BUSM4590 People And Organisations

Introduction

In today’s competitive business world, corporations focus on implementing effective policies in order to maintain a positive working environment which promotes and supports employee relationship and motivate them to perform better. Conflicts are common between organisations because people from different cultures and backgrounds work together with each other which leads to difference in views. The human resource department focuses on reducing instances of dysfunctional conflicts which did not promote innovation in the organisation (Bolman & Deal 2013). Negotiations are a part of the HR activities based on which the HR department focuses on attracting and retaining talented employees in the company. Furthermore, due to globalisation, the importance of cross-cultural collaboration has increased between corporations since it creates positive relationships between employees and it promotes an overall positive and supportive culture in the organisation without any discrimination between employees (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013). In this report, relevant theories will be used to understand how HR managers can resolve conflicts in the workplace and promote functional conflicts between employees and management. This report will evaluate how negotiation is a key business activity and how negotiation preparation strategy benefits an organisation in the long run. Furthermore, the role of cross-cultural collaboration will be evaluated in the report and how training can improve cross-cultural teamwork will be discussed in the report. Various recommendations will be given in the report as well based on which the HR department can implement these principles in their organisations.

Conflicts in organisations

Employee conflict is inevitable in organisations which should not be ignored by the HR department because it could lead to long-standing antagonisms between employees that result in adversely affecting other employees and the enterprise. The conflicts arise between employees and management should be resolved quickly in order to maintain a positive working environment in the workplace. There are various factors which result in arising conflict in the workplace such as poor communication, difference in values, personalities and others (Rahim 2017). Poor communication is a key part which results in causing conflict between employees. There are different theories of communication which can apply to organisations such as Weber's classic fixed structure theory, Tompkins and Cheney’s organisational control theory and Deetz’s managerialism theory.

Weber’s theory provides that roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined and organisations should communicate in clear, structured and hierarchical manner. For example, Google promotes transparency in the workplace communication and enables employees to contribute to decision-making process which creates a positive working environment in the company. Conflicts are divided into various categories such as intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup and inter-organisational conflict. Difference in values and personalities of employees also result in increasing conflict at the workplace because employees are less likely to connect with others (Bolman & Deal 2013). Fierce competition between employees also results in causing conflict between employees.

Functional and Dysfunctional Conflicts

Functional conflicts assist in improving the performance of an organisation and achieve its goals. They serve organisation’s purpose and encourage positive involvement of employees in the conversation. They encourage employees to improve their performance in order to achieve their targets. On the other hand, dysfunctional conflicts hinder employee performance and reduce their productivity. They create a negative working environment in the workplace which results in affecting the performance of each employee, and they also waste its resources (Cheng & Sheu 2012).

Recommendations

Following recommendations can be used by the enterprise in order to reduce dysfunctional conflicts and increase functional conflicts.

• Providing conflict resolution training to the HR department and other supervisors can assist in preparing them for effectively dealing with conflicts in the workplace. The training would enable them to eliminate dysfunctional conflict between employees (Boddy 2014).
• Conducting proper meeting between employees and management in which the employees can give them honest opinions about the organisation in a proper way can increase functional conflict between employees.
• Establishing proper communication channels between employees and the management encourage employees to give their opinion to the management and questions their decisions. For example, organisations can implement Weber’s theory of communication in order to create a structural communication model which allows the employees to share their ideas with the organisation which promotes functional conflict.
• Implementation of a code of conduct which monitors the activities of employees and ensures that they behave properly with their colleagues is necessary to avoid dysfunctional conflicts. Discrimination against employees from different culture or background can create a hostile working environment which leads to dysfunctional conflicts. Google has implemented strict discrimination policies in the workplace, for example, the CEO of the company has recently fired a senior developer based on a discrimination memo which shows that the company is serious towards anti-discrimination policies (Swisher 2017).
• Encourage participation of employees in the decision-making process can result in promoting functional conflict because employees would be able to argue with each other regarding which strategies are suitable for the enterprise.
• Use of third-party mediation services can result in reducing dysfunctional conflict between employees because they will feel more comfortable sharing their issue with a third party who is an expert in this field and provide effective conflict solution.

