Identification of the Probable Causes of ER Conflict - Term Paper Example

 Identification of the Probable Causes of ER Conflict Introduction This report is an advice to the senior management of a small manufacturing organisation that produces packets of boiled sweets for various label markets. Advising on, how to improve employee relations in the short term and future purposes. The report is organised in order of importance starting with the most crucial points to consider first or the best solutions first. I first identified the possible causes of employee relations conflict in the organisation then the implications of trade union presence in the management of conflict. Identification of the probable/possible causes of ER conflict In this situation, the organization is faced with some conflicts. Since the company has been operating for 15 years, it means the company has grown wide in the 15 years span. Much growth comes from opportunities to discover creative solutions to conflicts in organisations (Hannaway, 2003). Conflicts in organisations could come up for different reasons. However, conflict provides additional ways of thinking about their sources and opens up possibility of improving a relationship. Some of the main causes of conflict in organisation include organizational change. In most organizations, there is tension between opposing forces for stability or to maintain the status quo and change. If the management of the organization want to shift, more healthy care costs onto workers tension may arise. If the organisation has to attain much stability, it may lose its competitive position in the market (Farnhan, 2002). With too much change, the mission blurs and the employees develop anxiety, which in turn causes employee relations conflict. Conflict could also be caused by ineffective communication. It is a significant cause of conflict especially personal conflict. It occurs if messages do not pass through the required message filters. It is often evident in a work setting where different people work closely together. It is always a challenge to achieve an effective two-way communication; thus, always triggering conflict. Values and culture clashes are also a vital source of conflict that is evident in many organisations. These conflicts arise from the presence of different value priorities amongst the employees (Hannaway, 2003). Today’s diverse workforce reflects a kaleidoscope of cultures each with its own unique qualities. The individual’s bearers of these different cultural traditions could easily come into conflict with one another. Generational influences are the most powerful forces that shape values in the modern workforce. Some work policies and practices also contribute to employee relations conflicts. It happens if an organisation has unreasonable or confusing rules, regulation, and performance standards. These conflicts occur when managers fail to address the employee’s perceptions that various policies are unfair. Managers need to address the source of conflict rather than suppress it. Conflict could also occur if the employees fail to comply with the rules and neglect their fairs hare of the workload. Adversarial management is another cause of conflict that is common in organisations (Jenkins, 1999). Under adversarial management, supervisors may view their employees and even other managers with suspicion and distrust and treat them as the enemy. Employees usually lack respect for adversarial managers resenting their authoritarian style and resisting their suggestions for change. This atmosphere makes cooperation and teamwork difficult. Competition for scarce resources causes’ employee relations conflict since it makes it difficult to find an organization that is not involved in downsizing (Jenkins, 1999). The result is often destructive competition for scarce resources such as updated computerised equipment, administrative, support personnel, travel dollars, salary increase, or annual bonuses. When budgets are not clearly explained workers may suspect co-workers or supervisors of devious tactics, which in turn heightens the levels of employee relations conflicts. A minor cause of employee relations conflict that is evident in some organisations is the presence of personality clashes. Personal clashes make people, not like others they differ in communication styles, temperatures, or attitudes. They may not be able to thoroughly explain what it is they do not like in the other person, and this triggers conflicts when they are working together. Some people in the beginning have no problem with each other, but they begin clashing after working together for many years. All these could be the possible causes of conflict in the organisations case, and they need to be addressed to avoid more conflicts (Kaufman, 2002). Discussion of the implications of trade union presence for management of conflict Trade unions have internal committees within each enterprise or within each establishment. They aim at representing the interests of the employees in conflict management the function of a unionist representation and the power to conclude collective labour agreements. They control the rights of the worker if they are injured. They are dependent on employers and, therefore can hardly fulfil the function of conflict solving. The trade unions leaders share some knowledge and sometimes information about how some concepts that are used in employee conflict management are applied in a creative way to avoid more conflict from coming up as a result of other conflicts. The trade unions have social partners who work on the minimization of conflict effects on the organisation and labour markets. The trade unions train their leaders about how social capital is generated to ensure conflict management at all levels as civil peace is well maintained (Lubin, 2006). They mobilise people for peace education within the organisation by coming up with coalitions of civil society groups. Some trade unions familiarize the public on the violation of rights of workers and build the workers in informal sectors so that they are able to raise their voice (Lucas, 2006). The representatives of trade unions in the enterprise do not need ratification by the employers. As soon as they fulfil the legal conditions for the foundation, they are authorized by law to conclude some agreements so that they are able to participate in conflict solution. They apply collective labour agreement to all employees of the same category. The trade unions cover all employees since there is a standard based structure and uniform conditions of service. Workers are allowed to form their own trade unions so that they are able to organize themselves according to their own preference extending them the right to organize in a limited manner (Lynn, 2003). It is essential for trade unions and employers organisations to function independently and freely implying a dual absence