Applying Conflict Competence to an Organizational Change

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  • In this assignment, you will apply the conflict management theories and techniques at the interpersonal, team, and organizational levels throughout organizational downsizing. Evidence of this application will be to identify, analyze, and synthesize conflict resolution strategies that are grounded in the literature.
  • Scenario:You are the operations manager for a medium-sized corporation that has suffered some significant competitive market challenges. Recently, a large contract with one of the company's main customers was lost to a competitor. Employment levels were established based upon this major contract. The chief financial officer has established a necessary staff reduction of 15% across the board. All levels of employees, including management, will be affected. Since other customers must continue to receive excellent customer service, day-to-day operations must not be affected. The following challenges must be managed effectively so as to minimize disruption in the organization.Both union and nonunion employees will be affected by the downsizing. Historically, management and union relationships have been strained, but recently, a level of trust between the two groups has begun to develop. Following a period of decline in satisfaction, employee satisfaction surveys among the nonunion employees have indicated an increase in satisfaction. The current executive team believes that maintaining a positive trend in employee satisfaction is critical to the organization's future success.Recently, a team-based initiative in operations has started to gain positive ground. The continued success of teams is important to the attainment of organizational goals.Throughout the planning and implementation of the organizational downsizing, conflict must be effectively managed at all levels of the organization. It will require effective leadership to make informed decisions; positively influence, build, and maintain trusting relationships with all stakeholders; and maintain effective teams while resizing the organization to maintain profitability.
  • Instructions:In a 12- to 15-page report:
    1. Search for at least ten articles related to the role of leadership in managing conflict in interpersonal, team, and organizational contexts in times of change, with a particular focus on downsizing.
    2. Analyze the potential external conflicts that may arise among stakeholders that may touch any of the following factors: political, legal, social, cultural, economic, technological, and environmental. Identify the stakeholder group and provide details about the type of conflict the downsizing may have on the group.
    3. Evaluate the role of team leadership and the overall effectiveness of teams in preventing and actively managing conflict.
    4. Assess the importance of maintaining relationships with stakeholders throughout significant organizational change.
    5. Recommend strategies for this organization to take to prevent and actively manage foreseen and unforeseen conflicts among internal and external stakeholders that may negatively affect the organization's attempt to downsize.
    Your paper should be a 12- to 15-page Microsoft Word document using a minimum of ten sources. Use APA format.

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Running head: APPLYING CONFLICT COMPETENCE TO AN ORGANIZATION

Applying Conflict Competence to an Organization
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Institution

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APPLYING CONFLICT COMPETENCE TO AN ORGANIZATION

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Applying Conflict Competence to an Organization
When the number of employees in an organization is more than what is required, the
management may decide to reduce it to the appropriate figure through layoffs; generally referred
to as downsizing (Cameron, 2015). There are a variety of factors that may lead to the downsizing
of the organization’s workforce, including management strategy or financial losses. For instance,
an organization experiencing financial problems has to reduce its employees to a number that it
can be able to comfortably pay. Also, the restructuring of the organization may deem some
employees surplus to requirement and lay them off. Studies have shown that organizational
downsizing tends to negatively impact the organization, especially through reduced morale of the
survivors. However, with effective leadership, the process can help the business to achieve its
goals.
Impact of Downsizing
There are many impacts of organizational downsizing associated with external forces
including political, legal, social, cultural, economic, technological, and environmental factors, as
discussed in the following paragraphs:
Political Factors
Political impact of downsizing is associated with the reputation of the organization.
Organizational reputation is important for the success of the business, especially small
businesses, because it attracts many customers and investors towards the company. First,
downsizing is a sign of organizational instability, which may be a result of poor leadership and
mismanagement of company resources (Cameron, 2015). Laying off staff members can also be

APPLYING CONFLICT COMPETENCE TO AN ORGANIZATION

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an indication of a business in the process of collapsing, an image that does not play in favor of
the company’s success. Such reputations may scare investors away from the business because
they are afraid to invest their finances in a failing project and risk losing it. In addition, it may
also deter employees from considering working for the company for fear of losing their jobs at
any time. Therefore, business politics is mainly based on reputation, which should reflect a
positive image of the organization for an advantage towards success.
Environmental Factors
Downsizing can have a major impact on its internal and external environment. To begin
with, it can disrupt its ability to attract talented employees and to retain them. The decision of an
organization to downsize, particularly through wide-range layoffs, sends a clear message to the
business environment that the workers are regarded as the cost. As a result, the potential
employees in the external labor market will not be enthusiastic to work in such a business
organization. It is therefore reasonable to state that downsizing diminishes the ability of the
organization to attract and retain talented employees (Guthrie & Datta, 2008). There is also
adequate evidence showing that some of the talented and hard working staff who survived
dismissal later quitted their jobs voluntarily. This is because their values are not congruent with
the new culture of the organization.
The quality of management is also affected by downsizing. Most studies have determined
that the process of cutting down the number of workers normally affects around 10 percent of the
work force within an organization. In the recent times, layoffs have been found to affect all
levels of the organization, unlike in the past where the impact of downsizing impinged more on
the middle management. The middle management constitutes about 8 to 10 percent of the

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organizations work force, although it represents a considerable percentage of important positions
that layoffs could target (Guthrie & Datta, 2008). For that reason, dismissal of employees also
takes out a significant number of competent employees, and this can greatly impact the success
of the firm. Therefore, the company keeps on with its operations without adequate competencies,
which may lead to a reduced quality of management. Additionally, companies with a low
number of headquarters staff often have to assign more work to the available employees, to cover
for the dismissed workers’ positions (DeWitt, 1993). For instance, the organization may call
upon the operating level staff or line managers to perform the functions of the corporate staff,
and this often leads to mixed results. Besides, reducing the levels of management also destroys
or weakens vital...


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