Development of Conflict between Members of a Small Team and the Measures Taken To Solve the Impasse - Essay Example

Workplace Conflict Experience Workplace Conflict Experience Development of conflict between members of a small team and the measures taken to solve the impasse Description Workplace conflict was often a matter to obscure and farfetched ion my thinking all through the few years I have been working and prior years during my schooling, only reading about it in the media and on television. However, a recent experience that forms the main basis of this reflection forms my experience of a workplace conflict in a team of four and the associated measures I had to take to intervene in the situation being the supervisor. Mr. Michael, a new employee at the company, was recently transferred from another branch to the environmental department of that comprised of three members of staff and I, as the supervisor in the department. Mr. Michael was African and as I would later discover his arrival resulted in tension and misunderstanding in the department. Mr. Moses, the department long-serving officer was involved in a heated discussion with Michael on the jobs allocated to Mr. Michael that turned out to be more than the other two were given and in the process Moses used a racial slur. Mr. Michael believed that the other members of the department were in a collusion since they did not agree to share work equally resulting in hostility developing into workplace conflict among the four members of the department. Key issues in the case. a. Mr. Moses had only worked at the department in all his working years and had not been in a position to work with people from different ethnic communities b. Mr. Moses and the other department members believed that they were superior having only interacted with department members of the same color since Mr. Michael was the first employee in the company of a different ethnic community Reflection on the outcomes In hindsight, it has come to my view that I could have taken different measures that could have resulted in a better solution in the situation. After the confrontation, the work environment was edgy and filled with anxiety that no work was being completed successfully owing to the no-talking terms between Mr. Michael and the other members of the department including Mr. Moses. After meetings with the department members and one-on-one conversation with Mr. Michael and Mr. Moses to help resolve the situation to no avail, I felt I need to step in and solve the issue for the benefit of the organization and the success of the department. Since the department was running well before Mr. Michael’s arrival, I requested his transfer, which he previously requested when the discrimination occurred since he believed he could not effectively work with the team. On reflecting on the solution, I believe it was not morally correct to have undertaken that decision. I came to realise that I took the easiest option out of a tricky situation that would please the majority but leaving a problem unresolved that would later come to haunt the organization later or breed ground for a similar occurrence at the department. Mr. Michael was a new employee and faced with a tough situation being of different race faced with discrimination by the team leader. I should have sought to have the team leader and the other members of the department to put their racial differences out and work together as a team. I should have sought to have Mr. Moses, the team leader to be disciplined by the organization’s disciplinary committee for the racial slur and discrimination based on race to effectively seal the possibility of a repeat occurrence of the same at the organization. Instead, I chose the best option of letting go of Mr. Michael setting a bad precedent and having Mr. Moses to belief that he would always have his way despite the discriminatory remarks and actions he did. Reflection on the Process Reflecting on the situation, I acted with bias and undertook a role that were not within my roles as the supervisor in the environment department of the organization in the manner in which I sought to resolve the matter. The exchanges that took place between Mr. Michel and Mr. Moses were of a disciplinary nature owing to the racial remarks that goes against the company rules and also contravenes the Civil rights Act of 1964 Title VII (Grant, P. D., & Bsn, 2011, 107). The matter would have better be dealt with by the disciplinary arm of the human resource department in the action, but I believed I was working for the better of the department to achieve its aims and reclaim normalcy. Despite undertaking meetings with the department members and even face to face communication between Mr. Moses and Mr. Michael on resolving the issue, communication and motivation at the department had reached an all-time low and a lot of tasks were either undone or delaying. I did not consider lodging a disciplinary claim with the disciplinary team to on Mr. Moses because I believed it was a workable solution that could be resolved at the department level but the decision ended up escalating the situation at the department since Mr. Michael may have believed that the lack of disciplinary action against Mr. Moses depicted acceptance and unfairness on my part and put the organization at fault (Polonsky, 2005, 1051). Since no action was taken against Mr. Moses, Mr. Michael harboured the grudge affecting the communication at the department since they were not in talking terms and any communication was either through reports and emails further jeopardizing department meetings. In response, Mr. Moses effectively refused to acknowledge his mistake and was unapologetic to Mr. Moses, despite calls for