Negotiations at the workplace

Negotiation is a key business activity because it enables the HR department to attract and retain talented employees in the workplace. It is referred to a formal conversation between two or more parties who seek to find a solution or reach an agreement in order to resolve a conflict or settle a mutual concern. It is a key business activity based on which businesses can enter into mutual argument with other parties regarding their business transactions. HR managers use their negotiation skills to hire and retain talented employees in tough economic times and with limited resources (Bolman & Deal 2013). Effective negotiation skills can be used by the HR department to persuade talented employees to stay in the organisation which is crucial for its success. It also assists the HR department in resolving conflict between employees by providing them mutual solutions which are beneficial for the parties.

For an HR manager, negotiation skills play a crucial role in performing his/her job in order to ensure that employees are satisfied with their job and they retain for a long period of time. Traditionally, HR managers use negotiation skills to ensure that talented employees are hired in the organisation, and they are retained for a longer period of time since it was crucial for the success of the enterprise. However, in modern times, the role of negotiation has increased for HR managers, and they are required to implement appropriate strategies for negotiating with employees. In recent years, HR managers have to deal with various issues such as the conflict between employees, discrimination issues and others which require them to negotiate with employees to avoid future conflicts which lead to success of the enterprise (Goldman & Shapiro 2012). There are various similarities between negotiation and conflict resolution strategies which are categorised into two parts which include distributive and integrative negotiation. Following are key elements of negotiation strategy which assist HR managers in conducting effective negotiation with employees.

• Managers should focus on interest, and they should separate person from the problem
• Their approach should be hard on the problem and soft on the person
• The objective of the negotiation is to find a win-win solution

Based on these three principles, the HR managers can persuade employees and get a ‘yes’ from them by negotiating with them regarding appropriate terms. BATNA is a key part of the negotiation strategy which is referred to ‘best alternative to a negotiated agreement’. It provides an important yardstick for HR managers in order to measure the value of any negotiated agreement (Wei & Luo 2012). If the BATNA of the HR manager is better than the proposed negotiated settlement, then they should not accept the proposal. Knowledge about BATNA of a person assists in increasing the negotiating power of the HR managers.

Recommendations

As an HR manager, following is the negotiation preparation strategy which can assist in effective negotiation and achieving the optimal outcomes for the company.

• Checking whether the HR manager is in the position of negotiating the situation
• Clarifying the aims of the negotiation
• Gathering appropriate and necessary information
• Negotiating with HR managers side
• Getting a BATNA
• Preparing the setting
• Mental preparation

Compliance with these provisions leads to effective negotiation settlement based on which HR managers can negotiation with employees effectively. For example, this strategy is used by Apple and Samsung to settle patent infringement issues with each other. Both companies avoid going to the court which would have been an expensive procedure. Samsung is one of the key suppliers of Apple, and they negotiate their supply agreement for effective negotiation (Harvard Law School 2017).

Cross-cultural collaboration

Learning how to collaborate creatively with different employees who are from other cultures is a crucial skill for HR managers in today’s competitive business environment. Due to globalisation, it has become common for organisations to hire employees from all across the globe. It increases the importance of effective cross-cultural management in the company without which it leads to conflicts between employees. Collaborative working is a key to success of an enterprise, and cultural issues hinder the collaborative working of employees (Bolman & Deal 2013). Thus, the importance of cross-cultural collaboration has increased among modern organisations which allow them to effectively deal with their employees and creates a positive working environment which promotes collaborative working between employees and leads to success of the company. In today’s global economy, it has become easier for organisations to expand their operations in overseas markets which allow them to hire talented employees from all across the globe.

Many corporations have implemented effective HR policies which enable them to promote diversity at their workplace. For example, Disney has over 180,000 employees across the globe and its process of implementing effective cross-cultural collaboration policies to promote diversity in the workplace. The corporation provides growth opportunities to women, and they also promote the growth of employees from other cultures such as Latinos. Furthermore, the company is in ‘DiversityInc Top 50 List’ in terms of effective diversity management (DiversityInc 2018). Another good example is Google which has gained a competitive advantage in the software industry due to its effective cross-cultural collaboration strategies. Employees from different race, caste, gender and religion are welcome in the country, and the company implement strict policies to avoid discrimination with them. A good example was firing of a senior developer by CEO of the company based on a discrimination memo (Weinberger & Kovach 2017). Due to its positive culture and collaborative working environment, Google has become one of the best places to work across the globe which provides it a competitive advantage over others.

