Executive Summary
Conflicts occur in the workplace rather often, mostly due to the differences between the cultural backgrounds of employees and the absence of an appropriate management technique. Although the identified phenomenon is practically unavoidable, it has to be controlled to reduce the threat of failing in implementing organizational goals. In the case of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the absence of a coherent conflict management technique may cause the organization to fail in its endeavor at making the sport popular among the UAE citizens.
Therefore, the organization should consider implementing the conflict management framework that will address the emotional issues faced by the employees and allow them to handle their differences in a constructive way. Thus, the essential organizational objectives will be achieved with the help of the proposed framework.
Company Description
The Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) has been quite successful in setting sports events and redefining the role of media in making the information about sport and changes in it accessible to general audiences. The changes that the ADSC has made to the realm of the UAE sport are quite difficult to grasp, with major alterations made to how sports events are organized, managed, and financed (Raines, 2013). However, the ADSC is yet to face an even more drastic challenge associated with making sport relatable among the UAE residents by encouraging athleticism, focusing on a healthy lifestyle, and promoting diversity.
Although the specified objectives may seem attainable, the ADSC may need to revisit the current approach toward conflict management deployed within its framework. At present, the organization not only lacks the value system that will promote the relevant qualities to target audiences but also the integrity and the ability to see conflicts as the means of acquiring new knowledge about other people and cultures.
The problems with the existing approach toward handling workplace confrontations currently result in the mismanagement of the organization’s creative power, innovative thinking, and human resources, thus reducing ADSC’s efficiency. Similarly, disputes with clients are caused by gaps in defining the scope of the provider’s responsibilities and tasks. The specified issues have a detrimental effect on ADSC’s performance and management of crucial goals, including the promotion of athleticism and a healthy lifestyle among the UAE citizens. By deploying a conflict management approach based on a compromise between distributive and integrative bargaining approaches.
Particularly, confrontations between staff members and possible conflicts between the organization and its suppliers will have to be resolved by considering the needs of all stakeholders, at the same time maintaining the focus on the intended outcome. Given the fact that the focus on changing people’s attitudes toward sport will require alterations in the current value system of the ASC, the tool for effective negotiation and management of workplace conflicts associated with Corporate Social Responsibility, promotion of education among general audiences, and the emphasis on cooperation along with productive conflict management is crucial.
Discussion of Conflict Principles and Theory
Several conflict principles need to be followed when designing an appropriate management technique. For instance, the theory of conflict contagion suggests that confrontations tend to spread among team members, increasing the rates of their involvement in the process (Jehn, Rispens, Jonsen, & Greer, 2013). Besides, apart from considering the development of conflicts, the existing theories are concerned with the nature thereof. For example, the classical sociology approach renders the notion of a conflict as the collision between the members of different social classes. Mills, in turn, stretches the specified framework by viewing conflict as a result of the unequal distribution of resources among the members of the global society (Dodoiu, 2015).
The specified theoretical frameworks allow viewing conflicts as complex phenomena and approach them from different perspectives. As a result, the nature of workplace issues and the meaning that confrontations hold for their participants can be explored. Consequently, sustainable frameworks for managing conflicts in the workplace can be developed.
Situation Analysis
The ADSC is currently facing a rather difficult issue due to the lack of a coherent conflict management framework within its workplace. While the organization is supposed to be the beacon of responsibility and healthy lifestyle promotion, its workplace environment can be regarded as rather stiff due to the absence of an effective conflict management philosophy and framework. As a result, ADSC may fail to deliver the required message passionately and convincingly needed to draw the attention and win the loyalty of Abu Dhabi residents.
On closer inspection, the company’s current approach toward conflict management can be seen as a basic avoidance strategy. Particularly, most managers see conflicts as an impediment to work that need to be avoided at all costs, while an impressive number of staff members consider conflict to be the means of proving their point. As a result, workplace confrontations, while not quite frequent, cause major distress to all parties involved and paralyze the work of both managers and employees. The specified characteristic of the ADSC workplace also affects the implementation of its key goals, which concern the active promotion of a healthy lifestyle and increasing the popularity of sports in the UAE.
The specified situation is a graphic example of how internal conflicts in the workplace affect the implementation of corporate goals. Without a proper conflict management approach, ADSC lacks the influence and power that it will need to manage a vast amount of data to encourage the change across the state. Furthermore, the organization will need to develop a set of values with the help of which the enhancement of sports and related activities will become possible (Wardale, 2013). Conflicts in the workplace, in turn, will lead to staff members ignoring the designed value system and making organization decisions with complete disregard for the corporate philosophic principles.
