Nature of Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nature of Conflict - Essay Example This makes the employees enter into hitch with the management or higher officials. They may go on strikes or do other sorts of protests. Major conflicts occur when, for example, employees experience gender discrimination, work overload, forced overtime, short deadlines, and no opportunities for promotion, reward or compensation. These factors reduce job security and the employees suffer from work related stress. Other major causes may include dissatisfactory wages and salaries, and poor communication between the management and employees due to which the latter feel that their problems are not being considered. Also, when employees feel that they are not being able to participate in the decision-making process, they may acquire conflicting views about the project at hand. All of these conflicts may get serious enough to be requiring a mediation plan for resolution. No matter the conflict is small or big, the management should make serious efforts to resolve it as soon as possible so t hat employees do not lose their morale (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). Negotiation or Mediation Negotiation is necessary to solve conflicts. Sometimes, this negotiation is done through mediation. We define mediation as a process in which a third party intervention is sought for reconciliation between individuals or groups. The purpose of negotiation is to make possible the re-establishment of mutual tolerance between the parties involved. However, negotiation itself depends upon the friendly signals shown by the opponents leading to friendly re-union and cooperative bonding. Strasser and Randolph (2004, p.22) affirm that mediators should â€Å"accept conflict as an inescapable facet of human existence, with the possible consequence of reconciliation.† Negotiators and mediators should understand that conflict cannot be eliminated entirely. If negotiators start thinking that they will be able to eradicate conflict completely, then this perception will be a barrier to an effective impl ementation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process. It will also make the negotiators forceful and aggressive toward resolution. Thus, the negotiators need to adjust their behaviors and attitudes so that they can efficiently deploy conflict management techniques. Personal Experience This section of the paper describes my own case as an example of workplace conflict and negotiation process. I worked as an internee in a company in my city. As I stated, most conflicts occur due to unfair treatment or policy changes from the management side, this incident also involves a conflict between the manager and I. It was about the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). For reader’s information, the major responsibility of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is to make accommodations for disabled employees, under the title I of the Act. ADA makes sure that the disabled employees do not have to face discrimination by their seniors or co-workers when they are at the workplace. In order to get protection by ADA, the individual must have a disability which is defined by the Act as â€Å"a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities† (U.S. Department of Justice, 2005). All persons who have in their medical history that they have been or are going through such a disability, or people perceive him as