In organizations, employees disagree on how to carry out the activities of a company because for example the organizational structure of a company may not be well defined such that the employees may not know what they are expected to do this may lead to a conflict of interest between the employees. Conflict management refers to the process of managing conflicts between people in an organization while conflict resolution refers to the process of attempting to resolve conflicts between parties that are disagreeing on one issue with another. The conflicts may arise from people who do not live according to the values of the society or an organization. They also occur when a person’s values and perspective are threatened or where there are discomforts that arise from fear of the unknown or lack of fulfillment on the part of the individuals. Conflicts arise because of poor communication between employees in an organization. The employees may experience changes that may affect their performance for example the introduction of programs, decisions in an organization may result in the manager’s resistance to accept the changes since they may not be involved in decision-making processes therefore accepting those changes can be a problem and can result in conflicts the organization.
Conflicts in the organization can result from the disagreement between parties about the positions in an organization in terms of which duties and responsibilities should be assigned to which employee in the organization therefore employees may conflict on which activities to carry out and it can lead to conflicts. The resources that are used in the organization may be insufficient to meet the needs of an organization to facilitate carrying out the activities of the company and this may lead to conflicts in the organization. They can also result from conflicting values or actions among the managers and the employees. For instance, the values of both the managers and the employees may vary because they may be from different communities and may have different educational backgrounds that may result in disagreement about how the decision-making processes are carried out since each of them has learned different skills and knowledge, therefore, coming into a compromise on what is right or wrong can lead to conflicts among the employees.
Leadership problems can also result in conflict between the employees of the organization. The leadership problems can result from inconsistently missing information, too-strong or uninformed leadership at all levels of the organization. The leaders may avoid their responsibilities such that in case the problem arises they may blame employees for the problems yet they were there out of their own mistakes. The management of the company may fail to resolve the problems in the organization and this may lead to conflicts that are solved hence leading to the occurrence of the conflicts thus they may affect the performance of the company. The supervisors may also not be in a position to understand the duties and responsibilities of their subordinates therefore assigning those jobs can be a difficult task and it can lead to conflicts between the employees. The effects of not handling conflicts effectively can result in personal dislike among the parties that carry out their activities. The teamwork between the employees can be affected because of the breakdown of communication that can lead to low output of the organization. The lack of solving the conflict can lead to loss of talents since some employees can leave their employment due to lack of satisfaction while carrying out their activities.
. Conflict resolution can be achieved by listening to the parties that are disagreeing and then providing opportunities that can be used to meet the needs of the parties until they are satisfied with the outcome that leads to solving the conflict. The conflict resolution methods that are used in solving problems are conciliation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation. The negotiation conflict resolution method is used to solve problems that exist between parties that disagree on issues that affect them. It can be used using the traditional model of collective bargaining where the interests of the parties are weighed out to determine the working relationships of these parties and also to enable the parties to carry out their activities effectively. A mediator is a person who intervenes to solve problems between parties that are disagreeing. Arbitration can also be used in solving conflicts within an organization. The process involves appointing an independent person to act as a judge in a dispute to decide on the terms of settlement of conflicts between the parties. The parties in disagreement choose an arbitrator to solve conflicts. The process differs from mediation and negotiation process because it does not promote the continuation of collective bargaining but the arbitrator listens to both parties in disagreement and then investigates the demands and the counter demands of parties in conflict and or he/she takes the overall role of solving conflicts among the employees within the organization.
The conflicts in the organization can lead to deterioration of personal and professional growth in the organization because the parties that disagree many have different goals and needs that can lead to the stagnation of the growth of the company since it extends the employees aware of the situation that is affecting the performance of the company it gives them the solution of how to tackle those problems. When conflicts are resolved it can lead to strong teamwork among the employees of the organization. It can lead to stronger mutual respect and also lead to renewed faith among the employees since they have the basics of enabling them to carry out their activities. Conflict resolution leads the employees to review their goals and objectives to help them to understand the things that are needed in the organization. It also helps them to sharpen their focus and it enhances their effectiveness.
