The functional conflicts in an Organisation

The functional conflicts in an Organisation The term conflict has grown to become a very imperative word in Organisations and in everyday human life. Thomas (1976) proclaimed that conflict has become a popular management topic. This statement is further strengthened with the amount of research carried out on the subject matter as well as books, articles and journals published on conflict. Conflict refers to events ranging from inner turmoil produced by competing needs or desires to open violence between entire societies (Greenberg Baron 1995). Conflict is that process that begins when one party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect something the first party cares about (Buchanan Huczynski 2007). Conflict in the organisation is defined as the overt struggle between 2 or more people or groups in an organisation. It is usually centered on a state or condition that favours an individual over the other or a group over the other (Hatch 1997). Oceanic Bank Intl (OBI) stands out amongst our banks in Nigeria because of its excellent service delivery culture and that, has earned the bank a top 5 overall ranking in the Nigerian Banking industry. Conflict between Marketing and Operations Service departments is a common phenomenon in the Nigerian banking industry. This analysis will look at the view of various theorists on conflict and relate the Functional Theory to the OBI experience. In describing the OBI experience, we will analyse the HAND of management and demonstrate how functional conflict in OBI resulted in creative problem solving following proper management and increased innovation to seek solution to problems. Furthermore, the analysis actually will show that conflict in the organisation is positive and can be used to improve on service delivery, relationship management and ultimately organisational goals (Feldman Arnold 1983). Conclusively, emphasis on implementation and monitoring of Functional conflict will be suggested. CONFLICT Views and Theories Theorists all over, have different views on conflict. There is a school of thought that views it as Dysfunctional; saying that it is negative in the Organisation and a sign of incomplete social structure. They propose that taskforces, committees and liaison roles are ways to manage and respond to conflict in the organization (Hatch 1997). Another group of theorist view conflict as neutral, saying that it is negative to organizational goals but it is however inevitable and that it is a part of the organization. Pondy (1967), says that conflict as neutral may be regarded as negative and dysfunctional but as a neutral condition, its unavoidable and should be accepted. A more recent set of theorists view conflict as Functional and that it supports organisational goals and objectives. This view was promoted by the realisation that conflict can stimulate innovation and adaptability in the Organization. This view of conflict challenged the assumption that organisations are or should be co-operative systems (Hatch 1997). This theory of Functional conflict can be traced to Chester Barnard. Merits and Demerit Conflict in the Organization could degenerate and affect how the conflicting groups or individuals relate, perceive and behave towards each other. It can induce a win-lose orientation (Filley 1997; Mac Callun et all 1985). This Win-Lose orientation can de-motivate employees and of course affect performance. Rifts between employees or departments within an organisation if not promptly or properly managed could also lead to loss of quality employees. The negative effects may translate to poor performance of the organization. Though conflict has several demerits including de-motivation and employee turnover, if properly managed, can help create arousal among employees, energize and mobilize them to become more aware of their job functions and expectations from management. It can also help increase and develop innovative solution. Hall (1971) suggests that when properly managed, conflict may not only increase the innovation to seek solution to problems, it can often result in more creative solutions to problem solving. It is in such situations that conflict will be viewed as Functional. The growing complexity in Organisations has provided increased empirical support for a positive relationship between conflict and group performance (Bourgeois 1980), organisational learning (Fiol 1994) and high quality decision making in the Organization (Schwenk and Valacich 1994). The competitive orientation that comes with Functional conflict can institute an employee audit system, increase in productivity and quality of output and customer satisfaction as can be seen in my experience working with OBI in Lagos, Nigeria. THE OCEANIC BANK INTL (OBI) EXPERIENCE. Service Quality Gaps OBI is one of top 5 banks in Nigeria with a strong brand name that is based on its excellent service delivery culture and prompt response to customer request. Over the years, the very factors that built the strong brand name were on the decline. Service and Operations department with the back-end responsibility of delivering prompt service and delighting the customer and Marketing department with the responsibility of managing the relationship between customers and the bank as well as responding to customer requests promptly, both lost focus and developing a nonchalant attitude towards their job functions. They believed that the strong brand name of the Organisation would continually attract the customers irrespective of the quality of service and the sort of relationship that existed between the organisation and the customers. There were numerous complaints from customers bordering on basic service issues and relationship gaps; the prompt cheque confirmation process had been ignored, and relationship officers had become too lazy to upload customers confirmation online for cash officers to view bank-wide, a requisite for cheque payment. This resulted in customers having to waiting up to 30 minutes or more to get their third party cheques paid, even when the account holder had called in advance to confirm such cheques to the relationship officers. There were also cases in which the relationship officers had uploaded the customers cheque confirmation online as is required but rather than the service officer check the online mandate, but decided to call the relationship officer who could not be reached because he was in a meeting; this again resulted in delayed payment to the customer. A third scenario also experienced were customers inability to operate their accounts because they had not been issued cheque b ooks 4 weeks after account opening and fulfillment of all requirements. The service and relationship issues were countless and the result, dissatisfied customers. Resultant Conflict While relationship officers took the flak for the lapses of the operations department for failure to provide back-end support, the cash officers also took the flak for the laxity of relationship officers. This resulted in rifts between both departments; an illustration of (Buchanan Huczynski 2007) definition of conflict in (1) above. Effect on Corporate Performance Organizational goals were not being met, the profit had significantly declined following a decline in business volume as frustrated customers had moved to competition. The HAND of Management Following the stimulation of conflict and its resultant dwindling financial results, management came up with several policies to realign the focus of employees toward excellent customer service and dependable relationship management. The polices included improving the service time allocated to a transaction; completion of service excellence forms by customers after each transaction in the banking hall; daily relationship reports used to track marketing staff and their relationship with customers. The most significant and most effective strategy was the use of employees to appraise employees in their various units as well as outside their units. Employees were made to escalate to the highest level, service and relationship gaps noticed in the course of service to the customer. If an employee had to deliver quality service to a customer, and encountered challenges due to the negligence or irresponsibility of another employee, irrespective of the department of the employee involved, the erring employee was instantly reported to the task force and immediate action was taken against that employee. This policy was very effectively managed, monitored and the integrity of this reports and escalations were very well verified. The policy was priority to management and this was emphasised when an executive director was drafted to head the task force. He got a day-by-day heads up on the activities of the taskforce and he reported directly and made recommendations as regards disciplinary measures to the CEO. The effect and indeed benefits of this stimulated Functional conflict led to an astronomical increase in the volume of business; the feedback from customers on relationship management was indeed very satisfying and the profit margin grew immensely. The organization began to achieve its general goals once again, and management was happy with the positive results CONCLUSION. This review tried to capture how existing conflict can become Functional forcing organisations to innovatively seek solutions to problems leading to a boost in performance through improved customer service, profit and achievement of organizational goals using Oceanic Bank Intl Plc as reference. It also showed that Functional conflict required proper and effective implementation and monitoring to achieve desired result. The use of a taskforce, intra and inter-departmental appraisals and customer feedback mechanism worked well for OBI. Though conflict may exist with negative effects as opined by Hatch (1997) and Pondy (1967), management can make it favourable by initiating competition. Service level agreements should be agreed between departments with KPIs to which rewards and penalties are attached. SLAs should also cover escalations and to what levels. Beyond reports from customers, intra and inter-departmental appraisals and mystery shoppers can also be introduced as part of the feedback mechanism.

