The Common Causes of Conflicts in the Workplace - Coursework Example

Industry Relations Student Name: Institution: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The common causes of conflicts in the workplace 4 Pluralism Perspective towards Industrial Conflicts 6 The Unitary Ideological Perspective towards Employment Relationship 8 Managing conflicts in the workplace 9 Conclusion 11 References 13 Bacal & Associates (2013). Succeeding in today's workplace. Is Conflict & Cooperation in the Workplace Bad? Retrieved October 10, 2013 from, 13 14 14 Picherack, F. (2003). Conflict Resolution. Columbia. University of British Columbia. 14 Rouble, G. (2013).Cooperative action is important to addressing workplace conflict. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from, 14 14 Executive summary Workplace conflicts are conflicts that occur specifically at places of work. This type of conflicts are shaped by the different aspects of environments in which they occur, for example, the many hours that individuals spend at their places of work, personal difficulties and hierarchical structure of an organization. It is a desire for people to work well together, but it is also normal for people to have conflicts. Individuals may not have a choice about the possibility of conflicts to occur in their workplaces, they have a choice about how they will handle conflicts. This study critically analyzes whether if or not there is room for conflicts and cooperation in the workplace. In responding to this question, therefore, special consideration is given on the general perception of workplace conflicts, the common causes of conflicts and how a cooperative approach is used to manage conflicts at places of work. A general conclusion will be provided in regard to the effects of conflict and cooperation on social relationships in the workplace. Introduction The quality of employment relationship and how industrial relations change can significantly affect the general performance of an organization. It is normal for people to have conflicts at their places of work. Since people view the world differently, they will more often than not disagree with each other because of the varying ideas about their wants and how to achieve them. Although people may not be certain that conflicts will occur in their workplaces, they should be ready to deal with it. Regardless of the workplace settings, conflicts have to occur and measures for conflict resolutions need to be put in place (Blyton & Turnbull, 1998). To some extent, the occurrence of conflict can be seen as a healthy exchange of ideas and a sense of creativity in the organization. However, it is important to note that counter-productive conflict often cause employee dissatisfaction, poor service delivery to clients, increases cases of absenteeism and employee turnover, reduces individual productivity, increases work-related stress and results in a hostile work environment (Folger, 2004). In this essay, the general perception of workplace conflicts, the common causes of conflicts are examined based on pluralism view of industrial conflict and the unitary ideological perspective towards employment relationship. Discuss the importance of taking a cooperative approach to manage conflicts in the workplace. A general conclusion will be provided in regard to how both conflict and cooperation shape the social relationships in the workplace. The common causes of conflicts in the workplace Conflict has been considered as an inevitable part of all human relationships and it arises from managing incompatible concerns. Therefore, accepting that conflict is a natural part of individual emotional landscape, helps to manage and cope with it rather than if people wishing conflict to disappear and never re-occur. In an organizational setting, a manager should be ready to identify and understand the different levels of conflicts as well as how they manifest in various ways. For example, the early indications of conflict could be the nagging feeling that shows that something unusual is developing in the organization (Folger, 2004). In most workplace settings, the two major forms of conflicts that are commonly experienced include the substantive conflict that concerns people’s ideas, directions and decisions which causes disagreements related to the substance of different issues. Personalized conflict or personality conflict occurs when two or more people in the organization do not have good relationship at all. It is notable that a substantive conflict if managed correctly is productive in the organization. However, personalized conflict is often regarded as a bad thing because it is influenced by emotion expressed through anger, frustrations and perception about another individual’s personality or motives. Since personalized conflict concerns emotions and not issues, it becomes difficult to solve it because none of the partied involved is ready and willing solve the matter at hand (Bacal & Associates, 2013). Picherack (2003) defines conflict as a situation where people differ in values, views, interpretations, expectations and needs. However, Picherack emphasizes that people in the workplaces should recognize that conflict is natural and inevitable, it makes people uncomfortable and defensive, and at times conflicts are desirable. It is important to note that conflicts if left unresolved can result in a significant relational harm. Therefore, whether it causes positive or negative effects, any conflict must be addressed promptly. Conflict is perceived as part of the normal and background for improving both interpersonal and organizational relationships within the workplaces. The major causes of conflicts particularly in the workplaces include misuse of positions and authority exercised to accomplish tasks. It cannot be denied that unaddressed conflicts within the workplaces frustrate people. As a result, individuals do not focus more on achieving important organizational goals in particular, risk management and continued quality improvement, customer satisfaction and public trust (Picherack, 2003). When a manager fails to effectively deal with individual’s anger and handle conflict within the workplace leads to a large loss of organizational productivity. Thus, causes adverse impact on people working in that particular organization. In every organizational setting, often there will be real or perceived cases of unfair treatment or discrimination, cultural diversity, potential