Dealing with Violence at Work - Case Study Example

? Dealing With Violence at Work “Dealing with violence at work” is a textbook that tries to show the behavior of workers in organizations. The textbook looks at the character of the employees in organizations by majoring on the aspect of violence. The author of the book tries to show some of the factors that lead to some workers getting violent at the work places and there remedies. For instance, in chapter six of the book, the author gives the organizations some of the ways of creating a pleasant working environment for the workers. From the information given by the author, organizations are able know the importance of creating a pleasant working environment. Furthermore, the seventh chapter shows some of the methods that are used to motivate the workers so that cases of violence can be minimized. The author says that rewarding of workers motivates them to work and hence the organization retaining them for a long time. The main topic of discussion in which the author talks about the ways of dealing with violence at work is in the eighth chapter of the book. This chapter, therefore, gives advice to managers on the most efficient techniques of dealing with the workers who appear to be violent. Apart from violence, there is the discussion on the different types of misbehavior that usually occur in organizations. For instance, there are misbehaviors like sexual harassment, fraud, incivility, bulling, substance abuse and sabotage. The actions that managers should take when they suspect that the employee might be violent at the work place should aim at assisting the potentially violent employee. One of the actions that managers should take is to make sure that such an employee gets a beneficial working environment. Creating an encouraging, working condition for an employee is an act that is likely to motivate the employee. This is because the employee will not feel isolated (Lies, 2008). For instance from the book, it is clear that some of the reasons why McDermott got violent was because he felt that he was being isolated from the job. If, in any case, this employer had the provision of a comfortable working condition then he most possibly would have not caused any chaos. The other action that managers should take when they spot an employee that appears to be violent is to act in a calm and professional manner. A calm approach on such an employee can help in changing their ill motives thereby not causing harm to the organization or the other workers. This calmness should, however, be depicted in a professional manner. The other reason why managers should solve such a case in a professional manner is to make the violent employee to feel like the organization is desperate for him or her (Rogers and Chappell, 2003). For instance, the author says that the actions that the managers took or avoided could be the factors that might have prioritized McDermott’s actions. Managers should also take the revenge, problems at work and rage of their employees as a form of responsibility to them. When the management notices that an employee can become violent, they should take this as a task on their side and work toward changing the employees attitude. This is a way of considering the grievances of their employees hence drawing him or her closer and changing their attitude. If the management assumes this form of responsibility, then such an employee will feel insecure and may go ahead and cause harm to the organization and their fellow workers (Michaels, 2012). For instance, McDermott financial problems had grown to be too much for him. This is due to the punishments imposed on him by the organization. If the organization considered McDermott woes, he would have not caused harm majorly because the feeling of isolation had been shattered. The other action that management can do when it spots an employee who is potentially violent is to investigate the person very carefully. The management should not confront such an employee before have enough proof against him or her. This can be achieved by the management seeking information from so of the most trusted employees since an employee always tend to know much about their colleague (Hegar, 2012). For instance, in the book, after McDermott had caused damage to his fellow employees and the organization, one of his co-workers seemed to have been suspicious about him. This clearly indicates that the other employees can help in pinning down such a worker. The worker will therefore, not cause any chaos because the police will be watching him or her. Moreover, the other option that managers can take in this kind of situation is to transfer that person to another area with a lovely send off bash. This is a way of making the employee not to suspect that he or she is thrown out of the organization (Rogers and Chappell, 2003). Send off parties makes an employee to have the feeling that, the work he or she did is fully appreciated. This can somehow reduce the rage that the employee has towards the organization. Despite that, this method might not be very effective especially when the employee notices the organizations intentions. For instance, in the case, the writer informs the reader that before McDermott left Edgewater Technology, the organization gave him a send off party. However, this employee still goes ahead and implements his revenge. This is a clear indication that this factor should have high privacy maintenance for it to be effective. Finally, the managers should apply the screening technique on all the employees immediately they suspect one of the employees to be violent. This technique will make the management alert incase of any trouble coming. At this moment, the organization should also focus on the security matters. Focus on the security will help in ensuring that any form of action of violence planned does not occur and the culprits arrested (Lies, 2008). Conclusion In conclusion, it is notable that the author has assisted the organization in minimizing violence by mentioning some of the ways they can drive away the violence among the employees. If organizations implement some of these techniques, then the risks posed by the violent employees will be considerably minimized. Furthermore, managers need to treat all their workers equally so that they can reduce violence caused because of some employees feeling isolated. Moreover, it is very clear that for the prosperity of an organization, managers need to try to eradicate violence at work places as much as they can. Employees, on the other hand, should try to have discipline at work so that they do not end up having violence desires (Rogers and Chappell, 2003). Reference Hegar, K. W. (2012). Modern human relations at work (11th Ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Lies, M. A. (2008). Preventing and managing workplace violence: legal and strategic guidelines. Chicago, Ill.: American Bar Association. Michaels, J. (2012, April 2). Dealing With Violence at work and School. Retrieved April 8, 2012, From: Rogers, K. A., & Chappell, D. (2003). Preventing and responding to violence at work. Geneva: International Labor Office. Read More