Analysis of Conflict Situation at Madison, Jones and Conklin - Case Study Example

Conflict management in the workplace: Case study (Name) (Institution) (Course) (Instructor’s Name) Date of submission Abstract This report pertains to the conflict situation at Madison, Jones and Conklin. The report was authorised by the management to study a case pitting one female employee, Laura against a host of his male colleagues. Major issues that have caused this conflict are alleged sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, biased work allocation and poor hiring and recruiting strategies. Some of the recommendations made by this report are that Laura should take legal action against her supervisor Geoff, and that the organization should rethink its hiring and recruiting strategies to avoid such gender based conflict. Table of contents Abstract 1 Table of contents 2 Introduction 3 Situation analysis 4 Problem identification 4 Recommendations 8 Conclusions 10 References Introduction Conflict is basically seen as an unpleasant occurrence in the workplace that usually involves different opinions or perspectives pertaining to a particular issue. However, some scholars indicate that conflict can at times be pleasant when it pertains to different perspectives and opinions towards a project (positive conflict). Negative conflict in the workplace is unproductive, destructive. If it is not avoided and/or managed ineptly, it has the potential to demotivate employees, reduce productivity, increase absenteeism and staff turnover, and create a poor workplace environment which will not retain (or attract) quality staff. While neutral entities are best suited in solving conflict in the workplace, managers and supervisors are increasingly required to mediate conflict between different parties (Mayer 2008). This paper analyses a conflict situation at the Madison, Jones and Conklin involving a female project manager, Laura working in a male dominated workplace. The paper utilises some theoretical models suggested by a number of sources to discuss and analyse the conflict. Situation analysis The current situation at Madison, Jones and Conklin pits Laura her male colleagues and her male boss. Laura feels that she is being ignored by her boss and her male colleagues who undervalue her contribution in meetings just because she is female. Her boss also underestimates her capabilities in handling high-value clients just because she is a woman. Complex project are only assigned to male colleagues and this has consequently affected her profile as a project manager. Because of this, two fellow male project managers who had joined the company same time as her have been promoted leaving Laura at her old position. To make matters worse, Geoff, Laura’s immediate supervisor, has been making passes at Laura as per the rumours circulating. The situation at the workplace has affected Laura’s family life. According to her husband Joe, she always complains about the situation at work. To help the situation, Laura enrolled in psychological therapy session to help her cope with work related problems according to rumours. While, psychologists are best suited to help persons suffering from emotional problems, the source of the problem can be addressed rather than treating the symptoms. In this case, Lauras’ emotional problems emanate from the workplace and they have spilled over to her family life. As such, there is need to investigate what forms of conflict exist at the firm which has affected Laura’s personal life, which directly threaten her productivity, motivation and even her marriage. Problem identification The first step in conflict management is the recognition or appreciation of conflict in the workplace. The major and common signs of conflict in the workplace are decreased personal productivity among some or one employee, demotivation and communication breakdown. There are different approaches or responses to conflict resolution namely; personal, legal, procedural, ethical and organizational (Collins & O’Rourke). Personal responses include the involvement of a colleague or the parties to a conflict in resolving it. Organizational procedures require the intervention of the management where the management may act as the mediator or hire a consultant. Ethical responses involve following the provisions of a workplace ethics code if any. A procedural response is relevant where conflict is caused by deviation from the normal procedures in the workplace hence reinstating procedures solves conflict. Again, this may have to do with following steps identified by the organization in conflict resolution. An organizational response involves the management taking managerial decisions to solve the conflict while legal responses involve settling a conflict going by the laws of the land. A problem in the workplace is not just a problem by definition as there are different perspectives from the involved parties. Fisher et al 1994 (cited in HRMT19023 class notes) identifies three perspectives namely; victim’s perspective, perspective of opponents in conflict and the perspective of an independent observer. In most organizations, conflict resolution is handled by independent observers whose neutral positions is perceived to be