Workplace Conflict and Communication at Words Unlimited

Company Overview

Words Unlimited is an international company that provides copywriting, editing, proofreading, and translation services to clients across the globe. The company has experienced a recent spurt of growth in terms of both its customer base and its employee pool. Like customers, employees also operate from different locations around the world. The company started with only two management personnel and ten employees, all based in an office in Los Angeles, California at the time of its founding — and they remain there still.

Potential employees are allowed to submit their résumés online. These are scrutinized by the L.A. office staff and are accepted or rejected on the basis of two levels of assessment: the education level indicated on the résumé and a writing and reading test administered to short-listed candidates. The recent growth in customer numbers has necessitated more aggressive advertising for employment opportunities, and a large volume of applications has been received and processed.

Employees from remote locations have access to the company's website, where they are presented with an order database. Customers upload their orders via the website, and the employee taking the order then remains in constant contact with the customer to ensure that the work is progressing according to requirements and schedule.

With the larger employee base, conflict situations have arisen, with some workers appearing to resent the new employees. They feel that the new employees tend to be favored for certain orders and that they no longer have the volume of work opportunities they had before. Management, in turn, appears to feel that this is not the case, and that the growth of employee numbers was a necessary step in the company's evolution. Efforts to communicate about the issue have failed, simply resulting in greater levels of conflict. Indeed, the environment has become so hostile and blame-focused that many employees have simply resigned or stopped taking orders. This has resulted in escalating hostility between management and employees, with management threatening termination of employee accounts if no further orders are taken. The conflict has produced a loss of business for the company and an atmosphere of debilitating negativity.

For this reason, investigations have been conducted by means of interviews, surveys, and literature reviews. In general, it is found that effective communication is the key to resolving the company's conflicts.

Identifying the Problem

The key to any problem resolution is identifying the various levels of a problem specifically, so that each can be addressed effectively. In the case of Words Unlimited, the conflict began with the addition of new employees. When interviewing management, it was revealed that this decision was made without discussing the matter with existing employees — even those within the L.A. office. The recruitment was simply decided upon by the two managers and therefore came as a surprise to existing staff. The managers believed they were acting in response to a straightforward management situation and that employees were only concerned with taking and completing orders. Management perceived that existing employees were struggling with the current volume of orders and therefore believed the new hires would be helpful. They considered it unnecessary to discuss the decision with employees, since new recruitment had never been discussed with staff before.

From the employees' point of view, management had made a decision directly affecting them without consulting them first. The sudden and drastic change in employee numbers was considered sufficiently unusual to merit a greater degree of management communication than had been customary in the company's history. The absence of such communication resulted in resentment and unhappiness. A "blame" culture, as described by Alan Sharland, was created. Employees blamed management for the perceived loss of opportunities caused by the influx of new workers, while management blamed employees for the decline in customer orders filled. This conflict appears to have reached a deadlock, as feelings are so volatile that effective communication is all but impossible. However, by revisiting some basic principles of communication, both management and employees can return to their previous level of effectiveness, and Words Unlimited can become productive again.

According to Sharland, the situation described above is an example of conflict being suppressed. Nobody is willing to admit to making mistakes, with both management and employees blaming each other for the company's current difficulties. Communication is marked by resentment and blame, without either party attempting to understand the other's perspective. This suppresses the creativity and intercultural effectiveness that were previously hallmarks of the company.

In order to remedy this, communication literature has been consulted. Kwintessential Ltd., for example, identifies the key competencies of intercultural communication as open-mindedness, inquisitiveness, patience, and self-awareness. In Words Unlimited's history, communication was minimal, but what communication did occur was always respectful and interculturally viable. The current conflict is not culturally based, but it can be resolved through the application of these same characteristics. Both employees and managers should operate from a foundation of open-mindedness and patience, which will in turn encourage the inquisitiveness and self-awareness that contributed to the company's historical success.