Organization and Conflict Management:Appolo Manufacturing - Case Study Example

Organization and Conflict Management Introduction Organizations are run by people and have to know how to manage relationship dynamics in order for the people to be productive. Appolo manufacturing is a manufacturing firm that employs over 500 employees for its human resource. The firm has various teams that carry out different roles that make the whole process of manufacturing a success. The teams include the non-technical teams such as the human resource, the IT, and finance. However, there is also the technical team that is involved in the actual manufacturing work. The firm has a number of teams that are involved in the manufacturing process and each of them plays a certain role that together with the role of the other teams completes the process. At the same time, within every team. Problems There are a few group dynamic issues that need to be solved to make the human resource at Appolo Manufacturing to be productive to optimum. Role conflict Role conflict refers to the misunderstanding between parties with regard to individual roles among the employees. This is a crucial issue because it leads to conflicts and reduced productivity. Role conflict also means that some things will not be done the right way while others may be duplicated leading to redundancy of tasks. In Appolo, role conflict arises from the fact that there are no clear job definitions and some managers and subordinate staff are not sure where the boundaries of their jobs are. Because of this, some individuals find themselves doing the same jobs as someone else while some jobs are undone because there is a misunderstanding on who needs to do what. This reduces productivity because sometimes it interferes with the smooth flow of work at the manufacturing plant. As Jehn and Mannix (238-251) say, role conflict also affects the accountability in the workplace. When it is not clear who is supposed to do what, it becomes hard for it be identified who is supposed to do what and this means that when there is a problem, it is not easy to pinpoint who is responsible. In such a case, the group members are likely to distance themselves from any mishap and this means that there will be nobody to be taken accountable for the action, which then means that there will be no positive development. On the other hand, when roles are well defined and everybody clearly understands their responsibilities, it is possible to know who is responsible and accountable for what. It also makes sure that, the work flow is smooth and that there is an easy way to make sure that every part of the process is done smoothly. How to deal with role conflict Role conflict in most cases happens at the personal level but not at the team level. As such, it is crucial to ensure that each individual knows their responsibilities and how this relates to the larder group. This is solved by having clearly defined job descriptions (Wall and Callister 515-558). Job descriptions are important in making sure that an employee understands what they are supposed to do and where their authority reaches. Job descriptions help the employees in not only understanding their duties but also in understanding the role of others. By having clear job descriptions, it is possible to make sure that role conflicts are solved and that the different team members can be used to achieve the objectives of the team. Every employee should have his or her job description that defines what they are supposed to do, who they report to and who reports to them. This clears the air with regard to authority flow and the roles of everybody. It also increases responsibility and accountability because when it is clear about who is supposed to do what, it becomes easy to know who will be questioned when something goes wrong. This way, people cannot abscond their duties and blame other people. Communication problem The other issue that Appolo Manufacturing is facing is ineffective communication between the members of the groups/teams. Communication breakdown is dangerous in an organization setting as it not only brings in conflicts but also leads to lack of productivity. Not only is it likely to bring in misunderstanding, it is also likely to bring about inefficiencies in the production line. Communication breakdown means that people will not be able to be productive (Huang 334 - 355). This can lead to inefficiencies because it means that some tasks will not be done in good time and in the best way. This means a reduction in the overall efficiency of the organization. Team productivity depends highly on each member of the team to do what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to it, and in the right way. When there is a communication breakdown, it means that the employees will not be able to do this and this means that there will be delays and the production. It is therefore necessary to make sure that there is proper communication between the employees as well as between teams. Dealing with communication problems As Huang (334 - 355) says, communication problems can be solved using job description and also y having a well defined corporate structure. Well defined job descriptions define who reports to whom and who is responsible for what. This makes it easy for communication to go through the channels. In this regard, everyone understands who to report to, who to ask what and who to ask for help when they need it. Job descriptions carry a big weight with regard to how people work together and must be explored in order to make sure that there are proper ways of dealing with the many issues that come when people work together as a group. They define the source of authority and this makes it easy for making sure that there are better communication channels. A well defined corporate structure is also important in helping to improve communication and make the communication channels easy to identify and navigate. A corporate structure defines the flow of authority in a clear and easy to understand manner. By defining the hierarchy of authority in the organization, it becomes easy for the people to know how to communicate since people understand and appreciate the source and role of the authority. As Tony and Randall (102-111) say, a corporate structure defines both the vertical and