Category: Conflict

Project Team Building, Conflict, and Negotiation

When building a team, it is important to build a team that feels capable of getting the job done. If a capable team was not developed, then the project will likely be a failure. Effective team building can only occur when people feel valued and are able to express their opinions, ideas, and opinions in a manner that satisfies the goals of the entire team. One of the most common issues that people report having with their teams is that they are ignoring each other. This simply means that the team does not treat people within the team with the same degree of respect or dignity that they would their peers on a larger team. The best way to make sure that all the teams in the project have the same goals, what they are trying to achieve, and where their feedbacks and challenges should go being to define each member of the team at the beginning of the project and assign roles to them based on the purpose of the project (Black, 2019).

The stages in team development are Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. The characteristics of effective project teams are which team members should share the same interests and values, the team should be diverse in their experiences, skills, and perspectives, the team should have an understanding of the organization’s goals and the technical problems to be solved, the team should have the right combination of technical and marketing expertise. The group that develops the concept should have one or more experienced role models who are related by background, experience, skill set, or desire. These experienced role models should be involved throughout the process in shaping, building consensus and consensus-building, and, in the last stages, in overseeing the project. Planning stages may involve group interviews, refining groups, and developing concrete ideas (Pinto, 2019).

Teams fail because they spend too much time thinking about the plan for a project and the parts of the plan that the business wants to be implemented, they do not know enough about how to spend their time, they do not realize how much time is required to build the big picture of the project, they are not disciplined enough to implement the smaller parts, they can’t figure out when they should leave some tasks undone (Pinto, 2019).

The general theory of cross-functional relationships framework explains how diverse people can effectively achieve cross-functional relationships that can solve problems that have multiple causes, focusing on the relationship between people rather than on the specific group to which the people belong. This is useful because it provides a framework that can explain how individuals can achieve a group task without those groups recognizing each other as individuals if they possess common motivations and abilities (Pinto, 2019).

Project teams help project managers get fast access to the right people to handle a wide range of projects, including the rare but very important client work. The downside is that projects must be carefully and cautiously prepared to avoid wasting time and money. A virtual project team is essential because it can provide rapid feedback and remote access to the team members for focused technical and operational decision-making. If projects are initiated by the project team, users can view how projects are progressing using virtual views of their work. A project team is also critical to facilitate the development of core project management practices (Pinto, 2019).

Most projects are conflicts in which one party to the conflict demands or intends to impose and maintain its control and behavior on the other. Conflict management is the objective use of multiple means to resolve or defuse conflict. Collaboration, conflict resolution, and conflict detection involve direct communication and support from two or more representatives in the conflict. The nature of the conflict is very important for a project manager. It is important to define conflict and select the appropriate tool to respond to conflict (Pinto, 2019). For example,

without a conflict management tool for social media posts, the likelihood of complaints becomes higher. There is a risk of creating conflict and an increase in complaints. Also, with the number of followers, incidents will likely have more impact. When it comes to resolving conflict, if the manager is not flexible, he will be managing conflict by adding weight to the issues that are known to occur between people. The more weight he puts on the issues that have already been decided that conflict will increase and it will only get worse. A manager should be able to shift weight before taking an issue that has been decided. This reduces the risk of conflict on future projects (Pinto, 2019).

The strength of negotiation skills will depend on, the ability to convey information to the team effectively, to understand the needs and expectations of the colleagues, and to be able to relate to the peers in a language that they understand. Identifying the required directions to reach the primary or later objectives. A failure to negotiate is likely to lead to a greater risk of project failure and a less desirable project. However, the negotiation skill is not only an essential tool in project management, but it is also a prerequisite for success in other professional fields. Negotiation skills are critical for project and business managers in their interpersonal work and career development (Pinto, 2019).

References

1. Black, S., Gardner, D. G., Pierce, J. L., & Steers, R. (2019). Team Development over Time. Organizational Behavior.
2. Pinto, J.K. (2019). Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage (5th ed). Boston: Pearson.

Experience of Conflict Resolution

Varying views on things, work processes, thought systems and cultural values are common phenomenon observed in any work environment. It would be quite dull and boring if everyone working within the organisation had the same point of view. This would simply imply that since everyone is of similar opinion, they would not have a lot to add to each other’s knowledge and experience. While working in an environment there’s there are varied opinions is interesting and insightful, at the same time these very wide – ranging views can become reasons for conflicts. As per my study on conflict and it’s understanding so far, there are two types of conflicts – Type A (affective), which is destructive conflict and Type C (cognitive), which stimulates lateral thinking. While there is much that we can gain from Type C conflict, a lot of organisational resources get wasted due to Type A conflict. The Oxford dictionary, simply defines conflict as “The clashing of opposed principles”. A more detailed definition as per Organisational Behavior Hellreigel, Slocum and Woodman, 2001 Ninth Edition, South Western Thomson Learning, Singapore is that ““Conflict is inevitable in organisational life but it need not have destructive consequences for the organisation (or work group). Depending on how the conflict is managed, the negative effects may be minimised, and positive effects may result from the conflict. Effective conflict management is based, in part, on a solid understanding of the different ways conflict emerges and can be resolved”.

Thus, it becomes all the more crucial as to how conflict is addressed. One stark example, I remember of conflict from my past organisation is when we were thinking of new ways to achieve our sales targets about two years ago. We had a lot of pile on orders from the past few months. A lot of time was spent on manually entering data and keeping a check on the operators / suppliers. There was a lot of to and fro taking place. At the end of every day, we would be back to where we started. I put across the point that we should use automated systems for order tracking and that one way we could start was by CRM application. I tried to convince my director to understand the benefits of saving time through it. He was opposed to the idea. We were on a shortage of time and everyone wanted quick results.

My ideas were put aside as far – fetched and that the company would end up spending far more on training resources and thus would incur huge spending on time and money. There were many heated arguments amongst the team members, the productivity plummeted and there was decrease in team coherence. It was a complete chaos. As per a 2015, CIPD study, 4 in 10 employees had reported some form of interpersonal conflict at work in 2014. The study further states that the single most common contributor to conflict is “differences in personality or styles of working”. Since my reasoning was not heard by the team, I decided to automate my work. I learnt and read about CRM, stock and vendor management; and business process automation. I devised shorter ways of finishing my work and designed a quality control checklist for our suppliers. I ensured that I kept a regular check on it.

