and Sebenius (1986) add that in negotiation, a better outcome through joint action is achieved rather than when each party would act independently. The element of conflict also arises due to varying preferences and priorities of the different parties. Negotiation becomes a way to resolve such conflicts and compromise on a joint decision, usually, the middle ground stand. McGrath (1984) claims that negotiation is a mixed-motive process - the negotiating parties cooperate to reach an agreement and at the same time, compete to fulfill their own interests. From these definitions of negotiation, it is apparent that negotiators should possess several skills in order to be successful in getting what they bargain for. At the same time, negotiation entails multiple processes that occur simultaneously within each negotiating party such as decision making, research, critical judgment and effective communication, among others. Negotiating strategies involve bringing opposing parties together face to face wherein each individual or group brainstorm on their decisions for the negotiation. When each of the negotiating party becomes aware of the other’s proposed stand or idea, it then becomes the time for bargaining. In the case of business negotiations, this is the space between their reservation prices for the product or service offered and the assumed reservation price of the other party. They come up with their own BATNA or their “best alternative to a negotiated agreement”, a strategy proposed by Fisher & Ury (1981). Thompson and Leonardelli (2004) explain that when the first cards set out the table during negotiations fail, then BATNA becomes a fall back alternative of negotiators. BATNA considers all options available for both parties including the reservation price, market information and aspiration levels of each negotiating party. Knowing the other party’s alternatives will help facilitate one’s decision-making process if these are compared with one’s own alternatives (Buelens & Van Poucke, 2004). 2. Determine how evidence-based management could be applied to the work environment you researched. Reay, Berta & Kohn (2009) defined evidence-based management as being “about making decisions through the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of four sources of information: practitioner expertise and judgment, evidence from the local context, a critical evaluation of the best available research evidence, and the perspectives of those people who might be affected by the decision” (as mentioned in Briner, Denyer, and Rousseau, 2009, p. 19) Applied in the work environment of health care and health insurance this definition would translate to upholding high standards of care. Integration of the best available evidences from thorough research and practice should deliver high quality patient-centered care considering the patient’s gender, ethnicity, health care history, coverage, and socioeconomic level (Barkhordarian, Hacker & Chiappelli, 2011). Customizing care to each patient is optimized by well-crafted and coordinated health information technologies. This makes the patient feel well-cared for and be satisfied with excellent customer service. 3. Analyze the blocks, stages, and methods of creative decision making to determine the best approach the employer you researched should follow when making managerial decisions. In a fast-paced world like ours, people tend to go through their day in such a hurry that some problems are managed lacksadaisically. Sometimes, this results in more problems than solutions. If such is the usual scenario in organizations, then it may spell disaster for the company. Coming up with a hasty decision without fully understanding the consequences or repercussions of such may backfire. It may get the decision-maker one or two steps forward, but half-baked solutions usually end up pulling the whole process backward doubling the work and time entailed to attain completion. Sometimes, if the whole picture is not yet seen, and an individual begins to work on just a part of it, he will soon realize that there are bigger challenges to overcome, often beyond his expectations. However, efficient decision-makers organize their thinking so that they can improve the speed and quality of the decisions they make. Well-thought out decisions are the result of a thorough process of analysis of the problem. First, the problem must be defined and understood clearly. Then the decision criteria should likewise be identified. Next comes weighing the criteria and generating alternatives. These alternatives need to be rated on each criterion. Finally, the best decision may be reached after analyzing all the alternatives in light of the problem (Scribd.com, 2012). Although this simple process may work on any kind of decision-making, it is likewise workable for managerial decisions. A logical decision-making process will enable an individual to become quicker at thinking things through and reaching "right-first-time" decisions. If he approaches a decision in an organized manner and then meets the same situation again, the value of his original thinking is repaid. Well-organized thinking will be of benefit to other people in his organization. Taking down notes about how he reached his conclusion will likewise help others make use of the thinking that he has invested in making that decision. Taking immediate and decisive action whenever possible is what an efficient manager does. However, acting immediately if he is unclear of how to choose the right option is not wise at all. Thinking things through right to the conclusion of a project or activity before setting off on a course of action is a safe way of handling problems. Following a consistent process that leads to a decision and a list of activities will achieve his objectives quickly and efficiently. He does not put off making a decision, even a difficult one. Even if he does not have the time to do all the thinking connected with a decision, the benefits to be gained from an early start should be remembered. Being complacent in facing problems and merely “going with the flow” or making do with “what has worked before” does not usually bring out the best outcome. Research involves not only gathering and analyzing data but coming up with more dynamic ways of getting around challenging hurdles. If organizations will sit on their laurels, they end up to be mediocre and will soon fall out of the race to excellence. 4. Discuss the environmental and strategic factors that affect the organizational design of the company you researched. Humana Healthcare is a health insurance provider that offers a wide range of products and services to its growing consumers. The company strives to make business decisions that reflect its commitment to the improvement of health and well-being of its stakeholders, the community and the environment. There are factors behind the success of this organization. One is its humane and just treatment of its workforce. Diversity is embraced without discrimination, harassment or any form of abuse. Employees are respected and provided with fair remuneration and benefits in accordance to local laws. In line with its business, the company encourages healthy lifestyles and offers health-improvement programs for its people as well as the local community (Humana.com, 2012). Humana complies with laws concerning the environment and actively participates in environmentally-oriented programs. It likewise complies with all applicable laws of the countries of operation and fairly competes with other businesses without breaching any ethical practice. It is an organization that observes its policies regarding gifts and entertainment to avoid conflict of interest when dealing with its associates. In line with this, it keeps its financial books and records clean in accordance with appropriate and acceptable accounting practices (Humana.com, 2012). To sustain the success of this organization, it should maintain its good leadership, open communication, manage its customer relations well and consistently evaluate its performance with reflective practices. These are on top of maintaining good business practices that bring in much profit and achievement of organizational goals. References Barkhordarian, A., Hacker, B. & Chiappelli1, F. (2011) Dissemination of Evidence- Based Standards of Care, Bioinformation 7(6): 315-319 (2011) Briner, R.B., Denyer, D. & Rousseau, D.M. (2009) Evidence-Based Management: Concept Cleanup Time?, Academy of Management Perspectives, November 2009 Buelens, M. & Van Poucke, D. (2004) Determinants of a Negotiator’s Initial Opening Offer, Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 19, No. 1, Fall 2004 Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). Getting to yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Boston: Houghton-Mifflin. Humana.com website (2012) Retrieved on June 3, 2012 from http://www.humana.com/ Lax, D. A., & Sebenius, J. K. (1986). The manager as negotiator: Bargaining for cooperation and competitive gain. New York: Free Press. McGrath, J. E. (1984). Groups: Interaction and performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Thompson, L. & Leonardelli, G.J. (2004) The big bang: The evolution of negotiation research. Academy o/ Management Executive. Vol. 18, No. 3 Reay, T., Berta, W. & Kohn, M.K. (2009) What’s the Evidence on Evidence-Based Management? Academy of Management Perspectives, November, 2009 Scribd.com (2012) The Six-Step Rational Decision-Making Model, Retrieved on June 5, 2012 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/906096/The-SixStep-Rational- DecisionMaking-Model Read More