Conflict Handling and Human Resource Management

This assignment provides an in-depth analysis of conflict handling modes and human resource management practices. It discusses the importance of human resource management in organizations and its role in dealing with people at work and resolving their issues. The four-frame model is introduced as a theory to resolve conflicts, and various human resource practices such as training and development, performance management, and questioning techniques are highlighted for promoting an ethical organizational culture and effective communication.

HR

Executive Summary
This present report summarises theories for understand conflict handling mode, conflict
style for promoting an ethical organisational culture. It includes examples prevalent to unethical
organisational behaviour along with utilization of human resource practices for promoting
unethical culture. Questioning technique for acquisition of all required information are discussed
briefly in this report.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
1. Theories for understanding conflict handling mode for promoting an ethical organisational
culture..........................................................................................................................................1
2. Human resource practices to promote an ethical organisational culture.................................4
3. Questioning technique used during interviews for ensure effective communication and
acquisition of all required information........................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Human resource is a function which performs tasks to deal with people along with their
issues such as recruitment, selection, onboarding, compensation, training, development,
performance measurement and so on (Brewster, 2017). These are the individuals who effectively
manages workforce of any organisation in optimum manner by resolving their issues and
motivating them to perform operations with more efficiency along with effectiveness. They
perform duties as per requirements of job. To understand the functions of HR manager, Chateau
Tongariro Hotel is selected. Selected hotel is located at Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand. It offers
various accommodation, bars, conference, restaurant facilities to its clients.
This assessment includes theories to understand conflict handling mode, conflict style for
promoting an ethical organisational culture. It further includes examples prevalent to unethical
organisational behaviour along with utilization of human resource practices for promoting
unethical culture. Lastly, questioning technique for acquisition of all required information are
discussed briefly in this report.
MAIN BODY
1. Theories for understanding conflict handling mode for promoting an ethical organisational
culture
Conflict handling mode is a technique which helps in understanding any issue for
resolving dysfunctional conflicts between employees. This mode helps management of any
organisation to deal with conflicts arising at workplace. It is an important function of human
resource manager to prevent conflicts in such a manner which encourages personnels to
concentrate in their work. Handling conflicts in effective manner leads to build better working
relationships between employees, reduces stress, creative solutions, better decision making,
improves productivity, encourages enthusiasm as well as morale of employees at work system.
There are numerous conflicts arises in any business unit on daily basis. It is very important to
resolve them as soon as possible (Brierley and Gwilliam, 2017). In relation to HR manager of
Chateau Tongariro Hotel, necessary precautions are taken by them to help employees in
understanding the preferred conflict mode for the purpose of resolving dysfunctional conflicts
between them. Various dysfunctional conflicts between employees in selected business are as
follows:
1

 Different beliefs, opinions and personalities: In any business, there are employees who
have different opinions, different personalities, beliefs and many more. Employees
belongs from different experiences as well as backgrounds which accordingly reshapes
their personalities. Employees working in team when fails to accept differences in
personalities of each other then conflicts arises between them at chosen workplace.
 Different values and working styles: Work style as well as values of employees in team
differ from one another. Conflicts related to value differences are due to generation gaps
and failure of acceptance of generation gaps. Different personnel posses different style to
perform work which may be not acceptable by other members in group which leads to
conflicts between team members of respective hotel (Delery and Roumpi, 2017). When
such differences are not acceptable, co workers insults or dominates another employee
which results in conflicts.
 Unclarified roles: Poor description about the job or role makes employees feel like
puppets which results in conflicts between employees at workplace. Role conflicts are
due to poor description of job responsibilities, incompatible roles, lack of guidance and
so on. Situations related to role interference and role ambiguity leads to play
incompatible roles and discourages employee to contribute in completion of operations.
Thus, results in conflicts among employees in organisation.
Human resource managers of Chateau Tongariro Hotel applies theory of Four frame
model. This model was propounded by Bolman and Deal in the year 2003. by using such model,
managers helps employees in understanding modes to handle conflicts in appropriate manner. It
helps the managers to look towards the approaches of business issues through for perspectives
known as frames. It involves structural frame, human resource frame, political frame and
symbolic frame. The description of all frames is all follows:
 Structural frame: It focuses on responding towards relationships and developing
hierarchies related to tasks as well as environment of company. Concentration by using
this frame is on setting measurable goals, agreeing on deadlines, clarifying roles and
tasks, strategy formations, implementing systems along with procedures, building
authority responsibility relationships. Chateau Tongariro Hotel is suffering from problem
of unclarified roles which results in conflicts. Using structural frame, managers can
communicate roles of people at work which will reduce conflicts between employees.
2