As a result, my work became faster and the team benefited from it. My director noticed my delivery performance and quality had improved. He was curious to know what was different about my working style. He was happy to know that I had followed on my recommendations. He understood the importance of CRM and business automation. He asked me to make a manual of my work process, so it could be used by my colleagues. I was also asked to personally take them through my learnings. Today, there is a fully automated process in place in our organization and the company is benefiting from less over-heads and thus increased revenue. This was a memorable incident for me, as it made me realize the importance of taking a stand for myself. It helped me understand that people finally reach consensus once they see the worth of your idea. It also taught me that actions speak louder than words. You need to demonstrate what you mean. I learnt that by staying calm and focused, I was able to diffuse the negativity around me. Staying in tune with my feelings and not reacting to the situation, actually helped me perform better. The key takeaway for me was that conflict resolution is an integral skill in workplace. Hence, it is but imperative for me, that I develop this skill further. I would like to utilize my time at this premier institute developing my business negotiation skills and further enhance my personality for greater interpersonal relationships.

Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution when Managing People

A stakeholder is anyone with an interest in a business, for example the owner, employees, suppliers and customers. As different stakeholders have different interests and requirements it is highly possible there could be conflict. Investors will be concerned with making sure their money is being put to good use and also that they are making a profit. Employees will want to ensure they are meeting any targets set and customers will be concerned with receiving the best possible service. Two of the potential causes of conflict are shown below.

• Expansion – Although an organisation expanding usually means there will be more jobs and revenue it can often be associated with increased costs at first. This initial extra out lay may not be well received with certain stakeholders at first, even if it will lead to extra profit in the future.
• Job Losses – Some organisations may find that they need to reduce costs, one big way to do this is to reduce staffing levels and also maybe to reduce the working hours of some staff. This will more than likely cause conflict between stakeholders such as employees and the local community.

It is important to try and limit the damage stakeholder conflict can cause by dealing with it as soon as possible. This can be done by analysing all your stakeholders, so you are aware of the changing attitudes of your stakeholders.

At some point a team or individuals will come across some sort of conflict, it is inevitable in an organisation that is full of different personalities and ways of doing things. If left un-dealt with conflict can cause a team to lose its focus and move away from its objectives. Conflict could also get worse and develop into something more serious if it is not dealt with there and then. It is therefore important that conflicts are resolved as and when they arise, this will help to limit the damage they cause to the team.

There are many different approaches that can be taken when dealing with conflict, some of which are shown below. Look for the root cause – Instead of focusing on the person or persons where conflict has taken place you could focus on why it happened. For example, was it due to poor communication or a lack of information? Focusing on the process that caused the conflict instead of the people involved will help you to resolve the issue and learn from it so it does not happen again.

• Face to face – This method may be unpopular with some people who would rather not face the conflict head on. However, it is a quicker and more efficient way of dealing with an issue rather than other communication methods such as emails which offer the time for conflict to grow and be worse. Having a discussion in person with someone can help both parties to get their points of view across and for a solution to be reached. However, it may not happen instantly and may require more than one meeting.
• Embrace the conflict – Ignoring conflict will only make it worse, dealing with conflict as and when it occurs will benefit everyone. If conflict has occurred then encourage people to work it out or if it is between teams then maybe communication and sharing needs to be improved.
• Accommodating – This approach basically means you give the other side what they want. This approach is used when one side would like to keep the peace.
• Avoiding – This method is essentially just ignoring the problem and hoping it will resolve itself.
• Collaborating – This method works by combining the ideas of many different people, this enables a team or organisation to find a solution that meets everyone’s requirements. This method can be quite time consuming.
• Compromising – This approach requires the people engaged in conflict to work together to agree a solution, this will usually involve them both compromising on certain aspects. This method will be most productive in situations where the people engaged in the conflict hold equal amounts of power.
• Competing – In this approach only one side will win, this may be used in situations where decisions need to be made quickly.

There are many problem-solving and interpersonal skills that are needed to manage people; I have discussed some of them below.

• Communication – To be able to manage people effectively you must be able to be concise and professional when communicating with employees. For employees to be able to meet the requirements you set them they must be able to understand what you require. Technical jargon should only be used if you are sure everyone will understand it.
• Non-verbal communication also needs to be taken into consideration, things such as facial expressions and hand gestures can be just as important than the words coming out of your mouth. If as a manager, you do not maintain eye contact or have your arms crossed when speaking with employees you may appear uninterested and stand offish.
• Listening skills – It is important to show that you can actively listen to your employees as this is the only way to make sure you are aware of any concerns amongst employees and also offers the chance for you to ask or answer any questions. Good listening skills will have a big impact on communication within the organisation.
• Negotiation skills – It is important for someone in a management position to have good negotiation skills as they will often need to negotiate with employees regarding things such as deadlines and they may also need to negotiate with customers.
• Creativity – Creativity is an important skill to possess when trying to manage people and also to help solve problems. Being creative usually means you are motivated and ambitious which is beneficial for an organisation. It also can mean you are able to think outside of the box when trying to solve a problem and may be willing to try different things.
• Collaboration – The ability to collaborate is necessary when trying to effectively manage people, most of the time you will not be able to do everything alone so to be able to work well with others will be beneficial to all involved.

It will be easier to solve problems if you work well with others in an organisation as there will be more openness and sharing of ideas.

Were Tudor Rebellions Essentially Part of a Conflict Between Lords and Peasants?

The various rebellions that took place over the course of the Tudor period could certainly be said to have been part of a larger-scale social conflict between lords and peasants, with historians such as Wagner pointing out that one of the fundamental divisions that defined Tudor society was that between the aristocrat or local gentleman and the common man. Indeed there is some evidence suggesting that key peasant grievances that led to uprisings such as Ketts Rebellion arose from the abuse of privileges by the local aristocracy and gentry, defined by Wall as the wealthiest 3% of English families. Conversely, there is also a wealth of evidence to suggest that the majority of noteworthy rebellions in the Tudor period were in fact initiated and led by rogue members of the nobility against the monarch. For the purposes of this essay therefore, I will be arguing that although there certainly was conflict between lords and peasants that arose due to widening economic disparities between rich and poor, most noteworthy rebellions in the Tudor period, with the obvious exception of Kett’s rebellion in 1549, were not concerned with the economic grievances of the peasantry and therefore not a central part of this social conflict. For the purposes of this essay, the Tudor rebellions will be defined as noteworthy uprisings that took place in the period spanning from the start of Henry VII’s reign in 1485 to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603.