Technology And Your Right To Privacy :: essays research papers

Technology and the invasion of privacy and its effects onthe criminal justice system over the last 100 years Will searching the internet for more than 5 hours on this topic I found a quote that is very appropriate it says; Subtler and more far-reaching means of invading privacy have become available to the government. Discovery and invention have made it possible for the government, by means far more effective than stretching upon the rack, to obtain disclosure in court of what is whispered in the closet. US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandies, 1928 If Justice Brandeis could see the advances in technology, he would realize just how prophetic his statement is. He would also be appalled by the new surveillance technologies that go far beyond his wildest dreams. Now that the cold war is over, bureaucracy has little do but track us from the cradle to the grave, from your bank accounts to the bedroom. Several of the technologies created by the defense dept. have begun to creep into law enforcement, various civilian agencies and private companies. The laws on the books are old in comparison and unable to protect us from violation of our rights. I the old west there was no system to keep track of criminals. If someone was wanted he picture was posted with a reward. If convicted he was sentenced to what the judge felt was appropriate. In the early 60's surveillance and tracking was a slow tidious process of manual and/or clerical work. To trace a person's activities you had to physically follow them, or search through volumes of card files. It was necessary to contact every one your suspect came in contact with. to learn his habits. Electronic surveillance was on a one to one basis if your dept was lucky enough to have it. As an example, it took 500,000 east German secret informers and 10,000 transcribers just to listen in on it's citizens conversations. Computers capable of storing large amounts of data have revolutionized the world of surveillance. The law enforcement benefits are enormous, and government bureaucracies have been able to expand their reach and efficiency. Will technology was expanding private business was also researching it's uses. Huge companies offering credit cards, telephone service, banking and many other consumer services began to use computers with massive storage capacity. In this day and age information on every person in the developed world is computerized and stored in several if not hundreds of computers. Your information is collected, analyzed and disseminated to..... With computer net works, the net and links, it is possible now to track everyone with a single identification number, your social security number. With your specific identifier everything about you can be instantly available. Because medical, dental, financial and general information is stored in the data

