Workplace Conflict and Cooperation - Essay Example

Workplace Conflict and Cooperation Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Introduction Increased competition within different industries is a challenge that different companies endeavour to meet in order to improve their performance and effectiveness in the marketplace. This can only be achieved by ensuring company resources including employees as well as managers are better involved and utilized. Investing in strategies that are aimed at increasing and integrating workplace relations through cooperative means like fostering information sharing, consultation together with two-way communication will automatically promote innovation, improve flexibility and facilitate change. Cooperation at the workplace increases productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of the company. Workplace conflicts on the other hand occur particularly when employees spend longer hours at their workplace, difficulties like financial consequences, and when the company’s structure is hierarchical. Accordingly, when people’s ideas, decisions, or actions directly related to the job are in opposition, or when individuals just do not get along; workplace conflicts are likely to occur. Conflicts at the workplace are detrimental and have a negative impact on productivity, performance, and efficiency of the company. In this regard, for the company to remain competitive, highly productive, and efficient in its operation, there is no room for conflicts and cooperation to exist in the same workplace. This paper, discusses why cooperation should be encouraged in the workplace while conflicts should not be entertained. For this reason, the paper will discuss the effects of conflicts in the workplace as well as the benefits of workplace cooperation. Workplace conflicts Workplace conflicts are unique kind of conflicts that occur in the workplace (Gramberg, 2006). They usually arise due to personality or style differences and personal problems including childcare issues, family problems and substance abuse. In the same line of argument, organizational factors such as leadership, budget, management, and disagreements with regard to core values are other vital contributors to workplace conflicts (Goldman & Shapiro, 2012). To pinpoint the real causes of workplace conflicts, they arise from poor communication, different values, different interests, limited or scarce workplace resources, personality clashes, and more importantly, poor performance (Groschl, 2011). Personality clashes is a heinous and controversial issue at the workplace; in some instances, workplace conflicts are said to occur when people’s ideas, decisions or actions relating directly to the job are in opposition and/or when people just don’t get along (Leonard, 2012). Personality clashes may arise when a dispute with regard to business practices and operations escalate into mutual loathing. It is the worst kind of workplace conflict because it has a direct negative effect on the business as it can lead to reduced productivity as well as increased absenteeism (Einarsen et al., 2010). On personal level, this kind of workplace conflict is stressful and unpleasant. If not immediately dealt with and carefully resolved, personal clashes may spill over to other personal areas and disrupt personal relationships. Workplace violence is a type of workplace conflict that has escalated into threats, insults, racial abuses, sexual harassment, as well as physical contact including pushing of even punching. Office romance has also been identified as a critical cause of workplace conflict. Workplace romances are extremely dangerous as they always lead to conflicts within the organization (Goldman & Shapiro, 2012). For instance, if the victims publicly display their affection, it will automatically make other participants in the workplace or co-workers uncomfortable, which will then culminate into favouritism accusation s particularly, is a supervisor-subordinate relationship. Accordingly, if the relationship fails to work out or goes wrong one party seek to revenge on the other and thus hurting the performance and overall productivity of the company. Passive aggressive behaviour has been found to be a common response workers and managers, which on the other hand have a negative impact on workplace cooperation, teamwork, and overall productivity (Leonard, 2012). Passive aggressive behaviour among employees results into project sabotage and creation of a hostile workplace environment. For managers, passive aggressive behaviour leads to stifling cooperation as well as team creativity (Groschl, 2011). Workplace environment with many unresolved conflicts is usually associated with poor communication due to confusion and/or refusal to cooperate, not meeting the deadlines, poor product or service quality, increased stress among employees, reduced creative collaboration and team problem solving, workflow disruptions, decreased customer satisfaction, gossip, distrust, and split camp (Kester, 2012). These identified outcomes of workplace conflict are a recipe of ineffective performance, reduced productivity, low competitive advantage, and above all increased company loses (Raines, 2012). Workplace Cooperation Teamwork in the workplace though challenging as employees have to deal with varying opinions, method, and experience levels, it is essential for integrating company’s efficiency, productivity and its overall competitiveness (Groschl, 2011). Effective joint projects for instance, capitalize on individual team member’s strength because all members are vital and important contributors to the results. In this regard, learning to compromise and communicating effectively with other team members together with sharing information helps in working together effectively and productively to achieve a common goal. The outcomes of effective cooperation in the workplace are finished products that meet or exceed expectations (Gantz, 2010). Cooperation is a significantly important feature in any workplace mainly because without it nothing will ever be done or accomplished (Goldman & Shapiro, 2012). Employees need to collaborate particularly when deciding on how to approach tasks and ensuring that everyone knows his/her role (Groschl, 2011). Similarly, for cooperation to be effectively realized in the workplace, there is need for players to compromise; if every employee decides to pursue his/her own course, nothing will ever effectively accomplished and the workplace can be turned into chaos (Leonard, 2012). In essence, cooperation enables the workplace to function efficiently and effectively because each employee is focused on working with each other to achieve the set organizational goals. Companies regardless of their size are unlikely to survive in the end without any form of