Resolution of Manager-Employee Conflict, Free Essay in Human Resource Management

The provincial government has workplace union that often defends the rights and privileges of the employees. Our employee's union operates as an intermediary between the members and the provincial government management that often ensure the supervision of daily activities. The major aim of the workers union within the provincial government is to give employees the power to negotiate for better working conditions and favorable policies that adhere to the collective agreement as well as other benefits that aim at motivating the workers. Our worker's union have been grieving the discipline that the organization's manager meted out to one of the unionized employees. The above employee planned the half-day conference and did not provide snacks as has been the case in the previous meetings where soft drinks have been available in every convention organized in within the organization. Instead, the above employee only provided water and coffee. With regards to the above situation, there were no clear directions suggesting that soft drinks should be availed for the guests that were present in the meeting. According to the organizational manager, the absence of soft drinks embraced the provincial government administration in front of the guests and all the stakeholders that were present at the meeting. Additionally, it was a deviation from the obvious past practices according to the manager. The manager has gone ahead to suspend the above employee, the payment has also been suspended for three days following the incidence following the collective agreement plan. As the Human Resource manager of this organization tasked with the responsibility of managing workforce through ensuring the right conditions of work, I met the employees and union's topmost members. After careful discussion and consultations, we discovered that the employee followed the purchasing guidelines provided by the provincial government and it seems that the manager, by ordering the suspension, was not well conversant with the purchase guidelines. The purchasing guidelines often need three major quotes before any purchase is authorized. In the above scenario, filling the paperwork costs $17 and it would have taken the employee close to two hours. Additionally, the employee is entitled to a salary of $ 50 in one hour. Filling out the paperwork for soft drinks alone would have cost the organization $117, a situation that would have proven to be costly to the task payers. The employee, therefore, decided to ignore the provision of the soft drinks to the meeting and instead limited the number of refreshments to coffee and water.

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Although there were union's attempts to plead with the manager to reverse the disciplinary action as the employee did not commit any workplace offense, the manager remained adamant and the suggestion was that the disciplinary action had to be implemented to avoid such actions again in future. As the human resource manager of the organization, my actions are limited and the employee needs to be protected since there was no gross misconduct committed. On the other hand, my supervisor is the manager's spouse and I cannot take any action against the top management as that will lead to further interpersonal conflict within the organization. I am therefore compelled seek the intervention of your office to this matter in order to avoid the looming conflicts that may affect the normal operation of this organization, and again, it is also necessary for my office to uphold positive relationship with the top manager as well as my supervisor. My role as a Human Resource manager of this organization is to ensure a conflict-free environment where workers can operate effectively and in accordance with the guidelines stipulated by our constitution. The human resource management office in the provincial government is also responsible for ensuring that the grievances of the workers are meted so long as they are viable and in accordance with the company's mandates. According to the organizational policies and human resource provisions, human resource managers are always free to seek for external support in case the relationship within an organization prove to be complicated as in the above case where manager have absolute authority over the workforce (Sparrow, Brewster & Chung, 2016). On the other hand, employees should also be protected not only by the limited organizational policies but also by the universal workforce guidelines that protect worker across all sectors.

Reflection of the Memorandum

In writing this memo, the human resource manager wished to ensure that the organization achieves autonomous environment where employees are allowed to work independently and in accordance with the stipulated guidelines. It seems that in the above organization, the manager had absolute control of the workforce and they had no opportunity to work independently in accordance with the mandates and interest of the public. In the management systems, the top level managers should not interfere with the operation of the subordinates so long as they are bound to achieve what is good in the progress of the company or the organization. The human resource manager is also trying to reduce the conflicts between the management and the employees. When an organization is faced with continued conflicts, the success of its operation may be reduced. Human resource departments have critical operations that require the protection of the employee's interest.

There are many ways by which the human resource managers can exert pressure on the government to ensure the favorable environment for employees. Strikes and peaceful demonstration are some of the ways that the unions can use to pressure the government to take actions that are beneficial to the interest of employees. The union may also suggest stringent policies that aim at enforcing the government to take actions against the organizational management in case of future occurrence of a similar act. Petitions, internal and external demonstrations, media campaigns and campaigns on civil disobedience are also some of the ways that the union can use to pressure the government to take action against the provincial government manager. Although the need to pressurize the government is essential for the benefits of employees, the union should use legitimate means to create influence in order to protect the image of the organization and its employees.

Although the workers union may resort to strikes and demonstrations, these actions may lower the reputation of the organization hence the need to act in legitimate actions. The risks associated with strikes and street demonstration is that the workers are bound to lose their reputation as well the trust from the management team. The risk associated with petitions is that court cases take different twists, a situation that may force employees to spend huge sums of money in trying to win cases. Even though there are several risks associated with the actions that aim at pressuring the government to take actions in defense of employees involved in the organization conflicts, the union should remain adamant in their quest to ensure favorable working conditions for the employees in the provincial government. They should stick to their roles of securing the rights of workers.

As the human resource manager whose mandate is to ensure the management of conflict in the provincial government, the manager's actions caused me a lot of discomforts. I was afraid to give contradiction on the issue hence the need to seek intervention from the manager's boss, the assistant deputy minister. Workplace conflicts involving top-level management and the subordinates or workers often cause a lot of discomfort to the human resource managers who also operate under the same management. In writing the memo clearly addressing the above issue was necessary to ensure the continued good relationship between the human resource management office and the manager's office. Again, the situation caused me a lot of discomforts as the manager acts contrary to the organizational guidelines and public interest. In suspending an employee, it is necessary for the management team headed by the manager to involve union members and to act within the established organizational laws. The discomfort arose from the fact that the organization was bound to lose its good reputation as a result of the failure of the manager to observe policies and guidelines aimed at ensuring the progress of employees' welfare. The manager's stubbornness and reluctance to withdraw the suspension even after the realization that the action was above the laws also caused a lot of discomforts not only to the human resource office but also to the entire workforce and the workers union. The discomfort also arose as a result of conflicting opinions between the manager, the workforce and the human resources department, a situation that forced the human resource manager to seek for external assistance in the interpretation of the universal workforce policies.

The recommendation that I made seeks to protect the rights and privileges of the employees and their unions. By recommending the intervention of the government, I wanted to ensure that there is a continued relationship between the management team and the human resource department. This relationship is necessary for ensuring that such conflict does not occur again in future. The HR office is always responsible in ensuring the resolution of conflicts in an organization and in doing so, the human resource managers and often compelled to use any available and legitimate means to restore tension in the work environment.

Reference

Sparrow, P., Brewster, C., & Chung, C. (2016). Globalizing human resource management. Routledge.