Conflict Involving Two Workers in Gladstone Finance Department - Case Study Example

HRM Competencies, A case Study Student’s Name: Instructors Name: Class Name: Date Assignment is due: Abstract This is a case study analysis of a conflict involving two workers in Gladstone finance department. The case study is made to test the competency of HRM personnel.Moores’ spheres of conflict resolution has been used as the guiding theoretical model in the case study. HRM Competencies, A case Study Introduction and Justification Gladstone University’s finance department has been running smoothly until five years ago when the department began a massive restructuring program. The department has seventy two employees who are involved in the administration of the institution’s finances. The services this department provides to the university are crucial. The department is organized into various divisions. There is the accounting division, the HRM division and the IT division. All these divisions are interconnected. Each division has a divisional head who reports to the Chief financial officer. Promotions in the department are based on merit. All promotions are appraised by the divisional chiefs, and are subject to approval to the chief financial officer. The problem There is an interest of conflict in the finance department that has also degenerated to a relational conflict (Tillett and French 2006, 175). Mike and Jess, who are both colleagues in the department, cannot see eye to eye. Mike and Jess both entered into the finance department ten years back. Five years ago, Jess was promoted to a more senior position in the department. Mike feels slighted because has been applying for the same position for the last five years to no avail. The feeling in Mike is that women have been favored in the departmental promotions. Mike has confronted Jess blaming her for his failure to receive a promotion. In addition, Mike has been bad mouthing Jess all over the department, claiming that the reports that she feeds him are useless. The conflict is exacerbated by the fact that Mike is one of the individuals who supplies the data for the preparation of these reports. Mike, on the other hand, relies on the same reports that Jess prepares for the monthly revenue reports. The conflict between the two is the talk shop in the tearoom. The conflict is threatening do derail the finance department. This is because Mike has been diagnosed with work related stress. Jess has been having problems with her marriage due to the conflict between her and Mike. Her spouse keeps telling her that he is tired of seeing her in internal turmoil because of her problems with Mike. Mike, on the other hand, has filled for stress leave. The conflict between these two has split over into the department as each have their supporters within the department (Kellett 2007, 34). The university is in its first semester, and is conducting many financial transactions. If Mike goes for the stress leave the department will be understaffed. The stress Jess has been receiving his slowing her down. This is because she blames herself for not been able to control herself every time they have a confrontation with Mike. The players As outlined above, the scenario has two main players. These are Mike and Jess. The conflict has advanced from the discomfort stage. It has now reached the crisis stage. This is because it is threatening the smooth running of the finance department. The other players are the Division head and Jess’s husband. Other players include the departmental workers who support either party in this dispute (Moore 1986, 173). Identifying the problem The problem has been identified by the verbal reportage of the divisional head. Data for the problem has been collected through analysis of the monthly reports submitted by the two. Informal methods of information collection have been used. These include tearoom chatter, and the grapevine. Main Issues in the conflict The main issues in the conflict between Mike and Jess are as follows. The first issue is that Mike blames Jess for not been considered for a promotion. This is despite the fact Jess has not hindered the promotion of Mike. Mike also resents the fact that Jess was promoted to a more senior position that him in the department. Mike has been engaging in upward bullying of Jess (Moore 1986, 173). The conflict revolves around gender perceived discrimination. The key word is perceived because that is how Mike views the relationship with Jess (Moore 1986, 173). Management of the conflict In this conflict, one of the factors that have been leading to the exacerbation of the conflict is the tearoom gossip. The tearoom gossip has been fueling the conflict, and inciting bad blood between the two principal participants. This has made it extremely difficult for the two to meet in a place such as the tearoom, or any other social place in the department. The first step that was initiated in the conflict management that was initiated to end the conflict was the closure of the tearoom. It was closed in the guise of repairs that have been long overdue. Tea breaks have been rescheduled in the department to make sure that no more than 3 people from he same department are having their break at the same time. As the tearoom has been poisoned for mediation, a neutral site was chosen to mediate between the two. The meeting was scheduled just between three people. That is the main players, and the facilitator. The company goals and objectives were explored