Conflict & Stress Management Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION attempt and contravention ar dickens major(ip) issues any musical arrangement faces. They are inevi slacken in twain told facets of life, be individual(a) or governanceal. If non come aboutled good they give the axe be a hindrance for the confederation accomplishment. dispute and tenseness both(prenominal) varies according to the organisation and its culture. nonwithstanding both shoot to be managed thoroughly to avoid unnecessary problems. contravention is a perception. Surveys show that employees spend as much as 42% of their while engaging in or attempting to resolve affairs and 20% of private instructors clock judgment of conviction is taken up by involvement related issues (Gupta, Boyd, Kuzmits, 2011). This valuable date can be utilised in making the organisation a more efficient and an effective angiotensin converting enzyme. Organisations which fail to address appointment crap the risk of losing their agonistical advantage. Conf lict can be viewed in many ways and at that place are different steering titles which can direct with interlocking. The leaders of the organisation must(prenominal) be involved in dealing with conflict as they would stool to negotiate and bargain in order to overcome conflict.Stress is a major concern with todays working flock. This is because the world is developing in a faster cubic yard which requires constant adaptation. Stress not only affects adepts work-life balance, ex numberly also their mortalal life which creates chaos for individuals. correspond to some estimation, humankind losses 100 million workdays both year due(p) to the af termath of focussing (Tr train & Potocan, 2005). Work tenor posits to be managed headspring so it can actually improve the well being of the individuals as well as the organisation.Both of these situationors for wash up be viewed in the background of Nippon Lanka and go away be analysed thoroughly on how they overcome thes e issues to maintain a healthy relationship with employees. Improvements and recommendations for the current methods leave behind also be discussed.2.0 OVERVIEWNippon Lanka Pvt Ltd (NPLK) is a joint venture (JV) amid the Nippon PLC Japan (NPJ) and Silicone Coatings Pvt Ltd (SC) Sri Lanka w present the NPJ brought over 60% of Silicones shares. This joint venture is advantageous to both parties where NPJ is able to use this as an ledger entry method and SC as an opportunity to be a part of a global industry. system of this JV as well ask al well-nigh a year where Nippon Lanka studied SC and the relevant industry as intact to get an thought of the present market conditions. It was bring that in that location was no better time to wear the Sri Lankan market due to the post war era development. in that respectfore SC was considered due to their strong armorial bearing in the market.Today after about three months from victoriously forming the JV the fel unkeptship is going t hrough a transition period. in that location arent any major changes to positions in the hierarchy but there are role changes and employees are finding it difficult to adapt to their impudent roles. Example The Managing Director (MD) of the fellowship who was the owner of the corporation still is the MD how ever to day the person is a salaried employee. The public tutor who was coverage directly to MD today has to report to the Board of directors where MD is just one out of the five directors.When examining the company culture towards conflict, the company culture and the value system which has been there for 35 years from the date of the establishment is now being changed. SC was established in 1979, as a small scale manufacture and a distributer of paint related ancillaries. By the time Nippon approached SC it had grown into the largest local player in the market where it was second only to the global giant Akzonobal by a 3% margin.It is evident that SC has been a one man show up to the time of the JV, the full value system and the operational procedures were laid down by the founder himself and not most of the coach-and-fours found it enticing to be part of. Therefore the HR vacateover was such that on bonnie about six key resources left the company. In this bet on ground lets beguile how the conflict and stress counselling office staff takes place at bottom the organization.3.0 CONFLICT AND CONFLICT counseling3.1 Conflict Management StylesConflict can be defined as the process that begins when one fellowship perceives that different party has prohibitly affected, or is about to contradictly affect, something the first party cares about (Robbins S., Judge T. & Vohra N., 2011441). It is that full point in an ongoing activity when an interaction crosses over to become an interparty conflict. Conflict can be seen as good and bad with corresponding positive and negative outcomes where this would all depend on how one views conflict.There are three basics views of conflict. These are the Traditional view, the Interactionist view and Managed conflict view. The traditional view sees conflict as bad and something that must be eliminated through the use of authority. Poor talk, lack of openness and adversity to respond to employee needs could be seen as few of