Most Effect Strategies in Resolving Organizational Conflicts - Essay Example

Most Effect Strategies in Resolving Organizational Conflicts Introduction Because of globalization, a lot of companies are cutting down its fixed operational expenses. As a result of massive lay-offs, cross-border alliance, and/or merger and acquisition, organizational conflict arises (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 453; Mintzberg et al., 2003, p. 258). Conflict resolution is defined as “any process used to manage, determine, or settle differences that may arise among individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, nations, or any other social unit” (Barsky, 2011). To make cross-border alliances, merger and acquisition (M&A) successful, Mintzberg et al. (2003, p. 258) explained that managers should be able to establish organizational culture that strongly promote team collaboration in order to increase the efficiency of a company’s production output. The main purpose of this study is to determine the best and most effect strategies that mangers can use in resolving organizational conflicts. In order to address the main purpose of this study, a qualitative research study will be conducted in order to determine how managers can effectively resolve organizational conflicts. Research Question What strategies should managers consider in order to implement effective conflict resolution in a newly merged company? Literature Review Employee involvement is “the voluntary employer-led initiatives that are designed to encourage more active employee to participate in the business organization” (Caldwell, 1993). Guest, Peccei and Thomas (1993) explained that implementing employee involvement could increase the level of employee commitment towards the business organization. As a result, managers can easily add extra role to each employee without creating too much organizational conflict (Langan-Fox, Code and Gray, 2002). Employee involvement is possible by implementing a direct job-oriented employee involvement through teamwork (Markey, 2006). Participation of non-management employee can produce a non-bias perception with regards to the personal concern between employees and the top management (Poutsma, 2006). Therefore, managers should encourage non-management employees to participate in the implementation of employee involvement program. Aside from building a stronger relationship between the top management and employees, establishing a two-way communication between the two groups could strengthen the flow of business processes and minimize operational errors (Eisenberg and Witten, 1987). Through open communication, managers can avoid the occurrence of unnecessary organizational conflicts since managers can freely communicate their ideas with the rest of the team members. Transformational leaders are committed to train the subordinates to become a leader in their own way rather than practicing positional authority (Barbuto, 2005). Therefore, managers should use effective leadership style in controlling and persuading employees to work together towards achieving the organizational goals. In case organizational conflict arises, managers should negotiate with the customers, employees or business suppliers in order to maintain the stability of the business operations (Ertel, 1999). Research Methodology According to Bryman and Bell (2003), qualitative research methods emphasize on text rather than statistical data they argue that qualitative research method is the best way to gather and analyze data that will make the researcher determine strategies that managers consider when designing strategies that could effective resolve organizational conflict within a newly merged company. In most cases, qualitative data generates a more detailed approach yet it does not imply evaluation methods or set analysis. This study aims to determine the best and most effect strategies that mangers can use in resolving organizational conflicts. Target readers for this study include the CEOs, production managers, team leaders, sales managers, finance managers, and supervisors who are currently managing a group of employees. To ensure that the researcher will gather relevant information concerning this topic, the qualitative phenomenological research study will use interview technique to obtain data directly from a few selected organizational leaders. Regardless of gender, age, race, and nationality, this study will make use of inductive approach like a one-on-one in-depth research interview with at least a couple of managers with extensive knowledge on conflict resolution. In search for a qualified research interview, the researcher will make use of snowball sampling method (Bajpai, 2010, pp. 267 – 268). Through referrals, the researcher can easily locate individuals with expertise in conflict resolution management. Each research interview will last for a maximum of 30 minutes. Limiting the time of the research interview is necessary to ensure that the researcher will not take too much time from each of the research interviewees. In relation to epistemology and ontology, conducting a qualitative research study enables the researcher gather a more subjective response to each research question asked (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 631). By observing each participant, the researcher can satisfy interpretivism and constructionism (p. 631). Research Questionnaire Questionnaire is defined as a tool used for the elicitation, recording and collecting information (Petter & Davis, 2002). An interview is a method of data collection, information or opinion gathering that involves asking a number of questions (Jupp, 2006). When conducting a research interview, a semi-structured questionnaires can be use to collect information from selected individuals (Veal 2006, p. 231). Unlike a qualitative research survey, it is more advantageous to conduct a research interview because