Disputes are disagreementsor conflicts between individuals or groups and are mostly unavoidable in theworkplace. There are many causes of disputes including remuneration, jobsecurity issues, health and safety and employment conditions. There are alsostrategies used to resolve the issues like conciliation, negotiation andarbitration. The level of disputes varies in businesses and most experience conflictbetween employees and employers.
Various strategies are put in place to solvedisputes including negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, grievanceprocedures, mediation,and involvement of courts and tribunals.Both possible causes and strategies are outlined. Communication is essentialfor a good workplace relationship. Poor communication is clearly shown inworkplace disputes and high turnover rates. Managers need to interact withstaff, have regular meetings and bulletin boards to increase communication. Employeescould have different values which may affect work ethic. A difference invalues is seen with a generational gap.
Young workers may have differentworkplace values than older workers. If employees fail to accept differences, workersmay insult each other’s character and experiences. When insults occur, conflictincreases until the correct solution is given and accepted. Negotiationand collaboration give paths for businesses to solve conflicts in-house. Insituations where a conflict arises between productive employees, a manager can negotiatea solution to the problem. When collaborating, people in conflict work togetherto come up with a set of ideas until a solution is found that works for both.Both negotiation and collaboration work best during early stages of a conflict,before the people in conflict stay in positions they will not move from. Mediationis another strategy that is used that provides a informal method resolution.
The mediation process normally calls for people in conflict to meet with anuninvolved third party. Rather than provide a solution, the mediator works withboth parties to promote open communication in an attempt to reach a mutuallyacceptable solution. Overallthere are causes of workplace disputes in various businesses and strategiesused to overcome them.
Effectivecommunication is vital between employers and employees to ensure the businesshas success.