of interference on the part of government authorities as well as by employers’ organizations in the activities of these organisations. Any interference by workers, which infringe on the rights of workers are subject to penal sanctions as in the industrial relations act. A large population of workers work in the informal economy where they face not only a lack of legal protection but also lack of a collective voice. This means that the union coverage is extremely low, and collective bargaining rarely takes place. The trade unions enforce the statement that for freedom of association and collective bargaining to be effective in the formal economy they are anchored to the rule of law and that government has some primary role to play in this regard (Pieper, 2002). To avoid conflicts that rise from payments, the trade unions ensure legislation of minimum terms and conditions of employment. They also set up regional counsels by sectors to ensure minimum wages are established for employees in the organization sectors where it is difficult to organize workers. The trade unions continue to provide assistance and cooperation to ensure they strengthen workers and employers’ organizations to enable them promote the rights and principles that reduce conflicts (Pieper, 2002). At times, there are trade unions and workers conflicts, which they solve amongst themselves. The relationship between bargaining, strikes, and strengthening of trade union activities emerges from the fact that in an authentic democracy, conflict is inevitable because the recognition of the existence of groups with diverse and contradictory interests is a key feature to an organisation. The most valuable thing is not denying the conflict itself, or the possibility of such conflict (Rees, 2006). The most valuable thing is to have a balance in the power relationship to solve the conflict through negotiations. In order for a worker to be considered in a position to make negotiations or bargain with his employer, it is necessary that he be guaranteed exercise of a fundamental right freedom of association. This is much powerful, particularly in sectors where trade unions presence is thin. The inequality of possibilities between employers and the workers exist in organizations without trade unions. These differences are extremely much connected with the economical the countries social developments where organizations are located and even with the profitability of the enterprise (Sandole, 2008). Other than solving conflicts in the respective organisations, trade unions activities can be a business of helping other organisations with conflict solutions. They develop a corporate aspect without developing awareness and the programmatic aspects (Wilkson, 2006). The system of labour relations based broadly on the concepts of centralised collective bargaining, promotion of labour rights and trade union rights includes policies and self-governance. This has led to bargaining, strengthening of freedom of association and social dialogue, which helps in the process of conflict solving. Workers participate in the making of decisions, which affect them within the society as a whole. The phenomenon which is restricted to the participation of trade unions in the decision making process with regards vital issues concerning economic and social policies is of immense importance in making solutions to conflicts (Zartman, 2004). Recommendations for future action which taken into account, causes immediate and longer-term concerns Resolving the conflicts assertively is the best recommendations that the organisation should put into account for immediate and long-term solutions. Conflict is often uncomfortable whether it is in a personal or a work setting. People are hurt and become defensive because they feel they are under personal attack. For individuals to live with certain people every day, they have to stop harming the ongoing relationships. However, most people do not know how to participate and deal with conflict thus accelerating the levels of conflict (Zertman, 2000). It is essential that the organisation teach the workers on the importance of learning to deal with conflicts. It is also crucial to note that some people do not like such direct approach to deal with conflicts. The management should take a firm action to avoid questioning of its abilities. To avoid some of the conflicts there will be a need to get rid of workplace bullying since it violates the companies policies, in addition to causing emotional distress, which arouses conflict (Hannaway, 2003). Intervention attempts to improve organizational effectiveness can be done by changing the intensity of affective, process, and substantive conflicts and helping members deal with interpersonal conflicts. The process approach is mainly designed to manage conflict by aiding organizations to handle interpersonal conflict with different situations. The intervention helps the organization members to make effective uses of different styles of handling interpersonal conflict. Conflict resolution theorists emphasize the areas of agreement existing between conflicting entities by avoiding areas of disagreement. This encourages single loop learning. Organizational development interventions, on the contrary are desighnedto help participants to learn mainly the integrative or collaborative style of behaviour to find the real causes of conflict and arrive at functional solutions (Lucas, 2006). For conflict to end there should be effective negotiations. These negotiations are a responsibility of the supervisors, department heads, team leaders, and other individuals with established authority and responsibility. Some organizations also give this responsibility to organized team workers who empower other workers to solve their own problems whenever possible instead of causing the whole organization problems of dealing with their problems in different departments (Lucas, 2006). This means that every employee needs to learn how to effectively negotiate satisfactory resolutions to conflicts. The negotiation skills are applied in areas such as team assignments, compensation, promotions, and work assignments. Negotiations are approached in three different approaches including, win/lose, lose/lose, and win/win. If the win/lose approach is used one attempts to reach the desired goals at the expense of some other party. This approach ends conflict in a short-term basis and does not address the underlying cause of the problem. Instead, it may cause development of another conflict. It is an important strategy that is effective in rare cases when there is a need of getting the job done other than maintain satisfactory relations among the workforce. The second approach is the lose/lose approach which is used to settle disputes and each side must give in to each other. This solution is necessary when there is too little time to find a solution to a problem (Lynn, 