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Unifying corporate mismatches
Conflicts in an organisation are inevitable. To manage and
curb them to a minimum is an art. Sushmi Dey gives an overview of the
various conflict management techniques adopted by companies
 Stress,
peer pressure, personality issues, jealousy, miscommunication and strong opinions
are the various reasons why onflicts erupt in workplaces. People working together
and in close proximity with each other are bound to face all kinds of antagonistic
interactions and incompatible objectives.
Conflicts can blow out of proportion and result in loss of energy, morale of
employees, deteriorated relationships, loss of motivation, wastage of time,
and degradation of performance. If not handled properly, and in time, they can
prove very harmful to the concerned employees, their colleagues, and the organisation.
It is essential for HR departments, therefore, to identify conflicts when they
are still in the nascent stages.
Its healthy!
Ironically, some amount of conflicts in the work environment can prove to be
healthy, creative, and in the interest of the company as long as they are resolved
in time. Healthy conflict can lead to growth and innovation. According to J
P Singh, Director, Bausch & Lomb India, “Since these are healthy debates,
everyone is left committed and motivated. An issue is treated like an opportunity
to get performance into the next orbit.” Agrees Hari Abburi, Head, Human
Resource India & South East Asia, Baxter India, “Conflicts, to some
extent, are a good sign that shows ability of the organisation to keep pushing
itself to better practices. But if they step out of boundaries of a healthy
debate, it does have a negative impact.” Hence, HR departments should restrain
from avoiding conflicts totally. They should take them into their stride and
steer them to the right direction.
However, professionals say that preventing or avoiding conflict is not a sound
strategy. “Prevention is based on the assumption that all conflicts are
necessarily bad,” says Abburi. If the conflicting agents withdraw from
the conflict and prefer to suppress it rather than confront it, the scenario
worsens. At a later stage, the conflict may explode and cause serious problems
within the organisation. Thus, instead of suppressing a conflict, if it is managed
effectively, it can stimulate creativity and action on a project. Abburi opines,”
Constructive conflict leads to accelerate results.”
Catch the cause
The first step to conflict management is getting to the root of the problem.
There are varied sources or causes behind every conflict that takes place in
any organisation. Typical examples would be misunderstandings and ego problems.
People in an organisation come from different cultural backgrounds, with different
ambitions, political or religious views and different styles, forming a diverse
community within the organisation. This diversity can lead to misunderstandings,
which in turn, cause severe disagreements and subsequently, conflicts.
Ego is another common cause for conflicts. “The 'I am right' syndrome is
the most common cause for conflict,” observes Nandakumar Chodankar, CEO
and MD of Sekhsaria Chemicals. He says that in such cases the management should
lend a patient ear to both the parties and resolve the conflict as soon as possible,
so that it does not become so serious that co-operation becomes impossible.
Every employee is under the pressure to perform. While the urge to perform the
best, creates a competitive atmosphere in favour of the organisation, there
are also times when competition becomes unfriendly or bitter, which can lead
to destructive conflicts. Thus, the management has to keep a watchful eye and
see to it that the competitive atmosphere doesn't wield its negative band over
its employees.
Keeping it down
Experts identify four conflict management strategies—collaboration, competition,
accommodation and avoidance. According to Stephen P Robbins, these steps should
be followed as 'dimensions of conflict-handling intentions'.
Collaboration is considered to be one of the best strategies, especially when
the company's interests are at stake. The strategy is generally used when the
organisation feels that the concerns are important. “We have very few conflicts
in our organisation because we believe in creating a win-win situation, where
we keep our employees happy because it is in the interest of our company,”
explains Alok Seth of Samrudh Pharmaceuticals.
Awareness of the various developmental stages of a conflict is essential to
handle the same. Being alert to signs of conflicts, helps leaders and members
of any organisation. It helps them to be proactive in reducing or resolving
the conflict by getting to the root of the issue. Organisational managers can
plan their action before the conflict becomes open and destructive.
Communication plays a vital role in resolving conflicts. In fact, failure in
communication is often the most common reason that can lead to a conflict between
individuals. Conflicts often take serious shapes when people are incompatible
or when ideas are not clear in the first place. Chodankar says, “Managers
should be more understanding, they should encourage regular discussions rather
than ordering all the time”. He further adds that it is important for any
organisation to develop relations with its employees in order to understand
their needs, requirements, what they are or not capable of doing. “It is
important that we talk to our employees in their language.”
Open communication also leads the way to successful conflict management. Organisations
require involvement and suggestions from every position to survive the environment
of continuous change. “We believe in an open and candid dialogue. People
get together in a group to discuss the issues,” said JP Singh, Director,
Bausch & Lomb India. Singh further adds that if any conflict arises then
the “root causes are looked into and resolved. A healthy debate brings
out the best solution to go forward”.
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It is interesting to note that conflicts can happen
between various lines of service. There are different forms of conflicts
which occur between individuals, groups and departments of an organisation.
Individual Conflict: Individual conflicts
relate to Role Conflict which is based on orders that an individual may
receive. The individual may also, at times, face two conflicting orders,
where it may become difficult for him or her to comply with any one of
them. He may, thus, harbour divided loyalties to those initiating the
orders, and be reprimanded for the orders not complied with. This type
of conflict can happen to both, sub-ordinate and senior.
Interpersonal Conflicts: Interpersonal conflicts
occur between individuals or between individuals and groups, when they
start believing that their rights are being violated. This, in turn, can
lead to higher possibility of aggression in the dispute. Experts say that
this is the area from which most Union disputes evolve.
Inter-group Conflicts: It occurs between
different departments of the organisation and is considered to be most
damaging to performance. Managing inter-group conflicts is essential to
any organisation if it has to manage change in the work environment effectively.
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One of the most valued commodities in human relationships
is trust. In terms, trust is the key to individuals supporting one another
and an essential pre-requisite for open communication. Trust has also
been shown to affect how individuals view one another's performance. Trusting
groups perceive themselves to have a greater degree of success than non-trusting
groups. For these reasons, it is imperative that your company and teams
develop an atmosphere of trust.
Trust is earned by one party investing time, effort,
and other irrecoverable resources in the relationships. In other words,
when companies show that they support the team concept through compensation,
training, and resource commitments, teams begin to trust the organisations.
Individuals accomplish the same trust building when they offer closely
held information, such as key contracts, and are willing to make time
to attend meetings to help other members of the team.
Clear common goals are another way to instil trust in
teams. When everyone perceives the others, as working towards the same
end, friction is reduced and trust is supported. Joint training, role
playing, and team exercise are effective techniques for building trust.
By Steve Waterhouse
The Team Selling Solution-Creating and managing
teams that win the complex sale.
Republished with permission from Tata McGraw-Hill
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editorial@expresspharmaonline.com
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