In any work environment, conflict is bound to occur since the parties involved have different personalities and work under stress. In the greedy seven case study, a conflict occurs whereby a few individuals are set to get a pay rise while others who feel they are qualified do not. This makes the individuals who are not getting a pay rise feel that they are not good enough for their job, thus lowering their morale in the workplace. While the ones set to get a pay rise feel that they deserve the pay rise, this creates animosity between the two parties, creating mistrust in the system (Gunawan, 2020).
The consequences of the conflict are felt in that the dean decides to find a job somewhere else and accepts the offer leaving the university searching for one. The school of business reputation is also tarnished in the university while others are coined the greedy seven. In this case, measures need to be put in place to rebuild the lost trust among the individuals and foster good relations, as discussed.
First, fostering a greater sense of personality is essential as it will make the employees feel that their employers care about them hence improving the internal trademark of the employer. For instance, conducting a uniform survey in other departments to find out measures that would make them more competitive in the country and make a consistent decision across all departments could avert the crisis. The second would be to build a transparent philosophy in the organization (Lange, 2018). While it is important for leaders, to be honest, creating a tradition where all parties involved foster transparency would prove a more productive organization. The employer ought to conduct open meetings and make decisions based on recommendations provided by the entire team and not a few individuals. In return, the employer would get honest feedback from the team, and as such, trust is built. Transparency plays a significant role in mitigating conflict since the parties involved are aware of what is taking place in the organization and provide honest feedback concerning any matters.
Third, providing a chance for the cooperation of the departments to work with each other. In the greedy seven case study, the business school made decisions that would only favor them without consulting with other departments. Departmental cooperation fosters some trust among the employees as it strengthens the impression that they are reliable, thus motivating them in their field of work. Fourth, applying the honesty philosophy while making major decisions in the organization (Hugh-Jones, 2016).
Acknowledge the flaws that might have occurred during the conflict and own up for being part of the reason the conflict did occur while promising to be more vigilant to make more rational decisions in the future. For instance, the dean school of business ought to own up for making major departmental decisions involving just the benefiting parties while leaving out the other important professors of the department. By so doing, he would be rebuilding the lost trust by owning his downfalls and proposing to make better decisions in the future.
The compensation plan offered to an employee depends on several factors, which could be externally aligned or internally aligned. Externally aligned factors include the cost of living, economic situations, the current income level, the society, and the need and availability of labor (Kang, 2020). These are the factors that are dependent on what is taking place outside of the organization. For instance, employers pay salaries while keeping in line with what takes place in the outside market to be uniform and relevant.
The school of business’s greedy seven professors wanted to be at par with the other professors in the country for them to be competitive with the rest and gain accreditation (Eddleston, 2020). In this case, the need for compensation increase was externally aligned.
Internally aligned factors include the company compensation plan, the personnel value, the job description, work description, and analysis. The employer rates an individual’s pay depending on the value of the job, and how valuable and affordable the employee is. The Turrentine state university could not afford the pay increase due to the financial crisis at hand but was willing to work out a plan through two financial years. This was not because they had finances but because they would lose their valued professors and henceforth be rendered uncompetitive in the market, which could be the beginning of the school’s downfall.
The administration should take an internal alignment strategy when building a compensation plan for their employees. For example, an organization should not collapse while trying to pay employees wages that the organization cannot afford (Evans, 2018). Turpentine state university was in a financial crisis while trying to pay the greedy seven absurd wages that would overstretch their finances into a more financial crisis. Instead, one would consider increasing the wage of an employee who is valuable to the organization and would suffer a great loss if they fire them.
References
Eddleston, K. (2020). Family business professors: Resources for online learning. Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange. Web.
Evans, N. (2018). NHS pay rise makes social care recruitment more difficult. Nursing older People, 30(7), 6-6. Web.
Gunawan, J. (2020). Covid-19: Praise is welcome, but nurses deserve a pay rise. Belitung Nursing Journal, 6(5), 150-151. Web.
Hugh-Jones, D. (2016). Honesty, beliefs about honesty, and economic growth in 15 countries. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 127, 99-114. Web.
Kang, H. (2020). A study on the effects of food security on economic situations: Based on country’s income level. Korea International Trade Research Institute, 16(3), 183-201. Web.
Lange, M. (2018). What would normative necessity be?. The Journal of Philosophy, 115(4), 169-186. Web.