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101 ERLEMPLOYMENT RELATIONSEssay Topic:Is workplace conflict inevitable?Student Number: 257-4267For the past two decades, there has been a dramatic change in the Australian workplace relations; in particular, constant changes to the employment regulations between employers and employees have taken place over the years. These changes have brought about a number of different views and strategies on how different companies should be run with regard to employee relations throughout many industries (Nankervis and Lewing, 2004). In Rasmussen and Lamm (2002), the author contrasted two main approaches to workplace relations within organisations; unitarist and pluralist, these approaches reflect the different employee relations and human resource management strategies being applied. A unitarist believes organisations should have an integrated group, a simple authority and a common set of goals and values shared between employees and management, and regard unions as unnecessary as conflicts can be eliminated internally. On the other hand, a pluralist sees conflict as rational and inevitable, resulting from industrial and organisational factors, along with differing managerial and employee groups. Trade Unions are well accepted in this approach and conflict is contained via collective bargaining, conciliation and arbitration (Rasmussen and Lamm, 2002) and (Nankervis and Lewing, 2004).The purposes of this paper is to critically discuss and evaluate the practise of employment relations within organisations, and provide materials to support the argument that conflict is inevitable in the employment relationship. In reaching this conclusive statement, we will begin by looking at the definition of conflict. Following this we will analyse the pros and cons of conflict and the factors that may influence it in our working environment.Sing (1998) describes conflict as the clashes of ideas, attitudes and goals between individuals and groups. He further suggested that this is usually present in the workplace whenever people from diverse groups work together, Ramsey (2003) also supports this claim and believes it is a result of misunderstanding and agreements.There are many situations in which conflict can arise in employment relations: conflict can occur when the stakeholders’ objectives are different. Stakeholders are groups of people who has an interest in business activities, these can include: owners, customers, employees, suppliers and government bodies (Mctaggart and Knotes, 2005). Each type of stakeholder is likely to have a set of goals they want to achieve. For example, shareholders want regular and high returns and will attempt to ensure managers undertake decisions to maximise stock prices (Jones and Netter, 2002); employees want jobs and secure employment (Smith, 2004). Both these stakeholders have different objectives and maybe difficult to fulfil. Conflicts can exist between many different groups of stakeholders during decision making, since they have varied goals (Sing 1998). For instance, there are times where issues between owners and managers can occur; the management team may take advantage of their position by seeking their own interests rather than those of the owners, this can involve paying themselves a large paycheck or organising time to suit their own needs and only achieving satisfactory levels of profits rather than high levels of profits (Vaknin, n.d.).Another situation where conflict can occur is between the employees and the owners or managers of a business, this usually takes place when there are disagreements on such things as the levels of pay, working condition and changing practices (Mctaggart & Knotes 2005; Managing and Resolving Conflict n.d.; Coan 2004). This is because workers generally want more than what owners are prepared to pay. However, money does not always provide happiness to the employees, they want to be valued and appreciated within their organisation. Being recognised and having a sense of purpose and importance means a lot to people (Haas, 2001). Conversely, managers prefer to maximise profits by minimising labour costs either by a way of lowering wages or laying-off workers, and to increase the intensity of work effort by the employee in the firm.In addition to the employment conflicts mentioned above, there are other issues relating to conflict within the working environment, discrimination. This is one of the largest problem facing our world today and occurs everyday not just in the workplace but everywhere. There are many types of discrimination, Time For Equality At Work (2003) gave extensive examples of workplace discrimination: when workers are rejected or granted positions of employment because of their appearance or when a competent woman manager is paid less than a male colleague with equal productivity, these are regarded as discrimination. There are many forms of discrimination, it can range from differences in sexual preferences or religion to where a woman having to undergo a pregnancy test inorder to be considered for a job.Conflict in the workforce is quite common and often not dealt with openly within organisations; this may be due to the fact that it is hidden and not easily seen by management. However, in saying this, management sometimes fail to act to resolve conflict even when it is visible. One explanation of this is that management really only cares about the operations of the business and its success, not the driving force behind the business which is its people (Haas, 2001).The facts provided above, clearly suggests that these types conflict in the workplace pose a serious problem for the whole environment within organisations. It is therefore vital to deal with the problem quickly and most effectively, once discovered. Failing to do so can lead employees to have no motivation to work and as a result, the company may experience decreased productivity and a lower level of revenue and profit (Fiore, 2004). In a research article developed by Jordan (2005), an stonishing result involving Irish workplaces showed employees failing to turn up to work as a result of stress, this outcome s trongly supports Foire’s claim.Often conflicts within organisations can be resolved internally as suggested by the unitarist approach. However, sometimes serious personality clashes can occur; this can affect teamwork building between employer and employee and can lead to less productivity and effectiveness. Upon this, if workers constantly are being pressured to work harder and produce more, tension will rise (Ramsey, 2003).There is a need in most workplaces to improve the communication skills between the employer and the employee. If this kind of work cooperation is being ignored, the consequences can be expensive for the organisation. Unresolved stress and tension in a workplace can lead to more conflicts (Haas, 2001).Although negative results are likely to occur from conflict there are still many positive consequences