On one hand the Tudor rebellions could be said to have been part of a broader socio-economic conflict between lords and peasants. A key example of this conflict escalating into a full-scale uprising would be Kett’s rebellion in 1549, in which the key grievance listed by peasant farmers in East Anglia was the enclosure of common land , defined as the fencing off of common land by the local landlords, who would then convert the land into pasture for sheep, a trade which was returning exponentially higher profits at the expense of the common farming man as the continental demand for English wool increased and the amount of pasture used by the peasant farmer was reduced . These profits were of course mostly enjoyed by the gentry and aristocracy, who owned a disproportionately large share of sheep and land. The uproar caused by this was exacerbated by further economic grievances such as inflation, causing higher food prices and a contraction in the labour market as population levels recovered following the Black Death. The disproportionately severe effect the economic situation in Tudor England had on the common man is clearly illustrated by the widening economic disparities between gentleman and peasant. Sheppard provides clear evidence of socio-economic polarisation between gentry and peasantry, showing that from 1550 to 1625, the average gentleman’s asset value rose from £25 to £180, while that of the peasant rose only from £2 to £5 in the same period. In this way we can see how the wealth of the Tudor gentry began to accelerate away from that of the common man. This can in turn be explained by recovering population levels in a post-plague England, where the population doubled in the space of 100 years, from 2.5 million in 1520 to 5 million in 1620. This caused increased demand for land and food, resulting in a nine-fold increase in average rents and a four-fold increase in grain prices over the period 1510-1640. When one considers that the upper classes in Tudor England owned a disproportionately large share of land and produce, it is clear that this population recovery benefitted the asset-owning upper class at the expense of the common man. Thus, we can see how the socio-economic grievances highlighted in Kett’s rebellion in 1549 fit into the wider socio-economic conflict between lords and peasants

In my view however, Kett’s rebellion was an exception, as the majority of noteworthy rebellions in the Tudor period were not caused by economic grievances of the peasantry, and in fact were led by the nobility or clergy against the monarch. One key example of this would be the Amicable Grant rising of 1525, in which wealthy taxpayers and clergymen in Hertfordshire, Kent and Essex refused to pay Henry VIII’s tax to fund an invasion of France. Additionally, the perpetrators of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 were nobles in Lincolnshire, namely Barons Hussey and Darcy, two cousins whose ancestors had held lands in Lincolnshire since the Norman conquest. Fletcher and MacCulloch tell us that it was because these two men had recently been ousted in Parliament that they decided to rebel against Henry VIII and publicly oppose the Dissolution of the monasteries, stirring up a total of 40,000 peasants across Northern England who otherwise could have been kept quiet in the same way that the Marquess of Exeter, a loyal aristocrat, was able to keep the peasantry in the religiously conservative west country relatively quiet during the Dissolution of the monasteries. In this way, the peasant rising during the Prayer Book rebellion of 1549, in which religiously conservative south-western peasants protested against further religious reform by forming an army and besieging Exeter, can be explained by the absence of any aristocratic negotiators in the south west at this time to settle the rabble. Thus, we can see that these two rebellions do not fit into the narrative of lord against peasant in an economic context, but rather lord and peasant taking up arms together against the monarch pushing religious reform. One final example of a Tudor rebellion not involving a conflict between lord and peasant would be the Rising of the northern earls in 1569, essentially a conflict between the aristocracy and the monarch as the earls of Westmorland and Northumberland rose questions over the legitimacy of Elizabeth I’s claim to the throne and sought to replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. Thus, it is fair to say that the majority of Tudor rebellions do not fit into the wider socio-economic conflict of lords against peasants, rather that they involved either peasants or the nobility rising up against the monarch.

It can therefore be said that Tudor rebellions on the whole were not a central part of the broader socio-economic conflict between lords and peasants. While it is true that the primary cause of Kett’s rebellion in 1549 was the enclosure of the common land, an abuse of privilege by local lords which was exacerbated by further economic grievances such as increased rents and drops in wages that benefitted the asset-owning upper class at the expense of the common peasant farmer, it is fair to say that this particular rebellion was an exception. Indeed, most other noteworthy rebellions in the period 1485 to 1603 were initiated and led by rogue members of the nobility against the monarch, in most cases to protest changes to religion or occasionally taxation, which affected the nobility more than the common man due to Tudor England’s progressive tax system which was rare for the time.

Negotiation and Conflict Resolutions

Introduction and Literature Review

Although, a few investigations examine conflicts as antecedents of their administration, not very many talks about how conflict types identify with conflict the executives’ styles. A compelling conflict type was adversely identified with coordinating, abstaining from, trading off and obliging conflict changing and substantive conflict types had a positive association with ruling conflict the board style. Conflict is viewed as the typical and unavoidable result of social and authoritative life and is seen as a sign of brokenness. Social insurance experts are likewise helpless against conflict as they are looked with weights while they endeavour to give quality consideration to patients. Shin (2009) recommends that so as to determine the conflict it is critical to comprehend the wellspring of conflict. Rahim (2011) recommended two wide kinds of conflicts with reference to their sources as full of feeling and substantive. Substantive conflicts emerge from disparities over gathering objectives and full of feeling conflict is probably going to happen when individuals are centred around their individual fulfilment. He further included two different sorts of conflicts to be specific changing and disguising. Changing conflict happens when substantive conflict ruffians to emotional conflict. Though, disguising conflict alludes to differences when individuals have passionate conflicts yet camouflage them as substantive conflicts.

As discussed by McNamara (2013) conflict isn’t the issue, in any case, poor administration of the conflict is the issue. Subsequently, conflict with the board styles have turned into a significant subfield of authoritative conduct. Rahim (2011) gave five styles of dealing with interpersonal conflict for example:

• Integrating: Focuses on critical thinking in a community-oriented design;
• Obliging: Involves low worry for self and other gathering;
• Dominating: High worry for self and low for restricting gathering;
• Compromising: Moderate worry for self and another gathering;
• Avoiding: Inaction, withdrawal or overlooking.

The sorts of conflict I would talk about here are interpersonal conflict, intrapersonal conflict, intragroup conflict, and intergroup conflict.

Discussion

Tjosvold, (2006) identified four kinds of authoritative conflicts: First is interpersonal conflict, this kind of conflict happens between people when they face obstruction in their spaces of work obligations by someone else and hurting or disturbing their endeavours towards accomplishing their objectives and destinations. The second type of conflict is Intra-bunch conflict which alludes to a conflict between at least two individuals from a similar gathering or group. The third sort is Inter-bunch conflict; this kind of conflict happens between at least two gatherings or groups. The fourth type of conflict is Interpersonal conflict that happens inside one individual.

Interpersonal Conflict: Interpersonal work conflict alludes to a difference among people. It is regularly connected with negative feelings because of an apparent uniqueness of perspectives, objectives, interests and proposed blueprints. Conflict the executives depends on the rule that it is difficult to dispose of conflict and not all conflicts can be settled, yet figuring out how to oversee work environment conflicts is helpful for representatives and the association. Customarily, chiefs thought about that smothering conflict and keeping harmony no matter what was the most ideal approach to oversee conflict (Lawless, and Trif, 2006). In any case, the ongoing perspective is that conflicts might be an admonition sign for a progressively major issue that should be settled. In spite of the fact that not all issues and conflicts can be settled, overseeing conflicts can limit the dysfunctions of conflict and upgrading the useful elements of conflict so as to improve learning and adequacy in an association. While ongoing investigations show that line supervisors handle work environment conflicts in numerous associations, there is minimal hypothetical and experimental research on how they really perform such disagreeable human asset jobs. Also, there are contradictions about the key elements affecting line administrators’ conflict in the executives’ modes; therapists stress the job of the conflict circumstance and individual qualities, while different researchers center exclusively around the effect of the hierarchical parts of overseeing the interpersonal conflict.

