Organizations are comprised of people united for a common purpose, that is, to achieve the goals of their respective organizations. People posses certain qualities that the organization need, and that is why they are hired. The members come from different backgrounds and thus, they view issues differently. These differences are the ones that are responsible for causing conflicts. Since we cannot abandon our beliefs and values we have to co- exist with them by bearing with one another.
In light of this, the following paragraphs focus on the issue of employee promotions and use the values of conflict resolution, including reciprocity, human equality, shared community, fallibility, and nonviolence (Deutsch, Coleman, & Marcus, 2006) to address conflicts that may arise.
When conflicts arise in our workplaces, we do not run away from them, but face them head on. This is because if they are ignored they can turn out to be obstacles that may hinder the achievement of organizational goals. Employees cannot embark on a project when they have unresolved conflicts among themselves. That is why conflicts should be solved before forging ahead. The major cause of conflicts in workplaces is aligned to our personal values such as esteem, individual ambitions, and goals.
Winslade and Monk (2000) argue that when individuals are hired in an organization they do not share their ambitions with anyone because they make it look like they do not have any personal goals while in real essence they do. For instance, the issue of employee appraisal is a common cause of conflicts.
In most cases, the employees feel that the promotion has not been awarded to the most deserving person and everyone feels that he/she deserves the appraisal. However, what employees do not understand is that not all of them can be leaders at the same time. The employees who have worked in the organization for long feels humiliated when a promotion is awarded to an employee who joined the organization recently.
When such conflicts arise, the management should not concentrate on the effects of the conflict, but should rather focus on identifying where the fault occurred because humans are fallible. If such a conflict is ignored, the employees who felt offended will be demoralized and they more not work diligently because they do not feel appreciated.
Conflicts related to appraisal management by employing an appraisal management system to ensure that every one in the organization is given an equal opportunity. Besides, the management should communicate its intention to carry out such an exercise to the employees. During this communication period, the employees should be allowed to present their views concerning the matter at hand.
In a typical organization, everyone gets something, but the benefit is not equal because it is awarded according to individual member’s contribution and responsibilities. This means that an organization is a community of its own kind where all share returns (Heathfield, n.d.).
However, the management should explain to the employees that promotions are awarded to persons who have outstanding skills and those who put more effort in their work. This will encourage employees to advance their careers and make the necessary sacrifices for this ambition to be achieved.
Promotions should be awarded in a very transparent manner. If this principle is not adhered to, the people who will be promoted will not deliver the desired results. This is because they know they can manipulate the managers by giving them monetary handouts and other favors. When solving conflicts, it is important to listen to the views of each party. This suggests that the negotiator should be non-partisan because if he/she is affiliated to any party he/she will rule in favor of that party and this could spark feelings of hatred.
References
Deutsch, M., Coleman, P. T., Marcus, E. C. (2006). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Heathfield, M. S. (n.d). Personal Courage and Conflict Resolution at Work. Web.
Winslade, J. & Monk, G. (2000). Narrative Mediation: A New Approach to Conflict Resolution. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.