...Workplace Conflict: Critical Thinking and Conflict Resolution Charles Weathersby Columbia Southern University Annotated Bibliography Adkins, B. (2004, 5 28). Conflict could be costing your company more than you know. Fort Worth Business Press, pp. p33-33. This article profiles the norms as far as negatives and positives of workplace conflict then proceeds with a five step strategy for management. The article also suggests ways to deal with unresolved conflict in the workplace. It also discusses the impact on the industry that conflict has in regards to productivity; Positives from the use of an effective conflict management strategy; Assessment of corporate culture. Bowling, D.; Hoffman, D. (2003). Bringing Peace Into the Room: How the Personal Qualities of the Mediator Impact the Process of Conflict Resolution. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bringing Peace Into the Room discusses how a person’s own personal values assist in them being an effective mediator. This book isn’t focused on the traditional elements but rather the emotional elements. It discusses how the temperament shapes thoughts that influence the decision making process. The authors base their book on the opinions of several professionals in the field of conflict resolution such as practitioners, academics, teachers, and trainers. Every respected professional interviewed had one common denominator on the subject of mediation and that was the interaction between the parties and the mediator's...
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...Hoffman Human Capital Essay #2 MGT344 Organizational Behavior August 4, 2013 Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to discuss what role conflict plays in the workplace. Conflict can be defined in a few different ways. “Conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources, and interference from others in achieving their goals” (Definition of Conflict). Conflict is bound to happen, and to occur even in the most stable companies. Conflicts can be both positive and negative influences in a workplace. Constructive conflict creates a productive and safe place. Unresolved conflicts on the other hand, creates a hostile environment leading to a reduction in productivity. Conflict can be divided into multiple categories. Conflicts often occur when there are conflicting choices or people want different things. Changes within an organization can also create conflict. Finding a solution to reach a good solution is how conflicts are resolved. Conflict in the workplace is largely a result of changes. Employees often are required to adjust to new rules, management and locations. Tenure employees may refuse to break old habits and experience difficulties adjusting to new guidelines. All of these changes will create conflict. Being prepared to deal with the conflict is the important part. Change means something familiar is replaced with something new. These changes can cause employees to be emotional. Their perceptions...
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...Conflict in the workplace is inevitable, but it doesn't have to bring down morale or effect productivity. Here are eight things you can do to handle conflict and restore the peace. Conflict in the workplace is a painful reality and a key reason for poor productivity and frustration. One point is clear--conflict does not magically go away and only gets worse when ignored. Negative attitudes occur repeatedly over time and can cause people to strike out at each other. In many cases, conflict occurs at the senior level of the organization. In these situations some kind of intervention is needed. What type of workplace conflict requires intervention? Anything that disrupts the office, impacts on productivity or poses a threat to other employees needs addressing. The degree to which you tolerate a situation before intervention may vary. A manager may not feel it necessary to intervene when a minor exchange of words occurs between employees--unless such an incident becomes a daily occurrence and expands beyond the employees initially involved. However, a situation where one employee threatens another requires immediate action. When handling conflict, some basic guidelines apply. 1. Understand the situation. Few situations are exactly as they seem or as presented to you by others. Before you try to settle the conflict insure you have investigated both sides of the issue. 2. Acknowledge the problem. I remember an exchange between two board members. One member was frustrated...
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..."Six Die In Workplace Shooting In Mississippi", "Seven Killed in Boston Area Office Shooting", "Gunman kills 1, wounds 3 in Seattle shipyard shooting", "Gunman kills 7 in Honolulu office", "Gunman in Atlanta rampage kills himself; 12 dead, 12 injured"(Reh, 2009) More and more we see this on our television screens and read this in our newspapers. What is triggering this kind of behavior in the workplace? What are the signs? Who commits these acts of violence? The Bureau for Labor and Statistics (BLS) breaks down work place violence into 4 groups: * Criminal - when the perpetrator has no legitimate relationship to the business or its employees and is usually committing a crime in conjunction with the violence (e.g. robbery, shoplifting, or trespassing); * Customer or Client - when the perpetrator has a legitimate relationship with the business and becomes violent while being served by the business (e.g. customers, clients, patients, students, inmates, or any other group to which the business provides services); * Co-Worker - when the perpetrator is an employee, past employee of the business, or contractor who works as a temporary employee of the business and who attacks or threatens another employee; and * Domestic Violence - when the perpetrator, who has no legitimate relationship to the business, but has a personal relationship with the intended victim, threatens...