most efficient in conflict management. It is next to impossible for persons involved in the conflict to be neutral (Jehn & Mannix 2001; Behfar et al 2008). Therefore, the first step in conflict resolution is to identify the warring parties so as to identify any possible neutral voices that be can be involved in the conflict resolution. According to the Moore’s sphere of conflict, there are five types of conflicts; data conflicts, interest conflicts, structural conflicts, value conflicts and relationship conflicts. In this case, there seems to be a structural conflict in the manner of hiring in the organization (HRMT19023 class notes). Thomas (1992) states that, structural conflict is caused by stable conditions in the workplace which shape conflict. This is because the management has opted to ignore gender balance in its hiring and recruiting procedures. It is evident all the male colleagues and Geoff underestimate Laura hence presumable that they have not worked alongside women in higher or same levels as them. This indicates that the organization has had a biased hiring process that does not give the same opportunities to men and women. There also exists relationship conflict between Laura and her husband. Laura expects that her husband should be by her side always and should understand the situation at work. Nevertheless, Laura has made no personal attempt to resolve the conflict except for seeing a psychologist. Thomas (1992) argues that a conflict ensues when one party assumes a position of helplessness pertaining to a particular situation. Laura feels helpless as she has made no active attempt to solve some of the problems but only complains to her husband. There are other ways of classifying conflict. Jehn and Mannix (2001) identify three types of conflicts; relationship, task and process conflict. They say that relationship conflict includes incompatibilities in interpersonal relationships caused by dislike, friction and tension. Task conflict grows out of differences in opinions towards a task of project process conflict emanates from difference in accomplishment methods of a particular task. From this classification, relationship conflict is the most pronounced in this case study. In all of these classifications, Thomas (1992) argues that there are different categories of causes of conflict namely; antecedent conditions, emotions, perceptions and behaviours. Antecedent conditions are more likely to breed structural conflict. There are different techniques in resolving conflict. Thomas (1992) suggests five techniques namely; competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. He argues that the choice of conflict resolution technique depends on the type of conflict identified. This implies that Laura’s situation requires more than one technique in resolving the conflict as there is more than one type of conflict involved. In resolving relationship conflict as is the case with Laura and Joe his husband, avoiding and accommodating is best suited. Laura should avoid complaining too much to Joe, while Joe should try and be more accommodating (Collins, S. & O’Rourke). On the other hand, Laura’s male colleagues should try and accommodate Laura in social activities. Interpersonal conflict between Laura and her boss is evident in the way that Geoff underestimates Laura by telling her that older clients preferred working with men something that cannot be proved. Secondly, the rumours that Geoff has been making passes at Laura could be very true. It is possible to argue that Geoff is denying Laura profitable projects as punishment for ignoring his sexual advances. Laura has responded in a very bad way by not seeking help. It can be assumed that Laura has not shared this with her husband or the CEO at the workplace but is acting helpless. According to the conflict triangle by Carlopio et al (2008), Laura is playing a victim’s role because she has not sought help directly assuming that just because Geoff is her boss, he has the right to make passes at her. The lack of proper work ethics codes pertaining to sexual harassment or workplace romance is the greatest antecedent condition that has given rise to this kind of conflict. Dana (2001) says that organizations that are pursuing diversity and gender balance in their workforce have to enforce a strict code of ethic and discipline. Laura is not aware of the process to follow in case of such an occurrence maybe because there is no code of ethics. Ordinarily, she can report such an offence to her boss to act as the mediator. However, given that the boss is a party to the conflict, he cannot resolve the conflict. Nonetheless, Laura can take legal action against Geoff. The Sexual Discrimination Act of 1984 seeks to eliminate sexual discrimination at work (Gramberg 2006). Recommendations To avoid a repetition of another incident of sexual harassment, the CEO should work towards establishing a strict code of ethics for his employees that will guide them in their interpersonal relationships and be instrumental in averting interpersonal conflict. In such a situation, he should learn to play the role of mediator. A mediator should be patient, honest, intelligent, astute, tough and firm and he should also display wisdom in his decisions. The