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Goal Seek and Solver

Conflict Management in Workplace

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(11, August, 2010)


Conflict Management

Racism conflict at the workplace

Racial conflict, a special kind of actual or perceived opposition of values, interest,

thoughts and need at place where one works as noted by Singley and Bell (2002). Racial

conflicts can either be internal or external and at the same time categorized as substantive

conflict or personalized conflict. Generally, racial conflicts in the workplace are triggered by

a myriad of factors for instance fueled by ignorance and hatred over promotion, hard work or

just racism. The easiest detonator of racism is difference individual voices concerning

political stand concerning particular minority community in the society. This has given the

civil society and most of the voluntary organization whom are whistle blowers to this menace

a head ache on the fact that after all the diversity training and the destruction that this atrocity

brings still workers deploy it in the working place (Budd & Bhave, 2010).

It has been noted that when racial conflicts if they are not constructively and timely

addressed, the consequences are far beyond our imagination as it can lead to low

productivity, increase psychological stress, distrust, high rates of employees turnover, low

quality, reduced creative collaboration and team problem solving, poor customer satisfaction,

gossip as well as delayed or missed deadlines (Stanovich & West, 2000). Broadly, the

organization will not attain its predetermined desired goals and objectives. Further more the

organization is slapped with litigation concerning racial discrimination.

According to Kahneman (2003) mostly the management is the ones whom are the

culprits of this offence, this they indulge through name calling depending on the victim racial

background. The most affected are the African and Latino American, who mainly fall in the

minority in most of the workplaces. From the observation surveys it is still sickly viewed that

racial harassment is still rampant and it is escalating. Some of the factors which have fueled

this are political, economy and social activities like violent video games and movies. In the


internet when censoring of information flow is not regulated this has triggered hatred which

crawls through discussion in the working place offering people immunity to practice this

devilish behavior which fosters racial hostile work place (Lindley, 2002).

Real Life Racial Conflict Experience

Sometime back will Smith a native African American was in a conflict with his

branch manager over the hours he should work, that include the reporting time and time of

departure. The reason that Will thought of starting work at a different time rather than that

put down by the management was a difference in thoughts between him and his branch

manager and it thus caused the conflict. The manager of the branch Will worked for always

expected all employees to work standard hours. Will was a student in the local university

taking evening classes which started at four thirty and his standard working hours were to end

at five. The HRM had approved that Will be allowed to be departing earlier so that he would

have time to facilitate for his studies (Stanovich & West, 2000).

However, the branch manager knowingly aware that Will had authority to leave early

would still gorge him for leaving early. This continued until one evening when Will was

about to leave the branch manager together with another two white male assistance roughed

Will up and locked him in the locked till six in the evening making him miss his final

assessment examinations. The branch manager had been calling him racial names like black

boy, which because he needed the wage to facilitate for his tuition fees just brushed off. The

names later turn to shoves whenever they met in the corridors accompanied with rude

remarks like “just enjoy our priorities soon will make you all leave to the jungle in Africa you

monkey.” Will attempted to take the matters to higher authority but was advised by other

staff members that the company belonged to one of the branch manager relative and that such

incident usually result to the victim being dismissed.


Will later in the campus confronted the faculty committee and aired his reason for not

being able to take his examination. Will was reinstated and allowed to take the examination

and the faculty helped him file a lawsuit against the branch manager. Will was compensated

for the emotional distress and the branch manger was jailed for ten month from charges

ranging from racial and gender discrimination as other employees also come forward and

filled litigations (Singley & Bell, 2002).

Ageism Conflict in the Work Place

The term ageism is one ugly which is mainly defined as discrimination or prejudice

which favors or discriminate certain age group in the work place. According to Ballagh

(2009) this is usually viewed to be a prejudice strategy which is devised to discriminate

against certain targeted group in the work place. This negative attitude or stereotype is

projected toward certain people marginalized because of their age group. Usually in the most

common setup in major institution the most discriminated group is the elderly. Prejudice is

mostly triggered against elderly employees whom have reached nearly the retirement age

which is standard in majority of the nation is 65 years. This discrimination ranges from

differential issuance of life insurance premiums, training, promotions, hiring and violation of

the rights of the elderly worker (Mille, 2005).

Usually also affected are the youth this usually happens when recruiting, the age

bracket that is usually affected by this factor includes age bracket from 19-25 year of age.

