ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY AND BEHAVIOUR (UNIT 5)
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT
BUS 5113-01 - AY 2023-T1
Dr SUMMER
Conflict is any form of dispute between two or more individuals working for an organization,
or between the policies of an organization and the individuals tasked with carrying out those
policies on the ground (Jayne,2019). The roles and responsibilities of teams and sub-teams
frequently result in inter-group conflict. Both are simply attempting to do their jobs when
they somehow collide (Feigenbaum, n.d.).
1-This case is about team because we can see two teams divided along country lines;
PharMed International Team based is USA and PharMed international team based is France
both with different cultures and communication styles.
I can see the following conflicts developing:
- Lack of proper leadership quality: The project manager failed to delegate tasks and
goals to other team members and took on many of their roles and responsibilities.
- USA based team not valued: USA based team that worked on Perspective project
felt that their contributions were not needed in the new Vigilance project and let their
enthusiasm to wane.
- Communication problems: The project manager canceled teleconferences without
consulting or informing team members, and meetings were scheduled without
appropriate planning.
- Autocratic management style: Conflict that arises when managing a virtual team is
indicative of the project manager's autocratic management style. This management
approach severely undermines group cohesion and team trust.
- Different cultures: We can observe different cultures from different original
companies and different countries which can be referred to cultural values.
2- The proper communication channel must be used to ensure smooth meetings in today's
global organizations that operate across several nations with personnel from a variety of
nationalities. It's true that the teams in the USA and France were spread out and it might not
be practical for them to physically meet on a regular basis in the same place. It would have
been beneficial to use online communication tools like Skype, Google Meet, Go to Webinar,
and Zoom to stay in touch. This means that the issue of distance was not one that the above-
mentioned channels were unable to resolve.
3- It is advised to use mediation as one of the options when attempting to resolve disputes
among multicultural teams (Hibbert & Hibbert, 2017). if they can be considered as mediators,
then the choice to choose sub-team sponsors picked from the management is recommendable
but not fully the solution. This is because it should have been carried out from the beginning
to keep the project manager in check or should have been carried out after management had
investigated the root causes of team conflict, resolved the communication problem, and called
the erring parties to order in the most efficient manner possible to promote team spirit and
synergy. I believe it would cause the team leaders to pay attention to the demands of
responsibility.
4- Most of the times when a team is being put together for a particular project, workers with
technical or analytical skills are being considered. This seems to be a scenario in this case.
People with human resources skills, trained in mediation and conflict resolution should also
be involved. Team members should be able to develop other teamwork skills such as
communication skill, conflict management skill, listening skill, reliability skill, and
respectfulness skill (Doyle, 2022).
5- Conflict negotiation is the process of finding a long-term solution to a conflict or
disagreement by considering the requirements and interests of all parties involved and
ensuring that everyone is happy with the result (Harvard Law School, n.d.).
The most appropriate conflict negotiation skills for this case are (Indeed Editorial Team,
2021):
- Expectation management: Skill to be ready to adjust one’s goal and expectations.
while maintaining a balance between being a firm negotiator and a collaborative one.
- Research: Skill to Perform research that can support one’s claims and start a
foundation for negotiation. Understanding how the conflict started and how to resolve
it can be improved through negotiation with a fact-driven and open-minded
examination of the concerns.
- Empathy: Ability to understand the other party's perspective and negotiate toward a
win-win approach. This ability is helpful for maintaining constructive dispute
negotiations that result in connections that last.
- Emotional intelligence: Ability to regulate one's own emotions and recognize others'
feelings. During dispute negotiation, being aware of the emotional dynamics might
help you keep your composure and concentrate on the important topics.
Conclusion:
Because of their prominent position within the organization, management personnel must
exercise restraint while arguing with employees. A human resource consultant should be
requested to participate in a mediation process if there is a dispute that cannot be settled
between a manager and employee or between employees.
REFERENCES:
Feigenbaum, E. (n.d.). Organizational conflict
theory. Chron. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/organizational-conflict-theory-4874.html
Harvard Law School (n.d.). What is Conflict Negotiation.
https://www.pon.harvard.edu/tag/conflict-negotiation/
Hibbert, R., Hibbert, E. (2017). Managing Conflict in a Multicultural Team.
Indeed Editorial Team (2021, March 15). Conflict Negotiation: Strategies and Skills.
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/conflict-negotiation
.
