The International Encyclopedia of Strategic

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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Executive summary
This paper is going to reflect on team conflicts and will provide a deep understanding of the
reasons that pave way for conflicts in teams and the effects of the conflict on the organization of
the teams. This paper will provide recommendations that organizations can adapt and implement
that will help the organizations overcome the issues that they face and also help them in
developing a healthy and positive work environment which is necessary and essential for a better
productivity in the workplace.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Team conflict in organizations....................................................................................................3
Reasons of team conflict in an organization................................................................................3
Poor communication-...............................................................................................................3
Diversity issues-.......................................................................................................................3
Difference in the work style-...................................................................................................4
Inequality-................................................................................................................................4
Unhealthy competition in the workplace-................................................................................4
Effects of team conflict on organization......................................................................................4
Less productivity-....................................................................................................................4
Employee turnover-.................................................................................................................5
Low revenue-...........................................................................................................................5
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Human Resource Management (HRM) is a term that is used to explain the formal
systems that are devised in order to manage people within a company or an organization. The
main responsibilities of the human resource managers are benefits, designing work, staffing and
employee compensation (Noe et al, 2015). While performing their jobs the human resource
manager faces various issues like appraisal issues, training and development issues however the
most common issue that prevalent in organization in recent times is managing team conflict. This
paper is going to shed a light on the issues of team conflicts in organizations that affect the
business of the organizations negatively.
Discussion
Team conflict in organizations
In the age of globalization, most businesses are expanding in order to gain profits and
make a mark in the global market. This expansion of the business has led to more work and
hiring of more employees. In order to get jobs and the work done in a stipulated time team work
is important. According to scholars, team work is important in organizations that help in the
smooth operations of the business and contribute to the success of the business. Dyer Jr, (2015)
opines teamwork facilitates unity in organizations and helps in building a positive relationship
amongst the employees that pave way for a healthy working environment. Teamwork is
considered to be a key factor that helps in the development of the business however it has been
that many organizations face issues like employee turnover, decrease in the productivity and also

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mental stress due to team conflicts in the workplace that negatively impact the performance and
the operations of an organization. de Jong, Song & Song, (2013), state that team conflicts
restricts the learning process in an organization which restricts the flow of knowledge within the
organization. The consequences that arise from team conflicts in an organization mostly impacts
the organization negatively as it pollutes the work environment, demotivates employees and
leads to lack of positivity that affect the performance of the employees.
Reasons of team conflict in an organization
Team work is important in a workplace only if they work together properly for the
betterment of the company and when the goals are shared. However, conflicts within a team
often arise due to various reasons which adversely influence the operations of the organization.
The reasons are the following:
Poor communication- Communication is said to be a key element that is important in the
workplace in order to maintain a positive and healthy relationship and also to communicate the
work, the goals and issues in a clear manner so that there is systematic flow of work without any
kind of hindrance in the operations of the organization (Vásquez & Schoeneborn, 2018).
Diversity issues- In the age of globalization where companies are expanding and establishing
themselves in other organizations, it can be seen that the workplace is getting more diverse with
people from different cultures are working together in order to fulfill a common goal. According
to scholars, diversity in the workplace has paved way for many positives like employee
development, economic empowerment of the marginalized worker and exposure to different
types of people (Davis, Frolova & Callahan, 2016). However, diversity is also a reason for
conflicts in teams. People belonging from different cultures and backgrounds have different

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values, thought process and language which many people in organizations fail to understand.
This paves way for clash in the workplace that impacts the organization negatively.
Difference in the work style- Every individual is different from each other and every individual
thus every individual has a different though process and vision (Collins, 2016). Teams in the
workplace consist of many different kinds of people in terms of their age, their background and
values and thus every employee has a different approach to their work from others especially
when it comes to age where the approach of the older people are different from the approach of
the younger people in the workplace. This generation gap often creates conflicts amongst the
employees because of their failure to understand and respect the different way of approaching
work.
Inequality- Equality is one of the key elements of ethical business management (Ferreira &
Peragine, 2016). There are times when employees irrespective of their hard work in the
organization are treated differently because of the biasness of the management or the seniors in
an organization. Every team member is the same and it is important to treat everyone equally in
the workplace to facilitate good work. This may lead to rise in conflict.
Unhealthy competition in the workplace- Most organizations these days fosters a competitive
environment in comparison to other organizations. Aguenza & Som, (2018), opines that
competitive environment in the workforce makes employees to work harder for recognition in
the workplace which is beneficial for the organization. However, if competition is not managed
properly it can result in insulting and sabotaging one another that may create a hostile
environment in the workplace. An unhealthy competition in the workplace promotes
individualism and discourages teamwork.

