Preventing, Preempting, and Resolving Conflicts in the Workplace
by Christina Sickles Merchant, Dispute Resolution Practitioner, Designer, and Consultant, Arlington, VA
Like most businesses, Head Start programs already have dispute resolution processes in place for disputes like violations of equal opportunity and safety laws. The processes and procedures used to resolve these types of disputes are often spelled out by a law, a contract, or a regulation.
The focus of this article, however, is on the minor, low-level disputes and disagreements for which Head Start programs (and most other organizations) seldom have established dispute resolution procedures. Although these affect more people in the organization with greater frequency than, for example, an OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) violation, low-level disputes are often overlooked by managers.
The result of failure to provide for low-level dispute resolution in Head Start programs can be uneasy relationships and a source work climate, which can lead to a deterioration of the work environment. This impacts on the quality of work performance, work relationships, and productivity.
Providing procedures to remedy low-level disputes in organizations can also be a way to improve the delivery of services, overall workplace morale, and effectiveness in general. Developing an early intervention strategy for resolving minor workplace disputes, accompanied by preemption and prevention initiatives, achieves such results. the following steps introduce a framework for analyzing and addressing a Head Start program's unmet dispute resolution needs:
1: Recognize That An "Informal" System Is Already In Place
As disputes arise and nothing is done about hem, they may "go away" on their own (such as the individuals involved leave the organization or the work unit), or the un addressed disputes may accumulate and grow into major problems.
2: Assess The Cost Of Doing Nothing
The accumulation of unresolved grievances and low-leveled disputes can lead to a climate of disgruntlement and dissatisfaction, which becomes the accepted backdrop for the actual work of the organizational unit.
3: Identify The Current "Culture Of Conflict"
Where low-level resolution efforts are not encouraged or attempted, a culture of "dispute denial and avoidance" is created-often unwrittingly. Thus, the messages informally circulated within the organization include the ideas that disputes are "bad"; they must by ignored, avoided or denied; they do not warrant official recognition or attention; and they will get one in trouble. When combined with the reluctance which most individuals have for raising disputes in more formal and potentially risky forums, the product of such a "default" dispute resolution system is often dissatisfaction, dysfunction, and complaints. This culture of conflict must be changed for progress to occur.
4: Collaboratively Assess Conflict And Its Costs
An assessment should be made of the number, types, and nature of disputes which occur at the lowest organizational level. Examples include personality clashes, inter unit rivalries, professional practice disagreements, issues of nonperformance, and disagreements over the best methods to perform work.
It is important to include in the assessment process those who have different views of how dispute resolution efforts are currently conducted.
5: Identify Conflict Management Goals
One positive result of a staff dispute assessment is that participants are often able to identify simple common goals. For example, co-workers might identify the need to reach a more common understanding and acceptance of conflict, how it arises, and how it can best be addressed.
Improving communication skills is clarification of roles and responsibilities within the program. targeting simple, clear, and measurable conflict management goals in a Head Start program is critical to any improvement effort.
6: Collaboratively Design An Early Intervention Approach and Evaluate
With goals identified, and some conflict management research conducted, a Head Start design committee should develop initial processes and procedures to intervene early and preemptively in low-level disputes. An elaborate plan is not necessary. Start small with a tentative approach. Try a pilot combination of measures and assess whether it is effective. Always evaluate efforts and be prepared to adjust.
Continuously learning about how conflict is managed in a program is the key to success. A one shot examination/correction of dispute handling will not cure the problem. In fact, early intervention in the disputes of any organization, including Head Start, requires a long-term commitment to cycles of open, ongoing, and participatory inquiry about the status of conflict management and its contribution to the improvement of overall program performance.
-
Christina Sickles Merchant is a dispute resolution practitioner, designer, and consultant for workplace disputes. Past president of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution and former federal mediator, she recently coauthored the book Designing Conflict Management Systems: A Guide to Creating Productive and Healthy Organizations (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996). Address: P.O. Box 10522, Arlington, VA 22201. (703) 593-3636; Fax (703) 243-9072; E-mail: [cmerchant@worldnet.att.net].
__________________________________________________________
References:
Constantino, C.A. and Merchant, C.S. Designing Conflict Management Systems: A Guide to Creating Productive and Healthy ORganizations. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996).
Ury, W.L. Brett, J.M., and Goldberg, S.B. Getting Disputes Resolved: Designing Systems to Cut the Cost of Conflict. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988).
Back to Top | Back to Table of Contents | Next Page