How to Wrap Up Conflict in Irish Organizations for the Good - Coursework Example

Conflict in Irish Organizations is a Natural Phenomenon and should be Harnessed and Used in a Creative Manner Human resources management in any organization the world over forms one of the most important strategies. HRM in turn ensures that a firm’s operations run smoothly leading to a competitive advantage. Sound HRM practices therefore ensure that the firm efficiently delivers on its objectives. However, conflicts occur in between which the HR department is required to deal with. Conflict in an organization is essentially inevitable and how to handle it forms the only viable strategic option. Human beings and conflict are not detachable and this makes HRM to hugely revolve around conflict resolution. The most important thing is for the managers to put up measures that ensure that any conflict is managed efficiently and if possible take advantage of the situation by turning things for the betterment of the firm. There is a tendency though to take the word conflict negatively thereby making many human resource managers to use unorthodox means of averting conflict situations. HR managers should therefore embrace conflict by harnessing it in a creative manner as it is after all a natural phenomenon with humans for the benefit of the organization and its stakeholders. This paper will consider conflict in Irish organizations and how they should harness and use it in a creative manner. CONFLICT IN ORGANIZATIONS Conflict in an organization in actual sense is brought about by people having contradicting views, values and interests among other issues. As earlier stated the human society inevitably thrives in conflict and so is an organizational setting. In the current world of business organizations are more dynamic and modern in their way of doing things which increases the complexity of their problems. There are also increasing challenges that are brought about by the rapid changes in the world economic, political and social landscapes (Enderwick 5). There are issues to do with discrimination in the workplace, equal opportunities for all employees and diversity in cultural backgrounds, beliefs among others. Due to these differences and others employees tend to have divergent views and interests therefore breeding numerous conflict situations. The nature of the organization also results in either less or more conflict or the type of conflict to be specific. Firms that are more result oriented on individual basis e.g. SMEs have more conflict instances than huge organizations where employee representation and hierarchy levels are complex (Enderwick 10). In large firms trade unions are usually involved in conflicts as direct individual employees are not able to solve many issues with their high ranking organization personnel. Organizations like other social settings are composed of people possessing different interests, ethics, objectives and aspirations and this realization is important in enabling managers to detect and thereafter solve conflicts. IRISH ORGANIZATIONS AND CONFLICT OVER TIME In Ireland employees have been airing their views through trade unions just like in many other countries. However, there has been a decline in this trend since 1980s where trade unions formed a channel through which employees interacted with employers. At that time the potential for trade unions involvement in conflict resolutions was at a high of 62 percent whereas in 2005 it was at a mere 32 percent (Gunnigle 18). European Workers Council directive that was introduced in 1996 had a huge impact in offering other avenues to solving conflicts. The other was the Information and Consultation directive of 2006 which was incorporated in the Irish law (Visser 40). These two directives opened new platforms for employees in Irish firms to air their views. Unions in Ireland have been reducing their popularity as a result of employers’ increasing antipathy towards them (O’Hagan 402). Employees on the other hand have been feeling that without the management’s support, involvement in a union may not yield much while others are generally fearful of the union membership and its consequences (Dundon and Gollan 1185). Employees on the other hand in Ireland are devising voice mechanisms that are more direct. There is a general assertiveness in many Irish firms to introduce change towards more employee involvement. This therefore places Irish organizations a step ahead of many as far as direct voice mechanisms for employees in place of trade unions are concerned. Conflict in general terms results when two or more people take competitive actions while their relationship is to a huge extent interdependent. Employee Relations therefore offers an area to explore as far are Irish firms are concerned to find out how they have been implementing their HR strategies in this direction. Taking an example of Diageo and Tesco Ireland to reflect on Irish HR policies and practices and corporate strategies, it is clear to see that Irish firms have efficient recruitment strategies, more open communication and better motivational systems (Gunnigle 29). Irish managers have embraced the fact that good HR policies and strategies are important towards the achievement of competitive advantage which is in conformity to the contemporary theory of best practice of HRM. Policies in Irish firms are considered to be inclusive to the HR department. Irish organizations in general adopted this approach after seeing it working well. This approach enables employers and employees not to view each other as adversaries in attainment of organizational objectives as this leads to utter failure. Irish firms also tend to merge HR policies and practices with their corporate structures thereby bringing in more trust