Intrapersonal Conflict: Interpersonal conflict is a conflict that happens between at least two people that work together in gatherings or groups. This is a conflict that happens between at least two people. Numerous individual contrasts lead to interpersonal conflict, including characters, culture, dispositions, qualities, discernments, and different contrasts. Conflict emerges because of an assortment of elements. Singular contrasts in objectives, desires, values, proposed blueprints, and recommendations about how to best deal with a circumstance is unavoidable. Also, recognizing the variables which cause conflict in any association is viewed as the principal arrange during the time spent conflict the board (Beheshtifar, and Zare, 2013). The administration of interpersonal conflict includes changes in the frames of mind, conduct, and association structure so the authoritative individuals can work with one another successfully for accomplishing their individual as well as joint objectives. The administration of interpersonal conflict basically includes showing authoritative individuals the styles of taking care of interpersonal conflict to manage various circumstances viably and setting up fitting systems so uncertain issues are managed appropriately. The scientist prescribes different researchers to recognize different elements of hierarchical conflicts, for example, distinguishing a rundown of elements causing intrapersonal conflict.

Intergroup Conflict: Intergroup conflicts, for the most part, include conflicts of interests inside the contending bunches too. This article traces a scientific categorization of games, called group games, which consolidates the intragroup and intergroup levels of conflict. Its points are to give an intelligent system to examining the prototypical issues of participation and rivalry that emerge inside and among gatherings and to audit a broad research program that has utilized this structure to contemplate individual and gathering conduct in the lab (Bornstein, 2003). Contingent upon the game’s result structure, logical inconsistencies or conflicts are made among the reasonable decisions at the individual, gathering, and aggregate levels-a speculation of the logical inconsistency among individual and aggregate discernment happening in the customary blended rationale games.

Intragroup Conflict: Intragroup conflicts raise from either undertaking or relationship issues. Relationship conflict or enthusiastic conflict portrayed by the character conflicts or pessimistic passionate cooperation between at least two individuals, who are associated with inflexibility, abhorrence, and irritation. While, task conflict specifies the divergences about the substance of choices and various perspectives, contemplations, thoughts, key choice territories, and techniques, among gathering individuals. In view of social data dealing with hypotheses, a self-order hypothesis numerous analysts have presented the discoveries that gatherings which are socially assorted they face more negative results of gatherings than the gatherings having social likeness on account of inclination, predisposition against individuals, botches in correspondence, various observations, affirmations among the individuals from the gathering (Jehn, and Mannix, 2001). Because of social contrasts, people have various convictions and qualities, subsequently, people have various ways to deal with the impression of conflict, consequently, it tends to be hard to determine conflict and furthermore influence the capacity of goals. Additionally, these unwanted highlights influence the exhibition of the gathering that is socially different. All things considered; social assorted variety will be adversely identified with the apparent exhibition of the gathering. Execution is perceived as one of the significant markers of the gathering adequacy and frequently utilized as a result variable in the writing of intragroup conflict.

Conclusion

Conflicts are inescapable among collaborators in workgroups. Conflict in all societies is unavoidable, yet every culture has a changed methodology of overseeing it from the other and its own specific manner of managing it. Top management of organizations like Multinational organizations comprehends the significance of multicultural contrasts when having global unions, acquisitions or mergers, in this way in late time conflict the executives has turned out to be increasingly significant and indispensable for the viable working of the associations. Viable conflict the board gives chances to the individuals from the gathering to see each other in a superior manner and upgrade their gathering execution, interpersonal aptitudes, and building affinity. The term Inter-social conflict gives collective choice settling on, which prompts successful basic leadership, and an association can increase extraordinary profit by the multicultural encounters and differentiated learning and aptitudes in the event that it is overseen conveniently. Proof from the present investigation, in any case, recommends that social decent variety moderate the connection between intragroup conflict and gathering execution.

References

1. Beheshtifar, M., and Zare, E. (2013). Interpersonal Conflict: A Substantial Factor to Organizational Failure. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. Vol. 3, No. 5ISSN: 2222-6990.
2. Bornstein, G. (2003). Intergroup conflict: individual, group, and collective interests. Published in Personality and social psychology review: DOI:10.1207/s15327957pspr0702_129-145.
3. Jehn, K. A., & Mannix, E. A. (2001). The dynamic nature of conflict: A longitudinal study of intragroup conflict and group performance. Academy of management journal, 44(2), 238-251
4. Lawless, J., & Trif, A. (2016). Managing Interpersonal Conflict at Work by Line Managers. The Irish Journal of Management. Forthcoming. 10.1515/ijm-2016-0005.
5. McNamara, C. (2013). Types of managerial actions that cause workplace conflicts. Free Management Library, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
6. Rahim, M. A. (2011). Managing conflict in organizations. 4th ed.
7. Shin, J. H. (2009). Developing constructive and proactive conflict management strategies in healthcare. Journal of Communication in Health care 2(1): 78-94.
8. Tjosvold, D. (2006). Defining conflict and making choices about its management: Lighting the dark side of organizational life. International Journal of Conflict Management, 17(2), 87-95.

Tracking Managerial Conflict Adaptivity

Introduction

Albert Einstein once said “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” But years of research have found that those in position of powers (leaders and managers) tends to get stuck in dominating and controlling approaches to negotiation and conflict. When leaders and managers operate from a way of general dominance, they fare less well in negotiations, undermine relationships, foster less commitment to their decisions, and cultivate negativity and rancour of subordinates. And as the saying goes, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Importance of adaptation was largely neglected in the scholarly approaches to conflict management in an organization. Coleman and Kugler tried to present a new approach to measuring the conflict competencies of managers through assessment of conflict adaptivity in their research. By combining five approaches to conceptualizing interpersonal conflict resolution, namely: (1) social interdependence theory (Deutsch, 1973; Johnson& Johnson, 1989, 2005; Tjosvold, 1991), which focuses on how differences in cooperative and competitive goal interdependence effect conflict dynamics; (2) social motivation theory (De Dreu et al., 2007; Van Lange, De Cremer, Van Dijk, & Van Vugt, 2007), which emphasizes how prosocial and pro self-motivational orientations influence conflict processes and outcomes; (3) dual-concern theory (Blake & Mouton,1964; Pruitt, Rubin, & Kim, 2004; Rahim, 1983, 1986; Thomas, 1976), which stresses how combinations of different types and degrees of self-other concerns in conflict situations influence different responses to conflict management; (4) power dependence theory (Gerhart & Rynes, 1991; Kim & Fragale, 2005; Kelley & Thibaut, 1978; Mannix, Thompson, & Bazerman, 1989; Ng, 1980; Thibaut & Kelley, 1959), which focuses on how differing degrees of relative interdependence effect power and conflict dynamics in negotiations; and (5) game theory (Schelling, 1960; Von Neumann & Morgenstern, 1944), which formulates conflicts of interest in precise mathematical terms and emphasizes how the rational, interdependent nature of disputants’ interests, behavior, and fates effects conflict outcomes, Coleman, Kugler, et al. (2012) propounded a situated model of conflict in social relations.

