Conflict can occur anywhere and at any place, and recently there has been an ongoing conflict that has been manifesting at work, between a supervisor and an employee, and I am stuck in the middle of their conflict. For the past few months, a coworker has been moved from seat to seat, all over the call center. At first, the conflict was very difficult to see, however, between the supervisor and the employee, atmosphere of tension was felt when interaction was made. The employee, Ana Maria, began showing acts of defiance against her supervisor’s instructions, and additionally began spreading her discontent with fellow employees. As a result from her discontent being spread with to the other employees, work productivity began to fall, which caused …show more content…
The anger that was express was gathering strength and Edith did nothing to resolve the issue but simply brush the problem to the side, where she hoped that being away from the team will calm her discontent. On the contrary, this action caused Ana Maria’s fury to begin to boil over with burst of frustration, harsh language, and unprofessional etiquette on calls with clients. However, her frustration then began to affect my productivity because her negativity was intoxicating. I tried to speak with Ana Maria, and explain that she needs calm down and be professional because her negativity was beginning to spread. At that point, I also became part of the problem, she presumed that I was against her, and was also labeled as the enemy, which is the same view she has against Edith. Once I became Ana Maria’s enemy in her eyes, I effectively notified Edith, her supervisor, and informed her Ana Maria’s …show more content…
As a former supervisor, I would recommend that, Edith take control of the situation, and establish what issues exist between Ana Maria and herself. Establishing clear communication is crucial to avoid further breakdown. However, another option, if communication cannot be established, would be to bring in a neutral supervisor, his job will be to assist in gathering additional information to resolve the issues. One key factor is to establish a calm and friendly environment. This environment can actually assist the neutral with further fact finding, and actually allow Ana Maria to be able to communicate. However, both options have been attempted and no further resolution is achieved, the next option is to introduce higher management to assist in resolving issues between both
Ceravolo, D. J., Schwartz, D. G., Foltz-Ramos, K. M., & Castner, J. (2012). Strengthening Communication to Overcome Lateral Violence. Journal of Nursing Managment, 599-606. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.201.01402
Understanding how situations can become conflicts are important matters to investigate in hopes of preventing it from happening again. Every employee (in their minds) have different perspectives as to why conflicts happen. Such things include a lack of communication, feeling as if others are not doing their jobs, crazy rules, special treatment of friends as well as expectations that they feel are not reasonable. Conflicts that management may be involved in could be poor communication, lack of appropriate response to any given situation, not taking responsibility for their own errors, letting work & personal life interfere with the other, as well as not having good prioritizing
The conflict styles exhibited by Robin, Kathleen and Jane are dysfunctional, where the goals of the meeting are not met and the relationships are negatively impacted (Adler, Rosenfeld, & Proctor II, 2013). Robin seems to believe that he will not gain anything from this group meeting. His requests to avoid further responsibilities seem to fall short when Kathleen states that they all have to “suck it up (Nursing & Healthcare Leadership, 2015).” Adler, Rosenfeld and Proctor II (2013) describe oppositional conflict as group members that see each other as adversaries and believe that the goals of the group will only be met by each sacrificing something at their expense. Robin does not seem willing to sacrifice in this meeting and agree to extra work and meetings and views Kathleen and Jane as opponents that he must contend with in order to get what he wants from the meeting.
2. You need to decide on what course of action you are going to take. You know that there is no way you can help Elena out. The source of the conflict itself is the residential status of your employee Elena.
This was a challenge because at times we have different perspectives on how to approach the situations and how to deliver services. Of course she has been working at this department a lot longer than I have, has more experience than me, and has known this client a lot longer than I have made it difficult for me to approach certain situations. Not to say that she was wrong or that I was wrong, but there was often times a difference of opinions. My schedule again interfered with daily staffing of the
“It is Tuesday morning and Mary is sitting at her desk, when she overhears a co-worker talking about her to other employees. This situation bothered Mary because the person that was talking about her she called a friend. Mary let the matter go however, later that day returning to her disk from lunch she notices in big bold letters “MARY IS A LOSER”. Co-workers begun to laugh a few even bumped into her well walking past. Just before it was time to go home she heard the same co-worker from earlier lie and tell other co-workers Mary would talk about them behind their
One reason why I have a problem with it is because it would not be allowed for anyone else to do those things to her and she like it. We’ve had a conversation about those negative ways she seeks attention. I gave her my point over view and she gave me hers. I’ve tried to encourage her in ways to build her self-esteem, and to go back to school, to also to get her a hobbies outside of her disrespectful daughter and husband. I’ve asked her questions when she does things to get a better understanding myself. She said she was just trying to help when it comes to her inserting herself in conversations. For the most part we work well together. If she forgets where something is, I can usually remember or vice versa. If I know she has done something right and someone says she did it wrong I would back her up. I would do that for any of my co-workers. If she makes a mistake I would correct it and move on if I can. If I can’t I just send her a message and say Hey fix this or that I tried to but I couldn’t because it’s under your name and she would do the same for me. I told her It’s not about working harder it’s about
My first suggestion for employers and their workers is to institute an open door policy for informal conflict resolution, a proven method for minimizing the likelihood of escalating conflict (Newman, 2013). If an employee can stroll into their supervisor’s office at any time with a concern, the issue can hopefully be addressed before things progress to a stage where formal steps become necessary. My second suggestion is inspired by Lewin’s (2014) comments on the criticality of employees having a voice within their organization. While open door policies are one way to resolve issues before they become a grievance, I advocate for regularly scheduled (perhaps quarterly) meetings where workers can voice concerns or challenges amongst each other. This type of forum, set up by the union or human resource department, allows issues to be presented to a group for a synergistic solution before they reach the level where a grievance is
There is one way she could have resolved the situation. The solution is simple; stop being immature and gossiping about others. I do not think there is anything wrong with communicating with your employees an...
