Alternative Ways of Solving Workplace Problems in the Law Firm - Case Study Example

Name Tutor Course Date Executive summary All employees are required to perform their roles at the workplace in an efficient and effective ways. Normally, there are several occasions where managers are required to handle workplace problems. These problems could be involving discipline, performance or both. In every situation, the manager should communicate directly and immediately with the workers involved in the problems. Any delays in informing an employee of the unacceptable conduct or behavior at the workplace may seam to endorse their conduct. This paper analyses the various alternative ways of solving workplace problems through an analysis of a conflict that occurred in a certain law firm. The conflict primarily involved Jane and John (not real names) who were employees in the firm. However, the consequences of the incident affected several workers in the firm, which eventually affected their performance in the law firm. Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The problem 3 Analysis of the problem 4 Resolving the problem 7 Evaluation of own behavior 7 Speaking directly to workers 7 Memos and meetings 7 Nine-step approach to resolve the problem 8 Conclusion 10 Works Cited 11 Introduction Managers are required to deal with several problems that arise in the workplace on any given day. Some of the situations that lead to problems at the workplace may be particular to a certain industry or business while others are common in almost every workplace. For members who are new to management positions, solutions to general problems are at times difficult to get (Johnson, 2008). This is because the new managers do not have prior knowledge into ways or methods of handling such problems. As a manager, one can easily dictate expectations from other employees. Understanding the expectations at the workplace assists in building a positive relationship between the manager and the subordinates at the workplace. The manager has to communicate directly and clearly, to his subordinates on the ways and means the company intends to achieve its objectives. The manager has to specify to the subordinates how their contribution to the achievement of the organizational goals is a benefit to the organization as well as the workers to themselves. Workplace problems are common phenomena in most of the offices. It is important that the managers possess conflict resolution skills in order to solve workplace problems and achieve the objectives of the organization (Kellett 67). The problem In a large law firm in the U.K., a young woman, Jane was employed as a company secretary. The firm had close to 20 other employees. One of the male coworkers, John, unknown to Jane secretly admired her. The firm normally held end-year bashes for all the workers before the year-end. In one of the parties, after both John and Jane had consumed a reasonable amount of alcohol, John attempted to kiss Jane in one of the private rooms at the party- venue. Jane resisted the sexual advanced, pushed John away and hurriedly left the room (Kellett 68-9). The following week, Jane was still in a dilemma on how to resolve the problem she had with John. John apparently apologized to Jane concerning the sexual harassment and blamed it on the substantial alcohol the two had taken at the workplace. Satisfied with the apology, Jane decided not to pursue the issue any further as it could lead to a negative perception of her image since she was new in the firm. John and Jane unfortunately could not avoid each other as both worked in the same office. The only problem was that John kept reminding Jane of the incidence whenever an opportunity presented itself. Though in an apologetic manner, John behavior and reference to the incidence made Jane uncomfortable at the workplace and even considered seeking for employment elsewhere. She even confounded with some co-worker of her situation. Jane eventually got employment in another law firm but was completely uncomfortable with her new job. She wished she had remained in her old job (Papero 23). Analysis of the problem The initial cause of the problem, the sexual harassment in the private room at the party took place in a private enclosed setting. Sexual advances are generally private, but the consequences are eventually revealed to the public. This was a similar case to Jane’s case. Informal, private problem solving is normally shown through non-rational expression like gossip, strong emotion, and non-aggressive behavior. In Jane’s situation, in the privacy of their instances of being in the private room alone, non-rational discourse is revealed. John’s apologies turned into a non-rational expression passed to Jane in a private manner. In this situation, Jane felt powerless to John’s aggressive sexual advances and the fact that John assumed that her advances would be accepted depicts the inequities subjected to women in the male-dominated society. The women are considered as a sexual object in some societies or cultures (Gladwell 102). This incident reveals the prevalence of power imbalance in the modern society. The incident also shows that power could be a balance of advantage or a disparity of resources in the workplace. While Jane was definitely opposed to John’s behavior, she was