A Situated Model of Conflict in Social Relations

According to Deutsch Psychological orientations (PO) are composed of the following component orientations: cognitive, motivational, moral, and action. A strong tendency for a fit between the type of social relation and type of psychological orientation has been deduced. The lack of fit ( compatibility of a person’s temperament with the features of their particular social environment.) produced a drive to change so that fit occurs. For example, the PO one applies when negotiating “up” with a member of the board of directors will differ drastically from that employed when arguing with a colleague over the preferred room temperature. In shaping the various POs for the settled model, Coleman et al. (2010, 2012, 2013) targeted on the foremost extreme regions of the conflict stimulus field and identified through previous analysis the subsequent 5 primary POs: (1) benevolence; (2) dominance; (3) support; (4) appeasement and (5) autonomy.

As per the analysis once participants were conferred with the same conflict (in terms of the problems involved), they delineated different experiences perceptions, emotions, values, and behavioural intentions—across the five situational regions. when accosted a “high-power, cooperative, high-interdependence” situation, participants represented a more active-cooperative PO to conflict than most alternative regions—where participants aforesaid they valued taking responsibility for the matter, taking note of the opposite, and expressed real concern for his or her low-power counterpart (benevolence). In distinction, “high-power, competitive, high-interdependence” situations were found to induce a more threatening and resistance approach to the opposite party, less concern for the opposite, and heightened issues for his or her own power (dominance). “Low-power, cooperative, high-interdependence” situations afforded more of a PO of appreciative support than the other regions, wherever individuals with all respect wanted clarification of roles and responsibilities, worked harder to make amends, and felt concern for his or her superior within the conflict (support). This was in distinction to the reactions determined to “low-power, competitive, high-interdependence” situations, that evoked higher levels of stress and anger, a powerful ought to tolerate things, and a need to seem for prospects to sabotage the opposite party if the chance conferred itself (appeasement). “Low interdependence” situations of any kind in comparison with the others afforded a less intense expertise of the conflict, wherever individuals most popular to easily act severally to satisfy their goals, move on, or exit the dispute altogether (autonomy).

Each of the five POs outlined in the situated model has its explicit utilities and edges, costs, and consequences, betting on the psychological makeup of disputants, the POs of different parties, and also the nature of the situations faced. Repeated experiences in situations with similar structures are thought to give rise to habitual response patterns that on average yield good outcomes (Kelley 1983; Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003). These habitual patterns can eventually reside within persons, particular relationships, and/or group norms, and therefore lead to more automatic, chronic conflict responses. When this occurs, people may find it emotionally distressing when situations change and require that they adopt a different approach (McClelland, 1975; Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003). Ironically, this is often notably true for individuals in positions of high power like higher managers, who become more and more comfortable with high-and-mighty approaches to disputes.

Conflict Adaptivity

In essence, adaptation is the developmental or evolutionary process by which a unit becomes better suited to its habitat or environment. Thus, adaptation equals modifications toward fit. People develop the capability to use differing types of POs as they become necessary in different situations. However, if people develop robust, chronic POs, they will use POs that are somehow inconsistent with thecase. Within the context of conflicts, this suggests that people will tend to approach conflicts in an dependable manner notwithstanding what could also be thought of applicable in any given scenario.

Although specific POs are also helpful and more fitting in particular situations, issues usually arise for people after they become fixated on any one PO or once individual’s chronic PO(s) fits poorly with the particular demands of situations.

Therefore, conflict adaptability: the capacity to identify and respond appropriately to different conflict situations or relevant changes in conflict situations by employing the different POs of the situated model and their related strategies in a manner consistent with the demands of the presenting situation, is a critical competency for managers working in a dynamic, mixed motive world of work. According to Van de Vliert effective individual rarely employ particular conflict-handling styles, instead they employ more blended approaches. Managers spends between 25 percent and 40 percent of their time at work in managing conflicts (Wayne, 2005). Therefore, conflict adaptivity becomes important for them. Conflict adaptivity needs disputants to be bound to the demands of situations and capable of gleaning what’s relevant and unsuitable to the conflict. For testing the managerial conflict adaptivity assessment Coleman and Kugler presented three studies,

STUDY 1: Through study 1, Coleman and Kugler want to generate conflict situations that managers encounter at work and then have the participants to categorize the scenarios along the three dimensions of the situated model of conflict in social relations (i.e., relative power, type of goal interdependence, and degree of goal interdependence). By this study they assessed how many dimensions a particular behaviour fit with the respective conflict situation. Each behaviour could fit on one dimension (i.e., low conflict adaptivity), on two dimensions (i.e., medium conflict adaptivity), or on all three dimensions (i.e., high levels of conflict adaptivity). Participants in the positive conflict condition were expected and found to be more adaptive than participants in the less conflict adaptivity. Hence it suggests that being adaptive in conflict situations is associated with more satisfaction with conflict processes.

STUDY 2: Through study 2, Coleman and Kugler wanted to calculate the content validity of the scenarios in study 1 with the help of content validity ratio (CVR). It is suggested that all the scenarios had a content validity of more than 75 percent.

STUDY 3: The objective of this study was to test the relationship between adaptivity and satisfaction with conflict processes and well-being at work. As per the study conflict adaptivity is positively related to satisfaction with conflict processes as well as well-being at work, assessed with satisfaction with co-workers (positive correlation), and job-related affective well-being (positive correlation) and intentions to quit (negative correlation). A supplemental analysis indicated that a higher frequency of use of more cooperative behaviours (i.e. benevolence and support) was not related significantly to satisfaction with conflict processes and well-being at work. This result contradicts many theoretical and empirical approaches highlighting cooperation as the best choice in conflict situations, and provides an important area for future research.

General Conclusion

This article highlights that the managers should be more adaptive in conflicts so that conflict resolution, higher levels of satisfaction and well-being at work is achieved. Mangers who responded to the conflict situations in a more feasible manner according to the situated model of conflict in social relations were considered to be more adaptive. However, for constructive relations, adaptive individuals must hold the capacities to act in a cooperative manner more likely to lead to positive outcomes for all parties, such as trust, respect, affection, self-esteem and open exchange of information. At last it is necessary for managers to be adaptively flexible in new or changing situations.