2003). Union management disputes often fall into this category when neither of the sides is willing to yield. An arbitrator may be invited in finding solutions of parties, which are disputing. In a short time, progress is slowed because people stop listening and begin to think of how to defend themselves from the other people’s comments. Determining the other person’s needs requires careful listening and respect for views; the management should do anything in to ensure that the discussion focuses on fixing the problem rather than defending the positions. One has to learn how to use negotiation skills and when to adapt a style to deal with conflict situations (Wilkson, 2006). A conflict resolution process has five steps that can be used to end employee’s relation conflict. To be able to apply the steps one needs to understand their importance and how to deal with different types of difficult people (Wilkson, 2006). The first step is deciding whether there is an agreement, a misunderstanding, or a true disagreement. This will help in identifying the type of conflict. The second step is defining the problem and collecting facts. This is a difficult step since everyone involved in the conflict needs to focus on the real cause of the conflict not what happened as a result of the conflict. As one starts collecting information about the conflict, it may be necessary to separate facts from opinions and perceptions. Questions that focus on who is involved in the conflict, what happened, when, where, and why should be asked. The management should avoid use of already existing information that would guide to a decision. This is possible due to information overload that exists these days and people are tempted to use the information that already exists rather than search for new information needed (Sandole, 2008). In the third step, there is a need to clarify perceptions. The perceptions seem to be an interpretation of the facts surrounding the situations encountered. Perceptions tend to have a tremendous influence on behaviour. Therefore, it is vital that all parties’ perceptions of the problem be clarified. This is done by trying to see the situation as others see it. After the basic problem is defined, the facts surrounding it have been brought out, and everyone is operating in the same perception, everyone involved in the conflict should focus on generating options for mutual gain. The options should be able to fix the problems and building support for a single solution should be avoided. The final step to conflict resolution is implementation of options with integrity. It involves developing a final conclusion on win/win benefits with regard to conflict management. Some time as the conflict, process comes to an end one or more parties in the conflict may be tempted to win an advantage that weakens a relationship. This might involve hiding information or using pressure tactics that violate the win/win spirit and weaken the relationship. For effective achievement in this step, one needs to establish timetables for implementing the solutions, and provide a plan to evaluate their effectiveness. On a regular basis, it is necessary to discuss with others how things are going to be sure that old conflict patterns do not resurface (Jenkins, 1999). It is for mutual benefit of the employee and employer to maintain a respectful relationship and avoid conflict. They should engage in conversations and consultations rather than passing orders down the line. Employee grievances cause conflict, s, and they should be handled carefully. If they are not well handled, they harm the employment relationship. The golden rule the management to remember in managing employee grievances is that they are essential to those who express them, and must, therefore be treated seriously (Wilkson, 2006). The effective resolution of grievances unlike in bargaining excludes a trade off between employee complaints about employer or employee behaviour. It is not good employment practice to settle one person’s grievances in exchange for another employee to agreeing to drop his or her grievances. In such conflict, handling, the management should resist trading off one employee’s grievance handling against another (Zartman, 2004). Most employee conflicts are based on alleged injustice in that the behaviour. They can also be collective in that a group of employees have a common complaint to their employment. The conflicts should be solved equally. Managers need knowledge and understanding of how to operate the procedures of conflict solving. The organisation requires effective formal complaints procedures to ensure that employee dissatisfaction is dealt with to mutual satisfaction. The management should avoid solving conflicts by denying the employees some noteworthy things that they need, Such as promotions (Hannaway, 2003). Conclusion Managing employees’ performance is paramount, and self evident to avoid employee relations problems. Employees perform best if they know what to do, how well they are going to do it, what they have to improve, and how the improvement is going to be achieved. Setting objectives in an organisation is the main thing that the management should focus on for the success of the organisation. If people do not know what is expected of it can lead to dissatisfaction, low morale, and high labour turn over and other forms of conflict (Zartman, 2004). The managers and the organisations of employees should focus on the employees as individuals as a homogenous group. High performing organisations focus on people as individuals. They use the techniques of involvement to ensure or encourage satisfaction and commitment. The environment in which the organisation has to operate continues to be competitive only if the conflicts are identified and solutions to them made (Lubin, 2006). References Farnhan, D. (2002). Employee Relations In Context. London: Prentice Hall. Hannaway, C. (2003). Management Skills. United States: Oxford university. Jenkins, A. (1999). Employment Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University. Kaufman, B. (2002). Government Regulation of Employment relationships. United States: Willy and Sons. Lubin, A. (2006). Cases in Conflict Management. New York: Oxford University. Lucas, R. (2006). Employment relations in Hospitalty. New York: Mc grow Hill. Lynn, E. (2003). Research Administration and Management. London: Prentice Hall. Pieper, R. (2002). Human Resource Management. London: Prentice Hall. Rees, D. (2006). Skills of Management. United States: Oxford University. Sandole, D. (2008). Conflict resolution theory and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University. Wilkson, R. (2006). Contemporary Human Resource Management. New York: Prentice Hall. Zartman, W. (2004). Gorverment as Conflict management. Chicago: Jhon and Sons Publishers. Zertman, W. (2000). Employee Relations. New York: Oxford University. Read More