still contemplating on whether to pursue the issues at the expense of her reputation at the workplace. Jane chose not to pursue the issue and instead maintain a neutralized sexuality in the workplace by letting it go. In analyzing the problem, Jane’s situation is a common dilemma in real life. Normally, most of the sexually harassed people in such situations fear the negative consequences of pursuing such cases and fear the silent rejection or disapproval by other workers as well as family members. Bowen’s family systems theory refers to the characteristics in Jane as Rowe’s characteristics, which create anxiety at the workplace. Anxiety leads to a reactive atmosphere that hinders creative problem solving at the workplace. This ultimately affects the performance of the workers at workplace (Blaxill and Eckardt 97). The fact that Jane informed the other workers of her predicament heightens the anxiety at the workplace. The first step in finding a solution to the problem would be to find out what Jane wants. She has the option to choose whether to pursue the matter in a formalized mechanism through the sexual harassment laws. She could employ the rights-based mechanism, which is based on fixed principles and regulations. She could also resolve the issue through an interest-based mechanism and compel John to stop apologizing to her. In the interest-based methods, the parties to a conflict determine the interest each has in the matter and make mutually acceptable conclusions (Papero 76). In Jane’s case, it is unlikely that the problem could be solved using the rights-based approach. This is because John’s sexual advances do not necessarily fit the legal acceptable definition of sexual harassment. Displaying uncouth actions do not necessarily amount to sexual harassment in the face of the law. The interest-based method is best suited to resolve Jane’s problem. Both John and Jane can focus on their interest in the whole issue and help understand each other. This form of problem solving requires minimal transaction costs but brings greater satisfaction to the parties involved. Besides, this approach will assist in maintaining Jane’s image at the workplace. Jane’s main interest concerning the issue is to have a challenging and satisfying job in which she is respected. Jane wants to be comfortable in her workplace even when working alongside John. She does not want to be seen as a person who is proud and abuses the rule of turning down sexual advances from co-workers at the workplace. Although John has similar interests, he is greatly embarrassed of the situation his advances to Jane have led into. He is now embarrassed and uncomfortable of his predicament and is determined to show Jane that he has not completely lost. The interest of other workers in the law firm is to regain and sustain a comfortable working atmosphere as they had before the incident arose. The sour relationship between Jane and John has placed them in an awkward situation, which makes them uncomfortable. Some employees who are aware of Jane’s problem have lowered John’s reputation. Although the director in the law firm is not aware of the incident, he has sensed that all is not well at the workplace (Craig 104). Resolving the problem In order to resolve the problem involving Jane and John at the law firm, it is important that every person affected depict the skills required to deal with such problems. Some of the aspects that the workers in the firm need to consider are: Evaluation of own behavior It is important to ensure that before suggesting any idea towards the resolution of a problem at the workplace, one’s behavior is part of the solution and not the problem. For instance in the case of Jane, she cannot further humiliate John by reminding him of the incident in which they were involved. She should instead forget the incident and never again present a situation in which such an incident could occur (Kotter and Dan 71). Speaking directly to workers John directly apologized to Jane in an effort to resolve their conflict. Co-workers should make efforts to resolve their problems alone before seeking for the intervention of their supervisors. The supervisor should only handle problems, which the workers are unable to solve among themselves. Memos and meetings Supervisors can write memos or call meetings to create forums in order to discuss workplace problems. Writing a memo could help solve problems occurring within a department or a particular unit in a company. The organization can hold a meeting as a whole to discuss any problem affecting its performance. Likewise, managers can organize departmental meetings to solve problems affecting individual departments (Kotter & Dan 54). Nine-step approach to resolve the problem The conflict at the law firm could be resolved through the nine-step approach. The manager or supervisor at the workplace could use this approach because it is clear that Jane and John were unable to resolve the problem by themselves. The first step involves calling a meeting of the parties concerning after learning of the problem. The manager should then define Jane and John’s situation as factually as possible. At this stage, the manager should define facts but rather mention the case and avoid any judgment. The manager in this case should avoid defining the situation. For