the causes. The interactionist view is that conflict is desirable, necessary for high performance teams and should be encouraged. The contemporary view is that conflict is inevitable and it may be positive or negative but it must be managed to be beneficial.Nippon Lanka follows a more interactionist view where conflict is encouraged and the company is of the view that a perfectly cooperative, harmonious group would hinder dynamism, creativity and innovation where a tokenish level of conflict is needed to prevent a lacklustre, uninterested attitude among the group.As mentioned earlier, not all conflicts are good, and this view only retains functional conflict. Functional conflict is a constructive form of conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves performance. The type of conflict at hand would distinguish a functional conflict from a dysfunctional conflict. Although these are distinct types of conflict, the occurrence of one type of conflict can lead to a conflict of an opposite type taking place. For example, the process of monetary valueing has been kept confidential, and this has led to the focus amidst the sales team and the costing team.3.2TYPES OF CONFLICT PRESENT IN NIPPON LANKA3.2.1Relationship conflictConflicts between two people are known as relationship conflicts. These conflicts arise as a result of miscommunication, disagreements or misunderstandings between people.One such situation at Nippon Lanka arose between the Brand Manager and the Marketing Manager. The Brand manager has been with the company for 5 years and has previously worked with two Heads of marketing. erst the new marketing manager was appoi nted, it was found that the latter was less(prenominal) experienced and was not spontaneous to corporate with the Marketing Head. This triggered huge problems for the new comer. The attention was aware of this, but wasnt able to remove him from the position due to the valuable connections the customers. However, the Marketing Manager understood this inferiority complex of the Brand Manager. Having gone through the initial hardships the new marketing manager somehow managed to win the trust of the Brand manager. Now they are working harmoniously, directing all their efforts towards the clear of the company.3.2.2.Data ConflictThis occurs when decisions are made without adequate information. At Nippon Lanka, the costing department works in isolation. They do not consult the sales and marketing team when arriving at the costs, so more often than not, the cost of the product is either too high, depriving them of valuable orders and potential growth, or at times its too low depriving t he opportunity for the company to charge a premium price on an innovative product or to achieve efficiency through specialisation.3.2.3Interest ConflictConflicts of interest mainly deal with psychological issues, where an individual or organisation behaves in a veritable dash, with the aim of meeting a particular interest which is not shared by everyone else. The JV with the Japanese company was not disclosed or made public, even though doing so would have been acting in the best interests of the company. The MD did not like the idea of publicising the 6040 JV that was taking place, as it would be viewed as a takeover. However, the rest of the company felt that some amount of public awareness would have positively impacted the companys future performance.Another example would be when the HR department wanted to minimise the over time cost they imposed a rule where all sales vehicle needs to be buttocks at the HO by 5 pm. As an example what the gross sales representatives would d o is when they need to incline goods up to Negombo, covering Wattala, Ja-ela, Seeduwa and Negombo. They would turn back from Seeduwa at 3.30 pm in order to get down it back to office by 5 pm, without covering their full distance to Negombo. What followed was a delay in the lurch and travelling additional mileage, having to revisit incomplete routes taking the same path.3.2.4 Structural ConflictStructural conflict arises from unclear and undefined roles and reporting lines. The R&D and the production manger are directly reporting to the MD. The other managers report to the GM, where the GM reports to the MD. Currently when a sales representative needs to develop a sample for a particular customer, the sales representative will not have the adequate support since the request from the sales rep will not be taken seriously from the R&D manager and the GM cannot question them for not doing it in good order. Only 10 out of 1 samples are successful and yet the R&D manager has managed t o survive, distracting the control and supervisory system of the top management since there is no clear reporting structure.3.2.5 Value ConflictA value conflict comes about when two people or groups have dissenting views on moralitythat basic understanding of what is naturally right or wrong. As mentioned earlier, the cost manager considered himself and his department superior than the other departments, with the notion that the information handled need not be disclosed to anyone else. At present, the cost manager is in prison, facing charges of fraud. Although the milieu helped the person to carry out fraud, this is a clear example of conflicting values.3.3 THE CONFLICT PROCESSFigure 1 The Conflict Process(Source Robbins S., Judge T. & Vohra N., 2005444)3.3.1Stage I Potential opposition or incompatibilityThe first correspond talks about the conditions that are needed for conflict to arise. They may not directly lead to conflict, but they need to be present for conflict to surface . They can be referred to as the causes of conflict and can be condensed into three general categories, namely communications, structure and ain variables. Communication, either too much or too little information passed between members can result in potential opportunities for conflict to arise. At Nippon Lanka, the manner in which the costing of the products is carried out is not communicated to the members in the other dept and this has been the initiating factor for conflict to set in. social structure includes several variables such as size, degree of specialization in the tasks assigned to the group members, role clarity, member-goal compatibility, leaders styles, reward systems, and the degree of dependence among groups.The sales and promotions manager at Nippon Paints follow an aggressive, predator style of leadership where excuses were not tolerated and was only interested in the achievement of results and targets. An example would be, the samples taken from the production team that is utilise for sales and promotion does not meet the required standards of quality where 9 out of 10 samples would fail. akin time, the Sales and promotions manager would also be very demanding of the sales representatives in terms of acquiring the sought after targets. In some cases, employees have resigned due this demanding nature. Personal variables are mainly due to differences in personal traits of individuals.Diverse issues such as prejudice and disagreements over ones contribution to the group, as well as the rewards one deserves. For example, at Nippon Paints, the General Manager is prepared to hire new trainees at Rs. 15,000/=, whereas the Sales and Promotions Manager feels that the market rate of Rs. 30,000/= should be paid to them. The low salaries have deterred attracting the talented individuals and therefore not achieving the fullest potential.3.3.2Stage II Cognition and PersonalizationIf the conditions mentioned in stage I negatively affect something on e party cares about, thence the potential for opposition or incompatibility surfaces in the second stage. One or both parties must be aware and perceive that these conditions exist. However, just because it is perceived does not make the conflict personalized. It may not have an effect on either or both parties. The conflict has to be felt, for individuals become emotionally involved, leading to anxiety, tension, frustration or hostility.3.3.3Stage III IntentionsIntentions get in the way of peoples perceptions and emotions and act as decisions for them to react the way they do to the situation at hand. They are important, as one has to make inferences of the other partys intentions to know and understand the reason behind that partys conduct and to respond accordingly. Conflicts tend to escalate at this point merely because of the wrong inferences being made. Sometimes a behavior might erroneously reflect the persons intentions. Two dimensions are used, namely amenability (the degr ee to which one party attempts to satisfy the other partys concerns) and assertiveness (the degree to which one party attempt to satisfy his or her own concerns) to identify five conflict handling intentions. This has been attach to Appendix 1 with the styles explained.3.3.4Stage IV BehaviorThis stage includes actions, statements and reactions made by the conflicting parties. Intentions of each party are implemented through these behaviors and can be seen as a dynamic process of interaction. Conflicts ordinarily start slow characterized by indirect rather subtle forms of tension and escalate as the tension builds. At this latter stage things could become highly destructive where such conflicts are almost forever and a day dysfunctional.3.3.5Stage V OutcomesBehavior would lead to outcomes, where some are functional in that the conflict results in an gain in the groups performance or it may also be dysfunctional in that it hinders group performance. Functional conflict can be bene ficial for the company as it provides a fair through which problems can be aired and tensions released. This improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation, encourages interest and curiosity among group members and it forces and environment of self-evaluation and change.Some companies discourage conflict as they prefer yes-men, loyal to the higher ups to the point of never question company actions. As for dysfunctional conflict it would reduce group effectiveness and group cohesiveness. At the extreme, conflict can bring group functioning to a halt and potentially threaten the groups survival. Refer Appendix II for the example of a conflict Process at Nippon paints.3.3 NEGOTIATING AND BARGAINING ahead the organisation starts negotiating they should be aware of the nature of the conflict. There is a certain process that needs to be followed in negotiation. dialog is by explanation the management of crossed demands, where each one of us expresses requests hoping the other will try to fulfil them (Lempereur, A. 2012). As it is verbalise Everything is negotiation in life, so every party involved in the process would like to take the best out of it.3.3.1 Bargaining StrategiesThere are two bargaining strategies that could be discussed. Distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining. In the current context what is more obvious is integrative bargaining which makes both the parties involved satisfied creating a win-win situation. An example for this was when a sales representative requests for a personal vehicle they need to achieve a certain level of sales targets. If they maintain the sales targets for a sustainable period they will be given a personal vehicle. But by any chance if they do not keep up to the said targets their salaries will be reduced in accordance with the cost of maintaining the vehicle by the company. Through a situation like this, what is created is a long term positive relationship for the company. As a compan y, they attach the sales levels and the employees will also be satisfied as their needs are also met.3.3.2 Negotiation ProcessNegotiation can happen in 5 steps these are preparation and planning, definition and ground rules, clarification and justification, bargaining and problem solving and closure and implementation. Some do not have a positive ending or a closure. But negotiations that have an effect for the organisation will go through a process.An example of this would be when the company needs to host certain function in hotels they would negotiate with them for the best bargain. As they have cost constraints, there are certain limitations and getting the best bargain with the best outcome would be the perfect scenario. Before the start of the negotiation with the relevant hoteliers the in-charge person will prepare the list of things that need to be discussed. These would be the pricing, menu items, additional serve that are required and assess what the other party goals an d prepare well for them.In this instance a budget per person would be Rs. 3,000. But the relevant hotels cost was higher. Then the menus for these relevant amounts will be compared. In the Sri Lankan context rather than a 4 or 5 course meal, action displace with koththu and hoppers have a vibrant feeling and also cost less. So in the negotiation table the other alternatives will be put across. Since information is all gathered, the representative will develop a strategy. The person will also determine the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). So here the BATNA will be to get cost per person at Rs. 3,000 having action stations with cocktail menu.The person will determine when and where to have the appointment. The ideal place would be at hotel premises because then the ambiance where operate capacity can also be viewed. The meeting would be planned in the best time where both parties are not strained with other commitments and can concentrate for a best outcome. Once the initial stance is made then there will be further clarifications and explanations. Then both parties will try to come up with concessions in order to make a decision. Once both parties are satisfied they will formalize the agreement. In this process Nippon Lanka representatives will stress on the fact that if one event is made a success then the hotel is winning a long term corporate client. This enhances their business.3.3.3 Third Party NegotiationThis is crucial for Nippon Lanka as they deal with lot of suppliers and customers. Advertising is a crucial part for this organisation and dealing with media is important to get a good advertising deal. earlier they were dealing with the television and radio stations by themselves and it was quite strenuous. Getting a good deal that is worth their money was tough and time consuming, having deal with different organisations, so they decided to obtain ternary party involvement. The outcome was to get a adviser to act on media buying f or the organisation. A consultant is a skilled and impartial third party who attempts to facilitate problem solving through communication and analysis (Robbins S., Judge T. & Vohra N., 2011457). They are there to improve the current status and to get a win-win firmness of purpose for both parties. When Nippon started using a third party advertising firm to do media buying, they were able to get good deals from media as they have a high bargaining power.4.0 WORK STRESS & STRESS MANAGEMENTStress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important (Robbins, Judge & Vohrs, 554). Most of the time stress is discussed in the negative contest but this is not true at all times. Stress can be taken into the system as an advantage. In the current organisation stress factor is not talked openly even though people are put under stress levels it is not considered as value adding option for the organisation. In the organisation currently what is seen is the challenge stresses but sometimes these same factors do become hindrance stressors for the employees.4.1 Sources of stressThe main sources of stress in the organisation comes from environmental and organisation factors. When it comes to environmental factors the three types of uncertainties are economic, political and technological. These play a minimal role compared to organisational and personal factors.In considering environment factors the workers are stressed on the technological aspect. Research and development team is always under ram in getting a new product development before their competitors. Organisation heads are have-to doe with about the Political uncertainty. Whenever a new rule or regulation is passed by government with move to the consumer protection or protecting environment this takes a toll in the organisation activities.They must be aware of the new laws and how to tackle them, this adds a lot of strain in the management as they need to alter or change certain decisions according to political scenarios. Change in economic policies and recessions or booms in the economic cycle create stress on the organisation. Current economic down turn have made a toll in the sales teams as consumers are spending less and government projects have considerably reduced. At the same time government is not paying their debt and collections have become harder.Organisational factors are the ones that are created by the organisation which creates stress on employees. Task demands such as collecting debts in 90 days have a strain on the employee. This increases the job pressure. usance demands relate to pressure that occurs due to the job role. Managers and above have high role related pressures compared to subordinates due to the heavy work load which needs to be performed in less time. Most employees complain that they are given more wo rk than they can handle and it stresses them out a lot. At the same time many complain the targets given are not practical. There is a minimal level of interpersonal demands where other employees are not supportive.Personal factors which increase stress are different to every individual. But this does create a hindrance in the organisation performance.All or some of these factors create a high turnover or absenteeism, reduction in productivity and decrease in job satisfaction. lamentably Nippon Lanka has not recognised the importance of stress management in order to curb it or recruit it.The main organisational stress come comes from the current management change, this is because the task and role demands have changed and employees need to jell to the new roles. Personal factors too trigger stress level of the employees.4.2 Managing Stress at Nippon Lanka Pvt LtdBased on the study, it is visible that Nippon Lanka uses stress as a positive motivator, but at some points it goes out of hand where it depletes the collaboration and coordination amongst the teams and also inter department.Based on the job roles, the department heads can think of the stress levels which can be imposed on the team members to get results and to meet targets. However the stress levels should be correctly managed so that it motivates results and not deplete and impede the team building and performance drive within the teams.As it is observed, some amount of stress comes from the non-alignment of the reporting lines. Therefore the suggestion is to relook at the reporting lines so that stress does not occur due to incorrect alignment of the business structure which has a negative impact and which creates unnecessary types of stress within teams.Together with the Job role enrichment, reporting lines should also be re-aligned so that the company will only be left with stress which causes the company to perform and not to impede.5.0 CONCLUSIONIn conclusion conflict, negotiation and stress are all visible in Nippon Paint. Conflict is unavoidable at the organisation due to the dealings they have among the departments and the third parties. To overcome conflict certain understanding among employees and stakeholders must be implemented. It can be seen that conflict, negotiation and stress are interlinked with each other on some level. Organisational conflict styles may shape an organisations social environment, affecting the level of ongoing conflict and thus the level of stress among employees. Nippon Lanka to a great extent follows an integrative style of conflict management which leads to lower task conflict, reducing relationship conflict, which reduces stress. However, there are many instances where the management has not come up with a solution to the conflict at hand, where they are not willing to step in and the employees are left to resolve the matter, which at most times remains unresolved.The recommended improvements with sham to this has been discussed in Se ction 3.4. It is important that with the JV taking place, the new management plays an active role in resolving these long running issues so that the organisation and its performance does not get affected. The current JV could also trigger new conflicts and stress levels within the organisation where it is crucial that these issues are identified and resolved. The new management must take this opportunity to place greater prominence of recognizing the on-going stress levels within the organisation and deal with them appropriately. Improved management of conflict, negotiations and stress would benefit the individuals and the organisation in terms of high performing, content, employ employees who deliver results.