Problem Solving in Work Place - Bullying Problem - Essay Example

Problem Solving in Work Place Name: Institution: Problem Solving in Workplace Workplace Bullying Owing to the divergence of global economic drivers, research has increasingly sought understanding in terms of the performance of conventional factors of production. In this context, human resource (HR) has widely fielded dynamic aspects that professionals often associate with problematic leadership over human capital. This piece addresses bullying at workplace as one of the common problems that stubbornly stick onto organizations’ work environment. This HR problem is worthy discussing because it is not only are existing staff culpable in its commission but also senior management that should promote productivity morale in the company. Bullying comprises one of the underreported workforce problems across different organizations or departmental workforces. According to Griffin and Moorhead (2010), a survey conducted by the Workforce Bullying Institute (WBI) revealed that about 37 percent of the U.S. workforce had encountered bullying, particularly by the bosses that contributed to about 72 percent of workplace bullies. Despite bullying incidences being more rampant in the workplace than contemporary or legally defined forms of harassment, a great percentage of bullying victims often ignore it or fear to report. With the greatest bullies being colleagues in higher posts or managerial positions in the workforce, most victims of this act often fail to report for fear of being tagged whistle-blowers, a phenomenon that may cost them their jobs. Bullying not only affects the wellbeing of the affected individuals but also efficiency, morale and the productivity potential at the individual level as well as the entire workforce. Appreciation of bullying as a serious workforce problem by human resource managers and departmental heads mark the beginning of eliminating the menace in the workforce. This paper explores the bullying problem in the work place in the nursing department of a healthcare facility. Causes of the Bullying Problem Bullying falls under the broad workplace problem known as workplace violence, which manifests in numerous ways including physical assaults, making of statements intended to elicit fear or coercion, threatening behaviors and other non physical acts such appalling as verbal abuse and unnecessary yelling. Although most of these incidences go unreported in many departments, they affect negatively the wellbeing of workers in the workplace. Individual units of organizations such as departments, the HR unit or the occupational health and safety unit generate rules and policies that guide social relations within the organizational environment (Griffin & Moorhead, 2011). In this case, such units are meant to develop a code of conduct or a no-bullying policy and grievances resolution procedures. Bullying in some cases is attributed to the hierarchical management structure that provides opportunities for workplace bullying especially by people occupying high ranks in the management structure. The hierarchical management structure renders some members of the management team immune from actions against bullying particularly infliction of fear among the people in the lower ranks. Bullying is particularly rampant in healthcare organizations in the nursing department where doctors bully nurses in different ways including workload and allocation of tasks beyond their competence and skills (Griffin & Moorhead, 2011). New recruits as well as students on academic attachment also experience bullying in the nursing department. The existing nurses expose newly recruited nurses and students to different forms of bullying acts including failure to assist them in challenging tasks, unjustified transfer of responsibilities and allocation of excess workload. The seniors and existing staff at the healthcare institutions subject new recruits to appalling physical and non-physical bullying behaviors. Particularly, this problem surfaces at the point of new staff’s induction leading to increased discomfort in the workplace (Burke & Cooper, 2010). Bullying also manifests through questioning of individuals’ qualifications by seniors as well as subjection to tasks that an individual cannot handle effectively. Job termination threats are applied as tools for propagating bullying in the departmental level since almost every employee has the fear of losing his or her job. Bullying in the workplace also results from imbalance of power between the parties involved in which the persons at the receiving end are left with limited possibilities of protecting themselves against the behavior and have little ability to retaliate or stop it. Reluctance by the management and the organization to admit workplace bullying as a workforce problem has served to enhance its propagation in different working environments. In some cases, the problem of workplace bullying has been perceived as an individual issue, rather than an organizational matter leading to serious setbacks in overcoming the menace (Oade, 2010). This notion has led to the dismissal of bullying as a personality clash that the individuals involved in it need to overcome by themselves thereby exempting the management from the responsibility of dealing with the problem. Efforts to address the bullying workforce problem are further undermined by reluctance by victims to report bullying incidences and the certain management structures that encourage manifestation of the different forms of bullying. Some managers have also justified their failure to address bullying issues through cost assertions and the unproductive time spent by those involved in workplace bullying and colleagues while resolving the matter. In many instances where the perpetrators occupy a higher position in the organizational hierarchy relative to the target victims of bullying find it difficult to defend themselves as well as reporting such incidences for fear of victimization. Consequences of the Bullying Problem Exposure to bullying in the workforce often influences the motivation of workers towards executing their tasks and responsibilities. This further translates into decline in individual level performance and consequent decline on the organization’s overall performance. Bullying in the workplace has the potential of changing the targets’ perception of the work environment by the workers. Newly recruited employees exposed to bullying often form wrong perception of the work environment