violence, emotional abuse, anger and hostility. Therefore, when employees feel to continue enduring all these conflict without the management considering using sufficient resources and methods, they experience discomfort and feel neglected. Such a distress if unresolved early can get out of the managerial control, causing industrial unrest (Belak, 2004). Pluralism Perspective towards Industrial Conflicts From the pluralism point of view, Blyton and Turnbull (1998) examined the issue of industrial conflicts far from the homogenous or unified investigative construct. They argued that what brings pluralists together is the recognition of the underlying social structure that potentially leads to the formation of sectional groups and interests in organizations. The social structure also influences members of these groups into conflict with one another whilst they look for possible ways to attain their respective goals. Far from the unitary approach that accepts a single source of the legitimate power, the authors observed that pluralism helps to understand the possible occurrence of diverse groups, different forms of loyalty and attachment (Blyton & Turnbull, 1998). Based on the pluralist framework analysis, it can be noted that different employees in different organizations can have similar interest. This implies that through establishments of horizontal links with other groups outside their organization by joining trade unions, there could be chances of developing a loyalty and commitment to other leaders rather than their specific organizational management. Fox states that; “Understanding that co-operation cannot be achieved in modern industries which manipulates team spirit, the high morale and loyalty of employees but should be engineered through structural adaptations in the organization of work, roles and practices. Direct negotiation with all the work groups is a significant part of engineering co-operation in the workplace.” (p.408) It is important to note that cooperation and trust in organization are two major aspects that cannot be taken for granted. This suggests that cooperation need to be created continuously and the management must earn trust by effectively exercising powering-sharing. Furthermore, employees must be engaged in decision-making procedures and equitable policies should be formulated and implemented to reduce the potential or occurrence of conflicts of interest between the employees and management. Similarly, Alan Fox, the British writer argues that it is crucial for the management to understand that other sources of legitimate power or leadership and focuses of loyalty exists in organizations. Thus, the management should engage the already discussed competing interest groups into their decision-making processes. In addition, Fox emphasizes that management should not view industrial conflict as a mere deviation from the normal operation of industry, but rather consider it as being inherent in all employment relationships. Therefore, it is important in Fox’s view that instead of perceiving trade unions as the possible ways of influencing conflicts into workplaces, such unions should be regarded as the ideal institutions through which the interests of sectional groups can be expressed. Basically, suggests that the pluralist framework provides a clear view of the industrial relations, and thus enables the management to understand the limitations put on their power (Fox 1971). The Unitary Ideological Perspective towards Employment Relationship The idea that each work organization should be regarded as an integrated entity with a shared purpose and goal is a unique feature of the unitary ideological perspective. This means that employment relationship is established and maintained based on the mutual cooperation and harmonious interest between the employers and employees. It can be argued that no significant conflict exists between individuals with capital and suppliers of labor, and thus all are considered as same team. The occurrence of industrial conflict is perceived as temporary or a result of deviant behavior caused by troublesome individuals, poor communication and managerial skills. On the other hand, trade unions are undesired intruders which interrupt the unified and cooperative structure of the organization. Therefore, unions are seen as threats to management because they compete for the same loyalty of employees that organizations aim at winning (Blyton & Turnbull, 1998). Although unitary is regarded as an unsatisfactory approach to understanding industrial relations, Edwards (1995) argued differently that the approach is important in revealing that employer-employee relationships cannot be permanently and absolutely conflicting. He emphasized that employees and managers can have similar interests on a particular issue, for instance, the survival of a business. However, employers may opt to enhance the loyalty and cooperation of employees in addition to ensuring their compliance through employee involvement or profit-sharing systems. Far from what many supporters of unitary approach hold that conflict in the workplaces is merely a pathological divergence from the day-to-day social harmony and order at the places of work, social relationships are generally punctuated by conflict and cooperation. Therefore, it is through recognizing the existence of this dual dynamic that helps to understand more clearly the nature of industrial relations (Edwards, 1995). In Australia, the recent policy controversy is the protection of employees’ entitlements. It has been observed that large corporations such as HIH and Ansett Airlines have failed. This clearly indicates that employees have been denied their accumulated entitlement like holiday pay and long service leave simply because creditors were the first to benefit from the remaining assets own by those corporations. In 2002, the national policy debate was established as a focus on the capacity of the methods suggested by various political parties to ensure protection to employees. Additionally, the objective of this policy was to assess the likely impact of high costs and regulations associated with these schemes on the performance of companies (Burgess & Baird, 2003). Managing conflicts in the workplace Cooperative action plays a significant role in addressing workplace conflicts. It is a crucial way to enhancing employee performance. Through learning about and adopting cooperative techniques, individual and