Effective Ways to Handle Conflict in the Workplace, Essay Example

Introduction

Conflicts are an essential component of any organization’s performance. Conflicts may stem from employees’ dissatisfaction with the conditions of work, from cultural and ethnic disagreements with co-workers and managers, from unequal pay and unfair performance appraisal and even from increasing workloads and emotional difficulties/ stress. However, that organizations perceive conflicts as a source of productive change does not mean that workplace conflicts do not need effective resolution. Organizations, employees, and HR professionals should possess skills and knowledge, to resolve their conflicts effectively. Alternative conflict resolution approaches, conflict resolution policies, and conflict resolution systems are among the most reliable approaches to handling workplace conflicts; but they are gradually giving place to other, more innovative and productive conflict resolution techniques similar to Integrative Management solutions.

Workplace conflicts: types and features of workplace conflicts

A conflict (and workplace conflict, in particular) is a disagreement between parties, which threatens their needs, concerns, and interests (Blackard 57). In other words, a workplace conflict is a form of disagreement that occurs in the workplace and threatens interests, needs, and concerns of the parties involved. Workplace conflicts can occur at any level of the organization and organizational structure, and employees are the ones most frequently involved in interpersonal conflicts in the workplace (Liberman, Levy & Segal 64). Literature describes five different of workplace conflicts. These include factual, interpersonal, legal, professional conflicts, and conflicting opinions on workplace policy issues (Liberman, Levy & Segal 64). The major causes of workplace conflicts cover organizational culture, the amount of workplace autonomy, the extent of employee specialization, organization’s policies and rules, management style, communication, workloads, and the level of workplace stress (Liberman, Levy & Segal 64). Disagreement about the methods of cooperation is the most frequent cause of interpersonal conflicts between employees (Liberman, Levy & Segal 64).

Because cooperation is necessarily linked to the quality of every employee’s performance and the results of every employee’s work, it is natural that such conflicts result in strong feelings, hot opposition, and acute stress, and can even be potentially destructive to all parties (Liberman, Levy & Segal 64). The intensity of workplace conflicts directly relates to the organizational significance of the parties involved. That means that conflicts between an employee and a supervisor are more serious and more complex compared with conflicts between employees because of the degree of risks and uncertainties that accompany such conflicts. According to Liberman, Levy and Segal, “conflict with supervisors can generate concern about job security, cause a loss of interest in the job, and damage the employee’s sense of self-worth and ability to socialize” (64). Taking into account the level of stress and anxiety which such conflicts may cause in employees, it is obvious that unresolved conflicts are likely to pay high price for organizations and their workers. Unresolved workplace conflicts usually reflect in higher turnover, poorer performance, ineffective decision-making, absenteeism, declining motivation, and higher costs (Liberman, Levy & Segal 65). That is why effective resolution of workplace conflicts is vital for the continuous organizational success and can even serve the source of sustained competitive advantage.

Resolving workplace conflicts: weighing available options

Managers and HR professionals in organizations can always choose to witness silently the development of a conflict between the disputants. They can also grant the third party the right to monitor and control the process of resolving the conflict. These approaches to workplace conflict resolution give employees some degree of autonomy, and can help them to learn the best ways or resolving conflicts with their colleagues. Yet, giving employees freedom to control the process of conflict resolution is not always the best choice, for the parties involved in a workplace conflict have conflicting interests and do not possess information needed to resolve their conflict in a productive way (Blackard 58). Conflicts that involve a third party or are resolved by force cannot be effective because they do not address interests of either party and do not help to resolve the underlying problems (Blackard 58). That is why alternative dispute resolution, dispute resolution policies, and conflict resolution systems are among the most popular and most effective means to handle workplace conflicts.

Alternative dispute resolution is fairly regarded as a minimal approach to resolving workplace conflicts, because managers can use this method to encourage employees to surface conflict (e.g., through an open-door policy) or to provide employees with training, which will help them to resolve their conflict effectively (Blackard 58). Alternative dispute resolution techniques in organizations utilize hidden employee potentials and capabilities, and training/ communication add to the skills and abilities, which employees can use to avoid or to quickly resolve emerging workplace controversies. Alternative dispute resolution is an effective method of resolving workplace conflicts before they grow into litigation. This form of handling workplace conflicts is less risky and more effective compared to those, which are used at later stages of conflict. Nevertheless, ADR is not effective in itself because it cannot obligate employees to choose one particular method of dispute resolution. Thus, the results of ADR application in the workplace depend on a whole complex of conditions and factors.

