The Importance of Managing Conflict and How the Same Could Be Avoided - Research Paper Example

Conflict is unavoidable in the employment relationship. What role does procedure play in assisting managers to resolve both individual and collectiveconflict at work?  Illustrate your answers using theory and evidence. Workplace dynamics deal with conflict in much the same way as any other tenet of organization. This is a fact that conflict mars the basis of smooth sailing in terms of growth and productivity patterns witnessed in an organization’s processes and undertakings, but the significant thing is to realize how conflict could be avoided in the first place. However if it has taken place due to mistake of one entity within the workplace, handling conflict seems to be the next important thing on the organizational agenda. Therefore it is quintessential to comprehend the rational that managing conflict is indeed a much needed thing and without such management disciplines coming to the fore, there would be nothing else but anarchy within the organization itself. The different departments would start fighting with one another and the employees would feel less focused towards their respective work undertakings. In essence, it is best advisable to have such people who can easily reconcile the conflicting parties so that work does not get affected due to the mistakes of a selected few within the organization. The sanctity of organizational discipline needs to be emphasized on a proactive level so that there are absolutely no shortcomings within the said realms. This paper discusses the importance of managing conflict and how the same could be avoided so that employment relationship aspects are studied in a proper manner. Conflict scenarios can develop due to differing personalities of the people as well as the respective likes and dislikes. However what is most important is the fact that conflict should be avoided no matter how bad the situation turns out to be. This is because a single conflict scenario could lead to a number of others, and in essence this could create bad blood amongst the people who are working in the organization. It has generally been seen the tempers flare up and the people usually get discouraged by conflicts that arise within the workplace. The manner in which this conflict is avoided is one aspect that needs a great deal of consideration. The manner in which it is managed is another significant aspect which needs to be understood properly by the top management and thus addressed in a proper manner by them alone (Boxall, Purcell & Wright, 2007). The supervisors and managers are given the task to avoid conflict scenarios under all situations and circumstances so that no rifts crop up due to one mistake of an employee or worker. Usually it has been seen that one conflict could easily lead up to another, which essentially creates a great deal of ill-will in the organization. Procedures should be such that conflicts do not arise at all as this is one difficult aspect which needs to be handled in a proper manner. Therefore the role of the top management is one that will solve quite a few issues if seen in the proper contexts. The employment relationship is basically an amalgamation of a number of different activities and processes which cater to the needs of the employees. They work under a set dictum so that they could achieve the organizational goals and tasks in a proper manner. The best thing about the employment relationship is that it aims to build long term commitment with the employees so that they could manifest their truest selves within the performance of their respective tasks and jobs. The employment relationship also outlines the very basis of guidelines under which the employees are instructed to follow these dictums. These take care of the rules and policies which are governed by the employment relationship as well as other problems which could arise in the wake of an employee’s performance of his tasks and undertakings. What is most important is the fact that the employee relationship makes sure that the employees avoid conflicts so that they could work hand in hand with one another and their unified basis brings out the best results for the sake of the business and indeed the entire organization. The organizational undertakings are taken care of by such employment relationship values, which are the sole domain of the employee under consideration. The employees make sure that they follow the employment relationship pointers and do not stray from their set path of action. This makes them remain on the same level as far as performance attributes of one and all are concerned. Indeed the employment relationship is the reconciliation of the interests that are there amongst the buyers and sellers present within the organizational domains. These take into consideration the individual employers and the individual employees. Conflict comes about in the workplace when ego becomes a real problem. This could happen amongst employees at the same level, between the top and middle cadres and so on. Even the lower staff is susceptible to conflicts which is a problem area for the entire organizational fabric. Thus it is a given that conflicts can take place at any time and there is no fixed agenda or scenario which will decide whether or not a conflict is warranted or the lack thereof. Conflicts are seen as the breaking points within the smooth sailing mechanisms of communication. Some employees stop talking to one another and only converse in an indirect fashion, through e-mail or a third person. Their egos play an important role for their respective undertakings. What they seem to forget is the fact that the organizational values and principles hold the supreme importance for them as long as they are working within the lengths and breadths of the organization (Deutsch 2006). Unfortunately this does not always come about in a corrective fashion. The employees make sure that their egos rule the roost and they stop talking to individuals whom they consider filled with attitudinal problems, egotistic issues and so on. The manner in which organizations suffer due to such issues is decided by the outcome of the processes and activities these employees are busy working upon. However in totality nearly all tasks are affected by such conflicts in a very negative way. Thus the psyche of the employees is governed by their thinking ideologies and they seem to care less about the long term well-being of the organization and its different processes and tasks more than anything else. The different theories that take a keen look at conflict management essentially look at how conflict could be kept at a distance from the work domains. These speak of the human resources management discussions on distancing the conflict scenarios from the professional undertakings of the employees. In essence, the employees suffer due to conflicts cropping up at the workplace, with or without their inputs into the whole tirade of conflicts. Conflicts mean different things to different people – seem might take it more seriously than others, while a few like to have conflicts on a regular basis. Some take these situations in a