collaboration or cooperation between their employees as well as their managers. Successful and highly efficient and productive company demands for employees to fully understand their roles as well as fulfil them (Groschl, 2011). Communication between different sections and departments of the company is extremely important; without cooperation and communication particularly with regard to important business matters can result into confusion thus making difficult and hard for everyone or entire work force to continue producing high quality work (Collins, 2008). Achieving cooperation in the workplace of a company can sometimes be difficult; this is mainly common among the managers on top of the chain of command and competition is rife (Goldman & Shapiro, 2012). For instance, those managers with high levels of ego often hinder cooperation because of their personal interests of making individual mark on the company and rewarded accordingly (Worthington, 2012). However, it should be noted that, for the company to expand, increase its profitability, innovate and launch new products as well as increase its competitiveness in the market place, cooperation in the workplace is mandatory (Raines, 2012). Without it, no decisions will ever be made to guide the growth and expansion of the company. Advocates for workplace cooperation agree that employee cooperation in the workplace is beneficial for both the company and the employees (Groschl, 2011). For instance, employees in a cooperative setting have been found to report integrated levels of morale, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship, organizational commitment, and have trust in organizational leadership (Leonard, 2012). Similarly, it is a recipe for low absenteeism rates, tardiness, and intention to quit; these factors directly contribute to improved organizational performance (Leonard, 2012). Workplace is mainly composed of individuals, however without employees working together in a positive manner; the company will never work up to its full potential (Cropanzano, 2012). Creative teamwork and cooperation maximizes and increased individuals’ abilities while minimizing their weaknesses and thus lead to an efficient, dynamic and productive workplace. Below are the specific benefits of cooperation in the workplace: Increased productivity: a workplace that encourages each employee to work in collaboration ensures that the work is done quickly and efficiently (Raines, 2012). It saves time since workers and the management work together to ensure that company goals are met (Groschl, 2011). Similarly, workers are dedicated to their roles and duties in a cooperative workplace and hence they are more productive. Improved Job Satisfaction: workplace mired with arguments, and bickering is not an enjoyable place to work. When cooperation is instilled and improved among employees, the managers will work to make their workplace enjoyable, welcoming, inviting and satisfying; this increases employee job satisfaction levels (Leonard, 2012). In the same line of discussion, when managers encourage or foster cooperation in the workplace, they reduce peripheral conflicts like arguments, which are a recipe for employees’ dissatisfaction or eager to leave the company (Groschl, 2011). Employee Buy-in: when employees work for the company and they feel like they have made no impact they always get demoralized. In a cooperative workplace, employees feel they are valuable components of the company (Raines, 2012). For instance, in a cooperative workplace, managers reach out to the lower-level employees seeking their input as to what should be done or how a task should be accomplished (Groschl, 2011). When employees feel that they are actively involved in company activities and operations, they perceive to be valuable to the organization and as part of the overall company success. Reduction in Misunderstanding: a workplace that lacks cooperation workers divides themselves into factions. Misunderstandings mostly occur and prevail in the workplace when there are divisions among the employees (Goldman & Shapiro, 2012). When the management actively encourage or promote workplace cooperation helps in preventing conflicts and unnecessary barriers between employees and their colleagues, they foster communication and understanding (Raines, 2012). Conclusion Cooperation in the workplace is a significantly vital tool for colleagues or employees. The productivity level and overall company efficiency will only rise when employees learn to work together and cooperate with others. For this matter, employers should hold training practices to instil collaboration skills while ensuring that employees all the necessary tools needs for cooperating with each other. Companies should invest in strategies that are foster increased and integrated workplace relations through cooperative means like information sharing, consultation together with two-way communication will automatically promote innovation, improve flexibility and facilitate change. The specific benefits of cooperation in the workplace include high productivity, efficiency, improved employee job satisfaction, employee buy-in, and reduced employee misunderstanding. Workplace conflicts occur due to personality or style differences and personal problems including childcare issues, family problems and substance abuse. A workplace that is ravaged with conflicts is not healthy for the company profitability. For instance, conflicts reduce company productivity, efficiency and the overall competitiveness. Following the discussion above, there is no room for workplace conflict and cooperation. References Collins, S. (2008). Module 3: Managing conflict and workplace relationships. London: Cengage Publishers Cropanzano, R. (2012). Justice in the workplace: From theory to practice, volume 2. Chicago: Psychology Press Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D., & Cooper, C. (2010). Bullying and harassment in the workplace: Developments in theory, research, and practice, second edition, 2nd ed. New York: CRC Press Gantz, N. (2010). 101 global leadership lessons for nurses: Shared legacies from leaders and their mentors. Jakarta: Sigma Theta Tau Goldman, B., & Shapiro, D. (2012). The psychology of negotiations in the 21st century workplace: New challenges and new solutions. London: Routledge Publishers Gramberg, B. (2006). Managing workplace conflict: Alternative dispute resolution in Australia. Washington, DC: Federation Press Groschl, S. (2011). Diversity in the workplace: Multi-disciplinary and international perspectives. Jakarta: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Kester, G. (2012). Trade unions and workplace democracy in Africa. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd Leonard, E. (2012). 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