instance, the manager can state something like, relationship between Jane and John but not bad relationship between Jane and John. In the second step, the manager confronts the negative issues in the case. The manager should identify the problems and constraints both Jane and John are going through. The possible problems in Jane and John’s case are that the two are uncomfortable while working in the same environment. John is embarrassed for his sexual advances to Jane while Jane is not comfortable with the consistent apologies that John is making to her. The manager should first analyze all the problems at this stage and avoid making a conclusion at this point. In the third step, the manager should encourage the parties to a conflict to view their relationship positively. The manager can for example make Jane understand that John now respects her and her position in the workplace and can no longer make sexual advances at her. The manager can also make John appreciate that Jane has accepted his apology and is ready to move on with her responsibilities in the law firm. At this stage, the manager is seeking to find solutions to the problem. He can also ask the two to suggest on the possible ways of resolving their conflict (Gomez-Mejia et al 23-4). After identifying various solutions to the problem, the manager can then involve both Jane and John in resolving their problem. The manager should motivate them to view their relationship in a positive perspective. The manager should find out what they want and what they are committed to do. The fifth step involves establishing the strategies in order to realize the intended aspirations. The manager lists down the intended goals and objectives and the means of achieving them at this stage. He should encourage and motivate the employees to focus on their objectives and enhance their commitment to their responsibilities in the organization. The manager can decide to separate Jane and John by placing them in departments that they are unlikely to meet as frequent as they are doing in their current situation. The next step involves setting up a supporting structure to execute the aspirations and selected directions. The established structures are expected to move the intended idea forward. The manager can organize frequent meetings between John and Jane to make a follow-up on the ensuing resolution process (Gomez-Mejia et al 27). Step 7 involves assessment of the costs of non-adherence to the solution endorsed. The manager should make the parties know of the consequences of ignoring the solution endorsed. For instance, the manager can compel John not to make further apologizes to Jane and possibly in form him that violating that directive would get him reprimanded. The manager can inform Jane of the negative consequences of pursuing the case legally. The manager can further inform them of the losses that the company sets to make if the two do not resolve their differences. Issues of concern at this point could be negative publicity of the company, low productivity, and employee turnover. In step 8, the manager sets assessments and evaluation mechanisms into the effectiveness of the solution selected. The manager reminds both Jane and John that he will hold them responsible should their relationship lead to negative consequences to the company. In the last step, the manager summarizes the problem resolution process by reminding the parties to the conflict of the organization’s expectations from them (Rowe 56) Conclusion Workplace problems are a time-consuming and expensive challenge that can bring about negative consequences to a firm. Managers should be in a position to resolve issues concerning employee relationships at the workplace. Workplace relationships problems can emerge from conflicting personalities, miscommunication, alleged backbiting, and negative politics. These aspects create bad relationships between people at the workplace and can lead to low performance of the firm if not solved on time. According to Moncrieff, many managers opt to avoid relationship issues because they fear conflicts or they are not experience in conflict resolution methods. Relationship problems at the workplace can lead to conflicts, which affect the performance of workers at the workplace. The relationship between Jane and John led to a conflict between the two that adversely affected their performance in the organization (70). Works Cited Blaxill, M. & Eckardt, R. "The Invisible Edge: Taking your Strategy to the Next Level Using Intellectual Property" (Portfolio, March 2009) Craig, S. Merrill Bonus Case Widens as Deal Struggles, Wall Journal, 2009. Gladwell, M. The Tipping Point, Little Brown, New York, 2000. Gomez-Mejia, Luis R.; David B. Balkin and Robert L. Cardy. Management: People, Performance, Change, 3rd edition. New York, New York USA: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Johnson, G et al. Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th Edition, FT Prentice Hall, Essex, 2008. Kellett, P. M. Conflict Dialogue. London: Sage Publications, 2007. Kotter, J. P. & Dan S. C. 2002, The Heart of Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. Moncrieff, J. “Is strategy making a difference?” Long Range Planning Review, 2009vol 32, no2, pp273–276. Papero, D.V. 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