Human Resource and Conflict

Human Resource A large manufacturer is facing problems relating to executive compensation, which has generated conflicts in its workforce. The nation's largest federal contractor revealed that the compensation of its former CEO had been increased by over $2 million on the same that warning of probable employee layoffs and furloughs were issued. As a result, the large manufacturer's human resource department is grappling with conflicts as disgruntled employees are seeking for explanations on the numerous concerns they have raised.

The ensuring conflict in this organization is an example of a human resource issue that could have significant impacts on workforce productivity because of its probable impact on employee motivation and contribution to work processes. As a result, suitable HRM strategies and practices should be adopted to help resolve the issue and enhance employee motivation and contributions to the organization.

My response to colleagues and management would be that this organizational conflict is not healthy with regards to achieving desired business goals and objectives because of how it negatively impacts employees. The warning of potential employee layoffs and furloughs are counterproductive in an organization since they generate conflict and end up killing teamwork and eliminating a sense of ownership among employees.

If employee concerns and questions are not addressed in a timely and effective manner, the conflict could worsen to an extent that it will have severe impacts on organizational productivity. While conflicts are normal occurrences in the workplace, the identification of suitable ways to deal with them is crucial towards teamwork and enhanced contributions to work processes (Belak, n.d.). Employees in this organization need to find proper channels to raise their grievances and concerns relating to the situation.

On the other hand, the management needs to listen to employees and develop appropriate measures to be undertaken in resolving the standoff. There are several strategies that could be utilized in trying to deal with this conflict in order to minimize its impact on workforce performance and organizational productivity. These methods should be based on negotiation, which is a suitable measure for handling organizational conflict (Nahavandi et al., 2012).

One of the methods I would use in trying to deal with this conflict is accommodation since the issue is primarily attributable to unsuitable practices by the organization's management. In this case, the negotiation process would focus on repairing and/or restoring the relationship between the management and employees. This process will involve extending an olive branch to employees and making some tradeoffs or concessions that help address their grievances and improve their morale.

The second method that could be utilized in trying to deal with this conflict is collaborative conflict management style. When using this method, the focus of the negotiation process would be to create mutual value for the management and employees. In this case, the needs and goals of the organization's management will be taken into consideration and suitable strategies developed to meet these needs and goals.

Apart from identifying suitable measures to address the conflict through negotiation, it's important for the organization to establish measures for preventing or lessening the chances of this type of conflict from occurring. One of the measures towards prevention.