CEO should also ensure that there is gender balance in the hiring and recruiting process. In fact the CEO as the leader of the organization violates the Equal Opportunity for Women Act of 1986 that seeks to have gender balance in all levels of employment and pay by private organizations (Price 2000). As a female employee being harassed, Laura should take action and stop playing victim. She has failed to take a legal action against Geoff for sexual harassment while the law through the Sexual Harassment Act of 1984 caters for such (Price 2000: McDonald & Graham 2009). In order to penetrate the barrier that she feels makes her to be treated differently, Laura should try to develop some common interests with the men. Secondly, Laura should stop playing helpless. Dana (2001) calls this self mediation where Laura can play the role of negotiator trying to get her own interests satisfied and a mediator doing simple tasks that can be carried out by a third party. In such a situation, Laura should take time to analyze the conflict where she can see the organization’s hiring behavior denies male workmates enough experience to work alongside women thereby predisposing her to abuse and mistreatment (Masters & Albright 2002). She should therefore make it her initiative to prove to them that a woman is capable of performing a good as the men in that role as long as she is qualified. Laura’s male colleagues should undergo some form of training on workplace relationships, bonding, ethics and discipline. These employees should be actively involved in drafting a code of ethics and disciplinary procedures in order to ensure cooperation and successful implementation. Geoff should develop a structured work allocation procedure based on merit. The claim that older clients prefer working with men cannot be verified but it is proper to assume that it is meant to emotionally frustrate Laura which lowers her performance (Jordan & Troth 2004). If that is the case, he should develop a work allocation procedure that is blind to gender but follows merit only. If Laura chooses the legal option to apprehend Geoff, the organization should support and protect her to avoid revenge tactics by Geoff or other male colleagues (McDonald & Graham, 2009). In addition, compensation should also be extended to resultant stress following the events in the workplace (McDonald, Backstrom & Dear 2008; Jordan & Troth 2004). The management should however seek outside court negotiations with Laura to avoid damaging the organization’s public image and reputation (Gramberg 2006). Conclusions There are a variety of viable options available to the management in this organization and Laura as an employee. However, for the measures to be effective, the recommendations given must be enacted in harmony with each other. Nonetheless, what is lacking most in this organization is the teamwork spirit which should be nursed by the CEO through good leadership. By providing good leadership, a situation such as one facing Laura will be avoided and individual and organizational productivity will be improved in the long run. Again the organization should consider affirmative action as requirement by law in hiring employees. References Bargiela-Chiappini, F. (2009). The Handbook of Business Discourse. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Behfar, K., R. Peterson, E. Mannix & W. Trochim (2008). “The Critical Role of Conflict Resolution in Teams: A Close Look at the Links Between Conflict Type, Conflict Management Strategies, and Team Outcomes.” Journal of Applied Psychology. 93(1), 170–188 Carlopio et al 2008, Developing management skills, Chapter 7. (Managing conflict). Collins, S. & O’Rourke, J. (2008). Managing Conflict and Workplace Relationships. 2nd ed. Melbourne: Cengage Learning Dana, D. (2001). Conflict resolution: mediation tools for everyday worklife. Sydney: Routlegde Gramberg, B. (2006). Managing workplace conflict: alternative dispute resolution in Australia. Sydney: Federation Press HRMT19023 class notes Thomas, K. (1992). “Conflict and conflict management: Reflections and update.” Journal of organizational behavior, 13, 265-274 Jehn, K. & Mannix, E. (2001). “The dynamic nature of conflict: a longitudinal study of intragroup conflict and group performance.” Academy of Management Journal. 44(2), 238-251. Jordan, P. & A. Troth. (2004). “Managing emotions during team problem solving: Emotional intelligence and conflict resolution” Human performance. 17(2), 195-218 Masters, M. & R. Albright (2002). The complete guide to conflict resolution in the workplace. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn Mayer, B. (2008). The dynamics of conflict resolution: A practitioner’s guide. Michigan: Jossey- Bass Publishers McDonald, P. & Graham, T. (2009). Inhibiting Outrage: Tactics and counter-tactics in legal cases of sexual harassment. Retrieved online on 18/09/2010 from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/26977/2/26977.pdf McDonald, P., Backstrom, S. & Dear, K. (2008). “Reporting sexual harassment: Claims and remedies.” Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. 46 (2), 173-195 Price, A. (2000). Principles of human resource management: an active learning approach. London: Wiley-Blackwell Read More