Leadership and management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership and management - Essay Example It appears neither is aware of how to move beyond the conflict. The firm has assigned an important project o a team lead by James and Irene a key member. James knows that Irene has important skills and energy to make important contribution to the teamwork but is worried their continued conflict is likely to derail the team performance. It is therefore important to resolve the conflict, first, to avoid negative impact on the project, which is very critical to the company strategic goals. Problem Analysis As human resource manager, James requested intervention in resolving the conflict with Irene for the benefit of the company. Structured meeting is one of the initial processes of bringing conflicting individuals together to identify the underlying problem, and is an opportunity for active participation in indentifying problem and proposing possible approaches for resolution (Gottlieb, 1997). In such scenario, it is important to recognize the importance of make the meeting a conducive opportunity for the two individuals engaged in a conflict to interact without reservations. Hence, the first task as a mediator in the conflict is identifying a venue that is convenient two the both conflicting parties. The venue selected by the mediator and mutual accepted by both parties. To achieve that, the mediator ensured that the selected venue was convenient to both parties in terms of time spent to get there, the social status outlook is neither demeaning nor intimidating to both parties, is devoid of unnecessary interruptions and distractions and that the scheduling of the meeting allowed relatively unlimited time for conversation. Once, the venue mutually accepted, it was important to undertake a thorough background check of the history of conflict between the two individuals, reported to the human resource department. This involved a critical analysis of the possible causes of the conflicts, their resolution and the implication of the human resources decision on both par ties. According to Cortina et al (2001), checking the background of the conflict allows identification of uncivilized behavior or abuses involved in the interpersonal conflict. The result of this process indentified several factors, which were significant to the ensuing conflict between the two parties. First, it is apparent that the difference in opinion and the mode of expressing them was a major source of friction between James and Irene. Secondly, the nature of organizational structure required some power distance between senior managers and the junior staff. Accordingly, Irene felt that James was misusing these organizational characteristics to suppress brilliant ideas, which would improve work performance and at the same time ease the difficult of performing tasks. On the other hand, James noted that Irene has tendency to overlook organizational procedures, and even though this produces desired outcomes, the pose great danger to organizational policy. Further analysis f the tw o employees showed that their education background is different. James been much older is a student of the traditional management school of thought while Irene is much younger and exposed to modern management approaches. It was also apparent that although James had far much working experiences