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...insecurity among the teachers, fearing further cuts in the upcoming state budget. The education assistants, public school teachers, parents and students held a strike, which resulted in the closure of 103 schools for the day. 2. The main parties in the conflict are the State School Teachers Union, parents and students along with United Voice on one side and the government on the other side. 3. The budget and job cuts have led to industrial action taken by teachers and parents. Teachers are ready to miss a day’s pay by participating in the strike; so much is their commitment to the cause. According to media reports, the Premier and the Education Minister’s refusal to attend the community day rally by terming the strike as unlawful has further agitated the teachers and parents alike. A strike would be successful if it can gather enough media attention along with public sympathy something the teachers and parents have at their advantage. It builds pressure on the government or the employers involved but it is not a way out. The government may agree to their terms to call off the strike (In this case they may agree since the elections are approaching to save their votes) but may go back on their words later, which can lead to more conflicts and disruptions in the future. The Education Minister needs to clarify the...
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...Chapter 7 Audit of the Purchases and Payment Cycle 1. Objectives 1.1 To describe the documents and records that are usually found in the purchases and payment cycle. 1.2 To state the general audit procedures for the test of internal controls of this cycle. 1.3 To mention the substantive tests used for the trade creditors. [pic] 2. Documents and Records 2.1 Purchase requisition (請購單) – a form detailing the request for goods or services by an authorized employee of the user department and it is then passed from the user department to the purchase department. For example, order of materials by a factory/storeroom supervisor. [pic] 2.2 Purchase order (訂購單) – a document from a company to the supplier recording the description, quantity and amount of the goods or services ordered and it should be properly authorized by the company. [pic] 2.3 Goods received note (收貨單) – a document prepared by the supervisor of the storeroom/receiving department at the time the goods are received. It shows the description, quantity, condition and date of the goods received. [pic] 2.4 Purchase invoice – a document received from vendor which indicates the date, description, quantity and the total amount of goods and services the company has received. 2.5 Purchase journal and ledgers (a) A journal (day book) for recording the purchases of goods or services. (b) Vendors’ accounts in the purchase ledger will also be updated with the remittance advice/receipts...
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...Do you think that conflict in the workplace is positive or negative for companies? Conflict in the workplace is often seen as something negative, doesn’t it? Most commonly, people tend to think conflict is negative for different reasons: * Who likes to be involved in a conflict? It is something that is not pleasant at all! Nobody likes to have arguments with a colleague or a manager; * A conflict often means that you have to put forward certain aspects of your personality that you might not want to show; * A conflict may show your beliefs and values that you don’t want to share; * Handling a conflict is something that requires energy and a wiliness to defend yourself; * You might be scared of not having the arguments to defend themselves; * People who are shy, are reluctant to get involved in conversations that might be challenging; * People are afraid of the consequences of the conflict (“’I might be fired, seen badly”, ..) and afraid of defending their own opinion; * Conflicts can hurt feelings; * And.. People see conflict as negative! It is true that conflicts in the workplace can be negative. The following are some of the reasons: * Conflicts create tension and stress over the office which have negative impacts on the employee performances; * Conflict can negatively impact relationship and productivity; * Conflict does not favour communication and effective group work. But conflict can be positive! Yes, people often forgot...