the department to work together and the two to put aside their differences. It is when I made a formal request for the transfer of Mr. Moses who had sent a request for transfer to another branch citing irreconcilable differences. Reflection on Other Experiences Mr. Michael could have felt disappointed and left out in the manner in which I resolved the situation owing to the lack of disciplinary action against Mr. Moses. He may have felt let down by the organization by failing to protect his rights against discrimination as an employee. I believe this could have been the reason for his preference to be transferred feeling the lack of adequate measures taken to protect employees against racial discrimination. Mr. Moses, having served as the team leader for long and having been raised up in an era when racial discrimination was not effectively protected by law, may have believed that his actions were correct. The arrival of Mr. Michael could have made him believe he could give his share of work to him without any problem owing to this background. The lack of disciplinary action could have cemented his belief further, which I personally take responsibility and will aim at ensuring such an occurrence is not repeated. Reflection on Personal experience Having taken time and reflected upon the situation, I believe I did not handle the situation well. Several reasons could have played a part in my inability not to handle the situation including not realizing the extent of damage the racial slur could have impacted on the team. I misjudged the effect of the discriminatory remark on Mr. Michael and the rest of the department members especially Mr. Moses. The other reason was the fear of having to take a long-serving member of the department to the disciplinary committee on a racial discrimination offense. I feared for the repercussions that could befall Mr. Michael that would indefinite suspension from work awaiting disciplinary action that could effectively result in termination of employment. Having developed a strong attachment to the department members, I would not wish to have such an occurrence happening to any of them. The personal reflection of the outcome of disciplinary action on Mr. Moses could have clouded my judgment on the situation. Learning from reflection Learning the basics of teamwork including equality in tasks and the acceptance of diversity in the workplace is important for the success of the team and the organization. The need for all members of an organization to be taken through training on teamwork importance and the changes in the diversity and possibility of working with people of different ethnic, racial, and even regional background is high with the globalized nature of the economy. The other lesson from the incident is the need for objectivity in decision-making to avoid personal issues affecting the achievement of better results and solving problems (Sharkey & Davis, 2008, 184). This is evidenced of my ability to deal with Mr. Moses early on before the differences escalated to irreconcilable level. Differences within teams have devastating consequences on the organization in terms of low or no output providing the need for urgent action in cases where they could potentially result in a fall-out among team members. Remaining objective and aiming to reach a conclusive decision without bias or/and unfairness as a leader/manager in an organization is important for the benefit of all involved in a team and the organization as a whole evidenced by my failing to calm the situation earlier. Looking for the appropriate measure to develop a correct answer to a situation including taking advice from other leaders in an organization can aid in correcting a situation beforehand. In the interest of fairness, I should have approached a member of the HR team for advice on the situation. Action Plan The critical reflection on the incident has been a tremendous benefit for me in terms of future improvement of my management style. The analysis has enabled me to learn of my failings and provided remedies to them including the need to be unbiased in dealing with conflict among team members, the importance of objectivity in decision-making. The lessons gained from the reflection will be helpful in improving my leadership capabilities because I intend to put them into practice allowing me to develop professionally. The lessons will also allow me to have a better leadership style that will positively impact on my career development needs through preparing me for more leadership roles in the future and success in managing the department. The other action that I aim to undertake is taking training in conflict management as a measure of augmenting my ability to decisively deal with conflict in its development stages before the conflict accelerates to a level that has negative impact on the performance of the organization and team effort. I will also aim at communicating with team members on differences frequently to allow for free talk and bonding among the members through undertaking team building and capacity building forums for employees at the Department to allow for management of conflict. Stressing the importance of diverse working places to department members and the need to accept and effectively work with people of different ethnic backgrounds is the other action I will undertake regarding the conflict situation in the environment department. References Grant, P. D., & Bsn, M. (2011). Law for Nurse Leaders: A Comprehensive Reference. Springer Publishing Company. Sharkey, B. J., & Davis, P. O. (2008). Hard work: defining physical work performance requirements. Human Kinetics. Polonsky, M. Stakeholder Thinking in Marketing. London: Emerald Publishing. Read More