Conflict Resolution - Emerald Clothing Line and Wyatt Sanders - Case Study Example

Conflict Resolution al Affiliation) Executive Summary Conflict resolution is the ability to identify, analyze, resolve, and reflect on conflicts. The following is a conflict resolution layout between two proprietors – Emerald Clothing line and Wyatt Sanders. The aim of the entire process is to firstly, identify the major elements that present themselves in actual human conflicts in the workplace setting. Secondly, the process aims to impact change. This is by establishing an amicable solution between the two sides. It is within the mediator’s plan that the two sides also learn from the experiences. The outlined aspects of significance are those that the mediator has taken up in establishing an agreeable front for both sides. The aspects are divided into 4 areas, background, analysis, recommendation, and reflection. Each part thoroughly depicts various elements of the conflict at hand. Background Emerald is a clothing retailing organization. The company has been in existence since 1998. Its headquarters is situated in Beaufort, South Carolina. South Carolina has few retail shops in its horizons. The Emerald, having been founded by the then mayor of Beaufort, Brian Emerald has grown to become the single largest clothing retail store in South Carolina. It has two outlets within the state and 162 employees. The company enjoys a higher market share than national retailers. Wyatt Sanders, 48 years old, has worked for Emerald since May, 2006.in his 9 years with the company he has been the employee of the month 72 times. By all standards, he is Emerald’s most valued employee. A large share of the Customer base has attributed their goodwill for the company to Wyatt’s good client handling skills. In 2011, Wyatt Sanders began the Wyatt Sanders Clothing line. He initially had a customer base of about 14 customers in a week. However, his brand has now grown to a customer base of about 215 varying clients in a month. Jill Sanders, Emerald’s CEO Only recently came to learn about Sander’s clothing line when it became a relevant competitor. Although the Sanders clothing line is still far from achieving Emerald’s retail status, it has become a cause of concern for Emerald’s board of directors. Having worked for Emerald before it achieved its accomplished status, Jill feels inclined to take up other measures as opposed to firing Wyatt. Sander’s clothing line, however, poses a serious threat to Emerald’s stability as it encompasses the latter’s most valued customer base. However, it is understandable that Sanders being 48 year old would wish to start a venture of his own as a fallback strategy. Furthermore, Sanders has not signed a non-compete clause with Emerald. Jill Emerald must resolve the issue at hand before it heavily incapacitates Emerald’s image and finances. Analysis Emerald’s Perspective Strategic Conflict Emerald is of the opinion that Sanders will use his knowledge of his employer’s strategies to beat them in the market. The fact that he has been with the company for a very long amount of time makes him aware of all the strategies that the company has used to rise from the grass roots. Most of the strategies in question are unique to Emerald and are their most guarded secret. Although Emerald could come up with new short-term strategies, the long-term strategies are still the most important ones (McElhaney, 2004); this, Sanders does have prior knowledge of. This gives Sanders the competitive advantage. Coupled with Emerald’s Strategies, along with his own, his company could develop to a formidability status that could cripple Emerald. SWOT Conflict A company’s SWOT Analysis can single handedly develop or undermine conflict. A SWOT analysis is usually kept far off from competitors (Booher, 2013). Seeing as Sanders has been with the organization for so long and he has acquired top employee status, Jill has many a time trusted him in the development of a SWOT analysis. Every year, the organization re-evaluates its SWOT 4 times. In the last 7 years, Sanders has been to all those meetings. So far, however, Sanders has not appeared to use the weaknesses and threats of Emerald against it. This may be the reason his company has not achieved Emerald’s status. Naturally, Emerald’s management is wary that he could at any point in time. The truth of the matter is that if he does, Emerald will be a sinking ship. Clientele Conflict Sanders’s client base comprises of Emerald’s most valued clientele. In this viewpoint, this poses numerous conflicts. Firstly, this presents a bad front for Emerald as a company. The company appears disunited because their employee is their competitor. Secondly, it kills client loyalty to Emerald. Customers, as is common knowledge, usually lean towards one line of preference in an industry. It is impossible that upon receiving services from Wyatt Sanders’ Clothing line, they would retain their loyalty to Emerald. Thirdly, it is impossible for Emerald to reach out to their Clientele to retain them without reflecting badly on the company. This is because Sanders signed on the majority of the clientele in question. If the company reaches out to them, it would appear malicious and ungrateful. Manpower Conflict If Emerald were Wyatt Sanders’s only point of focus, he would focus all his energy on it. However, he now has to split his energy between his company and his employer yet he is the most valued employee. Emerald, for obvious reasons, does not wish to let Sanders go as the stakes are too high but would like him to refocus his energy in the company. After re-evaluation of previous data, Jill discovered