Social Perspective on Social Class: Conflict Theory

The film Purge is about gang members and violent activities that occur for one night last until 12 hours where all criminal activity is legal to commit. Therefore police, medical or any other emergency services are unavailable to provide support. During this time people often tried to take out their frustration, anger, and problems they have with each other by killing. This time individuals often take revenge, if anyone has done something wrong to them or even people who don’t have any contribution to society. This film is focused on the wealthy family of James Sandin where they try to overcome all the obstacles and survive that night were attacked by intruders. James Sandin’s family got a conflict when the youngest son allows a man inside their house during the purge and gang members with masks started attacking their house and to look for their prey.

The movie Purge is particularly related to the social class conflict theory because conflict theory is a system of social problems and inequality and in the purge, it’s a basis of social class. Social Conflict related to this movie because the bourgeoise person is much safer during the purge because they can make their property more secure and harder to break into than the proletariat who has less power and a small contribution to society. Along with that, the wealthier brings power and dominant to society. The purge creates an environment where society can “deal” with its problems, and people control the laws that are wealthier, and the government have no power over them. Individuals who created purge, are much safer during the night. It shows us that the motive and belief of individuals in purge in the first place, poor are likely to be vulnerable in committing crime and given limited constrained and opportunities.

The purge unexpectedly boasts a perversion of Karl Max’s theory of class conflict that analyzes the “masses are the ones who should wage an armed struggle against of the ruling class or the bourgeoisie. We can also see how in the movie how government were able to get rid of crimes except for the one-night purge. In the movie economy ceases to function in places where people have low income, are higher chances to commit crime during purge, while the affluent tend to be secure that night. During the purge people in society seem to change, they became more violent and attempt to kill individuals they don’t like or have issues with them. In the movie the person who made barriers and security for the purge was James Sandin and which fail and was not secured.

All the neighbors who had been sold the barriers, had frustration they decided to attack his family. When barriers come down from Sandin house as the right time to attack them. His neighbors were frustrated and were mad that he had made so much money of them, which he was able to add on to his house. This show how society work and behave when they cannot get what they want, or see other individuals with more than they have, they search for revenge.

The Interrelation of Teams and Conflict

The process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal is referred as team. Teamwork is often a very crucial part of any business irrespective of its geographical location, as it is very necessary for employees to work well together, trying their level best in any circumstances. Teamwork means that people should cooperate, using their individual skills and providing feedbacks, despite any personal conflict between individual. While academic research on teams and teamwork has grown consistently and has shown a sharp increase over the past few decades. In earlier times the teams were not formed the way it is being formed since 20th century, neither the team work uses to take place but with the recent technological improvement & development in terms of skills, knowledge and expertise the trend has changed.

Team becomes more than just collection of people and performing a task, it lies where the performance of the entire team should be more than an individual could have done. Social scientists have identified many different types of teams. In general, teams either act as information processors, or take on a more active role in the task and perform activities. Various types of teams which are categorised by subject such as Actions team, Multi-Cultural Team, Virtual team, Command team, Project team etc. As the competition is increasing and the world is becoming one team due to globalization in work culture. Then the virtual teams come in play a key role in catering to demand of today’s work process. Virtual teams consisting of teammates from different geographical locations making a diverse team which is built on the ideologies of trust, collaboration, motivation, autonomy and communication. This concept helps the companies to use the best and lowest- cost global talent for their benefit. Virtual teams, if operating efficiently, provide the organization with a better chance to compete since they facilitate the adaptation to different situations. However, multicultural aspects need to be well integrated, forming an all-star team that works in favour of the organization and becomes a diversification for its customers. Multicultural teams put forward the new way of working with diverse people with new ideas and ideologies in the new globalised developing world.

Team size and team composition affect team processes and team outcomes. The optimal size (and composition) of teams is always debated and will vary depending on the task at hand. Whereas, conflict is a common occurrence on teams. Conflict itself can be defined as antagonistic interactions in which one party tries to block the actions or decisions of another party. Bringing conflicts out where they can be resolved is a very important part of the team leader’s or manager’s job. Conflict is very certain wherever there lies a team. It may be the conflict of the idea, perspective, emotions etc. Not all conflict is negative. Just as some forms of stress can be beneficial, so can some types of conflict can also be beneficial. If conflict is not appropriately managed, it can lead to hostility within the group, poor motivation and morale, resulting in poorer decisions. Other consequences of poorly managed conflict are stress, misallocation of resources, and diminished performance. Affective dimension of conflict, which is defined as personally oriented disagreement focusing on interpersonal dislikes and disaffections. Concluding that it is the affective dimension of conflict that causes problems in decision making. Affective conflict causes problems not only by undermining decision quality and understanding but also by reducing satisfaction and team member affect, which leaves residual consequences that can further reduce TMT effectiveness in the future.

Conflict often arises when team members focus on personal (emotional) issues rather than work (substantive) issues. Also, communication breakdowns play a major role in creating conflict and misunderstandings are exacerbated in virtual teams and teams with cross-cultural members. The project manager should be precise in his expectations from all team members and be easily accessible. When members work independently, it is critical that they understand how their contributions affect the big picture in order to stay motivated. There are various approaches/ styles to handle the conflict in team which work as a tool for the smooth flow of the functioning of the project/task.

Many experts are of the opinion that the conflict should be solved whenever it arises rather than waiting because if the manager/leader tends to wait for something it may likely hamper the overall performance. Conciliators have evolved strategies and techniques to resolve various type of conflicts. Conciliators involves third party which is impartial, non-judgemental into conflicts situations. These parties have depth knowledge into this type of field. They did not pass any judgement or take sides. Their interventions are limited to influence the progress of dispute their expert use of knowledge in conflict environment. The techniques which are used in conflict evolvement is designed to create an environment free space in which parties are free to express themselves so that the main problem can be caught. Secondly their focus shifts to the communications because conflicts are arising due to miscommunications between parties. In this process they encourage parties to listen to what others is sayings and address them own behaviours.

The main conclusion is about how conciliators are creating a method so that the conflicts can be solved easily. The success of a venture is often a reflection of its team’s ability to meld talent and ability in a creative and coordinated fashion. The creation and successful management

of new ventures is often a team effort, shared among individuals representing a diversity of skills and experiences. The open exchange of ideas, the objective assessment of alternatives, and the meticulous contrasting of perspectives produces conflicts out of which creative ideas and solutions emerge. At the same time, such interactions may also produce anger and isolation, which can lead to disaffection and departure by the offended team members. Teams which perform well under uncertain and ambiguous conditions are highly coordinated and flexible. Teams engaging in functional, task-oriented conflict tend to overshined those in which conflict is dysfunctional and personally oriented. Eloquent conflict is thought to negatively impact performance. Firms that had been merged, acquired, gone out of business or for which the top management team could not be identified were excluded. Cohesive teams are more likely to share tacit understandings and values and so move quickly in the consideration of multiple issues without having to revisit underlying assumptions and goals.