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Effects of team conflict on organization
Team conflicts can be inevitable and it is important for the management of the
organization to look at this as a serious issue as this may have negative impact on the operations
of the organization which may lead to the downfall of the organization. The effects of team
conflicts on organizations are the following:
Less productivity- Conflicts among team members in the workplace paves way for low
productivity. Conflicts make employees shift their focus from the goals of the organization and
make them focus on issues that are not relevant to the goals of the organizations. During
conflicts organizations mostly focus on gossiping and venting which leads to poor and less
productivity in the workforce.
Conflicts in the workforce restrict effective communication among the employees which is
important in order to communicate the goals, the work that needs to be done clearly (Ritzman,
2016). The lack of communication in the workplace can give rise to miscommunication as well
which may later effect the organization negatively because of the poor quality of work.
Employee turnover- Conflicts in the workforce pave way for an unhealthy work environment.
An unhealthy work environment often becomes toxic for employees and affects their mental
health as they feel that they do not belong in the workplace and thus making them feel
demotivated (Sheehan, McCabe & Garavan, 2018). This often makes employees resign and
search for a different alternative in the workplace. Employee turnover is a big issue that
organizations may face due to rise in conflict in the workplace as loss of skilled employees in the
workplace negatively affects the productivity as well as the reputation of the organization.

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Low revenue- Team conflicts in the workplace may hurt the revenue of an organization and also
increase the expenses of the organization. Team conflicts make the environment of the
workplace toxic which often leads to dissatisfaction of the employees. Dissatisfaction of
employees often effects their motivation and also results in staff turnover. This affects the
organization in terms of revenue as most of the time is spent on training and recruitment which
becomes an added expense for the organization (Larsen, 2017). This affects the performance of
the company as well, as new employees take time to understand and assess the needs of the
organization and work accordingly for the profits and benefits of the organization.
Recommendation
Team conflicts is one of the most detrimental issue that arises in an organization and thus
every organization these days focuses on employee management, creates ethical rules and also
makes measurable steps that help organizations to ensure conflicts do not arise in the workplace.
Organizations these days can take measurable steps that will ensure positivity in the workplace
and avoid the reasons that can give birth to conflicts in the workplace.
 The management needs to make rules and regulations that will help avoid the reasons that
pave way for conflict like bad behavior, demeaning others, violating rules made for
diversity. Employees must be penalized for violating any rules that are set by the
management of the organization.
 Team leaders need to treat their employees equally and fairly. They should not be biased
towards anyone and praise employees only on the basis of their merit and not for any
other factor.

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 Provide teams with training about different cultures, make them understand how to
respect and acknowledge the difference and facilitate diversity in the workplace
 Facilitate communication in the workplace to build positive and healthy relationships by
conducting a day out or conduct informal meeting so that people get to know each other.
 Distribute work evenly to the members of the team in order to avoid conflicts in the
workplace
Conclusion
Team conflicts are considered to be an important issue in the workplace that has the
capability to impact the organization in a huge manner negatively. It is important for
organizations to look into this matter and effectively manage teams and the employees for the
overall development and betterment of the organization. If team conflicts are managed
successfully then it can do wonders for the organization by better and enhanced productivity and
a healthy and positive work environment which will pave way for the organization to achieve
and gain profits, competitive advantage and a positive reputation in the market.

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Reference
Aguenza, B. B., & Som, A. P. M. (2018). Motivational factors of employee retention and
engagement in organizations. IJAME.
Collins, P. H. (2016). Toward a new vision: Race, class, and gender as categories of analysis and
connection. In Race, gender and class (pp. 65-75). Routledge.
Davis, P. J., Frolova, Y., & Callahan, W. (2016). Workplace diversity management in Australia:
what do managers think and what are organisations doing?. Equality, Diversity and
Inclusion: An International Journal, 35(2), 81-98.
de Jong, A., Song, M., & Song, L. Z. (2013). How lead founder personality affects new venture
performance: The mediating role of team conflict. Journal of Management, 39(7), 1825-
1854.
Dyer Jr, W. G. (2015). Team building. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-2.
Ferreira, F. H., & Peragine, V. (2016). Individual responsibility and equality of opportunity. In
The Oxford handbook of well-being and public policy.
Larsen, H. H. (2017). Key issues in training and development. In Policy and practice in
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Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2015). Human resources
management. Instructor, 2015.
Ritzman, M. E. (2016). A phenomenon we can't ignore: Performance improvement interventions
to address workplace bullying. Performance Improvement, 55(1), 14-22.

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Sheehan, M., McCabe, T. J., & Garavan, T. N. (2018). Workplace bullying and employee
outcomes: a moderated mediated model. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 1-38.
Vásquez, C., & Schoeneborn, D. (2018). Communication as Constitutive of Organization (CCO).
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