Symbolism in The Jade Peony Essay

Symbolism is used in this story. Such like the wind chimes, the jade peony and the cat. The most significant symbol in this story is the white cat, with its red eyes, that appears outside the house. This â€Å"cat† symbolizes that grandma’s time has come, and that she must move on to her next life where she will be reunited with â€Å"the juggler†. This cat bring backs memories and old feelings she had for her lover, and is therefore a significant symbol in this story. At the end of the story the cat revels that he is the symbol of grandma’s old lover. Grandma said that the cat’s eyes were pink, and the pink was also the color of her spirit. She thought the cat was sent by her old lover to take her back. The cat was also the symbol of death. After grandma saw the cat, she was already prepared to die and refused to go to the hospital, because she was a very traditional person, the cat was to bring her back, so there was no way to stop her from dying. The symbolism also shows that the tradition of grandma. Wind chime is a symbol of freedom for the family, who together searched to find the pieces to put it back together. It represents something that can be passed down through the generations and symbolizes their Chinese culture. For example, before grandma died, she and the author made a wind chime and grandma told the author that hang it on the window, so the family will know that when she is coming back and visit the family. Grandmother treasured the jade peony, because she had lived the majority of her life in China and to her it would always be home. In addition, to the Chinese, the peony was regarded as a national flower. The same applied to jade that the historically prized was above gold and silver in Chinese’s mind. So grandmother might regard them as a symbolic reminder of their Chinese heritage and cultural roots.

Romoe and Juliets death essays

Romoe and Juliets death essays Who was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? The responsibility of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet lie on the conscience of many of the citizens of Verona. The blame does not only belong to the people baring the name Capulet or Montague. All those who were involved, connected and event those who did not try and stop the constant violence in fair Verona are responsible for their The everyday citizens of Verona are partly responsible for the tragic suicides of Romeo and Juliet.When ciil blood makes civil hands unclean? , where everyone is guilty for the bloodshed?. It is said that silence against a wrong is as good as supporting the action in the case of Verona this is true. Even those who did not kill or injure have to take responsibility, their inability to speak up against the continuous fighting was as good as condoning it. This added more fuel to the feud, which inevitably contributed to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The parents have to take responsibility for the deaths of their children. The feud between the two wealthiest and most respected families, The Montagues and The Capulets caused peril in Verona and also the lives of Romeo and Juliet. Especially with the Capulets arranged marriage of their daughter Juliet to Paris. Their feud forbid Romeo and Juliet's love. Not knowingly by denying their children's love they Tybalt, Mercutio and their men are blamable for the death of Romeo and Juliet. These men were ringleaders, they encouraged violence which made Verona a tense and uncontrollable place, even the Prince of Verona had no control. It was the killings of Tybalt and Mercutio which sadly brought about Romeo and Juliet's dilemmas. Responsibility must be taken by Romeo and Juliet themselves for their actions which lead to their deaths. Romeo and Juliet's love was foolish and blind. They did not stop to think about the consequences their love wo ...

