Introduction
Organizational conflicts happen due to cultural, operational, contractual, and structural issues. As shown in case one, conflicts emerge as a result of divergent expectations from the people involved, discord, and stressful situations (Rammata, 2019). Some of the problems that lead to disagreement are; compensation, misunderstanding, and poor working conditions. For example, the employees in the first case study were not happy with how the organization handled the changes. As a result, the employees decided to walk out of their jobs and the organization retaliated by threatening to dismiss them if they failed to return to work. Conflict is a situation where two or more people do not agree on something.
Misbehavior in an organization refers to behaviors that degrade and sabotage routine functions or have an impact on interactions. Both cases show that misbehavior includes absenteeism, being disruptive in the workplace, and arguments with colleagues. Organizational management deals with misbehavior in various ways, including punitive choices, warnings, suspension from work, and even termination from employment (Rammata, 2019). Organizations should understand what contributes to the identified misbehavior and how to deal with such individuals.
Formal and informal conflicts are common forms of conflict that arise in an organization. The situation in case one shows that formal conflicts typically entail problems between employees and their employers, particularly when contractual obligations are not met (Rammata, 2019). Formal conflicts frequently elicit the intervention of labor unions or judicial processes. On the other hand, informal conflict refers to ad hoc disagreements that do not follow a formal process (Rammata, 2019). Informal conflicts typically occur when two employees and management disagree. These conflicts arise mostly from typical work performance variables such as absenteeism, boss actions, and disinformation.
The Difference Between Official and Unofficial Employee Action
Official employee action refers to organized strikes and negotiations supported by the established labor laws in reaction to various employee situations. In case one, the actions of the employees were not official because they were backed by the law (Sedaitis & Butterfield, 2019). In addition, the official process must provide notice for industrial action and notify the employer of the plans within the timeframes specified. If a union induces an employee to participate in industrial action, both the union and the employee are obliged by the legal requirements of the industrial action. Therefore, authorities usually recognize official actions in and outside an organization.
Unofficial employee actions are impulsive reactions by employees to situations they perceive as wrong. Sedaitis and Butterfield (2019) posit that unofficial employee actions are not organized by trade union officials or their representatives to launch such proceedings. In this case, the law does not shield workers against retaliation by coworkers who do not follow established procedures. In addition, if the union is not participating, then the workers involved may not be protected. For example, in the first case study, the employees’ actions were unofficial, which is why they had to suffer the consequences. As a result, unofficial employee action may be risky due to the lack of an agency to safeguard the employee.
The Difference Between Third-Party Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration
The third-party conflict resolution technique is where the aid of a neutral individual is sought to assist in solving a conflict. In both cases, there is no involvement of the third party. The strategy is common at higher organizational levels, where employees in disagreement can enlist the help of another colleague to achieve an agreement (Euwema et al., 2019). However, conflicts solved through a third-party conflict resolution are not always legally binding, making them difficult to utilize in collective bargaining. The task of a third party is to guide two antagonists to reach an agreement on various issues without imposing decisions on any of the parties. The strategy works best when the two parties have a high level of trust and active listening skills.
Mediation is simply the process of resolving a dispute in which a neutral third party assists disputants in resolving their issue. The mediator actively identifies conflict areas and assists the parties in addressing them in a step-by-step manner (Euwema et al., 2019). For example, in case one, the staff represent takes the role of a mediator to help solve the dispute between the employees and the management team. A mediator should strive to bring the disputing parties together and allow them to agree on their terms.
Arbitration is a form of conflict resolution that is mainly utilized when the two parties in disagreement are unable to reach an agreement and require the assistance of third parties to interpret decisions and render judgments. In arbitration, the two parties relinquish their decision-making authority and rely on the arbitrators to render a ruling that obligates them to comply (Euwema et al., 2019). For example, in case two, the help of the HR was sought because the line manager and the worker failed to solve the situation. Therefore, the outcome of the process relies on the decision made by arbitrators and not the individuals involved.
A Description of the Principles of Legislation Relating to Unfair Dismissal in Respect of Capability and Misconduct Issues
Employees have the right to fair and equal treatment when they are dismissed. To win a lawsuit, an employee must demonstrate that they were laid off unfairly and the action infringed their rights (McGaughey, 2018). This right is enshrined in the Employment Rights Act and requires organizations to examine concerns before terminating employee contracts, and proof must be produced to indicate misbehavior during the process. If an employee is proven to have committed the act, this may not be enough to justify dismissal. Managers should first establish their goals before making a decision. For example, in case one, the dismissal would have been unfair because the management did not consider their concerns. They should also evaluate whether a different strategy would be more beneficial, and employers should conduct an investigation to take into account employees’ concerns.
Examination of the Main Causes of Employee Grievances
Employee grievance is where an employee files a formal complaint with HR on any alleged violation of the collective bargaining agreement. According to Lee (2018), employee grievances could be due to dismissal or promotion, extra duties, overtime policy, work environment, or health and safety issues management. For example, in case one, two of these workers raised grievances on the issue of reshuffle with the management team. An individual grievance is about their employment position, while the collective grievance is raised by a group of persons on the same problem. These grievances can be due to financial reasons, work conditions, discrimination, mistreatment from colleagues or leaders, favoritism, abuse and many more. As a result, employee grievances are caused by various aspects of an organization.
References
Euwema, M. C., Medina, F. J., GarcĂa, A. B., & Pender, E. R. (2019). Mediation in collective labor conflicts. Springer Nature.
Lee, S. (2018). Employee turnover and organizational performance in US federal agencies. The American Review of Public Administration, 48(6), 522-534. Web.
McGaughey, E. (2018). Will robots automate your job away? Full employment, basic income, and economic democracy. Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, Working Paper, (496). Web.
Rammata, M. (2019). Conflicts management through mediation in public administration. Human Resource Management Research, 9(2), 33-44. Web.
Sedaitis, J., & Butterfield, J. (2019). Perestroika from below: Social movements in the Soviet Union. Routledge.