 Human resource frame: It focuses on integrating individual needs with organisational
requirements to resolve conflicts among work force. It is the duty of human resource
managers to understand potentiality, strengths, skills of employees for staffing them at
appropriate positions as per the responsibilities. The major emphasis is on addressing
needs for growth as well as job satisfaction, providing powers and opportunities to
employees in the organisation.
 Political frame: It focuses on competition, values, beliefs, perceptions ans well as
individual interests of team members. Such frame is used for addressing issues related to
interests, working styles and values for resolving conflicts by building supportive leaders
for each group in the company (Kew and Stredwick, 2016). Managers of selected
business resolves the conflicts related to different values and working styles by making a
team leader who manages the workforce in respective of generation gaps.
 Symbolic frame: Such frame focuses on beliefs, personalities, faiths, opinions by
describing the ways people uses them at work place. It is used for effectively addressing
requirements of workers by creating vision, performance recognition programs as per the
organisational culture. The human resource manager of chosen firm is suffering from the
problem of different beliefs, opinions and personalities. By using symbolic frame they
are able to create a vision and accordingly make team groups by segmenting people as
per experience, personalities which will reduce conflicts between employees.
Thus, to resolve conflicts between employees organisational managers of Chateau
Tongariro Hotel should follow the theory by considering all its frames in appropriate and
effective manner for the purpose of helping employees to understand their preferred conflict
handling mode.
Conflict style are some of the techniques adopted by the executives of any company for
dealing with conflicts in appropriate manner. There are various types of conflict styles which are
applied as per the situation for promoting functional conflicts (Career Trend, 2019). Each style
comprise its own way for dealing with distinct situations pertaining in some business for
providing positive results. Conflict styles used by human resource manager of chosen firm are
the followings:
 Accommodating style: Such style is related to sacrifices, low assertiveness and
selflessness. Under such style, one employee have to give something for benefiting
3

another employee at work place. This style helps in focusing collaborative approaches for
resolving conflicts at selected firm in effective manner. For example, conflicts arises
between receptionist and door guard related to role clarification. Here, receptionist has to
forsake their needs in exchange of door guard as they concentrates less on such issues
and wants to build an healthy as well as peaceful work environment.
 Collaborating style: Such style is used for finding a solution which benefits to both
employees between whom conflict arose. Using such strategy managers of selected
business aim to find solution for satisfying all employees and motivating them to perform
operations. For instance, conflicts arises between waiter and waitress related to serving
clients on daily basis. The manager frames the solution for waiter to serve male clients
and waitress will serve female clients.
Thus, by adopting conflict styles as per the situations, human resource manager of
Chateau Tongariro Hotel applies appropriate conflict styles which promotes functional conflicts.
2. Human resource practices to promote an ethical organisational culture
Human resource practices includes some of the activities to manage workforce in
organisations. These are the means which are helpful in developing leadership for personnels at
work place. Developing an ethical organisational culture is important as it creates a motivation
among personnels to perform operations in ethical manner and reducing dysfunctional conflicts
between employees (Murphy, Klotz and Kreiner, 2017). Human resource practices are used for
promoting ethical culture at work system some of the practices are the followings:
Training and development: It is the duty of human resource manager to properly
formulate and implement various training and development programs for the purpose of
enhancing knowledge, skills of employees to work in different as well as unfamiliar situation.
For instance, in the selected hotel, different new employees are hired which lacks skills to
welcome clients, deliver appropriate services as demanded and their enthusiasm decreases when
higher authority raises their voice for such activities due to which environment gets mismanaged
for other employees to perform work smoothly. By providing them training and development
programs, such problem will be resolved as new employees will learn all new tactics, strategies
to deliver services and welcome people. Thus, such practice will promote ethical organisational
culture.
4