together. This was in order that the two understand the goals and objectives that guide the department in general, and the finance department in particular. The accomplishments of the two employees over the last ten years were analyzed (Lewicki, Weiss and Levin 1992, 209-252). Mike received praise because has been doing a good job. This is especially so with the collection of data for the financial record of the students. Jess was also raised for her good work in producing and maintaining good records. The two were asked to state their complains Jess talked about the resentment that she has been receiving from Mike since she was promoted. She talked about how the stress that she is experiencing is ruining her marriage. She talked also about the comments that she has been receiving from Mike. Mike talked about the fact that he thinks that Jess has been instrumental in is failure to secure a senior position. The facilitator then guided the two in into the exploration stage. This involves exploring the problem as a group to understand it from the perspective of the parties involved (Brett 2007, 218). The main issue that was explored was the promotion of Jess. The qualification of Jess was analyzed to check whether she was qualified. The selection criteria that saw her get the senior position was also examined. The other issue explored was the claim that Jess has been hindering the promotion of Mike. In the exploration stage, it was found out that the real problem was the fact that Mike was blaming his lack of progress on Jess. It was also established that the conflict stemmed from the fact that Mike naturally resents women advancing beyond him. Both have been referred to a professional counselor to overcome the various stresses that have built in them over the years (Tillett and French 2006, 175). Reconciliation has been realized between them. The conflict in summary was managed through controlling some part of the external environment. In this case, the external environment was the tearoom and also the supporters of both parties. Mediation in the presence of a facilitator was also used and it proved to be successful (Carlopio et al 2008, 124). An external counselor has also been used to manage the effects of the conflict (Knowles and Saxsberg1971 147). Results The finance department is running smoothly again. The crisis has gone, and the department has some peace. Work is progressing on well especially at this peak period in the department. The return of the divisional head will be uneventful because the conflict has been resolved. Jess and mike are on talking terms. The grapevine has stopped, and the support groups are disbanding. Challenges The HRM conflict in question has been extremely challenging. One of the challenges in dealing with this HRM conflict was getting the two players to meet. This is because they had been avoiding each other for several months during the crisis. Another challenge was managing to make Jess stay calm in the meeting with Mike. This is because she has been overly emotional over the hurt Mike has inflicted on her. During the mediation, it was extremely difficult to get the players to open up during the exploration stage (Condliffe 2002, 89). Making the players talk honestly about their perception of the conflict in the presence of each other was challenging (Richard 1976, 148). Another challenge was making the players admit the players to admit that they have wronged each other. This was especially hard for Mike who has a negative mentality concerning women. Convincing both parties that they need professional counseling has not been a simple matter (Condliffe 2002, 89). Lessons learnt/Conclusion Simple discomforts can escalate into a major conflict. This is especially so if they are not well managed when they sprout (Thomas 1992, 268). Peoples’ perceptions are different and this is always going to be a challenge for HR departments. The work place conflicts an also be solved if the manager uses the right approach. The management should be prepared always to solve a problem as soon as it appears. This is the only way that a lot of pain will be avoided in any corporation. Bibliography Brett, JM 2007, negotiating globally, John Wiley, London, pp. 218. Carlopio et al 2008, Developing management skills, French Forest, New south Wales, pp.124. Condliffe, P 2002, Conflict management—a practical guide, Narnia, Milton, pp. 89. Kellett, M, 2007, Conflict Dialogue, Sage Publication, London, pp. 34, Knowles, H, Saxsberg, O 1971, Personality and leadership behavior. Reading, Mass, Addison-Wesley Pub. Co, pp. 147. Lewicki, RJ, Weiss, SE, & Levin, D 1992, Models of conflict, negotiation, and third party intervention: a review and synthesis. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Vol.13, No. 2, pp. 209-252. Moore, CW 1986, ‘Sphere of conflict—causes and interventions”, The mediation process—practical strategies for resolving conflict, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, pp 173, Richard, Johnson, 1976, Management, systems, and society: an introduction. Pacific Palisades, Calif.: Goodyear Pub. Company, pp. 148. Thomas, KW 1992, Conflict and Conflict Management: reflections and Update, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Vol. 13, No. 3, Special Issue: Conflict and Negotiation in Organizations: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (May, 1992), pp. 268 . Tillett, G & French, B 2006, Resolving conflict, 3rd edn, Oxford Press, Melbourne, pp 175. . Read More