Majority of the nation due to the carrying of foul over ageism conflict in the corporate arena

have adapted the Discrimination in Employment Act (McEvoy & Cascio, 2008). This act

usually protects the rights of all applicants who have qualified in the vacancy that the

organizations have advertised that is vacant. Usually because of the experience that majority

of the organization usually advertises as requirement many of the youth are sidelined because

of this fact. However, this act attempt to elaborate that it’s not the experience that would


work but the desire and the edification that the candidate possesses. This is so because many

of the youthful applicants usually are fresh from school and have no experience however they

are equipped with new and advance knowledge which would be helpful in the changing time

and technology as echoed by Bramlett and Wilson (2001).

Real Life Ageism Conflict Experience

Jacky a prudent smart graduate after finishing her business administration course at

the University of Miami, thought that this would be an opportunity to go and harvest million

of dollars from the corporate industry. However, what lay ahead of her would forever remain

in her mind for the rest of her years. The daily post advertisement which Jacky applied the

job vacancy did not articulate that she needed ten years experience which she did not have or

qualify to posses as she was green from campus. The interview was filled with lot of question

of where else she had worked before despite her resume portraying that she was straight from

college. However, due to her qualification and compared to the other candidate she was the

most qualified one, however another senior lady was employed on the vacancy and Jacky was

told that she would be hired as an assistant. Having little money left and the will to be free

from depending on the parent funding she took the job.

The senior administration manager who was hired to man over Jacky as she gets the

ropes of the job was not polite. She would gang with the other members of the organization

whom were well over their menopause age project abusive recommendation on the chores

which Jacky has accomplished feigning that she had done a shoddy job. This continued

month after month and when she went to the higher authority she was told to take the matter

to the HR whom was among those discriminating her and making abusive remark concerning

her work. When this torment continued and she could not take it any longer she met with the

CEO one day in the corridor and aired her grievances. However, this only made matters

worse as the other executive now poured all their anger on her, the working hours were


escalated posing that the office was in peak period. The work load was enormous and when

she complained they articulated that they were only training her so she should not bother

them as she was not even qualified. The senior lady did not attend to any office chore as all

were diverted to Jacky (McEvoy & Cascio, 2008).

One of the junior intern sympathized with Jacky and helped her report the matter to

the board of directors and later failed a litigation on ageism discrimination which had caused

her emotional distressed. Jacky applied for another job in another place and was offered a

position and administration manager. Here she was treated with respect regardless of her age

and she produced success that saw the organization move from lower to upper scale in the

market standing.

Conclusion

Racial or ageism conflict at the working places affects both the workers and the

productivity of the corporation, thus this longevity is escalated even to the customers. When

work related conflicts are not constructively and timely addressed, the consequences are far

beyond our imagination and blow beyond proportion adding to vices like increase

psychological stress, distrust, high rates of employee’s turnover, low quality, reduced creative

collaboration and team problem solving and poor customer satisfaction. However, if

addressed the work place is a place where productivity accumulate and the organization

flourish.


References

Ballagh, E. (2009). Ageism: Negative and Positive. New York: Penguin.

Bramlett, S., & Wilson, V. (2001). Images of the Elderly in Life and Ebony. Journalism

Quarterly. 66. 185–188.

Budd, J., & Bhave, D., (2010). The Employment Relationship: Sage Handbook of Handbook

of Human Resource Management. Los Angeles: Sage Publishers.

Kahneman, D. (2003). A perspective on judgment and choice: Mapping bounded rationality.

American Psychologist Journal. 58, 697-720.

Lindley, K. (2002). Economic Assimilation and the Labor Market Performance of British

Refugees and Economic Migrants. Nottingham: University of Nottingham.

McEvoy, G., & Cascio, W. (2008). Cumulative Evidence of the Relationship Between

Employee Age and Job Performance. Journal of Applied Psychology. 74, 1. 11–17.

Mille, E. (2005). Ageism in the workplace. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Singley, B., & Bell, D. (2002). When Race Becomes Real: Black and White Writers Confront

Their Personal Histories. Chicago: Chicago Review Press.

Stanovich, E., & West, R. (2000). Individual differences in reasoning: Implications for the

rationality debate. Journals of Behavior and Brain Sciences. 23, 645-665

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