Recommendations

As an HR manager, following are different training strategies which can assist in improving cross-cultural teamwork between employees which leads to overall success of the enterprise.

• Acknowledging and respecting cultural difference

One of the key issues which adversely affect cross-cultural collaboration is stereotyping. Most employed did not have knowledge of others cultures, and they stereotype them which is wrong. Acknowledging the difference in cultures of employees and teaching others to respect them is crucial for the success of an enterprise (Viberg & Gronlund 2013). It eliminates stereotyping at the workplace and creates a collaborative cultural between employees.

• Establishing team identity and outlining their roles and responsibilities

Clearly defining an identity to a team promotes collaboration between employees which enable them to work together to achieve their targets. Defining the roles and responsibilities avoid any confusion between employees, and they are focused towards achieving their targets rather than increasing conflict due to difference in cultures.

• Strict code of conduct

Establishing a strict code of conduct to avoid discrimination between employees is crucial for the success of an enterprise and collaboration between employees. If employees know that their insensitive behaviour will be punished than they are more likely to avoid such actions and take appropriate measures to promote collaboration among employees.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the role of HR managers has increased substantially in the past few decades, and they play a crucial role in success of an enterprise. Effective HR strategies enable the organisation to create a positive working environment which promotes effective relationship with employees and retaining them in the corporation. Effective conflict management can result in improving the overall performance of an enterprise which results in improving its employee performance and sustaining the company’s growth. Negotiation enables HR managers to ensure that employees are retained in the organisation to achieve corporate goals. Furthermore, importance of cross-cultural collaboration has increased which requires HR managers to take appropriate actions in order to promote teamwork between employees and creating a collaborative environment. Various theories and recommendations are given in the report which assists HR managers in implementing appropriate strategy which results in sustaining overall growth of the enterprise.

References

Boddy, CR 2014, ‘Corporate psychopaths, conflict, employee affective well-being and counterproductive work behaviour’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 121, no. 1, pp. 107-121.

Bolman, LG & Deal, TE 2013, Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, Hoboken.

Cheng, JH & Sheu, JB 2012, ‘Inter-organizational relationships and strategy quality in green supply chains—Moderated by opportunistic behavior and dysfunctional conflict’, Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 563-572.

DiversityInc 2018, No. 26 | The Walt Disney Co., DiversityInc, viewed 14^th August 2018, <https://www.diversityinc.com/the-walt-disney-company>

Goldman, B & Shapiro, DL 2012, The psychology of negotiations in the 21^st century workplace: New challenges and new solutions, Routledge, Abingdon.

Harvard Law School 2017, Examples of Negotiation in Business: Apple and Samsung’s Dispute Resolution Case Study, Harvard Law School, 7 December, viewed on 14^th August 2018, < https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/business-negotiations/apple-v-samsung-an-example-of-negotiation-in-business-gone-bad/>

Matsumoto, D & Hwang, HC 2013, ‘Assessing cross-cultural competence: A review of available tests’, Journal of cross-cultural psychology, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 849-873.

Rahim, MA 2017, Managing conflict in organizations, Routledge, Abingdon.

Swisher, K 2017, Google has fired the employee who penned a controversial memo on women and tech, Recode, 7 August, viewed 14^th August 2018, < https://www.recode.net/2017/8/7/16110696/firing-google-ceo-employee-penned-controversial-memo-on-women-has-violated-its-code-of-conduct>

Viberg, O & Gronlung, A 2013, ‘Cross-cultural analysis of users' attitudes toward the use of mobile devices in second and foreign language learning in higher education: A case from Sweden and China’, Computers & Education, vol. 69, pp. 169-180.

Wei, Q & Luo, X 2012, ‘The impact of power differential and social motivation on negotiation behavior and outcome’, Public Personnel Management, vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 47-58.

Weinberger, M & Kovach, S 2017, The Google employee who wrote the anti-diversity manifesto was fired after CEO Sundar Pichai called it 'Not OK', Business Insider, 8 August, viewed 14^th August 2018, <https://www.businessinsider.in/The-Google-employee-who-wrote-the-anti-diversity-manifesto-was-fired-after-CEO-Sundar-Pichai-called-it-Not-OK/articleshow/59963883.cms>