including its view as a threat, dangerous, insecure and unfriendly (Griffin & Moorhead, 2011). Persistent bullying in many cases leads to devastating and adverse emotional, psychiatric health and psychosomatic problems. Bullying also takes its toll on relationships and family life, a phenomenon associated with organizational costs linked to employee turnover, decreased organizational commitment, increased absenteeism, and decline in general productivity. Bullying also leads to adverse effects on not only the individual, or the organization but also the society served by the organization. Resolutions for the Bullying Problem The first and very important step in addressing workplace bullying involves the need for the management to recognize the practice as a major problem in the workforce rather than viewing it as an individual matter. The quality of leadership and the managerial practice employed in organizations is an important precursor for workplace bullying in which some organizations may institutionalize bullying as part of management and managerial practices. Weak and indistinct leadership contributes to workplace conflicts that eventually escalate into bullying acts hence the need to foster effective leadership as one of the strategies in dealing with the workplace bullying problem (Burke & Cooper, 2010). In order to resolve bullying at the workplace problem amicably, the management should conduct thorough assessment to establish the prevalence and occurrence of bullying incidences on the individual, group, and organizational levels. Approaches that revolve around identifying, minimizing, and controlling organizational antecedents of bullying provide a more effective strategy in addressing the issues of bullying in the working environment. Organizational structural change also emerges as a crucial step in minimizing the predisposition of workers to bullying acts within the company. Organizations should adopt zero tolerance policies, regulatory obligations, and promotion of constructive coping within the organization (Oade, 2010). Owing to the cost burden that may arise in the process of resolving bullying in the workforce, the management should focus on problem solving protocols in the context of formal and informal concerns within the HR community that decrease the time spent in resolving the issues, absenteeism and worker’s compensation that may be costly for an organization. Other strategies may include management of the transition from worker’s compensatory and stress management phases that pave way for viably cordial relationship that help reduce the problematic experiences at work place. Summarily, for sustainable prevention of the workforce problem of bullying, organizations should implement essential strategies such as risk identification process incorporating contemporary workplace related employee stress factors while building capacity for improved problem reporting and incidents that amount to bullying. Implementation and Communication of the Solutions Action Plan In order to resolve the bullying problem the management should begin with a thorough assessment process to establish incidents and factors capable initiating the bullying behavior. The implementation process should involve all stakeholders in the department including managers and all workers to ensure that everyone understands the need to adopt the suggested solutions. Communication of the solutions is crucial, which can be best achieved through various social networks, regular departmental meetings, notice boards and special events in the organization. Events such as sports are considerable purposefully to enable all stakeholders to engage one another in a free manner to avert tension in the implementation process. Implementation The implementation process should be conducted in ways that encourage reporting of incidences and elimination of fear among the employees that greatly fight incentives for the identified problem. The success of the implemented solution will be assessed through review of reported bullying incidences, and random questionnaires to establish the current situation in the employees’ interpersonal relationships. The implementation process should cover a period of three months as reflected in the chart, in which at the end of this period, the management can assess its success. Action Plan and GANTT Chart Action Duration in weeks A-Assessment of incidents and potential risk factors 2 S-Sensitization of all stakeholders 2 I-Implementation of the suggested solutions 3 E-Evaluation 3 AR-Analysis and reporting 2 GANTT CHART TASK TIME IN WEEKS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 A       S         I           E           AR                 Planned time                   Total planned time=12 weeks     Conclusion Workplace bullying is a serious problem in the working environment that has remained greatly underreported across many organizations. The problems fall under the broad workplace problem described by many scholars as workplace violence. Workplace bullying is common in the nursing department of healthcare organization in which it manifests in different ways including physical and non-physical aggressive behaviors. Bullying is particularly propagated by the seniors in organizations based on the hierarchical management structure as well as power imbalances and lack of checks in the workforce. This problem not only affects negatively on the individual but also affects the organization and the society in different ways. Workplace bullying is associated with decline in employees’ morale, reduction in productivity, job dissatisfaction, turnover, and inefficiency in the workforce among other negative aspects. The problem of workplace bullying can however be prevented and managed through various strategies such assessment of potential incidences, encouragement of incidence reporting, changes in the organizational structures and measures to deal with bullying cases within the organization amicably. References Burke, R., & Cooper, C. (2010). Risky business: Psychological, physical and financial costs of high risk behavior in organizations. New York, NY: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Griffin, R., & Moorhead, G. (2011). Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations (10th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Oade, A. (2010). Managing workplace bullying: How to identify, respond to and manage bullying behavior in the workplace. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Read More