light-hearted, jovial way while the rest take it to their heart and make an issue out of it. However it is important that no one gets offended within the workplace domains and practical jokes of such magnanimous nature are kept at a serious distance from the workplace regimes (Bach 2005). The employees appreciate a sense of professionalism all around and when they see that the other people do not respect the organizational rules and policies, they vehemently detest such conflicting scenarios in essence. Some employees report the same to their higher management ranks while others take these things within their strides and move on, on a constant basis. What is most important is the fact that employees should balance these factors so that there are no impediments within the related domains and they work for the positive results that the organization envisages essentially. Procedures find out the exact ways through which details of the policies are followed within the organizational realms. Similarly a procedural approach to solving such problems is important as it suggests to the employees and workers that conflicts will be solved by the top management and the human resources management department in an amicable way. There is a set pattern in place which will take care of the organizational disputes and tensions, and hence the employees feel safe and secure following this code. However what they do not appreciate is a lax attitude shown by the people who matter a great deal in solving these conflicts and disputes. The tensions arising at the workplace domains need to be solved so that the workers can heave a sigh of relief and start working to full effect, in order to achieve organizational goals and objectives. However the disadvantages of a procedural approach towards resolving these conflicts are hard to comprehend since the benefits easily outnumber the downsides, if any there are present. Hence it is important to know that the procedural approach within the conflicting scenarios work to good effect in solving the anomalies which have come about within the organizations from time to time. A procedural approach is usually the domain of the human resources management department and the sole duty for its compliance lies on the shoulders of this department as well. The top management gets in touch with the human resources management department so that a check and balance mechanism is maintained (Beebe 2006). A procedural agreement is deemed as necessary to have a positive relationship between the employers and the employees – the core ingredients of the organization. It is important to ascertain what forms up as individual conflict and what a collective conflict at work is indeed. The individual conflict is concerned with a single person and therefore depends a great deal on his attitude, his ego and the self-esteem needs that are either being met or otherwise, within the professional domains. The collective conflicts however center on the premise of a number of employees feeling the same thing and are at loggerheads with the management or another department. They feel that their needs and requirements are not being taken care of and hence they have resorted to a distinctive set of protest. However their protest levels could either be in the form of doing their work negligently or not doing any work at all. This depends on the unity amongst the employees and how they view the element of change to come about within the workplace realms (Porter, Bingham & Simmonds, 2008). It is very important that the human resources management department is abreast of these changes that are taking place on the organizational level and discerns the exact manner under which the conflicts have come about. The individual level conflicts could be solved more amicably than the collective conflicts, since the latter need more arbitration and listening to the needs of all and sundry. However what seems to be the common link amongst the employees is the fact that they dearly require a change from their present state of work ethos so that they could deliver in the best form possible, not only for their own selves but also for the sake of the organization in the long run. Individual conflict could be more disciplinary in nature as is apparent in the case of employees who have serious disregard of the code of ethics and procedures within the organization and hence land up in trouble more often than not (Rees & Porter 2001). There are problems in the substantive agreements within the employees, who seem to go in a conflicting situation when there are ambiguities in terms and conditions, the pay structures and so on. Disciplinary issues are handled by proper counseling methods, the disciplinary interview, the formal procedure and other methods which tackle the issues related with individual conflict at workplace. In the end, it is significant to mention here that conflicts are a norm within any organization. The manner in which these conflicts are solved remain an ambiguity and a headache for the top management and the human resources management department, on a consistent basis. It is advisable for any business to manifest its truest self through a proper code of ethics so that the employees do not falter at every turn of their professional undertakings and related completion of activities and tasks (Torrington, Hall & Taylor 2008). Therefore conflicts should always be kept at a serious distance so that the employees could work to achieve sound results, for the betterment of the organization. It is mandatory on the part of the top management to address the grievances of the employees and ask for knowing about such anomalies on a regular basis. The employees appreciate the help that is provided by the top management and usually remains happy whilst completing their respective tasks and undertakings. The rules in employment need to be followed at all times. These include the time-keeping aspects, the punctuality at work ethos, the keeping away from misconduct regimes, proper use of company amenities, maintaining confidentiality for all matters and lastly, avoiding the bane of discrimination. All said and done, the conflicts must be dealt with in a proper manner by the people who matter the most within the organizational domains so that any issues that are related with these conflicts are handled in an amicable way. This will lay the basis for sound growth and development of the organization in the long run as well as make it a force to reckon with in the future. The organization will also receive industry wide acceptance and fame. References Bach, S. (2005). Managing Human Resources Beebe, S. (2006). Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others. Pearson Education Canada; 4th edition Deutsch, M. (2006). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice. Jossey-Bass; 2nd edition Boxall, P, Purcell, J & Wright, P. (2007). The Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management Porter, C, Bingham, C & Simmonds, D. (2008). Exploring Human Resource Management Rees, D & Porter, C. (2001). Skills of Management. 6th edition Torrington, D, Hall, L & Taylor, S. (2008). Human Resource Management Word Count: 2,264 Read More