Diversity in Workplace and Conflict Management

Discuss about the Organizational Behavior for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

In the present times it is seen that the various business organizations consists of various diverse cultural as well as social entities and therefore the management of these diverse cultural as well as social entities requires effective management skills (Berkery, Morley and Tiernan 2013). Therefore, in the present times it is seen that the various business organizations focus more on the aspect of the behavior in comparison to the other aspects of the concerned business organization (Kunze, Boehm and Bruch 2013). It is often seen that the management of these diverse social as well as cultural entities in most effective manner not only helps the various business organizations to create a more positive environment at the workplace but also helps them to enhance the individual and the organizational performance of the employees (Berkery, Morley and Tiernan 2013). It is here that the concept of organizational behavior gains special emphasis. This essay intends to focus on the concept of organizational behavior.

In the opinion of Eraldo Banovac “Good managers don’t set a goal to increase efficiency, but rather an implementation of business process improvements that result in higher efficiency as well”. It is significant to note that in the present times with the diversification of the society with the influx of the various cultures as well as the people from the diverse social backgrounds the various workplaces are also becoming much multicultural in the present times (Kunze, Boehm and Bruch 2013). It is a reflection of this that it is seen that in the present times the various workplaces have become more multicultural and diversified than they were a few decades ago  (Wagner and Hollenbeck 2014). Therefore, it is often seen that is a conflict among these diverse cultural as well as social entities at the workplace. The management of these conflicts and their effective resolution is very important for the proper performance of the employees within the workplace (Wagner and Hollenbeck 2014). It is often seen that these conflict not only disrupt the positive environment of the workplace but at times also affects the performance level of the various employees related to the concerned business organization (Gold et al. 2013). It is precisely here that the role of the higher management of the concerned business organization comes into play as the resolution of these conflicts is not only essential to maintain the positive workplace environment but also for the effective performance of the employees as it is often seen that these conflicts tend to affect the performance level of the employees in a negative manner (Gold et al. 2013).

Positive and Negative Implications of Stereotypes

Stereotypes form an important part of the various workplaces and it is seen that the various individuals develop or form an idea about the various people from diverse cultural as well as social backgrounds that they are likely to act or behave in a particular manner (Bissell and Dolan 2012). It is significant to note that these stereotypes have both negative as well as positive implications. The negative implications of these stereotypes is that they to form a kind of biased environment in the workplace as people generally tend to think that this particular individual is likely to act in this particular irrespective of the fact whether that they are actually going to act in that particular manner or not (Kalokerinos, von Hippel and Zacher 2014). Therefore, it can be said that it creates a negative environment at the workplace and all the employees within the workplace thus do not act in a cohesive manner (Wood et al. 2012). Thus it can be said that the negative implication of the various forms of stereotypes at the workplace is that they not only reduce the organizational performance of the concerned business organization but also tend to reduce the individual performance of the various employees as well (Wood et al. 2012). The various kinds of stereotypes within the diverse business organizations also tend to affect the team spirit of the diverse individuals within the workplace in a very negative manner and this takes a toll again on the overall productivity of the organization concerned (Bissell and Dolan 2012). Thus, it can be said that the practice of stereotypes at the workplace tends to affect the concerned organization in a negative manner.

There are certain positive aspects of the concept of stereotypes within the workplace as well. The primary advantage of the various stereotypes at the diverse workplaces is that they tend to lower the level of conflicts which normally happens at the diverse workplaces on the score of the concept of diversity in terms of culture as well as social differences in the background of the employees associated with the concerned business organization (Upadhya and Vasavi 2012). It is often seen that in most of the workplaces which boasts of employees from the diverse cultural as well as the social backgrounds that people belonging to one particular set of culture or social background usually tend to avoid the other employees from the other cultural or social backgrounds (Nel et al. 2012). This is a reflection of the fact that the same things or words have different interpretations in the other cultures or social backgrounds. Therefore, it is often seen that the people from the same cultural or social backgrounds prefer to stay with the individuals belonging to their own cultural and social backgrounds and does not often indulge in active conversations or interactions with the people from the other cultural and social backgrounds (Kulik and Olekalns 2012). This particular technique is usually utilized by the various individuals within the workplace in a bid to avoid the conflicts which might arise due to the various differences in opinions as well as the different interpretations which the same words have in different cultural and social backgrounds (Nel et al. 2012). Therefore, it is seen that most of the business organizations in the present times follow the policy of stereotypes for the management of the diverse cultural as well as social entities within their workplace (Au and Marks 2012). It is true that this particular policy destroys the team spirit of the workplace and thereby the effective performance of the employees within the workplace but it also saves not only the time as well as the other valuable resources of the concerned business organizations which it would have needed for the resolution of these conflicts (Nel et al. 2012). Thus, it can be said that this particular concept helps the various business organizations to maintain a kind of quasi-peace within their workplace and thereby create an environment which is kind of congenial for the effective performance of the diverse cultural as well as the social entities of the business organizations.