In this study, conflict played two important roles in group process: facilitating learning during the distributive period and building consensus during the integrative period. These distributive and integrative cyclical patterns of group conflict extend the results of previous research which indicates that small groups develop through complex cycles of decision-making behaviour The work group in this study did not simply define an overall problem, characterized by a simple exhibition of conflict and resolution rather, the group managed large cycles of conflict and resolution during the initial meetings, followed by decreased, but persistent, cycles of conflict and resolution during the latter meetings. The cycles of conflict were necessary for the team to explore and define a complex set of technical design and project control decisions.

Research substantiates that groups need an initial period to define and clarify issues and to identify group members’ agendas. However, groups typically have a limited amount of time to complete an assigned task. The urgency of the task and the consequences of consensus make group members aware that they should ‘move on’ and solve the task problem. This study suggests that for complex tasks, participants may need to engage in enough distributive behaviours—’kicking the problem around’ to develop a sense of the problem—before they can cooperate. Our methodology offers several benefits for sequentially coding speech acts as interacts to analyse group communication activities progressively over time. Team leaders, group members, and outside consultants must be cognizant of the team’s progress to know when to initiate the transition to cooperative behaviours. Possible interventions to help the group move forward may include summarizing the salient conflicting points, issuing directives, such as stating that the group needs to begin to ‘pull things together,’ or reminding the group of management mandates for timely completion.

As the world is moving towards globalization, a need for speedy change in the trade has risen. The global working system has given an outburst to the new working culture globally. Technology has also played an important while connecting the world to work on same platform by developing the new virtual organization forming virtual teams. Virtual teams work in a complex manner with the changing environment. To keep the virtual teams on right path misunderstanding and miscommunication are to be avoided. A team can be made by having people from a homogenous background or can be diverse in their culture. According to study we see that diversity in culture leads to a better team, indicating the importance of different cultural values and importance leaving a great impact on the understanding of the teammates. The impact of culture lead to the development of a corporate culture. Corporate culture sets the standard for the understanding of the core values, behaviour and values and symbols and languages. The multicultural teams working in a corporate culture can faces different situation. The cases looked upon by the researcher suggests that, the companies having a strong corporate culture with multicultural team gives a better output than those who have a weaken understanding of the working culture. A multicultural team practising this reaches the equilibrium by attain the right balance between the strength and flexibility. The virtual teams portrayed to be a success by the excellent working of the multicultural teams. The conflicts which were noticed had the influence of a single culture dominating the whole working leading to a weak working culture in the organization.

The effect of gathering support frameworks (GSS) on gathering struggle and peace making. The target of GSS is to offer help to gatherings associated with synergistic exercises, for example, thought age, correspondence, or arranging. Scarcely any examinations have inspected GSS impacts over some stretch of time. While most GSSs are very easy to use, they are yet new innovations. This newness might be a debasing impact in GSS inquire about. Further, on account of gatherings that are required to connect with one another over some stretch of time, the improvement of compelling relational practices are similarly significant results. Wrong gathering elements can dissolve gatherings’ trust, assurance and cohesiveness. Gathering struggle and the administration of this contention are significant determinants of such relational practices. Groups show signs of improvement results than an accumulation of people. Since team members share resources and pool information, facilitated groups involvement eater efficiency, use assets more viably, and take care of issues superior to people. Groups are imaginative and creative on the grounds that they empower hierarchical network soul, which thusly releases the intensity of innovative critical thinking Elf. As more workers are getting associated with entire frameworks and groups, the requirement for apparatuses that care group procedures is expanding.

The handling of the conflicts in effective way can bring great significant to the team performance whereas inadequate conflict resolution can create ha great personal or resource cost. These conflicts arise due to the difference in geographical, cognitive or emotional distance. But mainly conflicts arises due to the dealing with other; friend or others person related to the organization.

Conflict Theoretical Perspective

Conflict theoretical approach can be defined as the pressures and problems that relate to limited resources (Crossman, 2019). The unequal distribution of resources creates an unbalanced social life and a sense of power control. The conflict theory views the social life as a contention among the different social classes that exist where those with power rule over others. The conflict scholars point out that social inequality in schools was not minimized through the introduction of public schools. Karl Marx’s theory, according to Crossman (2019), argues that the education system encourages social divisions through social class, gender, and culture. Students from low-income homes do not have the same access to educational resources as students from high-income households. Such differences may result in social conflicts. According to Caplinger (2018), the rising tuition fee has created challenges for both the parents and the students. It is estimated that tuition costs have gone up by more than $7,000 in the previous ten years. The rising costs have further led to an inflation crisis higher than 3%, with no signs of its reduction (Crossman, 2019). Additionally, student loans have gone up, and as a result, students, especially those of poor and middle-income earner homes, continue to be in massive debts. The implications of the debts have put the careers of the students in trouble from the onset. This paper will discuss in detail the consequences of rising tuition costs of American colleges and universities.

The increase in the cost of tuition fees has attracted different consequences for the different socio-economic groups that exist. According to Karl Marx’s theory of conflict, the focus is mainly on the rich and powerful who are better referred to as the bourgeoisie (Crossman, 2019). Further, the poor or working-class who have neither power nor wealth, also known as the proletariat. Each social group conflicts with each other because of their differences in goals and interests. Also, there exists a lot of competition among these groups as they seek to access the same resources. At the end of it all, the resources are unequally spread, with those in power being the recipients of the majority of the resources while the working-class struggle to acquire the same resources (Crossman, 2019). Students that accumulate student loans to continue with their education belong to the working class. However, those that come from rich families have no struggles and do not need loans for their education. At the same time, the students from working-class families may even forego their college education because they are not able to afford their tuition fees. Crossman (2019), points out that as the socio-economic conditions of the proletariat worsen, they would rebel against the rich. They would fight against the injustices created by the bourgeoisie and demand for changes. These changes would be vital in easing the fights, but the cycle would repeat itself. However, a peaceful and stabilized society would mean a new system created as a result of a revolution.

One key problem associated with the increase in tuition fees is the incapability faced by students from low-income families to pursue their studies in colleges and universities of their choice (Caplinger, 2018). As much as there are financial aids for students to cater for tuition fee, most students who come from low-income families are not able to access the money and sometimes they do not take up the aid because they know they may not be able to pay it off after college (Goldrick-Rab, et al., 2016). Due to these facts, some students land in careers that are less likely to require a degree qualification. Crossing from one social class to the next is nearly impossible for the low-income earners because of the continuous cycle of low income-generating jobs, unlike those with degree qualifications. Students from families whose parents have a degree tend to be in a better position of acquiring a degree. Students from low-income families may enroll in colleges but drop out in the second semester because of the increased tuition fee that keeps rising. The students realize that school is expensive, and financing it is nearly impossible. On the other hand students from well of families have no difficulties in the funding of their education. They can go through college and complete their studies without struggles in paying for their tuition (Goldrick-Rab, et al., 2016).