Therefore, the current situation and ADSC requires change. Particularly, managers at ABS should promote the idea of viewing conflicts as the source of learning new information and avoiding similar mistakes in the future. As long as the members of the organization recognize conflicts as the opportunity to improve their cross-cultural communication skills, a gradual growth within ADSC is expected (Speakman & Ryals, 2010). Particularly, staff members will no longer use conflicts as personal attacks and the attempts to establish leadership within a team but, instead, use them to advance the multicultural dialogue and solve complex problems (Saeed, Almas, Anis-ul-Haq, & Niazi, 2014). As a result, opportunities for enhancing the efficiency of negotiations will be provided
Proposal for a Dispute System
To improve the current situation, one must consider introducing a legitimate dispute system that will help the members of the ADSC to prioritize their task and set the course for discussing important workplace issues.
The suggested technique should not be seen as the universal solution for any conflicts that may potentially occur between the members of ADSC. Quite the contrary, the suggested technique will help managers and staff members explore the nature of their workplace conflicts and determine the root cause thereof. At present, the lack of a coherent value system and the leadership strategy that could help the employees to accept the required values should be regarded as a core problem. Thus, the participants of a workplace confrontation can approach the process of disputing in an unbiased and objective way.
One might argue that the dispute system is based on the use of constructive leadership as the means of managing workplace disagreements. On the one hand, the proposed framework is perfect for defusing conflicts since it implies utilizing a logical approach and putting emotions aside (Hogg, 2015). On the other hand, it fails to help the participants reconcile with their feelings and emotions, thus forcing them to accept the objective viewpoint to which they may not be ready yet. Instead, a leader should consider using the dispute system that could appeal to the staff members’ emotions first (Liu, Fu, & Liu, 2009).
As soon as each employee feels secure and ready to discuss the problem openly, the principles of constructive leadership may be used. The specified twofold framework is crucial to the successful management of workplace concerns.
The suggested tool for handling the workplace conflict described above aligns with the concept of the dual system of workplace conflict resolution designed by Jonathan Hamberger (2012). According to the author, the system implies combining the reactive and pragmatic frameworks as the method of addressing confrontations between staff members (Hamberger, 2012). The dispute system under analysis allows recognizing the participants’ emotions and acknowledge them, which is crucial for preventing subjective impressions from taking over the dispute.
Although eradicating subjectivity from the discussion is practically impossible and probably even harmful since the needs of individuals will have to be taken into consideration, the use of the dual technique will reduce the emotional pressure experienced by the opponents.
Cost Benefits of the Dispute System
The dispute system described above is likely to turn out to be rather lucrative when it comes to reducing the costs associated with discussions. Specifically, it helps cut the discussion time significantly in the long run. While the twofold approach toward handling the dispute will require a substantial amount of time for addressing the emotional issues of the parties involves, it will lead to a drop in the instances of heated and pointless discussions, thus narrowing the process down to locating the available solutions and choosing the most productive one.
Thus, the long-term effects of the dual approach are expected to be quite impressive in terms of cutting expenses. Furthermore, the proposed model for managing disputes will help the participants to avoid the scenarios that will require repeated discussions and, thus lead to significant transportation costs for all parties involved.
Industry: Best Practices
In the contemporary sports industry, most organizations tend to use the dispute systems based on the promotion of a logical approach described above. For instance, the use of the logical model is typically applied to the management of various sports events as the means of handling misunderstandings in the workplace. Compromises are seen as the most common and effective way of addressing disagreements between staff members (Lempp, 2016).
The approach mentioned above is admittedly feasible since it enables participants to start an open dialogue and set their differences aside, at the same time retaining their viewpoints and, thus enriching the conversation. The focus on compromise as the negotiation strategy is important due to its potential to address cross-cultural conflicts and establish a constructive dialogue with partners overseas. Therefore, the selected framework serves as the platform for encouraging international cooperation, which is important for hosting major sports events and raising the popularity of sports. However, the existing frameworks lack the understanding of the emotional needs of participants, which calls for a redesign of the existing conflict management designs in the sports industry.
Conclusion
Conflicts in the workplace are not only inevitable but also important for building a sustainable environment in which diverse staff members could coexist and cooperate. Because of the promotion of conflict avoidance techniques in the ADSC, the organization cannot currently elevate the sport to the status of the inseparable element of popular culture. Therefore, ADSC managers need to realize that an objective approach toward conflict management needs to be designed.
By recognizing the necessity to address emotional issues faced by the staff members, at the same time viewing conflicts as an opportunity to develop communication skills, the ADSC managers will succeed in handling workplace confrontations. As a result, the active promotion of sports and a healthy lifestyle to Abu Dhabi citizens will be possible. Thus, sports events will attract people’s attention, while Abu Dhabi residents learn to recognize a healthy lifestyle as an essential part of their lives.
References
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Hamberger, J. (2012). The development of a dual system of workplace dispute resolution in large Australian organizations. In Advances in industrial & labor relations (vol. 20) (pp. 139–159). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Hogg, M. (2015). “Constructive leadership across groups: How leaders can combat prejudice and conflict between subgroups.” In Advances in Group Processes (vol. 32) (pp. 177–207). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Jehn, K., Rispens, S., Jonsen, K., & Greer, L. (2013). Conflict contagion: a temporal perspective on the development of conflict within teams. International Journal of Conflict Management, 24(4), 352–373.
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