Reflection Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Reflection Review

Background of Conflict

            The conflict in question takes place in a business environment, in this case the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, between two individuals – a team leader and his subordinate. The disagreement takes upon an organizational conflict form that stems from unfulfilled obligations by the team leader. Though not being derived from personal quarrels, the conflict threatens to disrupt the professional relationship between two coworkers especially due to the overt misconception of facts by the team leader. The conflict is therefore based on the pursuit of justice based on promises made by team leader that were not fulfilled at all.

Introduction

I had been working in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for two years. I worked as a sales and customer care representative in the bank. This job was very enjoyable for me, as I liked to interact with people and solve their problems. The job included working in the banking hall as a customer care expert and other times going to the field to sell loans and other products that the bank offered. My main responsibility was to talk to customers who had any enquiries and clarify any issues. In addition, I would explain to them the process of opening bank accounts, taking loans or mortgages and getting access to the bank’s products in their hometowns.

Secondly, every two weeks in a month, I would go out to the field to sell the bank’s products to people in different places. At the bank, there was a very elaborate hierarchical system where employees were divided into groups with a team leader as the head of the group. Every team was comprised of ten people that were given certain responsibilities to be accomplished within a set target. The team leader was responsible for the team members and assigned specific tasks to them. This included what products to sell and the target that each person was to make within a specified period.

Conflict description

The conflict started when our team leader promised to give the person with the highest sales, a raise in commission rates at the end of the financial year. I had the highest amount of sales by the end of the year and expected the team leader to give me a raise by 31^st June 2009. This passed unnoticed and the team leader did not seem to remember the promise he had given. I did not dare ask him because I thought he was just waiting for the right time. In the 2009/2010 financial year, the team leader made the same promise and I expected him to honor it this time. In order to be the best, I worked very hard and had the highest sales. In addition, I got numerous awards and certificates from the management because of the efforts I made. Unfortunately, the team leader did not notice my efforts and did not increase my commission rates as I expected. I confronted him and he said he could not honor his promise, as the increase of any payment rates was not under his jurisdiction. He said that he only made the promises to motivate us and make us work harder. I got so angry and in the course of our argument, insulted him. The insults were unprofessional and I accept that I was wrong. I also think that the conflict could have been resolved in a better manner without my dismissal from the bank.

Clues that this is a conflict situation

A conflict situation can only be defined using several characteristics that show the existence of a conflict. One of the clues that showed that this was a conflict situation was that there was more than one person involved, the team leader and I. Secondly there was a conflict of interest in that what I wanted was not what the team leader could offer and thus we were at loggerheads. Another characteristic of a conflict situation is that the parties have some kind of relationship. In our case, the team leader and I were employees of the same bank and members of the same team. Prior to the confrontation, I could not talk to the team leader because I felt that he should be the one to talk to me and explain what was going on. On the other hand, the team leader could not come to talk to me because he knew he could not give me what he had promised. The tension had strained our professional relationship to the point that we were not in talking terms. Other clues that showed that this was a conflict situation included, anger, raised voices when speaking, use of a different tone as opposed to the usual and a general feel of tension (Moore, 1996).

Type of conflict

The conflict described above can be categorized under organizational conflict. This kind of conflict arises in an organization especially at the workplace. Organizations in this case refer to businesses, public offices, educational institutions and other places where people have to work together (Sandole, 1993). To be more specific, this kind of conflict can also be described as a task oriented conflict, meaning that it is not based on personal issues but on matters related to the work place, in this case unfulfilled promises.

Sources of conflict

            Conflict cannot exist in a vacuum. In any conflict situation, there are issues that trigger the disagreement or dispute. According to Moore, (1996), there are realistic and unrealistic causes of conflict. Unrealistic causes are those that are unwarranted for and the conflict that results from such is very confusing and hard too resolve. On the other hand, realistic causes of conflict are those that are based on differences in interests and disagreements among the people. The major source of conflict in our case was miscommunication. The team leader talked to us and said he would increase the commission rates for the person with the highest sales. However, he did not tell us that this was just an incentive and he did not intend to fulfill the promise. On the other hand, when he did not honor his promise the first time, I did not ask and this resulted in a repetition of the same mistake. The lack of a clear communication channel between the team leader and me created so much tension that a confrontation was unavoidable.

The second source of conflict in this situation is the difference in values that existed between the team leader and me. The team leader valued the amount of sales we made to the extent that he could lie to motivate us and ensure we did our best. On the other hand, I valued my work and the recognition I would get from my team leader so much that I could not withhold the anger when he did not recognize my efforts. Another source of the conflict was unfulfilled expectations, which is a major source of conflict as identified by Janasz (2009). The team leader expected good results from us and I worked hard in order to give him that. However, I expected some kind of recognition for my efforts and an increase in the commission rates if I did well. When the expectations were not met, I felt frustrated and at the time, a confrontation was the only way to resolve the issue. However, the confrontation was not the best way to resolve the issue and ended making the situation worse.

The findings of Aquino (2000) are relevant in this case, as his paper analyzes how the hierarchical status of a person in an organization relates to the issue of victimization. In this case, victimization can be defined as the way the team leader treated us and led to the loss of my job. He was in a higher and influential position thus had the power to influence the decisions made by the management. In this case, despite my previous awards and recognition for good customer service, the management decided to terminate my employment. The findings of Baron (1989) are also applicable in this case because the paper reflects the high probability of conflict arising between people with different positions in an organization. It is important to note that, I had a good relationship with the other team members and team leader and the conflict only arose when my expectations were not fulfilled.

Is the conflict resolved?

            The conflict is only resolved partially and the dispute has not completely ended. After the argument with the team leader, he went and reported to the manger that I had spoken to him unprofessionally and that he could not work with me any longer. I was called into the managerial office and we held a meeting where we explained to the manager what had happened. The manager said that the company does not tolerate any unprofessional behavior and that he had not other option but to terminate my employment. On the other hand, the team leader was warned not to repeat the mistake again and was assigned a different team.

Is the result satisfactory?

            The result of the resolution of this team is not satisfactory since the team leader and I are still not in talking terms. The needs-based conflict resolution theory provides indicates that by the end of the resolution process, the needs of both parties should be met (Sandole, 1993). This does not necessarily mean that everyone gets what he or she want. It means that the mediation or resolution process comes up with a win-win result. Both parties are made to feel that they have not lost anything but have gained something from the conflict. In our case I left the company feeling dissatisfied because I lost my job. In order to resolve this conflict better, the manger would have critically analyzed the situation and act as the mediator rather than the manger. In addition, he would have opened the channels of communication between the team leader and me such that we could talk about the issue at hand. In summary, this is an example of conflict at the workplace, which can be resolved through mediation as defined by Moore (1996).

 

References

Aquino, C. (2000). Structural and individual determinants of workplace victimization: the effects of hierarchical status and conflict management style. Journal of management, 26(2), 171-193

Baron, R. A. (1989). Personality and organizational conflict: Effects of the type a behavior pattern and self-monitoring. Organizational behavior and Human Decision processes, 44(2), 281-296.

De Janasz, S. C. (2008). Interpersonal skills in organizations. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Moore, C. 1996. The mediation process, 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sandole, D. J. (1993). Conflict resolution theory and practice: Integration and application. Manchester, UK: Manchester Univ. Press.