between employers and employees. This on the other hand creates a favorable environment for employees to be creative and innovative thereby boosting productivity. HR policies in Irish firms direct the organizational policies towards being more people-centered and not product-centered as the case is with firms in countries like Singapore (Enderwick 9). Employee Involvement. Taking John Lewis Partnership as an example of another Irish firm employees are also the owners of the company through their share ownership scheme (Geary 2007). This makes such an organization’s management to devise policies that are of the employees’ benefit and not the reverse. This creates an inherent goodwill among employees thereby increasing their involvement in the business endeavors. Communication. Any organization requires good communication within its ranks to ensure smooth running of all operations. Irish firms have for a long time had communication mechanisms in place which have facilitated appraisals, performance of projects and motivation of employees among others. Training and Development. Training programs in many Irish firms have fresh graduates who are taken immediately after recruitment (Lavelle, McDonnell & Gunnigle 2009). This ensures that they are to be up to the task whenever required. The same happens with the other employees who continuously undergo training as they work so as to prepare them to take on more sophisticated tasks. This has been seen to be a key area in reducing conflict in these organizations due to employees being quite familiar with their tasks. Managers are also trained regularly; a feature quite common in Ireland. Ireland is also notably ahead of many countries in relation to career development since job rotation is more common. This creates a teamwork spirit as employees move from one department or section to the other time after time thereby reducing the chances of conflicts. In the process employees are able to work towards achievement of organizational goals as they will understand them better. This makes the firms earlier mentioned to easily achieve their goals and this reduces the chances of conflict. ACTIONS BY MANAGEMENT THAT BREED CONFLICT Weak leadership is one major contributor to conflict in the workplace. The management does this by avoiding solving the conflicts that arise. Avoidance only escalates the situation as the situation easily gets out of hand due to lack of supervision. Poor leadership is also depicted by little follow up on what transpires or what caused the conflict. Managers also conflict in their values which offer a vulnerable leadership to external threats e.g. employee conflict. Poor communication is the other whereby managers act by surprising employees on tasks allocation, promotion, demotions, transfers, making judgments based on rumors etc. when managers overstep their authority and become administrators conflict usually occurs (Lavelle, McDonnell & Gunnigle 2009). Lack of openness also breeds conflict as workers need to be kept in the light regarding a firm’s developments more so those that affect them. Various inadequacies like those of resources, tools and facilities lead to stress which in turn breeds conflict with employees. Failure or delay in response to sensitive issues like discrimination claims, accident claims and so on is the other contributor to conflict. Handling complaints usually requires procedures before decisions are made regarding what actually happened and failure to follow a firm’s procedures inevitably leads to conflict. As much as there is need for openness some issues still require some level of confidentiality due to their sensitive nature e.g. sensitive information regarding demotions or an employee’s private issues like an ailment that the organization is paying for as part of their insurance and many other private issues. Therefore, there is need for the management to adopt means and procedures that are least likely to lead into conflict. COSTS OF CONFLICT Waste of time is the leading one where solving conflict leads to loss of man hours that could otherwise have gone to productive use for everyone’s benefit (Gunnigle 2006). Time is the most valuable resource at an organization’s disposal and its wastage is definitely felt in reduced production. Conflict usually leads to lower quality of decisions which is brought about by distortion of information or power games where some wish to dominate others. Conflict in some instances chases highly skilled employees who are less willing to pursue the conflict or where impartial decisions were made and which were not in their favor. Restructuring cost is the other expense where employees with disagreement are reallocated and offered separate offices or transferred. This also affects workflow where redesigning is done to reduce their interaction for the benefit of the organization if both of them are highly skilled employees that the firm may not wish to lose. Conflict also leads to theft and sabotage of organization’s equipments and operations respectively. There are also incidences where employees are less satisfied with their jobs due to stress of dealing with colleagues who are not in good terms with. Absenteeism that is as a result of conflict is also a leading factor towards loss of man hours (Gunnigle 2006). Workplace conflict leads to deteriorated health for those stressed out for a long time. Despite all the above mentioned issues conflict can be advantageous if the management has the knowledge of harnessing it to benefit their organization rather than bow down to its costs. HARNESSING CONFLICT AND ITS BENEFITS TO AN IRISH ORGANIZATION Agent of Change. Conflict if well managed can be a good agent of change for an organization. In fact conflict in many occasions arises where some parties are