Role of Managers in Conflict Resolution

The role of the various managers as well as the officials related to the higher authority of the concerned business organization becomes very important in the resolution of the various kinds of conflicts which arise within the workplace (French 2015). It is significant to note that in case of a conflict the colleagues or the various employees should be the first people to take the required initiative for the resolution of the conflict (Furnham 2012). However, even after their intervention if the problem still persist then the various managers as well as officials related to the higher authority of the concerned business organization should intervene in the matter and try to resolve the matter. It is significant to note that these conflicts have a significant influence not only on the performance of the various employees but they also tend to destroy the positive work environment of the workplace. Therefore, the active and effective intervention of the various managers as well as officials related to the higher authority of the concerned business organization becomes of paramount importance in the process (French 2015). Moreover, it is often seen that if the problem is not resolved and it persists then negativity as well as a feeling of enmity develops among the concerned employees and this affects the other employees related to the ones having the conflict in a significant manner (Furnham 2012). Therefore, the effective resolution of the various workplace conflicts becomes of paramount importance for the various managers as well as officials related to the higher authority of the concerned business organization.

To conclude, the behavior of the various employees within the business organizations is an important aspect which the various managers as well as officials related to the higher authority of the concerned business organization need to take into consideration. It is significant to note that in the present times the various business organizations have become much more diverse than they were a few decades ago. Therefore, it is obvious that there will be conflicts among the diverse employees belonging to the different social as well as cultural backgrounds. However, the management of these conflicts in the most effective manner is of paramount significance as these conflicts not only affect the individual performance of the employees but also of the overall performance of the organization concerned. Thus, the various business organizations often take the help of various policies like the stereotype system and others to effectively manage these conflicts.

References

Au, Y. and Marks, A., 2012. “Virtual teams are literally and metaphorically invisible” Forging identity in culturally diverse virtual teams. Employee relations, 34(3), pp.271-287.

Berkery, E., Morley, M. and Tiernan, S., 2013. Beyond gender role stereotypes and requisite managerial characteristics: from communal to androgynous, the changing views of women. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 28(5), pp.278-298.

Bissell, G. and Dolan, P., 2012. Organisational behaviour for social work. Policy Press.

French, R., 2015. Cross-cultural management in work organisations. Kogan Page Publishers.

Furnham, A., 2012. The psychology of behaviour at work: The individual in the organization. Psychology press.

Gold, J., Holden, R., Iles, P., Stewart, J. and Beardwell, J. eds., 2013. Human resource development: Theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan.

Kalokerinos, E.K., von Hippel, C. and Zacher, H., 2014. Is stereotype threat a useful construct for organizational psychology research and practice?. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 7(3), pp.381-402.

Kulik, C.T. and Olekalns, M., 2012. Negotiating the gender divide: Lessons from the negotiation and organizational behavior literatures. Journal of Management, 38(4), pp.1387-1415.

Kunze, F., Boehm, S. and Bruch, H., 2013. Organizational performance consequences of age diversity: Inspecting the role of diversity?friendly HR policies and top managers’ negative age stereotypes. Journal of Management Studies, 50(3), pp.413-442.

Nel, P., du Plessis, A., Fazey, M., Erwee, R., Pillay, S., Mackinnon, B.H., Wordsworth, R. and Millet, B., 2012. Human resource management in Australia and New Zealand.

Upadhya, C. and Vasavi, A.R., 2012. Management of culture and management through culture in the Indian software outsourcing industry. In In an Outpost of the Global Economy(pp. 101-135). Routledge India.

Wagner III, J.A. and Hollenbeck, J.R., 2014. Organizational behavior: Securing competitive advantage. Routledge.

Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz, M., Wiesner, R., Morrison, R. and Seet, P.S., 2012. Organisational behaviour: Core concepts and applications. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd..