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IQ . Define conflict management? What are the causes of workplace conflicts? What are the various strategies to be adopted for resolving conflicts? Answer : Conflict management is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. The aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes, including effectiveness or performance in organizational setting . Properly managed conflict can improve group outcomes. Communication Explanation of causes of workplace conflicts Poor Poor communication is one of the main causes of conflict between employees n the workplace.
This can result in a difference in communication styles or a failure to communicate. For example, a manager reassigned an employee’s task to the employee’s co-worker but failed to communicate the reassignment to the employee. Different Values Similar to personalities, the values of employees differ within the workplace. A difference in values is seen clearly when a generational gap is present. Young workers may possess different workplace values than older workers. The difference in values is not necessarily the cause of employee conflict in the workplace, but the failure to accept the differences is.
Competition Unhealthy workplace competition is a cause of employee conflict. Some industries foster competitive environments more than others. When salary is linked to employee production, a workplace may experience strong competition between employees. Accommodating The accommodating strategy essentially entails giving the opposing side what it wants. The use of accommodation often occurs when one of the parties wishes to keep the peace or perceives the issue as minor. Q. What is meant by organizational culture? What are the elements and dimensions of organizational culture?
Organizational culture is the behavior of humans who are part of an organization and the meanings that the people attach to their actions. Culture includes the organization values, visions, norms, working language, systems, symbols, beliefs and habits. It is also the pattern of such collective behaviors and assumptions that are taught to new organizational members as a way of perceiving. Rivals and Schultz (2006) state that organizational culture is a set of shared mental assumptions that guide interpretation and action in organizations by defining appropriate behavior for various situations .
Elements: Gerry Johnson (1988) described a cultural web, identifying a number of elements that can be used to describe or influence organizational culture: The paradigm: What the organization is about, what it does, its mission, its values. * Control systems: The processes in place to monitor what is going on. Role cultures would have vast rulebooks. There would be more reliance on individualism in a power culture. * Organizational structures: Reporting lines, hierarchies, and the way that work flows through the business. Power structures: Who makes the decisions, how widely spread is power, and on what is power based? Symbols: These include organizational logos and designs, but also extend to symbols of power such as parking spaces and executive washrooms. * Rituals and routines: Management meetings, board reports and so on may become more habitual than necessary. Ten Dimensions of an Organizational Culture Stakeholder-Value Orientation Stakeholders are the people who have a stake in how well your company does.
This includes employees, customers, management, shareholders, vendors and the neighborhoods where your facilities are. Entrepreneurial Orientation You no doubt started your business because you think like an entrepreneur. That does not mean your employees do. If you want a spirit of inventiveness and innovation in your company, you must make your wishes known. Social Responsibility f you want social responsibility to be part of your company culture, make your charitable efforts visible to employees.
Encourage them to participate voluntarily in community betterment activities. Transparent Governance Maintaining accountability and openness in how you conduct your business can be a vital part of your company’s culture. If you demonstrate that you are honest in your financial dealings, and that you attempt to be fair in managing employees, a culture of trust will develop. Team Spirit Your company is a collection of individuals who must work together toward common goals. This does not happen automatically. You must develop and encourage a sense of teamwork among your staff.
You can do this by holding frequent company meetings, and rewarding teams (such as the production department, for example) instead of individuals. Customer Service You know the customer pays your bills, but it easy for your staff to lose sight of that fact in their day-to-day dealings. You must consciously promote an wariness of customer service as your primary marketing tool. Hold meetings and seminars to discuss customer service issues. Adaptive Ability A growing company will encounter situations that are not in the business plan. You have to be able to change and adapt according to new information and unexpected events.
If you have encouraged a culture of adaptability. Open A company that openly communicates internally and externally has a culture of openness. You should fight any sense of secrecy and behind-closed-doors decisions. If your company culture values open communication, you will if Problem-Solving you promote a culture that values problem-solving, you will avoid a lot of meetings where you have to find ways to undo mistakes. Employees and managers who feel empowered to solve problems will actively help you move the company past hurdles.
Supportive Environment A culture where every mistake is possible grounds for discipline can make employees stressful and mistake-prone. You can offer retraining instead of reprimands, and encouragement instead of disappointment. This will create a culture of support. Q. Explain the importance and features of Human Resource Information systems (HRS). ANSWER: The Importance of a Human Resource Information System Identify Manpower Requirements In the most basic sense, an HRS information system organizes information about every job in your organization.
This information might include details such as who is currently in the position, what she is paid and what her job responsibilities, training needs and assigned benefits are. Identifying Resources When you must make decisions such as how much manpower will be required, you want to determine quickly what resources are already at your disposal. Instead of jumping immediately to a plan to recruit and train new employees for actors production expansion, you could pull a report from the HRS, identifying employees who have skills and training required to be promoted to the new positions.
Compliance In most firms, there is a critical need to manage how employees are treated, especially to comply with the requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Law of 1964 and other laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Meeting Training Needs An HRS system can help employers manage training needs, allowing them to complete mandated and optional training. For example, in the HRS, an employee eight go into a description of available training courses and request courses for her personality. Features of Human Resource Information systems (HRS).
Most are flexibly designed with integrated databases, a comprehensive array of features, and powerful reporting functions and analysis capabilities that you need to manage your workforce. This can give back hours of the HRS administrator’s day previously spent attending to routine employee requests. A HRS also facilitates communication processes and saves paper by providing an easily-accessible, centralized location for company policies, announcements, ND links to external Rule’s. Employee activities such as time-off requests and W-4 form changes can be automated, resulting in faster approvals and less paperwork.
Q. What is meant by grievance redressed? Explain the three stages of Grievance redressed. What precautions are to be taken while handling grievances? ANSWER: In order to streamline the grievance handling system in the company, management is pleased to introduce following “Grievance Procedure” with immediate effect. Grievance Procedure -An aggrieved employee shall first present his grievance verbally in person to the Head of Department and his grievance will be settled or will be replied by the Concern Head of Dept. Within 3 days of the presentation of the grievance. If the employee is not satisfied with the reply of his Head of Dept. Or if he fails to receive any reply within the stipulated period, he shall present his grievance to the Head of the Division. Grievance Complains affecting one or more individual employees in respect of their wage payments, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority work assignment, working conditions and interpretation of service agreement, dismissal and discharge etc. Would constitute a grievance. Where the points of disputes are of general applicability or of considerable magnitude, they will fall outside the scope of this procedure.
Grievance Committee The Grievance Committee will constitute of the following: -GM (Technical) – Management Representative – GM – Member Secretary – GM Member – President REEL KS – Union Representative -Departmental Nominee – Case to Case basis Q. What are trade unions? What are the objectives and activities of trade unions? A trade union is an organization made up of members (a membership-based organization) and its membership must be made up mainly of workers. One of a trade union’s main aims is to protect and advance the interests of its members in the workplace.
Most trade unions are independent of any employer. However, trade unions try to develop close working relationships with employers. This can sometimes take the form of a partnership agreement between the employer and the trade union which identifies their common interests and objectives. Objectives Of Trade Unions Trade unions are formed to protect and promote the interests of their members. Their primary function is to protect the interests of workers against coordination and unfair labor practices.
Trade unions are formed to achieve the following objectives: Representation Trade unions represent individual workers when they have a problem at work. If an employee feels he is being unfairly treated, he can ask the union representative to help sort out the difficulty with the manager or employer. Negotiation Negotiation is where union representatives, discuss with management, the issues which affect people working in an organization. There may be a difference of opinion between management and union members. Voice in decisions affecting workers
The economic security of employees is determined not only by the level of wages and duration of their employment, but also by the management’s personal policies which include selection of employees for lay offs, retrenchment, promotion and transfer. Member services During the last few years, trade unions have increased the range of services they offer their members. These include: Education and training Legal assistance Financial discounts Welfare benefits Q. Write a brief note on stress and employee wellness in organizations.
A Short Note on Stress Oftentimes we find certain stresses occur within ourselves. We sometimes might attribute the cause of the stresses that we are experiencing directly related to external forces. We could easily argue that the environment at one’s work, other people, crowded city we live-in, or the weather, are likely candidates responsible for our stress. In our desire to improve our conditions, or our reality, we spend a great amount of energy attempting not to react to the outside stimuli that we find brings us stress.
We cannot discount the nobility of such an effort, however, the effort itself sometimes brings stress, and we become equally frustrated of our repeated failures. Therefore, we would have to ask the question “Why do we have stress anyway? ” To better answer the question, we must consider the reason for stress or resistance. Consider something so simple as exercise. We all know that if you do some sort of exercise, such as lifting a weight, the muscles involved become strong enabling them to perform at their peak.
Yes, lifting the weight brings stress upon the tissue of the muscle. Yet, the muscle benefits. After all, stress is a modifier of inaction. It really does not matter in this discussion whether using male or female individuals. The idea as to bring forth the point regarding stress. Stress usually shows up when we try to control something. The process of control is completely different from the process of direction. Control brings about extreme levels of stress, and as a stress continues to grow, the futility of control becomes evident.
Eventually, the stress will become so overwhelming that the individual breaks down or gives up or, because of extreme discomfort. Employee wellness in organizations. Employee Wellness is a worksheet-based intervention programmer aimed at the early identification and/or resolution of both work and personal robbers that may adversely affect performance. These problems may include, but are not limited to health, marital, family, financial, alcohol, drug, legal, emotional, stress, or other personal concerns which may adversely affect employee job performance.