the researcher has the opportunity to ask more feedback from the research interviewees. The researcher will also have the opportunity to observe and analyze the feelings, facial expressions and gestures of each research interviewee. According to Ferrante and Caldeira (2011, p. 35), “interviews are more personal, they can be structured or unstructured or various combination of the two”. As compared to unstructured interview, the use of structured interview questionnaire allows the researcher to have the flexibility without losing focused on the research topic (Adams & Cox, 2008, p. 22). (See Appendix I – Semi-Structured Research Interview Questionnaire on page 9) Data Analysis Applying the grounded theory tactic will empower the researcher to develop some logical assumptions out of the gathered data. Qualitative data analysis will start by identifying the key themes and patterns through data coding process. In most cases, data coding is done by assigning tags or labels to the data. In line with this, Creswell (2007) asserted that the process of data coding is necessary to enable the researcher analyze the gathered qualitative data. Eventually, the researcher can formulate a new theory based on the data obtained from the research participants (Kelle, 2006). The personal experiences of each participant will be used in outlining the researcher’s approach on data gathering and examination. To make the research analysis easier, the researcher will condense and transform the interview results into scrutinized components or categories. This procedure is known as the mechanical process or coding. Using coding strategy as a tool, the purpose of categorizing the data is to make the researcher generate a new concept from the collected data (Creswell, 2007). Qualitative data analysis involves an inductive approach wherein the researcher will develop generalizations from specific observations. For this reason, data analysis will be conducted through data interpretation, thematic analysis and deduction methods (Polit & Hungler, 1993). To increase the validity of the research findings, the researcher will interpret the research findings together with the gathered literature review. Ethical Considerations Protecting the research participants’ confidentiality will motivate the research interviewees to be honest about their personal thoughts and experiences with regards to conflict resolution. Throughout the research study, the researcher will keep the personal identity of each research participants anonymous in order to protect them from any form of harm (King & Horrocks, 2010, p. 117). This is the main reason why the researcher has purposely remove research participants’ names or company name throughout in research interview transcript. Before conducting the one-on-one interview with the target respondents, the researcher should first seek permission and appointment from each qualified research interviewee. As part of informed consent, a verbal explanation regarding the main purpose of the study will be given to each of the research participant (King & Horrocks, 2010, p. 115). Prior to the actual research interview process, the researcher will answer all questions asked by the research participant. Research Findings and Analysis On June 16th and 17th, the researcher managed to conduct a couple of research interview for this study. Lasting for 19:02 minutes, the first research interviewee is a production amanger who works in one of the food manufacturing companies for the past five (5) years. Lasting for 18:12 minutes, the second research interviewee works as a team leader in one of the call centers during the past six (6) years. Both research interviewees are managing a group of employees. In the case of the first research interviewee, he is currently managing at least a small group of 7 to 8 employees. On the other hand, the second research interviewee is handling at least five (5) employees. When asked how each one of them is able to manage organizational conflict, the first research interviewee stated that I manage organizational conflict by personally talking with my team members. By hearing out their personal concerns, I can effectively resolve misunderstanding among my team mates”. Basically, the first research interviewee’s point-of-view with regards to the importance of communication is similar to the point-of-view of the second research interviewee. In line with this, the second research interviewee explained that “Informally, I would call on the attention of my team member(s) each time I notice that two or more of them are not communicating with one another or are facing some unresolved issues. I think communication plays a significant role in solving organizational conflict. In the absence of two-way communication, it would be more difficult on the part of the team leader to understand where each member is coming from”. The first interviewee explained the importance of becoming a good listener. By hearing out the personal concerns of each employee, managers can negotiate with them in order to win their support at work. Other than the importance of listening, the second research interviewee added that “creating a friendly work environment such as establishing culture that accepts diversity can help remove racism or ethnocentrism at work”. On the other hand, the first research interviewee pointed out the importance of using effective leadership style. With regards to the management of conflict in a newly merged company, the first research interviewee explained that managers should “acknowledge the differences between the two group of employeess from each company (mother company and affiliates). Therefore, managers should be able to create a new organizational culture that is more flexible and open to organizational changes”. On the other hand, the second research interviewee explained that “establishing a single organizational goal, mission and vision, promoting