Conflict resolution can be resolved using the analytic problem-solving approach that can be used in solving disputes. To resolve the conflicts a manager needs to identify causal factors that cause the conflicts and then finding ways to deal with problems. The complete resolution of conflict requires significant socio-economic or political changes that can restructure the society in a better way. The changing societal structures are the distribution of wealth in the society which is often a difficult thing to do and may take a long time for a person or a manager to accomplish in their organization. The process of solving conflicts can take long and it is a laborious process, therefore, the manager may look for alternative ways of dealing with conflicts in their organization.
The conflict management process involves controlling the long-term or deep-rooted conflict within an organization. The approach is taken when the conflict resolution proves to be difficult to handle among the employees of the organization who are in disagreement. The goal of the conflict management process is to enable the manager of the organization to gain knowledge of how to intervene in situations that can make the ongoing conflict to be more beneficial and less damaging to all sides of the organization for example the sending of peacemaking forces in a region that is facing conflict may be used to bring peace and calm in the region. In cases where the non-negotiable human needs cannot be achieved to solve problems then the management of conflicts can be used as an alternative measure of solving conflicts in the organization. The conflict resolution process uses the approaches that are known as the stress win-win outcomes, reconciliation, and stable peace approaches that are used to solve conflicts in the international markets.
The conflict resolution process classifies conflict as a bad thing that affects the performance of a company it assumes that conflict is a short-term phenomenon that can be used to resolve conflicts within an organization using mediation or other intervention processes while the conflict management process assumes that conflicts are long term processes that cannot be resolved as quickly as possible as the conflict resolution process. The notion of conflict management is that it suggests that people need to be directed or controlled to avoid conflicts among the employees of an organization. The process assumes that the goal of managing conflict is by reducing or controlling the volatility of the conflicts rather than dealing with the real source of the problem.
The human resource manager has the responsibility of managing conflicts and delivering justice between employees who disagree in an organization over decision-making processes. The manager on the other hand cannot be used to act as a mediator between groups of employees who are in disagreement on issues that affect them because he does not have the power and authority to carry out that task. The workplace conflict takes many shapes and forms such as employees may organize strikes due to issues that affect them, an individual may be dissatisfied with the responsibilities that have been given to him or her which may give rise to conflicts. The conflicts may also result from increased absenteeism, lower productivity, and sabotage among the employees of the organization (Van Gramberg, B. 2002)
The importance of conflict resolution in the organization is to solve the ethical problems that bring about the closure of contentions matters that provide workplace justice. The role of the human resource manager is to solve disputes in an organization, but he acts neutrally in solving conflicts in an organization such that he does not favor any party, but gives them the chance to reach a compromise on what is good for each one of them. The mediation process refers to the process of identifying the issues that cause conflicts then developing options alternatives that can facilitate an agreement between parties that disagree on issues that affect them. The mediator should not act as an advocate or he or she should not assume an adversarial role.
The leaders should address conflict issues in the right way and be able to handle the situations correctly so that the right environment is provided for carrying out their duties and responsibilities of an organization. The leader should ensure that all employees in an organization are involved in the process of solving problems in the organization so that they can contribute ideas, opinions of how to solve the problem. The problems are solved by having all employees generating alternative ways of handling conflicts in handling conflicts.
A leader should always prepare, think about the causes of conflicts in an organization to determine how to solve the problems. Conflict resolution provides a way in which disputes between the opposing parties are made to agree on the issues that affect them (John. W & Gerald. M, 2000.)
In any organization, conflicts may always arise because employees in the organization have different opinions and ideas therefore bringing the two parties to a compromise can be a difficult issue. For the manager and the leaders to solve problems in the organization they should plan on how to solve the problems by developing programs and also the management of the company should re-examine the current business practices to determine the various factors that are leading to conflicts in the organization, new ways should be implemented to solve conflicts in an organization so that the management of the organization can have an understanding of how to solve the problems in the organization. The brainstorming and the exploring perspective can be used in solving conflicts in an organization.
In the workplace, conflicts can be solved by using the collective bargaining process whereby groups of people or workers agree on mechanisms of solving problems. According to research carried out by some researchers, they found out collective bargaining brought about greater and good results for the company than when the individual decision-making process took place. Conciliation can also be used in solving conflicts within the organization. It is a process where the groups of employees who are in disagreement come together to settle grievances between parties that conflict. The method is used by groups of an organization such as the sports club, youth group, or the community organization, instead of participating in strikes that can result in low production of goods and services of the organization.
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