horizontal communication channels. Vertical channels of communication define how authority. Upwards goes information as the information goes from the subordinate to the managers. Downwards flow indicates the flow of instructions and command. While this may look like a simple ineffective solution for solving communication problems, it is important in making sure that people understand each other and they know where to report issues when they arise. Lack of cohesiveness in the teams The groups in the workforce also seem to lack cohesiveness and this may affect the way they are able to work together. Any team needs a high level of cohesiveness in order for the team members to be productive as individuals and also for the team to be productive as a whole. Without cohesiveness and collaboration, the effectiveness and productivity of a team will be affected in a negative way (Jehn and Mannix 238-251). It is crucial for everyone in the team to understand how they fit into the group and how their contribution affects the group. Lack of cohesiveness indicates a loophole in the team and this means that the team members will not be able to collaborate properly for the team to succeed in achieving productivity as well as efficiency. The basic idea of a team is that when people work together they achieve better than when they work as individuals. If a team is made of ten people, it can only be at the most productive state if they all work together as a team than when they work individually. The lack of cohesiveness in the team means that the team cannot achieve synergy. This means that a lot of human and technical resources are being wasted. It is crucial to guarantee that there is cohesiveness in order to make sure that everyone is a part of the larger team. How to deal with lack of cohesiveness in the teams As has been described, lack of cohesiveness within a group means less effectiveness in the team. This lack of cohesiveness can be caused by a number for issues (Wall and Callister 515-558). At the same time, if the team is too old and it has reached past the performing stage, it may also start disintegrating and this may affect its ability to perform due to the fact that the team members are not able to collaborate well. Whichever the case, it is necessary to make sure that this does not happen since it would mean that the team is not achieving its highest goals. Communicating the mission and goals of the team can be used to solve this issue. Making every team member to understands the mission of the team and understand how their roles in the team helps in achieving team objectives is important in making sure that the team is able to reach its objectives. Intergroup conflict While cohesiveness within a group is important, cohesiveness between groups is just as important for the organization to be successful and for the organization to function properly. Various teams in the organization do not seem to be able to work together. Unless and until this is resolved, the organization not only will suffer low levels of productivity, it will also risk failing. It is necessary for the groups to be able to collaborate well with each other and collaborate in order to make sure that they perform well. If there is no this understanding to achieve this will mean that the firm will lose productivity. Teams come together to make larger teams when they work together. Failing to make this team work together leads to waste in resources. Human resources are wasted when teams cannot work together. Other resources such as machines are also wasted because they are not used effectively and optimally and this leads to a loss. It is necessary to have the teams collaborate healthily in order for the firm to work well and to be productive. Dealing with intergroup conflicts Teams need to be able to collaborate to assist the organization to be successful (Huang 334 - 355). In this case, if the teams are not collaborating in the way they should, it will mean that the organization will have many barriers in achieving its organization and business strategy. This can be solved by having well defined teams so that every team will know and understand its role, how its role fit in the overall organization design and how other teams’ contribution to the organization affects the success or failure of the organization. Conclusions and recommendation It is obvious that there are issues that must be solved within the firm. Not only are the teams not effective within themselves but the collaboration between the teams is not achieved which makes Appolo Manufacturing ineffective. It is necessary for Appolo Manufacturing to have these issues solved so that the organization becomes effective. Appolo Manufacturing must start by having well defined job descriptions for every employee from the highest to the lowest. This will minimize conflict between individuals and between the different teams. There is also the issue of collaboration between the different teams and this makes it harder for the team to work together to achieve the organizational goals. The organization should define clearly the role of every team and how this contributes to the overall success of the team. Defining the role of the teams will also help each team to understand the importance of the other teams thus reduce the conflict between the teams. This is because when the teams understand how the other teams feature in the overall success, they will tend to appreciate them more. Works Cited: Huang, Jia‐Chi. "Unbundling task conflict and relationship conflict: The moderating role of team goal orientation and conflict management." International Journal of Conflict Management, 23, 3, (2010):.334 - 355. Print. Jehn, Karen and Mannix, Elizabeth "The Dynamic Nature of Conflict: A Longitudinal Study of Intragroup Conflict and Group PerformanThe Dynamic Nature of Conflict: A Longitudinal Study of Intragroup Conflict and Group Performance." Academy of Management Journal, 44, 2, (2014):-238-251. Print. Tony, Simons and Randall, Peterson. "Task conflict and relationship conflict in top management teams: The pivotal role of intragroup trust." Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 1, (2000): 102-111.Print. Wall, James and Callister, Roberts "Conflict and Its Management." Journal of Management, 21,3, (1995): 515-558. Print Read More