that in the time spanning 1998 to 2011, before Sanders began his own company, he had received, the employee of the month award, 65 times. However, in the time spanning, 2011 to 2015, after the establishment of his company, he has only received the employee of the month award 7 times. This illustrates a shift in his resource allocation. Wyatt Sanders’s Perspective Income Conflict Emerald’s income does not sustain Sanders through to his retirement. As a result, Sanders feels obliged to look for an alternative source of income. This is common for employees who find that the income that they generate does not quite match the needs that they have. In actuality, looking for an alternative source of income is the wise thing to do from an individual financial perspective (Demoss, 2006). Furthermore, Sanders feels underappreciated by the company. Firstly, he asserts that being with the company as long as he has; he should have his income level much higher than the rest of the employees. Secondly, his accolades within the company warrant that his income level be increased. Clientele Wyatt feels that he has done no wrong to the company. He asserts that he has the right to retain the client base that he has. Furthermore, he has not tried to divert them from Emerald but rather has let them choose on their own. He states that only clients that eventually felt dissatisfied with the service provision at Emerald turned to his company. He insists that no coercion on his part was involved. His assertions, notably for the most part, all add up. A situation such as this proves extremely difficult because between the employer and the employee, factually, none has wronged the other (Demoss, 2006). Contract Conflict Wyatt claims he honored his contract with Emerald to the letter. In his contract, he is not supposed to reveal any of the Emeralds confidential information. This, he claims he has not done. He insists that thus far, he has only used his own individual strategies to build his company. However, he does agree that it has been difficult not to use strategies he picked up from Emerald in the development of his company. Emerald cannot prove that he has used their information against them. However, the main bond of contention is that he has not signed a non-compete clause. A non -compete clause would ensure that he does not establish a company of the same nature as his employer whilst working for them and for a certain amount of time, after the termination of his contract (Pickering, 2000). This major factor has tied Emerald’s legal capability in this case. Career Conflict Of all other professions in the world, fashion retail is Wyatt Sander’s forte, he insists. Therefore, it would be unfair and illogical of his employer to insist that he venture into any other field. This is the only area of interest that he feels he would truly prosper. Of the 34 employees hired by Emerald in 1998, only three remain; Sanders is among them. This indicates the level of prowess that he has in the field in question. He points out that Emerald should have expected that among their current 584 employees one or a couple would think of venturing into the same field of business. It is therefore a failing on their part for not having insured themselves against the occurring of a crisis such as this (Booher, 2013). Recommendations Before all else, the first step of the resolution process is contract evaluation. Notably, Emerald cannot now decide to include a non-compete clause; this would be unethical. However, to protect themselves from a crisis such as this, Emerald should renew other employees’ contracts and include a non-compete clause. If this were to be done, Sanders would feel unfairly cornered and this would undermine the whole point of peaceful mediation. Both sides must acknowledge that the situation between them is unique and must be treated as such (Brinkman, 1994). The recommendations laid out below must be followed in their interactions to the letter with one another, if they are to coexist in a peaceful manner. The recommendations are laid out in a fair manner and to represent the interests of both sides. Contract Revaluation Strategic Development In the contract, Sanders would be obliged only to use his own original strategies in the development of his own company. He would be asked to seize from incorporating any strategies into his company that he has garnered his period with the company for as long as Emerald is his employer. In order to determine this, the contract should provide for a neutral person, preferably a legislator to be put in place to ensure that not all strategies used by Sanders are those acquired from Emerald. This could prove a tough stretch, but it would be the only way to ensure that none of the two sides takes advantage of each other. Resource Exploitation In the period that Sanders remains with Emerald he is to ensure that he does exploit the company’s resources to his own advantage. During the hours that he does work for Emerald, he is to devote only to handling the company’s business. If he were found to be working on his company’s affairs during working hours for his employer, Emerald would be free to pursue legal charges against him. He is also to ensure that he devotes the full extent of his work force capability to the company. In this way, he will continue with his tenure in Emerald as any other employee. If he does not abide to this, he could set a wrong example to other employees. Failure to comply with this would leave him open to a contract termination and a follow up of legal charges (Doherty, 2008). Clientele Foundation As, some of the client base has already moved on to the