Conflict and Cooperation in the Workplace - Case Study Example

Conflict at Work Where there are humans, there are conflicts. Just like any social set up the business organizations are not bereft of the conflicts among the individuals or group of individuals. This paper discusses the conflict at workplace with a special consideration for the role of employers in dealing with such situations. After building a fundamental understanding of the concept of conflict and conflict at workplace, the paper delves into the elucidation of workplace conflicts by pointing out its types, stages, manifestation, identification and the extent to which an employer needs to be involved in the process of mitigating conflict creating factors and resolving the conflicts. Introduction To comprehend the topic logically, it is mandatory to understand the concept of conflict and its implication in a workplace. Conflict Conflict is defined as ‘a struggle or contest between people with opposing needs, ideas, beliefs, values, or goals’. The outcome of conflict is not something predetermined as it may be productive or non productive (Foundation Coalition). Conflict at Work Gill Dix in his paper ‘Conflict at Work: The pattern of disputes in Britain since 1980’ believes that ‘conflict is an inherent feature of the employment relationship’ (2008: p.2). According to the same author, the concept of conflict is holistic and involves a number of dimensions starting from large scale and drastic conflicts to the small scale individual conflicts which includes grievances and professional jealousy. Based on the directional pattern of conflict, it can be said that conflict takes place at two levels. One is the horizontal level and the other is the vertical level. In any business organization, the conflict at the horizontal level occurs among the individuals having similar standing in the organization. On the other hand it can also occur among individuals with differential ranks. In any case, the conflict arises as a result of clash of interests between the two parties. Types of Conflicts According to Robert Bacal,, there are primarily two types of employee conflicts. The first is known as the substantive conflict whereas the second is called the personalized conflict. Bacal reckons the knowledge of these categories as the prerequisites of conflict resolution for the employers. It is because only after the identification of conflict category can an employer take relevant steps to resolve the clash. a. Substantive Conflict Substantive conflict is a type of clash that arises between individuals or groups of individuals as a result of disagreement on any substance or issue. This kind of conflict can have two dimensional corollaries. It can be a good thing because such disagreements probe into a solution and invite more analytical approach to the problem. However the darker side of the picture suggests the exacerbation of the situation through extremity on the part of the two or more parties involved. b. Personalized Conflicts The personalized conflicts are the clashes which arise due to the personal biases of individuals or groups of individuals. Stated differently, these conflicts are not grounded into any logical explanation for hostility against any individual or group of individuals. Unlike the formerly discussed category of conflict, the personalized conflicts do not invite any critical approach or fostering of problem solving. It is because these conflicts are solely emotion driven (Bacal: 2008). Stages of Conflict Before taking the shape of an unavoidable conflict, the clash undergoes an evolutionary process however it is not a fixed pattern as a conflicting scenario may be a direct jump to any of the four stages. These stages are, a. No Conflict As the term indicates, this situation is the predecessor of any rising conflict in an organization or social set up. Although free from any conflicting situation, every organization always has a threat of facing any conflict or clash in future. The employer in this stage needs to make sure that the conflict producing factors are reduced to the maximum possible level. b. Surface Conflict This stage of the conflict takes place when the clash is merely based on misunderstandings and lack any profound reason or base. Conflicts at this stage are easy to be resolved as there are no roots deep down to make it difficult to be eradicated. c. Latent Conflict Latent conflict stage occurs when the conflict is in its most inherent existence. This means that although there are deeply rooted rifts and grievances among the employees, there is no visible sign of the clash to be noticed as such. d. Open Conflict Open conflict is the extreme stage of any conflict in an organization. It is a combination of latent and surface conflicts as this conflict is not only visible but it also carries deeply rooted grudges and disputes (Tearfund: 2003, p.2). Identification of Conflict at Work by the Employers Often misinterpreted as the oblivious and unconcerned participants in the process of conflict resolution, the extent to which the employers are involved in the resolution steps plays a key role in the effective handling of the situation. Stated differently, it is the responsibility of the employers to stay involved in everyday work so as to remain cognizant of any conflict occurring or increasing at the workplace. It is because there are two basic types of conflicts. The visible conflicts are easy to be identified but those which