The accumulation of debts being incurred by the students from middle-class families is continuously going up. One of the reasons for this is the constant change in colleges. Students find themselves moving from one college to another and may end up not completing their studies (Goldrick-Rab, et al., 2016). As a result, they bury themselves in debts but have no degree to show. Statistics indicate that 11% of students that receive financial aid do not go back to school after they finish their first year. Another one shows that about 80% of the students do not complete their education, meaning that they do not get to earn a bachelor’s degree while another 20% take a long period of about six years to earn their bachelor’s degree (Goldrick-Rab, et al., 2016). A good example is a comparison of two students who, under the same circumstances, are set to graduate at the same time with a similar degree. One student, however, has accumulated loans, and the other has not. The difference between the two is that, upon completion, one will be required to pay the debt while the other one will use the extra money to save or do something constructive with it. Studies show that an average number of students, seven out of ten, complete their studies with accumulated student loans.

In conclusion, the conflict theoretical approach goes way back to the 18th century. It causes divisions causing a difference in political standpoint, social class, ethnic differences, and other social disparities. As much as it existed even in the 18th century, it is still relevant to this day and era. The rising cost of education in as far as tuition fees are concerned, has brought with it many problems including the aftermath effects that involve a burdened generation that has to pay for the debts even as they usher in a new era of adulthood filled with responsibilities. Social conflicts may never be resolved due to the influence of the rich and powerful. The inequality created as a result of the rising tuition costs creates concern among the policymakers. There are questions on whether financial aid is meeting its intended purpose to low-income families. However, many studies have concluded that the education system has only made socio-economic inequality worse. It has divided students and made the gap even wider than it has done in building the bridge of its reduction (Goldrick-Rab, et al., 2016).

Conflict between HR Department and Employee

Introduction

Conflicts are the normal part of workplace and most of the times these conflicts take place between employees and human resource department of the firm. In this report I am also going to highlight the recent conflict that took place between an employee and the human resource manager. The conflict took place in the recognized telecommunication company of UAE named Etisalat. In this report I am going to highlight the brief history of the report and the details of conflicts will be presented in report through an interview. Finally, the analysis of interview will be made to get an understanding about the major reason of the conflict, its symptoms, trust and fairness practices followed by the company related to conflict followed by some recommendations at the end of report.

The conflict

The conflict between human resource manager and the employee XYZ took place in one of the leading competitor of telecommunication industry named Etisalat. Etisalat Company is mainly responsible to offer telecommunication facilities to people living across all parts of UAE. Its market share is quite high as compared to its competitor Du but this company is adopting some unfair resources with regard to dealing with the expatriate employees. Based on the interview conducted from the employee named XYZ it was identified that conflict took place between him and the HR manager. In Etisalat people belonging to developing regions mainly Philippine and India are also working (Bhatti, et al, 2015). Company has recruited these staff members based on their talent and knowledge in the field. XYZ is working as the telecommunication engineer in the company and he belongs to Philippine. He has another friend working at the same title and having similar level of experience belonging to India. One day XYZ was discussing about his salary raise issue with the Indian friend and told him that company has not made any raise in his salary even this year and the management authorities promised to do this last year. His friend told him that he has got the salary raise and when both of them compared their salaries there was difference of 4000 Dirham. It is the representation of clear discrimination practices followed by company with offering pay raise and compensations to employees belonging to developing regions. XYZ got angry after knowing details and immediately went to his HR manager and told him all details. HR manager refused to give him any details on the issue and asked him to wait for another one year to get the salary raise. The entire conflict became the reason of dissatisfaction and demotivation of XYZ and he decided to take the issue to higher authorities and talked to his CEO. CEO gave positive response and formulated an investigation committee to investigate the root causes of issue. Details found by committee highlighted that HR manager was responsible for this conflict. A salary raise was announced for XYZ and this is how issue came towards end.

Analysis

a) Root causes

Discriminatory practices

In this conflict the root cause was discriminatory practices followed by Human resource manager to offer equal level salaries to employees belonging to third world countries.

Poor management

Poor management practice was made by human resource manager is another reason of this conflict. Hiring a qualified candidate for the role of human resource manager who is fully aware of the job duties can resolve this type of issue.

Lack of fairness

Lack of fairness is another reason of the conflict because employees are not genuine with the given job roles. The biased behavior followed by the human resource manager became cause of employee dissatisfaction and lack of trust.

b) Symptoms of conflict

The symptoms of conflict were clear by the discriminatory and biased behavior made by the human resource manager. He was willing to pay favors to an Indian employee but was showing strictness and rude behaviors towards employee belonging to Philippine despite of all his expertise and good knowledge over work.

c) Outcomes of conflict

As a result of conflict, XYZ lost his interest in work and started feeling highly demotivated and discouraged. He took the case to the CEO of firm and asked him to take actions against it.

d) Issues of trust and fairness

Trust and fairness practices are not followed by the human resource manager. Being the manager he must be unbiased towards employees and must reward them salaries and incentives based on their performance and productivity level. HR manager was showing favors towards employees based on their nationalities and became the reason of employee dissatisfaction and poor performance. biased behavior was the reason that he was giving high salary benefits to one employee as compared to the other regardless of the fact that both of them were working with same job title.

e) Analysis of power level and its impact on conflict

HR manager was playing the managerial role in the organization and his power was higher than the rest of engineers working within the firm. He made use of this power to make salary raise of employees based on his own choice and did not pay attention to follow the company fairness policies and practices (Nauman, 2017).

Secondly, power was showed by CEO who had the leading position in the company and he made the investigation team to find out the root causes of the conflict. This type of power is known as the legitimate power and it is often linked with the job title an employee has within the organization. All these factors indicate that they combined to contribute to the conflict faced by XYZ. It is highlighted from the conflict analysis that it became the reason of employee dissatisfaction and lack of motivation to accomplish the given job duties in an active manner. The entire conflict has come to an end because of effective strategy adopted by CEO of the company. Formulation of the investigation team and finding out the root causes of the conflict finally brought this issue towards an end.

Recommendations

Certain recommendations to follow similar practices in future are as follows:

• The CEO of firm and board of directors should make sure that all employees and mainly HR managers working in the human resource department of firm are following the fairness practices in terms of performing appraisals and offering salary raise to employees. At the time of hiring it must be clear to all staff members to strictly follow the company policies and practices and do not make any negligence to avoid conflicts in future.
• It must be clearly mentioned by the company experts that no discrimination will be made among employees based on their nationality and regional origin. Etisalat should mention in the code of conduct that it is an equal opportunity employer and does not show favors to limited number of employees.