Rembrandt essays

Rembrandt essays Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a baroque artist, who ranks as one of the greatest painters in the history of Western art. He understood the human nature very well, and with his outstanding ability, made him a painter that is very famous. Not only was Rembrandt a superb painter but he was also very good in drawing and etching. It is said that no painter has ever equaled Rembrandt's ability to use a different variety of shading and color contrast. He was born in Leiden, a city in the west Netherlands, on July 15, 1606. Rembrandts parents thought it was very important for Rembrandt to get a good education. He began his studies at the Latin School, and at the age of 14 he was enrolled at the Leiden University. The program did not interest him, and he soon left to study art. His first apprentice was a local master, Jacob van Swanenburch. Then he moved on in Amsterdam, with Pieter Lastman, known for his historical paintings. After six months, having mastered everything he had been taught, Rembrandt returned to Leiden. In Leiden, Rembrandt was well respected even though he was barely 22 years old. So he started teaching people to paint to make a living. Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in 1631. He married in 1634 to Saskia van Uylenburgh. She cousin of a successful art dealer and this enhanced his career by bringing him in contact with wealthy patrons who eagerly commissioned portraits. Rembrandt's mythological and religious works were much in demand. Because of he was well known as a teacher, his studio was filled with pupils, some of whom were already trained artists. In contrast to his successful public career, Rembrandt's family life was was just the opposite. Between 1635 and 1641 Saskia gave birth to four children. Only the last, Titus, survived. She died in 1642 which upset Rembrandt because he loved her very much. Hendrickje Stoffels, became his housekeeper in 1649,...

Outline and analyse a chosen strategy to attempt to gain competitive Essay

Outline and analyse a chosen strategy to attempt to gain competitive advantage through managing cultural diversity in an (Hospitality)organization - Essay Example People of diverse backgrounds have to work together for achieving the same goal and objectives of the company. But diverse cultural backgrounds have different values and rules which often create many conflicts within the organization. Hospitality companies experiences cultural diversity and its related issues. Therefore managing cultural diversity of the company in an effective way has become an important tool for achieving its corporate goals. The concept of cultural diversity is multidimensional and complex phenomenon. It is an important issues associated with the long term success of the company. The hospitality companies are growing internationally. They have to face various cultural issues in different countries of the world. It is important to recognize the cultural background of its workforce as cultural negativity influences the success and performance of the company. The cross cultural barriers of the hospitality company develop many challenges. Managing different cultures i n the workplace helps to honor the differences of the cultures and motivates them to work in best way benefiting the hospitality company. To manage the diversity in the workplace Hospitality Company follows different strategies and policies. The executives of the company must be involved in different cultural infusions and become committed to practice those cultural strategies and policies. For understanding the present state of cultural diversity the company can assess the issues related to variable cultures. This assessment helps the management team to evaluate the issues of diverse work culture. Strategies of interviewing the leaders of the hospitality company give ideas about the diverse culture of the company. The companies can implement the strategy of knowing the employees perception out diversity management in the hospitality company with the help of its managers, leaders and supervisor. This strategy provides the statistical data

Dissertation Topic Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Dissertation Topic Proposal - Essay Example t to research because it defines not only the need for working with leaders but it also gives an opportunity to organizations to understand the coaching relationship. According to Ennis, Goodman, Hodgetts, et.a. (2005), coaching is a process and central to this process is the ability of the coach to help a leader develop to their full potential in an organization. Many organizations find that exemplary leadership must be retained in their reengineering or restructuring efforts and often the way to retain them is through fostering executive coaching. Executives bring about change, and this researcher will look at change management and how it can be implemented within a health care organization using executive coaching. Coaching executives are needed by large and small organizations to evaluate the behaviors of their employees, their attitudes at work, their level of enthusiasm and motivation and the factors that influence them to have a positive outlook towards their job According to Giglio, L & Diamante, T & Urban, J.M (1998) organizations are willing to provide a coach for senior level managers when it is perceived that the executive is in trouble, is going to be in trouble, or when the executive has isolated himself/herself from the senior level team. The time for executive coaching seems to be best done before the individual is in trouble because change usually generates from the decision making level of an organization. The change agent can be defined as a manager who is there to reconfigure an organization’s roles, responsibilities, structures and the output Saka,A(2002). Executive coaching is important to the restructuring or re-engineering of a healthcare organization in order for its leaders to move forward. In moving forward, a leader becomes a change agent who helps motivate employees, help them accept change on an ongoing basis and helps to empower the employees. The purpose of this research is the identification of the role of executive coaching