Performance management: It is a system which helps in creating favourable work
environment where personnels can easily perform the operations with best capabilities as well as
abilities. It is used by managers to enhance interaction between employees at each stage of life
cycle to complete task. It also benefits to employees by providing them opportunities to learn
new skills, tactics to conduct business operations. Human resource manager of Chateau
Tongariro Hotel uses such management practice for providing checklists, planning activities,
clarifying roles, reviewing performances, managing complex work procedures and so on. For
example, selected organisation is suffering from issue of unclarified roles to perform work.
Management applies such practice to clarify roles for motivating employees to promote an
ethical organisational culture.
3. Questioning technique used during interviews for ensure effective communication and
acquisition of all required information
Questioning techniques involves distinct ways for presenting questions to individuals
related to some topic for the purpose to generating valuable information as required. Questions
are prepared in accurate manner as per the situations to collect valuable information from the
responder. Some of the questioning techniques used during interviews by human resource
manager of selected hotel are the following:
Asking open ended questions: Such technique helps in getting long answers as
responder thinks, reflects and then give their opinions related to the question asked in appropriate
manner (Rees and Smith, 2017). This technique helps in developing long communication with
the help of which the interviewer gets detailed answers and opinions regarding issues.
Asking follow up questions: Follow up questions are also known as reply questions
where responses are based on okay, really and so on. Using such technique, interviewer tries to
collect as much information they can from the interviewee. Such questions do not need long
responses but are helpful in developing long communications.
Building rapport: Rapport is a useful questioning technique which is helpful in building
effective relationships between interviewee and interviewer. Building rapport helps in
understanding ideas, information between manager and employee during interview. Such
technique is used for understanding information and communicating smoothly to other managers
for ensuring effective communication and acquisition of all required information.
5

Thus, human resource managers uses questioning techniques to look, act, think, feel and
speak at the time of interview for collecting appropriate information as required in efficient
manner. Human resource manager of Chateau Tongariro Hotel should adopt such questioning
strategies to understand the situations and providing recommendations to solve the conflicts at
workplace (Wang, Cooke and Lin, 2016). All the above stated questioning techniques are used
during interviews for ensuring effective communication and acquisition of all required
information at organisation.
CONCLUSION
As per the above assessment it has been concluded that human resource plays important
function in all the organisations. Such function performs activities related to dealing with people
at work and resolving their issues as well as conflicts arising between employees. This report
provides a detailed understanding of conflict handling modes and theory of four frame model to
resolve conflicts at work place between employees. Conflict style related to accommodating and
collaborating style are used for promoting functional conflicts. Human resource practices such as
training and development as well as performance management are used for promoting an ethical
organisational culture. Various questioning techniques are used during interviews for ensure
effective communication and acquisition of all required information at organisation.
6

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Brewster, C., 2017. The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy. In
Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Brierley, J. A. and Gwilliam, D., 2017. Human Resource Management Issues in Accounting and
Auditing Firms: A Research Perspective: A Research Perspective. Routledge.
Delery, J. E. and Roumpi, D., 2017. Strategic human resource management, human capital and
competitive advantage: is the field going in circles?. Human Resource Management
Journal, 27(1). pp.1-21.
Kew, J. and Stredwick, J., 2016. Human Resource Management in a business context. Kogan
Page Publishers.
Murphy, C., Klotz, A. C. and Kreiner, G. E., 2017. Blue skies and black boxes: The promise (and
practice) of grounded theory in human resource management research. Human Resource
Management Review. 27(2). pp.291-305.
Rees, G. and Smith, P. eds., 2017. Strategic human resource management: An international
perspective. Sage.
Wang, J., Cooke, F. L. and Lin, Z., 2016. Informal employment in C hina: recent development
and human resource implications. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. 54(3).
pp.292-311.
Online:
Career Trend. 2019. [Online]. Available through: <https://careertrend.com/info-8391297-five-
different-types-conflict-styles.html>.
7