Conflict Resolution Styles
I am an administrator at the US marine. For a long time, we have desired to execute changes in the training of female recruits. It is important to mention that the pull-up test is a crucial part of marine training. In the case of female recruits, it is necessary to carry out a proper recruiting process so that they can successfully undergo the pull-up test.
I suggested that the physical fitness test for female recruits should be changed. Flexed arm hang, sit-ups, and three-mile run is the main exercises done by female recruits. When I proposed that we should change the latter, two of my assistant administrators objected to the idea of arguing that the existing exercise was sufficient. My idea was that a pull-up requirement would sufficiently strengthen the upper part of the body.
As an administrator, I executed the changes and ignored their objections. However, the two assistant administrators went ahead and ganged up to persuade the female recruits to reject the proposed changes. As a result, about half of the recruits failed to attend the Wednesday morning grills.
Since this is a workplace conflict, I requested a joint meeting for all the recruits and administrators. I opted to employ communication to resolve the conflict. All of us openly discussed the pros and cons of the proposed changes. By the end of the meeting, they all agreed to support the proposals. Diplomatic dialogue played a key role in resolving the conflict. This conflict resolution style can be incorporated in daily communication by making sure that each individual involved in an issue is given a chance to share his or her opinion (McCabe & Rabil, 2002).
Ethical communication
Effective communication is an integral part of management in the workplace. Therefore, management must inform employees of all the key elements of ethical behavior in the workplace. Management communication is part and parcel of ethical practice in organizations (Overe, Kooskora & Valler, 2002). This implies that ethical standards should be applied at all times when disseminating information to employees.
For example, employees who have proved to be ethical in their practice should be recognized by the management of an organization. When an employee is rewarded because of demonstrating ethical behavior in the workplace, other employees will also desire to follow the same trend. In other terms, rewards or verbal recognitions in public assist in setting the best ethical standards in an organization.
Verbal or non-verbal formats can be used by the management to demonstrate ethical communication at the place of work. Hence, ethical behavior should be reinforced by management. In regards to other employees who are not ready to be ethical when communicating, the management can make use of unethical behavior as a vital tool in teaching ethical behavior. Such employees will be able to appraise the merits of ethical behavior when they are taken through rigorous capacity building and training.
The above is an example of communicating ethically because role models are recognized and rewarded in public as a means of boosting ethical behavior at the place of work. Also, when the management team acts ethically, it will be in a position to positively influence the rest of the workforce. There is no way leaders can behave unethically and simultaneously expect other employees to be ethical when communicating (Overe, Kooskora & Valler, 2002).
References
McCabe, D. M., & Rabil, J. M. (2002). Administering the employment relationship: The ethics of conflict resolution in relation to justice in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 36(1), 33-48.
Overe, A., Kooskora, M., & Valler, M. (2002). Conflict as a tool for measuring ethics at workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 39(1), 75-81.