in need of change mostly the employee unions (Dundon and Gollan 1196). The management can take this opportunity to make radical changes in the organizational structure. Penn states that this can also facilitate changes in interaction patterns and change of employees’ attitudes towards various contentious issues. Managers should be good listeners in order to tap all the necessary information that arises from conflicting parties together with their grievances so as to act upon them in a positive manner. Group Cohesion/Unity. When groups and individuals enter into a conflict there is usually an increased level of hostility. However, when the same groups and individuals are faced by a similar force or threat they usually come together to fight it. When there are some conflicting groups in a firm then there is a good chance to have increased cohesion among group members in order to fight the other group. The management in such a situation should in turn develop competing activities and tasks and engage such groups. In the process this healthy competition will yield positive results to the organization and develop cohesiveness in its workforce. Organizational Effectiveness. In the aim of trying to solve conflicts various solutions are developed which in many instances are meant to make things work for the better. This in turn leads to creativity and innovation among the employees and the management (Gunnigle 2006). Effectiveness is then realized when the solutions adopted lead to increased efficiency in operations or achievement of the intended goals and objectives. This situation also leads to increased openness among the involved parties thereby increasing their trust levels which benefit the organization in the long term. It also assists in depersonalization of such conflicts in future. Conflict Leads to Positive Tension. Constructive tension levels are usually as a result of having the tension levels high enough to motivate parties involved. Penn states that motivation is a key factor towards organizational success and when employees are motivated to solve conflicts there is higher productivity as energy is diverted towards positive actions. Organizational Success. Organizations that do not solve their conflicts or do it ineffectively find themselves stagnating and having a workforce that highly lacks groupthink. Organizations that have succeeded in Ireland like Tesco Ireland and others have ensured that within their workforce groupthink is encouraged to ensure a competitive advantage through creativity and innovation (Lavelle, McDonnell & Gunnigle 2009). Complacency does not apply with a conflict situation and the management of an organization needs to have some considerable affinity for change. All these factors in nutshell have led to success in many organizations in Ireland and beyond. Clarification of Issues. Conflict is known to turn tables and bring all issues in the light. When this happens, all parties involved have a strong urge to put their argument across with absolute clarity for all to identify with it. When opposing sides like the Union and the firm do this then all the facets of the issue under conflict are brought to the fore (Gunnigle 2006). The management should take advantage of this by noting the ideas and opinions set forth in order to devise the best solution possible. Ignition of Passion. When employees work with little or no challenge they in the long run exhibit little, if any, motivation. Lowly motivated workforce is rarely productive and conflict stirs up such kind of a dormant situation. An example is when a new manager comes up with drastic changes in operations and organizational structure. Such a manager will stir up a formerly dormant environment by making employees refresh their skills and competencies and have keener interest in their work again. CONCLUSION Conflict in an organization is dangerous in one instance but can be turned by the management and the employees into an avenue to have meaningful changes. Conflict is inevitable and what matters and differentiates organizations is how successfully they steer themselves from it. As earlier seen in Ireland employees are becoming less organized in unions which has left the onus of solving conflicts to management and the employees themselves. This is a tricky situation but as has been detailed the management and employees can effectively work together towards ensuring that on the other side of conflict lies success depending on how they approach the situation for everyone’s gain. Works cited Dundon, T. and Gollan, P. “Re-Conceptualizing Voice in the Non-Union Workplace.” International Journal of Human Resource Management 18.7 (2007): 1182-1198. Enderwick, P. “Multinationals and Labor Relations: The Case of Ireland.” Journal of Irish Business and Administration Research 8.2 (1986): 1-11. Print. Geary, J. Employee Voice in the Irish Workplace: Status and Prospect. Cornell university press, 2007. Print. Gunnigle, P. et al. Human Resource Management in Ireland. Dublin: Gill & McMillan, 2006. Print. Gunnigle, Patrick. "Changing Management Approaches to Employee Relations in Ireland." Employee Relations 14.1 (1992): 17-32. Print. Lavelle, J., McDonnell, A. & Gunnigle, P. Human Resource Practices in Multinational Companies in Ireland: A Contemporary Analysis. Dublin: The Stationery Office, Government Publications, 2009. Print. O’Hagan, E. “Ten Years of European Works Councils in Ireland: Resting Regulatory Capacity of Soft-Style EU Directives.” Employee Relations 27.4 (2009): 386-412. Print. Penn, Sharon. Advantages & Disadvantages of Conflict in Organizations. 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 29 Dec. 2010. Visser, J. “Union Membership Statistics in 24 Countries.” Monthly Labor Review 129.1 (2006): 38-49. Print. Read More