are not obvious through any heated argument or clash are difficult to be pointed out thereby demanding a greater extent of involvement on the part of the employers. It is important to detect the conflict as soon as possible because the more time has passed since its inception, the greater its magnitude becomes thereby making the resolution process more difficult. Since the invisible conflicts are not crystal clear, there are certain symptoms that make the detection process relatively easier. These symptoms involve the dropping of motivation level of the employees, change in the behavior of employees which is negative, decline in the productivity of the organization as the level of employees’ performance falls, increase in the practice of absenteeism and the reports investigating the attitudes of employees showing less satisfaction. With any one or the combination of these symptoms, the identification of invisible conflicts is done by the employers. This shows that however requiring lesser extent of involvement for visible conflicts, the employer’s involvement extent needs to be higher in case of the invisible conflicts which form the major part of the workplace conflicts (ASAC). Manifestations of Conflict at Work Conflict is an abstract phenomenon and requires some manifestations in the real world to be brought into the limelight or become observable. Dix points out a few major manifestations of conflict at a workplace. They involve verbal disputes, strikes and adopting organizational misbehavior which further involves violation of rules, absences, lack of punctuality and resignation from work in extreme cases (2008: p.2). Advantages of Conflicts for the Employers Often misinterpreted as a datum of experience that the employers would always aim at resolving all the existing conflicts in an organization as the conflicts always pose serious threats to the organization, a latest study by Remigia Kushner delves into a different approach of tackling with the conflicts. According to this approach the employers need to realize that a conflict free environment is impossible and the conflicts often help the employers in facilitating a transformational process. It is because often the conflicts helps in identifying the loopholes, clarifying the values and strengthening the status (1996, p.104 & 105) Mitigation of Conflict Rising Factors Often misinterpreted as being resolved only after the identification or inception of conflict, a conflict can be fought even before its occurrence in an organization. This involves a close monitoring of the employees by the employer. Also based on previous experiences or common learning, the employers can help in mitigating the factors that lead to conflicts at workplace. According to Frances Stewart, there is always a motivation for something behind every act that leads to conflicts. This motivation when transferred to a group of individuals can lead to the mobilisation of the thinking thereby converting it into a greater force (1998, p.7). As an employer, one should keep a close check regarding the needs and wants of the employees. It is because only an unsatisfied employee can become the root cause of any conflict at a workplace. However, the situation may not be the same for the personalized conflicts as it pertains more to the personal traits of the individuals. Although the pre conflict measures only occur in an ideal situation the usual circumstances require the steps involved once the conflict has occurred in an organizational set up. It is because of the devastating effects of a conflict, that keep augmenting with time, that the increased extent of employer’s involvement in order to mitigate the conflicting factors is required. Martin Seidenfeld elucidates the conflict management process in terms of a few stages that are required to be carried out by the employers in any organization. These stages also suggest the extent to which the employers should be involved and effective in the conflict resolution at a workplace. These steps are as follows, a. Maintaining Impartiality Seidenfeld believes that employers should always maintain impartiality to all the employees. This rule defines the level or extent to which the employers should be involved in resolution process of conflict at work. This principle involves the avoidance of dealing with the conflict in front of people who are not directly concerned or are a part of the conflict. Although remaining impartial and unbiased toward any party, the employer should imply the immediate need and his power to resolve the issue. The reason for this implication is the fact that conflicts result in lessening of the workers’ performance, they lead to unnecessary grapevine and they can waste a lot of precious time spent in dealing with the disputes. b. Listening to the arguments The next step for the employers is to listen to the arguments made by each side. During this process, it is necessary to remain focused on the problem and avoid being indulged in unnecessary and personalized details. The focused approach defines the extent to which an employer should be involved in the conflict resolution at a workplace. However the employees should not be given any space to digress, they should simultaneously be allowed to oust off their relevant complains during which the employer should hold the authority of not letting anyone else interfere. c. Focus on Objective facts The third rule for mitigating the conflicting factors involves maintaining a focus