work diversity, creating open communication are all necessary to avoid misunderstanding”. Conclusion and Recommendations Qualitative research study enables the reseacher gather a more subjective response from each research interviewee. Through the use of a semi-structured interview questionnaire, the researcher is able to directly address the main purpose of this study. In a newly merged company, organizational conflict arises due to cultural differences which causes misunderstanding among the two groups of employees. To effectively resolve organizational conflict, managers should be able to create a new mission and vision that could guide a diverse group of employees towards a single goal, continuously promote work diversity to avoid racism and ethnocentrism, and create a two-way communication line to avoid misunderstanding among employees. Appendix I – Semi-Structured Research Interview Questionnaire 1. Good morning / afternoon. 2. What is your job description? 3. How long have you been working at ________? 4. Have you ever tried managing a group of employees? 5. How do you manage organizational conflict? 6. Can you suggest how managers should implement conflict resolution when managing a newly merged company? 7. Thank you very much for your time. Appendix II – Interview Result No. 1 Interview Time: 19:02 minutes Interviewer: Good morning. Interviewee: Good morning (smile). Interviewer: What is your job description?? Interviewee: I work as a production manager in one of food manufacturing companies here in the United States. Interviewer: How long have you been working at ________? Interviewee: I have been working as a production manager for the past 5 years. Interviewer: Have you ever tried managing a group of employees? Interviewee: Yes. Certainly. I manage at least a small group of 7 to 8 employees under my supervision. Interviewer: How do you manage organizational conflict? Interviewee: I manage organizational conflict by personally talking with my team members. By hearing out their personal concerns, I can effectively resolve misunderstanding among my team mates. Aside from being a good listener, I guess the kind of leadership style I use when managing them also matters. I notice that each time I use transformational leadership style; it is easier for me to convince them to work as a team. Although there are some cases wherein I need to make use of authoritative leadership style just to get my message across…. There are also cases wherein I had to negotiate with them in order to win their support in meeting the production goals, etc. Interviewer: Can you suggest how managers should implement conflict resolution when managing a newly merged company? Interviewee: Managing organizational conflicts that arises out of a newly merged company is more difficult to manage. First of all, we need to acknowledge that managers are dealing with two different group of employees from each company (mother company and affiliates). Therefore, managers should be able to create a new organizational culture that is more flexible and open to organizational changes. Interviewer: Thank you very much for your time. Interviewee: You are welcome. Appendix II – Interview Result No. 2 Interview Time: 19:02 minutes Interviewer: Good morning. Interviewee: Hello. Good morning (smile). Interviewer: What is your job description?? Interviewee: I am a team leader in one of the call centers here in the United States. Interviewer: How long have you been working at ________? Interviewee: I work as a team leader for the past 6 years. Interviewer: Have you ever tried managing a group of employees? Interviewee: Yes. As a team leader, I handle at least 5 employees under my team. Interviewer: How do you manage organizational conflict? Interviewee: As a team leader, I make sure that I am able to create a friendly work environment to each employee by establishing culture that accepts diversity at work. By removing racism or ethnocentrism, there is a less chance wherein my team members would feel superior more than the others. Informally, I would call on the attention of my team member(s) each time I notice that two or more of them are not communicating with one another or are facing some unresolved issues. I think communication plays a significant role in solving organizational conflict. In the absence of two-way communication, it would be more difficult on the part of the team leader to understand where each member is coming from. Interviewer: Can you suggest how managers should implement conflict resolution when managing a newly merged company? Interviewee: There are many ways on how managers can effectively resolve organizational conflict when managing a newly merged company. Aside from establishing a new organizational goal and culture, open communication is necessary to avoid misunderstanding. Promoting work diversity is equally important to avoid work discrimination. In a newly merged company, each group of employees has their own different ideas on how the business should be manage. For this reason, the absence of a new organizational goal and culture could definitely create more internal conflicts. To solve such problem, managers should stay focus in analyzing where the real problem is coming from. In this case, I suggest that it is the lack of organizational vision and mission that triggers conflict. Interviewer: Thank you very much for your time. Interviewee: You are welcome. References Adams, A., & Cox, A. (2008). Questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus groups. In Cairns, Paul & Cox, Anna L. (eds) Research Methods for Human Computer Interaction . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Bajpai, N. (2010). Business Statistics. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd. Barbuto, J. (2005). Motivation and transactional, charismatic, and transformational leadership: a test of antecedents. 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