team conflict management strategies, organizations or teams can effectively minimize the chances of unnecessary destructive conflicts. However, conflicts that can be handled well to generate positive results should be dealt with accordingly (Rouble, 2013). This implies that creating a culture of cooperative action is the best way to achieving a company performance because employees are equipped with the necessary tools and skills required of them to mutually and respectfully interact with one another at all times. Therefore, cooperative and not selfish action is an important approach to addressing the workplace conflicts. Resolving employees’ disputes without rancor turns conflicts into cooperation. By taking the necessary steps to resolve disputes among the employees in a way that encourages the workers to cooperate, organizations make their workplaces harmonious and work with motivated and satisfied workers. It is important to point out that employee retention is achieved in working environments where individuals trust each other as well as work collaboratively. Since unmanaged employee conflicts has been considered the most controllable cost in the contemporary workplaces, organizations focus on how to minimize costs and boost their productivity level by transforming conflicts into teamwork. Therefore, employment relationship in general entails both conflicts and cooperation (Edward Low Foundation, 2000). Managing conflicts between various departments within the workplaces basically involves adopting better communication as well as promoting collaborative skills. Conflicts in the workplaces inevitably occur when individuals have competing goals to achieve in the organization. However, early and prompt intervention into conflicts helps to control unnecessary arguments from developing into a big problem. Managers need to be aware that any disagreement that interferes with the normal flow of work in their organizations either impacts their productivity or is a threat to employees and should be addressed immediately. Generally, employees respond to their leader’s cues, and thus if the communication style of the leader is conflictive or confrontational, it means that the workers will act in the same manner. On the other hand, if managers handle disputes within their organizations in a calm and professional way, automatically their employees will too learn to manage disputes in the same manner (Duggan, 2013). Through collaborating approach that both assertive and cooperative, the management can establish a win-win situation to prevent the occurrence of conflict in the organization. Basically, this approach to resolving industrial conflicts involves adopting creative solutions to really issues that fulfils or satisfies individual’s concerns. Therefore, more time and efforts is required in learning, listening and resolving the organizational and personal issues (Folger, 2004). It is necessary to point out that creating a positive work environment that promotes good business sense can be achieved only by respecting and supporting employee engagement. It is crucial for the managers to motivate everyone in the organization towards achieving both individual and organizational goals. Thomas (2002) examines the negative effects of unresolved conflicts as poor cooperation, lack of collaboration and reduced motivation, absenteeism and staff turnover. These factors result in inappropriate behaviors, poor communication and disharmony in the organization. As a result of this unusual occurrence in the organization, more time and efforts is diverted away from the normal activities required to accomplish in the attempt to achieve organizational goals (Thomas, 2002). Conclusion In general, there is room for both conflict and cooperation in the workplace because conflict is seen as a normal and natural occurrence that helps people with varying concerns to interact in the organization. It is notable that conflicts invariably arise between the different components and people in the organization. Managing conflicts between various departments within the workplaces basically involves adopting better communication as well as promoting collaborative skills. The pluralist perspective views conflict as something that is inherent in the employment relationship. However, the conflict can be managed and contained by implementing the relevant rules and regulations. On the other hand, unitary perspective presents employer-employee relations as a harmonious state only punctuated by temporary occasions or illegitimate conflicts. Creating a culture of cooperative action is important to achieving organizational performance because employees are equipped with the appropriate skills required of them to mutually and respectfully interact with one another at all times. Therefore, it is apparent that cooperative and not selfish action is an important approach to addressing the workplace conflicts. References Burgess, J & Baird, M. (2003). ‘Employment Entitlements: Access, flexibility and protection’, Australian Bulletin of Labor, 29(1), 1-13. Bacal & Associates (2013). Succeeding in today's workplace. Is Conflict & Cooperation in the Workplace Bad? Retrieved October 10, 2013 from, Belak, T. (2004). Handling difficult Behaviors in the workplace. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from, Blyton, P & Turnbull, P. (1998). The Dynamics of Employee Relations. London. Macmillan Business. Duggan, T. (2013). Strategies for resolving departmental conflict in the workplace. Demand Media. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from, Edwards, P. K. (1995). ‘From Industrial Relations to the Employment Relationship.’ Relations Industrielles, 50(1), 39–63. Edward lowe Foundation (2000). Resolve employee disputes without rancor. Turning Conflict into Cooperation. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from, Folger, P.J. (2004).Working Through Conflict: Strategies for Relationships, Groups, and Organizations (5 ed.). London. Temple University Press. Fox, A. (1971). Work Power and Trust Relations. London. Faber and Faber. Picherack, F. (2003). Conflict Resolution. Columbia. University of British Columbia. Rouble, G. (2013).Cooperative action is important to addressing workplace conflict. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from, Thomas, R. (2002). Conflict Management Systems: An ideal approach for addressing the cost of conflict in the Workplace. Melbourne. Monash University. Read More