Many people enjoy working or participating in a group or team, but when a group of people work together chances are that conflicts will occur. Hazleton describes conflict as the discrepancy between what is the perceived reality and what is seen as ideal (2007). “We enter into conflicts reluctantly, cautiously, angrily, nervously, confidently- and emerge from them battered, exhausted, sad, satisfied, triumphant. And still many of us underestimate or overlook the merits of conflict- the opportunity conflict offers every time it occurs” (Schilling, nd.). Conflict does not have to lead to a hostile environment or to broken relationships. Conflict if resolved effectively can lead to a positive experience for everyone involved. First, there must be an understanding of the reasons why conflicts occur. The conflict must be approached with an open mind. Using specific strategies can lead to a successful resolution for all parties involved. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument states “there are five general approaches to dealing with conflict. The five approaches are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. Conflict resolution is situational and no one approach provides the best or right approach for all circumstances” (Thomas, 2000).
A group can only be called a team if the members are actively working together toward a common goal. A team must have the capability to set goals, make decisions, solve problems, and share responsibilities. For a team to be successful, trust must be earned between its members by being consistent and reliable (Temme & Katzel, 2005). When more than one person is working on a particular task, inconsistent views or opinions commonly arise. People come from different backgrounds and live through different life experiences therefore, even when working towards a common goal, they will not always see eye to eye. Major conflict that is not dealt with can devastate a team or organization (Make Conflict Work, 2008). In some situations, conflict can be more constructive than destructive. Recognizing the difference between conflict that is constructive to the team and conflict that is destructive to the team is important. Trying to prevent the conflict is not always the best way to manage conflict when working within a team setting. Understanding conflict, what causes it, and how to resolve conflict effectively, should consume full concentration.
workplace include greater total resources, greater knowledge band and a greater source of ideas. However, these advantages can also bring on conflict within teams and the entire workplace. Varney (1989) reported that conflict remained the number one problem within a large company. This was after several attempts were made to train management in conflict resolutions and procedures. However, the conflict remained. The conflict possibly remains because the managers and leaders did not pay attention to the seriousness of the issue. In order to maintain an effective team, leaders and team members must know and be proactive in the conflict resolution techniques and procedures.
At the young age of 23, Jim Davis has a promising career at Hereford National Bank. In three months, he has been promoted to Business Development Manager, tasked with developing a new strategy for the bank. His first big initiative of selling bank services through branch managers is at risk due to a twenty-five year veteran’s (Patty Mathews) reluctance to participate. How will Jim leverage his position and personal power to ensure success?
There are much more customers than the Hearthside. All of them hate a certain co-worker who is always nagging. That co-worker reveals to Barbara that she’s like that because of the industry. Barbara is a newcomer to this. She has a different perspective because she doesn’t have to do this to survive. When it gets too hard she can just bail out. There is no stagnation of living and the constant stress of getting enough money to pay rent. She might have a few shocks but at the end of the day she is fine. She doesn’t know this yet. She realizes that many of the co-workers are closely knitted, and for good reason. When they’ve survived with each other for so long it’s hard for a newbie to get involved. Then she meets George a young boy who can’t speak English. They talk through small breaks and she sees him like a son. However there’s news that he stole something and is going to court. Obviously Barbara should do something. But she finds that she can’t, and even if she tries to force herself, doesn’t want to. Is it the industry that’s doing this to me, or have I been like this all along? Has she been judging everyone incorrectly. Maybe it’s not their fault they are stuck up. Maybe this is the only way they can survive and take it for any longer. This experiment that she’s doing might be something that she never expected to change
First, they need to investigate the true nature of the conflict because the dysfunction observed may be a symptom of the actual conflict. Once he has a complete understanding of the conflict, the skilled manager will be able to transform it into functional conflict and come up with a synergistically beneficial solution. The same way that every suggestion Honda implemented at Marysville resolved some sort of conflict, even the most heated and personal of conflicts can be resolved to the benefit for all parties involved if management is open and transparent in its policies; investigates the conflict to find its true nature; then handles it quickly, professionally, and in such a manner that it will not reappear in the