Sander’s company, little can be done about this. However, Wyatt should be obliged to ensure that he cut all personal links with Emerald’s current client base. This will ensure that the current client base does not depreciate further. Emerald retains the right, to reassign him to a work area where he does not directly interact with clients to avoid a conflict of interest. With the already established Wyatt Sanders Clothing, the contract is to state that Wyatt does not defame/ bad- mouth emerald solely because they are still his employer. However, Emerald retains the right to treat Sanders Clothing as a competitor provided they avoid defamation. Time-frame Specification The contract between Wyatt and Emerald can no longer continue to be indefinite. This is because the situation has changed and Wyatt is no longer just an employee but also a competitor. In regard, to this the new contract should have a specified time frame (agreed to by both sides) as to when the relationship is to be terminated. If the two sides cannot come to an agreement, the legal process could be used to set said time frame. However, it should be noted that it is best that they try to come up with a reasonable time frame amicably rather than take on legal measures. Logically, the time frame should fall in between 1 year on the shorter end and 3 years at the longest end. This however will develop on one side being liable to loss depending on the time frame they settle upon. Whatever the case, the decisions should divide the pros and cons equally for both sides (Ursiny, 2003). Ethical Considerations If the solutions are going to work, there must be certain ethical procedures that have to be followed. This will incorporate morality on the eventual outcome. Income Raise Notably, Emerald is not obliged to increase Wyatt’s salary. However, from an ethical perspective, they should. This is because he has worked for the company for a very long time. He, as with any other human being should not be made to feel that his contributions to the organization have been overlooked. This will also motivate him to put in more effort while working at the company. However, Emerald should specify that the income rises in this question is not in any way a bribe to buy him out to seize the competition. Rather, they should explain that it is an appreciation for all the work that he has put into the company over the years. In this way, he will feel appeased not just as an employee, but as a human being (Posthuma, 2007). This action is necessary because in truth, his work has been exemplary. Fairness and equality Emerald should ensure that the treatment of Wyatt as an employee remains the same. Treating him as a competitor during work hours will prompt him to act as one. He should not be excluded from benefits given to other employees. Emerald should also not allocate him a heavier workload in order to make him neglect his other activities. Emerald should acknowledge that by starting his own company, he did not breach the contract that he was on at the time. Wyatt should also be true to the company by ensuring that he works to his level best. In the spirit of fairness and equality, both sides should honor the regulations put up in the contractual section above. It is only after institutionalization of the above recommendations that the conflict between the two sides will be resolved. The recommendations above are not meant to see to it that both sides are satisfied (that is impossible) but rather that they compromise and meet in the middle (McConnon, 2010). Reflection Conflict is not something that most people desire rather it is one that they try to avoid. People are forced into conflict by circumstances. Conflict only becomes apparent when both sides are unable to control the situation from their end. For the most part, people are not usually driven by maliciousness. While in the conflict, both sides view their competitor as being malicious and unfair. However, most of the time, they all are just trying to survive and stay afloat. As with Wyatt and Emerald’s case – both were just trying to ensure that they meet the goals they have for themselves. Their intention is not to get into each other’s way, but rather to ensure that their counterpart is not in theirs. Therefore, while solving conflict, the priorities of both sides should be put into consideration. No side should override the other; every side is however liable to bearing any consequences they have inflicted on themselves. Emerald has however laid it clear that it is important to be thoughtful and thorough when making every business decision. Had they done so, they would have avoided all this through incorporating a simple clause. It appears that they were not well prepared for the occurrence of a crisis such as this. In business and life in general, it is always important to apply the process of social imagination. This is where one tries to look at the circumstances from their counterpart’s perspective (Gold, 2010). In this way, they understand them better and try not to force them into unreasonable circumstances. References Booher, D. 2013. The conflict resolution bible : a quick reference guide for resolving conflict in the workplace. Colleyville: Booher Consultants. Brinkman, R. 1994. Dealing with people you cant stand : how to bring out the best in people at their worst. 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Ursiny, T. 2003. The cowards guide to conflict : empowering solutions for those who would rather run than fight. Naperville: Sourcebooks. Wendover, R. 2006. On cloud nine : weathering the challenge of many generations in the workplace . New York: AMACOM. Read More