on the objective facts. Stated differently, the employers should encourage the objective facts given by the parties but should avoid the rhetorical or emotion driven complaints and arguments. This rule also suggests the extent of involvement of an employer. The employer should rather be a facilitator who should be actively involved in probing the profound objective details. While at one hand the employer should discourage irrelevant details, he should highly encourage all the objective and factual details. d. Parties Agreement Once the arguments are discussed and a solution is reached, it is the responsibility of the employer to bring consensus and ascertain a genuine consensus rather than a lip service. This means that the employer should not be involved in the resolution process to a superficial extent but should dig down into the analyses of the real picture at the back of the employees’ minds. Otherwise, the whole point of discussion and listening to arguments from parties is failed and lost there and then. e. Setting up a Review After the agreement on the behalf of both parties, the role of employer does not end as far as resolution of conflict at a workplace is concerned. The employers need to be focused but not at the cost of giving a cold shoulder to the employees. Therefore, at the end of the consensus stage, the employers should transgress the extent of involvement by thanking the parties and demanding a feedback in the following scheduled meetings (Martin: 2008). Advantages of increased extent of involvement in the conflict resolution Employers are the key decision makers in any organization. To make the business effective it is important for them to acknowledge the space of improvement and being willing to remove the flaws and loopholes in the organizational set up. However, such loopholes are not easily detected. In such a scenario the conflicts at the workplace serve as good indicators in identifying and narrowing down the place that requires amelioration. Knowing the cause of the conflicts, the employers can inoculate more effective strategies to be eliminated such conflicts and make the path smoother for future. For instance, knowing that the conflict arose due to the obscurity of terms and conditions, the employer can reconsider the terms in order to make them clearer and more applicable. Conclusion In the contemporary world when the importance of new public management has escalated to reckon the employees as the lifeblood of any organization, it is not possible for any employer to avoid the employee conflicts. It is because of the increasing importance of labor that the concept of public administration is fading away. Jan-Erik Lane in ‘Will Public Management drive our Public Administration?’ points out the flexibility feature of the new public management as the key factor in smooth running of an organization. This means that if a conflict arises and the employees show dissatisfaction from work, the employer should be flexible enough to dig out the causes of conflicts thereby providing a viable solution to the problem. In other way, he should try his best to mitigate the conflict creating scenarios and factors. This requires a keen involvement of the employers in the whole process of conflict resolution. In fact it can be said that through active involvement in the resolution and mitigation process of any conflict at a workplace, the employer not only strengthens the workforce by acknowledging the reasons of conflict and helping in eliminating the root causes but also drives the organization to a lucrative end by recognizing the needs of amelioration and identifying the loopholes that might have caused the conflict. At the end of the day what remains as the grey area is the extent to which the employers should be involved in the mitigation and resolution process. Although there are no predefined criteria, the extent solely depends on the nature of the conflict. As a general rule, the employer should be concerned enough to detect the conflict and make a probe into the major causes but at the same time he should not be involved too much to become partial and biased in rectifying the conflict initiator. References Bacal, R (2008). Conflict and Cooperation in the Workplace. The Work911 Workplace Supersite. Available from[Accessed 3 September 2008] Dix, G., Forth, J. & Sisson, K (2008). Conflict at Work: The pattern of disputes in Britain since 1980. National Institute of Economics and Social Research. Available from [Accessed 3 September 2008 Hyde, M. A. 5 Keys to Resolving Employee Conflict. EBSCO Host Publishing. Available from [Accessed 3 September 2008] Kushner, S. R (1996). Some New Ways of Looking at Conflict: Recognizing and Dealing with It. Sage Publications. Available from [Accessed 3 September 2008] Lane, Jan-Erik (1994). Will Public Management drive out Public Administration? Asian Journal of Public Administration. Vol. 16 (2). pp. 139 – 151. Managing Conflict at Work. Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Available from [Accessed 3 September 2008] Seidenfeld, M (2008). Resolving Conflicts. EBSCO Host Publishing. Available from [Accessed 3 September 2008] Stewart, F (1998). The Root causes of Conflict: Some Conclusions. Relief Web. Available from [Accessed 3 September 2008] Understanding Conflict and Conflict Management. Foundation Coalition. Available from [Accessed 3 September 2008] What is Conflict? (2003). Tearfund. Available from [Accessed 3 September 2008] Read More