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...Conflict: Workplace Tension Theresa Offutt Indiana Wesleyan University Stephanie Oden; MBA, CCMC MGT 205 – Professional Communication November 12, 2012 Author Note I have read and understand the plagiarism policy as outlined in the syllabus and the sections in the Student Bulletin relating to the IWU Honesty/Cheating Policy. By affixing this statement to the title page of my paper, I certify that I have not cheated or plagiarized in the process of completing this assignment. If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences of the act/s, which could include expulsion from Indiana Wesleyan University. Conflict: Workplace Tension I had just arrived at my office, which I shared with a colleague, and it looked as if it was going to be another frustrating day. My side of the office was always neat as a pin and incredibly well organized. I always arrived to work on time and I made sure not to talk loudly when I was on the phone, so I would not disturb my colleagues. My colleague, however, was the exact opposite. Empty cups and stacks of dusty files littered his side of the office. He often rushed into the office late, and he sometimes put the radio on while he was working, which broke my concentration. I loved my work, but dreaded coming into the office every day, simply because I did not like sharing my space with my colleague. He drove me crazy, and we often argued. Now that...
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...Managing Conflict in the Workplace Professional Development, MBA 525 Managing Conflict in the Workplace Introduction Conflict is something we all have experienced or will experience sometime in our lives; one could say conflict is inevitable. Conflict can sometimes get out of hand and can cause havoc in a person’s work life and family life. Conflict is perceived incompatible differences that result in interference or opposition (Robbins, Coutler, 2011). Whether the differences are real or not is irrelevant (Robbins, Coutler, 2011). If people in a group perceive that differences exist, then there is conflict (Robbins, Coutler, 2011). Because of the environment we live in, the strategic alignment of organization’s expanding their workforce globally, the strategic business goals alignment of workplace diversity initiatives, and companies expanding more into work teams and workgroups; conflict in the workplace has become inevitable. There will always be differences in opinions among work groups; however; effectively managing conflict is the key to balancing conflict resolution in the workplace. Recognizing Conflict Being able to recognize the causes of conflict is an important part of preventing conflict (Pace, 2006). When conflict can be recognized a solution can be created to limit conflict in the workplace. There will be varies opinions in the workplace and work teams; however, when conflict is...
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...Managing Workplace Conflicts The author of this article, Annemarie Franczyk, believes that the expectation to do more with less these days could be fostering a breeding ground of workplace conflict. Managers need to be increasingly aware of clashes between workers before the problems disrupt workflow and productivity. (Franczyk, A., 2010) Annemarie and her panel made suggestions for how to best mitigate the risks associated with workplace conflict. I chose to review this article about workplace conflicts, because I am currently in management at my job and I believe this article will help me get involved more with fellow co-workers and also help me see the things that are going on within the store that are not verbally communicated to me. This article will also help me address issues and help develop solutions to issues. The main point that is made in this article is that people lose sight of the organization’s goals while fighting for their personal goals. And there are four strategies for mitigating the damaging effects of workplace conflicts which are: (1) Recognize it and step in, (2) Meet without emotion, (3) Real solutions, and (4) Use the EAP (Employee-Assistance Program). (Franczyk, A., 2010) 1. Recognize it and step in: Managers shouldn’t avoid situations and wait for employees to do something drastic, like resigning, they should set in and help to resolve issues for them instead of letting them try to solve them for themselves. They...
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...Conflicts Within the Workplace Brenda J. Harding HCA459 Dr. Michael Mileski February 20, 2012 Conflicts Within the Workplace Whispers between co-workers standing at the copying machine or water tank could be seen as a foretell sign of problems within a work environment, not just in a health care organization. Sadly the whispers are only a partial glimpse of the underlying fact of conflict within the work place, in this particular case a health care organization. Conflicts normally are brought about from small situations to something that has been building over time. Conflict can happen between not just one certain group of personnel within the health care organization, but it can happen between both the clinical and non-clinical personnel. And because of this there becomes stress between departments. Minor conflict could result from a person snapping a remark to another under a stressful situation, this is common and many times only happen once and then everyone continues on their way with the normal activity. However, there are times when a situation is blown out of proportion and accusatory. This stems many times from the fact that there is no sense of responsibility, this meaning that no one really knows who is responsible for a particular task and when it is not done correctly or in a timely manner then it results in a problem. Because of the failure to complete a task or completing it incorrectly it allows another co-worker to possibly...
