In any workplace environment, conflict is an inevitable occurrence. A typical workplace environment will consist of human resources from diverse walks of life with different experiences, ethics, work styles, cultural backgrounds, values, and personalities. Diversity will influence cohesiveness. Due to such diversity, workplace environments are bound to experience some clash which ends up as a conflict. Conflicts are processes that start when one party develops a perception that the other party has either affected, it negatively or is planning to negatively affect some interest of the first party. Also, conflicts can be defined as the differences perceived to be incompatible between two or more parties and result in opposition and interferences of normalcy. The human resource department must understand the different nature and causes of workplace conflicts between supervisors, employees and the human resource department to effectively manage them.
Communication and workplace relationships are the major causes of conflicts between supervisors, employees, and the human resource department. Communication breakdown in how supervisors and their staff members interact and engage one another and the manner in which they relate have the potential to influence how the workforce collaboratively work, leading to a possibility of conflicts. Apart from communication and relationships in the workplace environment, personal variables and managerial or organizational structures are other possible sources of conflicts between supervisors, employees and the human resource department ( Canaan Messarra, Karkoulian & El-Kassar, 2016) . Communication problems lead to collaboration and teamwork problems and thus stimulate misunderstandings. Communication problems include the insufficient exchange of information, message distortion, selective perception and insufficient information about others. Structure related conflicts result from the complexity of the organizational composition and jurisdictional clarity.
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Multigenerational differences and personal variables are other sources of conflicts in the workplace environment. In a typical workforce, there will be four distinct generations or groups which act as representations of a particular age group, culture and set of values. These generations comprise of the traditionalists, baby boomers, Generation Xers and the Millenials ( Canaan Messarra, Karkoulian & El-Kassar, 2016) . When the human resource tries to force a synergy that will work in collaboration among the four different generations, there will be potential conflicts due to the difference in opinions, styles, backgrounds and divergent thinking. For instance, traditionalists depend on usual business practices while millennials depend on technology. As a result, the two groups will clash regardless the fact that both groups are aiming for similar outcomes.
Wrong policy interpretation can result in workplace conflicts. Poor communication is the main reason for poor policy interpretation. Regardless of the simplicity of the work rules, ethics, standards and policies, misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the same is inevitable in the workplace Zia & Syed (2013). The human resource department is responsible for formulation and communication of the work rules, standards and policies, and then publishing them in an understandable manner that would discourage confusion and disagreements while being executed. Whenever supervisors or employees develop their version of interpretation of work rules, procedures, and policies, then they will be preparing a recipe for conflicts.
According to Zia & Syed (2013), departmental relationships are influenced by the nature of organizational structures and collaborative mechanisms set by the leadership and the human resource department. All departments must work together if the organization meets its objectives and targets. However, all departments have their set targets that might create a competitive atmosphere in the workplace. Departmental conflicts might sometimes occur as a result of this competition. Zia & Syed (2013), continue to explain that when departments work in competition with each other rather than work to complement each other, then, conflicts are likely to occur. For instance, the administration, operations, research and development, production and engineering departments must work in collaboration with the sales department for the organization to generate revenue through sales.
Workplace disputes, issues, tensions, and conflicts are inevitable in the workplace. Regardless of how much conflict prevention measures are set, conflicts cannot be avoided completely. However, recognizing this fact and taking responsibility to handle conflicts that pull the institution down should be the first approach to ensure the realization of the organization’s productivity and success. Otherwise, leaving a conflict open or unresolved for a long duration will result in unnecessary tension among employees leading to an organization’s total failure.
References
Canaan Messarra, L., Karkoulian, S., & El-Kassar, A. N. (2016). Conflict resolution styles and personality: The moderating effect of generation X and Y in a non-Western context. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management , 65 (6), 792-810.
Zia, Y. A., & Syed, P. H. (2013). An Exploratory Study into the Causes of Conflict and the Effect of Conflict Management Style on Outcome in a Competitive Workplace. Journal of Managerial Sciences, 7(2).