Organizations often apply to dispute resolution policies, which communicate the basic principles of conflict resolution, are implemented at all levels of the organizational structure and before the conflict occurs, and provide management with better opportunities to control the process of resolving workplace conflicts (Blackard 59). For example, such policies can require that employees involved in a workplace conflict ask HR professionals for assistance or request voluntary mediation in resolving their conflicts (Blackard 59). Open-door policies, the chain of command, and professional assistance are some of the most frequent elements which companies usually include into their dispute resolution policies; the latter are designed to offer a straightforward procedure of conflict resolution, which any employee will be able to use in case of a workplace conflict (Blackard 59). Such policies do not make workplace conflicts less rare; nor do they reduce the severity of workplace conflicts, but they make the process of handling any workplace conflict easier, less expensive, and more productive. “Since such policies usually rely on employees to take the initiative and contemplate only a reactive role from management, the effort and cost associated with their ongoing administration is minimal” (Blackard 59). These policies, however, represent an intermediate stage between simpler alternative dispute techniques and more complex systems of conflict resolution in organizations.

Conflict resolution systems represent a complex solution to workplace conflicts, which organizations can develop and implement to reduce the risks of counterproductive conflicts and to create conditions necessary to timely surface and resolve conflicts that do occur (Blackard 59). To design these systems, organizations can use various components, including policies, HR strategies, point persons and departments, ombuds, voluntary mediation, panels, neutral fact-finding processes, and even independent counsels (Blackard 59). Unfortunately, such systems have their price and only large organizations can afford developing and implementing this form of conflict resolution techniques. Managers in any organization should always think of how to reduce the cost of counterproductive conflict and to improve the quality of organization’s performance.

In the context of workplace conflict resolution, interactive management came to exemplify a novel approach to resolving conflicts that occur in workplace environments. In complex terms, “the Interactive Management system is designed to fully utilize multiple voices in helping the group identify the relevant dimensions of the problem situation” (Broome et al 259). Interactive Management makes it possible for the parties involved in a workplace conflict to evaluate the situation from multiple perspectives. Interactive Management recognizes that using a variety of perspectives is crucial to those, who seek to resolve a workplace conflict effectively (Broome et al 259). Interactive Management usually involves several stages: (1) developing an understanding of the conflict situation; (2) establishing a collective basis of thinking about the problem and its potential resolution; (3) creating a framework for effective resolution (Blackard 243). As the parties involved in a workplace conflict move through these stages, they acquire a better sense of understanding the situation, learn better communication and knowledge sharing skills, and can use them to productively manage and resolve any workplace conflict. It should be noted, that these are just the few out of numerous methods to handle workplace conflict. Organizations are encouraged to develop policies and procedures that will help them timely identify and prevent conflicts between employees and between them and management. Simultaneously, there is still a long road ahead employees possess skills and knowledge necessary for them to avoid the conflict at all levels of their organizational performance.

Conclusion

Conflict is considered as an essential component of any organization’s performance: that conflicts often lead to effective solutions of organizational problems is a well-known fact. Yet, unresolved conflicts result in poorer organizational performance. HR professionals possess a wide choice of techniques and solutions, which they can use to handle workplace conflicts effectively. Alternative dispute resolution techniques, conflict resolution policies and systems have already become inseparable from the major organizational policies and procedures. Today, however, conventional conflict resolution techniques gradually give place to more innovative approaches to handling workplace conflicts, and here, Interactive management is likely to become the determining trend in handling workplace conflicts.

Works Cited

Blackard, K. “Assessing Workplace Conflict Resolution Options.” Dispute Resolution Journal, 56.1 (2001): 57-62. Print.

Broome, B.J., DeTurk, S., Kristjandsottir, E.S., Kanata, T. & Ganesan, P. “Giving Voice to Diversity: An Interactive Approach to Conflict Management and Decision-Making in Culturally Diverse Work Environments”. Journal of Business and Management, 8.3 (2002): 239-264. Print.

Liberman, E., Levy, Y.F. & Segal, P. “Designing an Internal Organizational System for Conflict Management Based on Needs Assessment.” Dispute Resolution Journal, 12.642 (2009): 62-74. Print