Albright are also very risk averse they always seem so frightened to take risks, which shows they operate in a very safe way, they try not to do anything that will put their company at risk. So when looking to employ people they need to make sure they not only have their interests at heart, but also bear in mind the company’s interest. They have a very competitive nature; it is almost essential to survive in the business they are in. Therefore it would show good practice to demonstrate a competitive nature, but at the same time it is important to understand that too much competitiveness can send out the wrong message and therefore lead to conflict.
Equal opportunities are another important area, where conflict generally arises. This could be where one employee has received training, whereas the other hasn’t, leading to conflict. That’s why it is so important for a company to value and treat all their employees the same, otherwise it will only affect the business further, not only in terms of the employees not getting on and therefore not being productive, but you won’t benefit as much from the other person as they haven’t been trained.
The way in which you manage people, could lead to conflict, which again stresses the importance of the recruitment process, it is vital you employ the people that you know will listen to instructions. Areas that are generally in conflict when talking about managers and their sub-ordinates are:
- Rates of pay- employees may have the priority of the business at heart, when paying their employees in order to keep competitive, whereas unions may attempt to maximise the employees’ reward. Another area which would cause conflict is of employers had a performance related pay scheme, which Albrights do, the problem that arises from this would be the fact that they would have to be extremely fair when assessing the performance of their employees (which is what they aim to do in the future rather than monitor them on things such as attendance, attainment and punctuality) but generally employees will feel as though they have been singled out, or they aren’t being paid as much as they should, or they may not work as hard as their employers expect as they believe the reward is to little. But the main thing to consider when looking at pay, is the fact that there has been an equal pay act that has been passed which eliminates discrimination in the workplace.
- The introduction of new technology- for example if Albright wanted to introduce new machinery, which requires their workers to learn to skills and techniques. Employers on the other hand may feel this extra responsibility is too much and a burden.
- Flexible working- Albright generally want their workforce to be flexible, if for some reason they needed to satisfy an order and they were desperate they could operate in a shift, therefore it could remain open for 24 hours, but then some employees may be unwilling to work the extra shifts.
- Working Conditions- Workers may feel as thought he facilities provided for them were inadequate, which would lead to conflict as employers may feel as though they were fine.
If there are several groups within the company there are usually a conflict of interests experienced there. But it is vital for the company to have competition in order for them to grow, but when these conflicts grow it’s never good for the company.
It’s important when recruiting, that people who already work within the company aren’t overlooked for the position, as this too could cause conflict. If an employee felt they were the right person for the job, but they were overlooked, they may feel as though they aren’t valued very much by the business if they were willing to recruit a complete stranger who would have to go through the whole recruitment process, settling period etc. Albright does offer quite a lot of positions to staff that already work for the organisation, so this problem wouldn’t be as common, but when doing this they have to always remember that by filling positions by using internal staffing there’s always going to be another position in need of filling.
Another area where it is important to watch out for during the recruitment and selection process is, you’re fair when picking the candidate. For example if Albright was full of white males, who had no disabilities and were totally well, then that would create conflict as someone working within HR who is trying to prevent discrimination will have something to say about that fact.
It is very important that performance management is done fairly, in order for conflict not to arise, this can be in terms of appraisal because if it seems as though one employee is favoured over the other, then it won’t have a good outcome.
The main thing identified with conflict is the fact that it has an overall bad effect on the company. Although competition makes everyone work harder, it always ends badly in the end with competitiveness changing to conflict. Therefore it’s vital for employers to ensure they behave in a way in which it is clear to see that each and every employee is treated fairly. And if you do demonstrate a strong corporate culture everyone understands it and at the same time works towards achieving the same goal. If conflict within the workplace were to be solved it would make so many things better and lead to higher level of productivity, because it is said that a happy worker is generally a more productive worker.