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...Running head: MANAGING WORKPLACE CONFLICT Managing Workplace Conflict: A Look at Leadership Styles Abstract Leadership styles play a large part in managing workplace conflict. These styles can help or hinder the actual conflict. This paper will look at several different types of leadership styles and discuss how these styles can play a role in resolving workplace conflict. Is there one style that is better than the other? When trying to resolve workplace conflict there are three steps that a leader should implement to successfully resolve the conflict, these steps will be discussed. In order to understand how leadership styles can affect workplace conflict one must first know what conflict is. Conflict is strong disagreement between people, groups, etc., that results in often angry argument or a difference that prevents agreement: disagreement between ideas, feelings, etc. (Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.), 1993). Conflict is not always a bad thing; it can be healthy for an organization to have some conflict. The approach from a leader’s perspective can help or hinder the initial conflict. Conflict is a normal part of everyday life. Just like breathing, conflict is going to happen at some point in your day. Many companies have teams that work closely together and this can be a breeding ground for conflict. When you have groups of people working together you are going to have many different personalities that come into play. Shetach (2012)...
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...Communications3 1.1.1 Effective Communication Process Diagram3 1.2 Importance of effective communication in the workplace……...............................4 1.3 Types of Communication that mostly occurs in the workplace5 1.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of verbal & non-verbal communication in the workplace4 1.5 Barrier to effective Communication in the workplace5 1.6 Conclusion6 1.7 List of References……….………………………………………………………………7 1.1 Definition. “Communication can be defined as the process of transmitting information and common understanding from one person to another” (Keyton, 2011) ……….is by means of connecting with different people and places in reaching a mutual understanding not only by encoding and decoding information but also sharing the meaning. “Effective Communication is a two-way process that requires effort and skill by both sender and receiver.” (Lunenburg ,Fred C, 2010) …. in my words effective communication is an understanding between two people the employee and the employer of the message that need to be interpreted and understood by the employer to be able to feedback effectively. Effective communication the workplace is very important for the organisation to function productively, by developing an awareness of the importance of sender’s and receiver’s responsibilities and adhere to listening skills. Workplace is a location which an...
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...'A certain level of conflict at Wilson Bros was fine, but managers often told me that they often stopped short in fear of losing their jobs.' With the assistance of available research from the course and from external sources, comment on the following statement: Conflict is a normal part of life in an organization. We should tackle it head on no matter who we are in conflict with. There are advantages to be gained by engaging in conflict. Explain your answer and respond to at least two other students' postings. Your original post is due Thurs. Mar. 12 by 11:59PM with two response posts due no later than Sun. Mar. 15 by 11:59PM. (5) Developing effective conflict resolution skill sets are an essential component of a building a sustainable business model. Unresolved conflict often results in loss of productivity, the stifling of creativity, and the creation of barriers to cooperation and collaboration. Perhaps most importantly for leaders, good conflict resolution ability equals good employee retention. Leaders who don’t deal with conflict will eventually watch their good talent walk out the door in search of a healthier and safer work environment. It is essential for organizational health and performance that conflict be accepted and addressed through effective conflict resolution processes. While having a conflict resolution structure is important, effective utilization of conflict resolution processes is ultimately dependant upon the ability of all parties to understand...
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...John Fidalgo is a technician at T&S, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His main duties are going to the auctions to purchase vehicles, perform vehicle inspections, and do all the necessary maintenance that a vehicle requires to pass the inspection, insuring that the customer will always leave happy. John had been working for T&S for roughly eight months before the issue arose. Before the conflict took place, he loved the work environment he was in and was always in a good mood. Maintaining a friendship with his coworkers and keeping the customers happy was the most important thing to John; because it was a family business. José worked for the Infiniti division at the Inskip Auto Mall for about thirty years before leaving. While he was in Florida living with his sister and mother, John’s cousin Joe gave José a call offering him a job for the lead technician at the T&S dealership. John and José have known one another for eight years, before John was even a certified technician. José, in the past, was John’s mechanic. He did all of John’s maintenance: John even learned some of what he knows from José. At one point they were pretty much like brothers. The day that José showed up to work at the dealership, it was like a reunion. John hadn’t seen José in four years; he didn’t even recognize John at first, until Joe told him who he was. In the beginning everything was great, John even got together after work with José for a couple of drinks. When José had a problem, he asked...
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