that can emerge. Conflict can be seen as a productive force, by allowing individual members organisations to increase their knowledge and skills, by sharing and contributing ideas to the organisation and its members. This view of conflict provides people with feedback for any potential problems. By adapting to this view of conflict and recognising that each conflicting situation provides opportunity to improve, there would be a more positive approach to conflict and so rather than trying to eliminate it, the task of managing conflict would take its place and would result in better developed people and a stronger organisation (Bacal, 2004).In contrast to Bacal’s suggestion that conflict management leads to greater productivity, solving and managing conflicts can be expensive and time consuming for companies. Every year, thousands of dollars are spent on legal fees to resolve disputes with employees, clients and business partners (Reade, 2004). However, there are other alternatives to cut costs when handling conflicts and that is through the use of integrated conflict management systems (Lewis & Sacks, 2001). Conflict Management Systems deals with paying attention to conflict signals, ignoring it can worsen the situation. It teaches how to deal with various situations such as: If an issue arises, deal directly withthat person and to be open to suggestions by others, which is often not always followed by management because they do not like their authority to be questioned.Another way of resolving conflict problem in the workplace is through collective bargaining. It involves determining conditions of work and terms of employment through negotiations between employees and employers representatives, such as trade unions. The representative body has more strength and influence and can negotiate for its members since, if many individuals with collective interests, come together as a group, they have a much bigger influence towards the employers. The primary goal for the unions is to protect the economic conditions for the employees, and to advance their wages. Without such a bargaining process, employers and managers would be able to set wages and conditions without taking into account employees’ interests. The result of collective bargaining is a collective agreement. These agreements are usually written and are signed by the parties and will be binding. Agreements include pay, work conditions, fringe benefits and also redundancy, dismissal and promotion procedures. The advantages are that it may encourage worker to work more effectively as they think that their opinions might be accepted. Also it helps to improve the relationship between owners and employees because they do not have to argue independently. The representative body can help them to solve the problems together ( Silva, 1996).To conclude, conflict is inevitable and an essential ingredient for the management process, it cannot be avoided and ignored. It may impact organisations and its members in a negative way, but this negative effect can help build positive ones, and as a result, may create more growth within organisations. In an article by Pilgram (2005), the author also supports this statement and added that, if dealt with effectively it will lead to greater productivity among employees, hence growth. Conflict is therefore not regarded as evil. It is a natural process and provides the opportunity to explore and resolve differences in a constructive manner. Furthermore, it enables managers to create a more efficient workforce, bring in new ideas and constructive suggestions to the business and therefore stimulates business growth.ReferencesFiore, T., (2004). Resolving Workplace Conflict: 4 Ways to a Win-Win Solution, Attard Communications Inc. Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /manage/resolve.htm Bacal, R., (2004). Organisational Conflict – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Journal for Quality and Participation. Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /p/articles/mi_qa3616/is_200407/ai_n9425843Coan, G., (2004). Managing Workplace Conflicts. Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from/guestconflict/manworkplaceconflict.htmHart, R., (2004). The Mind-Body Connection: Workplace Conflict, Stress & the Risk of Injury, The Authority On Occupational Safety, Health and Loss Prevention. Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from/articles/12168Haas, T.D., (2001), ‘Conflict? What an Opportunity’, Charter, vol. 72, no. 8, pp. 50. Retrieved, 30 August, 2005, from ProQuest 5000.Jones, S.L., & Netter, J.M., (2002). Efficient Capital Markets. Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /library/Enc/EfficientCapitalMarkets.htmlJordan, A., (2005). Report Stresses Need For Happy Workers, Irish Echo Newspaper Corp. Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /newspaper/ story.cfm?id=16928Lewis, A., & Sacks, M., (2001), ‘Turning disputes to corporate advantage Arguments between staff can result in costly litigation. However, Michael Sacks and Andy Lewis believe a resolution systemcan turn conflict into a potentially creative force’, Financial Times, Iss. Nov 26 , p. 02. Retrieved,30 August, 2005, from ABI/INFORM Global.McTaggart, J.M., & Knotes, P.W., (2005), The Governing Corporate Objective: Shareholders Versus Stakeholders. Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /ideas_pdf/id_930601_kontes.pdfNankervis, A., & Lewing J. (2004). Employment Relations, 4th Edition Publish: Thompson.Pilgram, S., (2005). An Essential Ingredient For Growth, Pertinent Information Ltd.Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /articles/communication/spilgrim4.aspRamsey, R.D., (2003), ‘Peacekeeping in the Workplace: How to Handle Personality Clashes Among Employees’, Supervision, vol. 64, no. 5, pp. 14. Retrieved, 30 August, 2005, from ABI/INFORM Global.Rasmussen, E., & Lamm E. (2002). An Introduction to Employment Relations in New Zealand.Auckland: Pearson Education.Reade, Q., (2004). Workplace Conflict is Time-Consuming Problem for Business, Personnel Today.Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /Articles/2004/09/30/25840/Workplace+conflict+is+time-consuming+problem+for+business.htmSilva, S.D., (1996). Collective Bargaining Negotiations, International Labor Organisation.Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /public/ english/dialogue/actemp/ papers/1998/srscbarg.htm Sing, H., (1998), ‘The Management of Conflict at Workplace’, New Strait Times (Malaysia), Access no.73431101842. Retrieved 30 August, 2005 from Business Source Premier.Smith, D., (2004). Values vs Values: The Organisational Split, Informit Network. Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /articles/article.asp?p=170966&rl=1Time for Quality at Work (2003). Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from /dyn/declaris/ DECLARATIONWEB.DOWNLOAD_BLOB?Var_DocumentID=1558Vaknin, S., (n.d). Making Your Workers Your Partners.Retrieved 30 August, 2005, from/nm038.html。