Conflict and Grievance Resolution - Essay Example

Running Head: CONFLICT/GRIEVANCE RESOLUTION Business And Human Resources (Your Name) (Institution’s Name) Conflict /grievance resolution is very important in ensuring that smooth working conditions are realized in various organizations. This will also help in increasing productivity. Some of these grievance resolution practices are discussed below. Workers Roles And Responsibility Organizations should ensure that roles and responsibilities are defined and agreed upon with the concerned parties. Job descriptions should be properly indicated so that one can know those duties he/she is expected to carry out. Knowing your duties and responsibilities will minimize any chances of conflicts arising in the work place. Duties will be well carried out while specifications on job description will ensure that everything is done as per the employer’s expectations; this will in turn ensure that sub-ordinate staffs are not in conflict with their bosses regarding uncompleted job assignments. All organizations will be required to have staff rosters which specify the staff to be on duty on a particular period of time, say one week. This will be more applicable in the institutions of learning, for example, a secondary school where duty roster has been a tradition since the medieval times. This will ensure that conflicts prevention measures are put in place in the workplace. Firms should introduce industrial awards to be presented to the higher achievers in the company. The awards will highly motivate workers with all of them working hard towards attaining the awards. Organization’s competence standards should be established, this would guide workers on their employer’s expectations. It will increase efficiency and improve the quality of work done thus averting cases of dispute occurrence. Employees will work as expected of them thus conflicts amongst themselves will curtail. There should be some well laid down work plans, which will guide workers on what they are expected to achieve in a specified period of time. The work plan should be simply the results to be achieved or a plan of work to be carried out. A work plan will help in identifying those problems that workers are likely to come across and phase such challenges and tackle problems without disrupting the organizations smooth running. The work plan can either be complex or simple. Any organization should follow the following stages in developing their work place. 1. Defining the problem 2. Thinking of solutions 3. Assessing solutions 4. Selecting the best solution 5. Planning 6. Acting and evaluating With the structured plans everything is likely to go as planned thus avoiding any instances of conflicts and disputes within the team. Staff meetings should be held at regular intervals and matters discussed in these meetings as well as the decisions agreed upon should be followed by every one. Any complaints should be aired and addressed in such meetings while the conflicting parties will be reconciled. Conflicts should be solved fairy to avoid the degeneration of more conflicts. Disciplinary actions should be applied against those individuals who go against the company rules and regulations. This will ensure that workers follow the laid down rules in carrying out their duties. Emergency meeting should be converged immediately should a conflict arise. This will ensure that conflicts are solved promptly. A copy of the management directives and decisions needs to be issued to each worker so that each one of them can get to know what the management expects from them. Directors should hold a staff review/ appraisal meetings aimed at assessing the company’s development, its strengths as well as weaknesses. Issues relating to dispute resolutions will also be evaluated to monitor the progress of the company. These meetings will come up with more techniques relating to conflict resolutions. Organizations should perform selective borrowing from other firms in ways relating to conflict management. They should learn the custom and practices as done by other companies and emulate the best practices. This will help them in practicing modern methods in resolving disputes. An understanding of appropriate awards and legislation should be included into workplace practices and decisions. Should problems arise in achieving the set work plans, appropriate actions should be taken so as to seek and re-negotiate assistance from the relevant authorities. Every organization should establish and maintain appropriate work relationships. Every organization should advocate the use effective interpersonal and communication skills, which will ensure that all workplace interactions contribute to accomplishment of the organization’s goals and promotion of production. Since workplace encompasses a full range of cultural and individual differences. The management should ensure that the firm’s rules and regulations incorporate the many cultural and individual differences. Issues concerning the well being of work colleagues should be promptly dealt with and as per the set out organizational standards. Actual and potential conflicts in the workplace should be properly handled a thing that will help in reducing unnecessary disruptions. Members should take part in facilitating the operation of the work group. This ensures that active contribution in all team processes is adapted to make sure that team goals and plans are realized. The management should ensure that Individual responsibilities in the team are accomplished to the identified time frames and standards. Those individuals for whom the member of staff is responsible should be informed of the expected standards of workplace performance in a proper approach. The management should come up with ways in ensuring that the range of individual knowledge and skills are developed and exploited to improve team performance Suitable efforts should be applied to ensure that effective communication is achieved and make sure that issues as well as conflicts are resolved within the team. The management should come up with a method of developing and reviewing workers work performance. The management should adapt a strategy of monitoring the workers work performance on a regular basis. Formal and informal skill development Opportunities should be sought and examined to optimise performance. Effective team operation should be demonstrated in the work place. Organizations should ensure that they meet all the legislative, legal and industrial requirements The management should also perform a training and development assessment to ensure that workers are trained on ways of avoiding and solving conflicts. This will help workers demonstrate the ability relating to conflict management Every organization should ensure that it demonstrates effective team management skills. Some of these skills include; • Communication • Work planning and evaluation • Team building skills • Interpersonal skills • Time management and prioritising Employees on the other hand should work to achieve the identified work outcomes, this they should do by looking at the significance of all workplace practices and through considering their roles and responsibilities as reflected in formal workplace documents. Workers should be fully committed to the ethical practices at their place of work. They should not only comprehend the ethical practices in their place of work but also apply the same in their workplace. Consequently, workers should develop some work plans and make sure that they attain identified results. Disputes may arise as a result of inadequate supervision. Supervisors in organizations should ensure that they familiarize themselves with the known principles of effective supervision. These involves Ensuring that he provides his team with clear guidelines and expectations Ensuring that he/she knows individuals in the team, their interest, abilities as well as areas of improvement. Establishing good communication amongst the team members. Good communication will foster unity in the team thus a better way of shunning conflicts. Talking about what the organization is doing time and again and the reasons for doing so. Encouraging questions from team members. Giving positive comments regarding achievements and supportive suggestions for the performances from those individuals who are less successful. Scheduling meeting dates in order to review progress as well as expectations. He should ask the workers about their area of difficulty so as to help in solving the same. Workplace Relationships Effective working relationships cannot just occur. Organizations will need to create and maintain their working relationships in order to ensure that a pleasant and productive work environment is achieved. Working with confident and self-assured individuals is what every organization deserves. A good working environment is a major step towards conflict reduction as well as increased production. With effective workplace relationships workers will show due respect to their subordinates and seniors who will also reciprocate, workers will communicate amongst themselves in a clear and direct manner thus enhancing easier understanding, workers will gain the ability as well as take the time, to make their colleagues feel good about themselves. This will help workers in understanding themselves as well as other people in their surrounding. They will acquire developed interpersonal skills and more importantly good conceptional and job skills. This assists them greatly in working effectively with others. Conclusion The above information has been largely used in formal training programs and has yielded positive results. Conflicts in various organizations have declined as a result of the introduction of these measures. References Workplace Change, Retrieved 22, October 2007 from http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.an Stephen, E.(2002): Alternative Dispute Resolution Journal, Read More