Conflict Program Proposal: Enhancing Workplace Harmony and Inclusion
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This report presents a conflict program proposal designed to address workplace discrimination and promote a harmonious environment. The proposal focuses on a local advertising and copywriting company experiencing conflicts related to ethnic diversity. The report details the nature of the conflict, involving three employees with differing cultural backgrounds and experiences of discrimination. The proposed intervention includes focus group discussions to address perceptions and prejudices, alongside culturally inclusive workshops and activities to foster understanding and collaboration. The program aims to resolve current conflicts and provide a guideline for similar workplace-based intervention programs across organizations. The report emphasizes the importance of addressing cultural and ethnic discrimination to improve productivity and uphold human rights. The report also includes references to key research in the fields of conflict management and diversity.

Running head: CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note
CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note
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1CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
Approved Topic / At-Risk Group: Perceptual ethnic diversity and relevant aspects of
discrimination between employees in the workplace.
Target Audience: Human Resource Management, Organization Head and Employee Unit.
Central Strategy: Focus Group discussion and inclusive seminars / workshops to resolve
potential conflict and increase harmonious behavior.
Approved Topic / At-Risk Group: Perceptual ethnic diversity and relevant aspects of
discrimination between employees in the workplace.
Target Audience: Human Resource Management, Organization Head and Employee Unit.
Central Strategy: Focus Group discussion and inclusive seminars / workshops to resolve
potential conflict and increase harmonious behavior.

2CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
Introduction.
While living in a multicultural country, it cannot be expected that a particular workplace
will be formed of employees belonging to a single cultural background. Multi - cultural and
multi - ethnic communities form a significant portion of the workforce of any major
organization. That is the same forte based on which a gamut of discriminatory aspects come to
light (Van Laer & Janssens, 2011). This conflict program proposal aims to elaborate this aspect
of workplace divide. Furthermore, it focusses on intervention methods based on cultural
inclusion as a prime objective in order to bring the issue to a close. The proposal looks at the
workplace division based on ethnicity and cultural nuances, present in a local copywriting and
advertisement organization in my neighborhood. The program incorporates the concepts of
conflict management and resolution, and while looking at the specific social psychological
principles of groupthink, conformity, stereotype, prejudice and bias, aims to bring the conflict to
a close through group influence and attribution. This paper presents a detailed nature of the
conflict as well as the proposed program.
Nature of the conflict.
The local advertising and copywriting company employs a wide variety of people for
both full time and freelance writing jobs. A significant portion of its workforce is formed of
people from a few different cultural backgrounds. This conflict is focused on a group of three
people in the office who I would like to name as John, Mary and Bill. John is 33, of Caucasian
descent and has lived in the United States for three generations. His grandfather was in the Navy
and his older brother is a Ranger. Mary, 29, migrated with her family from Australia five years
Introduction.
While living in a multicultural country, it cannot be expected that a particular workplace
will be formed of employees belonging to a single cultural background. Multi - cultural and
multi - ethnic communities form a significant portion of the workforce of any major
organization. That is the same forte based on which a gamut of discriminatory aspects come to
light (Van Laer & Janssens, 2011). This conflict program proposal aims to elaborate this aspect
of workplace divide. Furthermore, it focusses on intervention methods based on cultural
inclusion as a prime objective in order to bring the issue to a close. The proposal looks at the
workplace division based on ethnicity and cultural nuances, present in a local copywriting and
advertisement organization in my neighborhood. The program incorporates the concepts of
conflict management and resolution, and while looking at the specific social psychological
principles of groupthink, conformity, stereotype, prejudice and bias, aims to bring the conflict to
a close through group influence and attribution. This paper presents a detailed nature of the
conflict as well as the proposed program.
Nature of the conflict.
The local advertising and copywriting company employs a wide variety of people for
both full time and freelance writing jobs. A significant portion of its workforce is formed of
people from a few different cultural backgrounds. This conflict is focused on a group of three
people in the office who I would like to name as John, Mary and Bill. John is 33, of Caucasian
descent and has lived in the United States for three generations. His grandfather was in the Navy
and his older brother is a Ranger. Mary, 29, migrated with her family from Australia five years
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3CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
ago and is of Aboriginal descent. She is a freelancer at the office. Bill is 40 and an African
American man. He has been working in the office for more than ten years.
While Bill and Mary are on quite good terms with each other, John often shows a
tendency of looking down upon Mary. There have been multiple cases where John has
questioned Mary’s knowledge of computers and English, and had specifically mentioned
multiple times in passing, that he actively doubts Mary’s credibility because she is ‘not supposed
to have had advanced education’. On more than one occasions, John had called out Mary during
lunch saying things like ‘how’s life in the forests?’.
In one particular incident, Mary had been subjected to extreme racial discrimination by
John and another of his colleagues at work. When Mary was asked to work on an article which
John was earlier supposed to work on, he, out of pure frustration, had spread in the office as a
joke, that Mary comes from a long lineage of ‘petrol sniffers’ and that everyone should ‘keep
their cars home, or she will sniff the gas tank dry’. This was a direct reference to the derogatory
identity that became associated with the Australian Aboriginal people, that they all liked to get
intoxicated by sniffing petrol among other forms of drug usage (Wilkes et al., 2010).
Furthermore, when after this incident, Mary approached the HR manager and complained about
John’s behavior, she was told that the matter will be looked into but was never actually
addressed. Upon further pressing, she was prompted to tolerate it for a couple more weeks as her
association with the organization would be over by then. As for Bill, he tries to keep Mary away
from John and his associates and most of his actions go unquestioned because of his senior
employee status. However, he too had been subjected to racial discrimination by other
employees at the office, often in the form of denied perks and overtime without pay (Van Laer &
Janssens, 2011).
ago and is of Aboriginal descent. She is a freelancer at the office. Bill is 40 and an African
American man. He has been working in the office for more than ten years.
While Bill and Mary are on quite good terms with each other, John often shows a
tendency of looking down upon Mary. There have been multiple cases where John has
questioned Mary’s knowledge of computers and English, and had specifically mentioned
multiple times in passing, that he actively doubts Mary’s credibility because she is ‘not supposed
to have had advanced education’. On more than one occasions, John had called out Mary during
lunch saying things like ‘how’s life in the forests?’.
In one particular incident, Mary had been subjected to extreme racial discrimination by
John and another of his colleagues at work. When Mary was asked to work on an article which
John was earlier supposed to work on, he, out of pure frustration, had spread in the office as a
joke, that Mary comes from a long lineage of ‘petrol sniffers’ and that everyone should ‘keep
their cars home, or she will sniff the gas tank dry’. This was a direct reference to the derogatory
identity that became associated with the Australian Aboriginal people, that they all liked to get
intoxicated by sniffing petrol among other forms of drug usage (Wilkes et al., 2010).
Furthermore, when after this incident, Mary approached the HR manager and complained about
John’s behavior, she was told that the matter will be looked into but was never actually
addressed. Upon further pressing, she was prompted to tolerate it for a couple more weeks as her
association with the organization would be over by then. As for Bill, he tries to keep Mary away
from John and his associates and most of his actions go unquestioned because of his senior
employee status. However, he too had been subjected to racial discrimination by other
employees at the office, often in the form of denied perks and overtime without pay (Van Laer &
Janssens, 2011).
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4CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
Conflict Management Program.
In order to resolve this conflict, there are two specific types of programs that are being
proposed. It needs to be remembered in the background that the programs not only aim to resolve
the issue of John and Mary-Bill, but also of future employees and other existing employees who
share strained workplace relations with other because of their ethnic heritage (Brubaker et al.,
2014).
The first intervention program being proposed is a focused group discussion (O. Nyumba
et al., 2018). The discussion will involve the concerned candidates (John, Mary and Bill), the
Human Resource Executive, the head of the organization, and other employees. The key issues
of discussion will be how everyone in the room views culture, what their ideas are of people
belonging to different cultures and how the preconceived notions and prejudices affect people
(Chavez et al., 2015). It is believed that through the focus group discussion, unbiased and non –
targeted opinions regarding each other would come out. This would serve two key roles – firstly,
for the existing employees, it will be an opportunity to amend their approaches, address issues
and create a friendly and warm working environment; secondly, for the HRM, it would be an
excellent opportunity to reflect upon their actions and how they can do their job better by
incorporating this element in their policy.
The second program proposal is a series of workshops and activities that are culturally
inclusive in nature. It is not enough to identify and verbally address issues. In a multicultural
workspace, the issues should be addressed in practice because that is what allows all employees
Conflict Management Program.
In order to resolve this conflict, there are two specific types of programs that are being
proposed. It needs to be remembered in the background that the programs not only aim to resolve
the issue of John and Mary-Bill, but also of future employees and other existing employees who
share strained workplace relations with other because of their ethnic heritage (Brubaker et al.,
2014).
The first intervention program being proposed is a focused group discussion (O. Nyumba
et al., 2018). The discussion will involve the concerned candidates (John, Mary and Bill), the
Human Resource Executive, the head of the organization, and other employees. The key issues
of discussion will be how everyone in the room views culture, what their ideas are of people
belonging to different cultures and how the preconceived notions and prejudices affect people
(Chavez et al., 2015). It is believed that through the focus group discussion, unbiased and non –
targeted opinions regarding each other would come out. This would serve two key roles – firstly,
for the existing employees, it will be an opportunity to amend their approaches, address issues
and create a friendly and warm working environment; secondly, for the HRM, it would be an
excellent opportunity to reflect upon their actions and how they can do their job better by
incorporating this element in their policy.
The second program proposal is a series of workshops and activities that are culturally
inclusive in nature. It is not enough to identify and verbally address issues. In a multicultural
workspace, the issues should be addressed in practice because that is what allows all employees

5CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
to be able to work together (Barak, 2016). The activities should be fun and educational at the
same time, while maintaining the core idea of multicultural inclusion.
Conclusion.
Cultural and ethnic discrimination is one of the most vital aspects of workplace divide
that is detrimental for the overall workflow. Besides hampering productivity, it also conflicts
with one of the most basic human rights – cultural identity and freedom of expression. This
program proposal is intended to provide a guidance for one specific aspect of such workplace
divide in one office, nevertheless, can also act as a guideline for similar workplace based
intervention programs across organizations.
to be able to work together (Barak, 2016). The activities should be fun and educational at the
same time, while maintaining the core idea of multicultural inclusion.
Conclusion.
Cultural and ethnic discrimination is one of the most vital aspects of workplace divide
that is detrimental for the overall workflow. Besides hampering productivity, it also conflicts
with one of the most basic human rights – cultural identity and freedom of expression. This
program proposal is intended to provide a guidance for one specific aspect of such workplace
divide in one office, nevertheless, can also act as a guideline for similar workplace based
intervention programs across organizations.
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6CONFLICT PROGRAM PROPOSAL
References.
Barak, M. E. M. (2016). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage
Publications.
Brubaker, D., Noble, C., Fincher, R., Park, S. K. Y., & Press, S. (2014). Conflict resolution in the
workplace: what will the future bring?. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 31(4), 357-386.
Chavez, L. J., Ornelas, I. J., Lyles, C. R., & Williams, E. C. (2015). Racial/ethnic workplace
discrimination: Association with tobacco and alcohol use. American journal of
preventive medicine, 48(1), 42-49.
O. Nyumba, T., Wilson, K., Derrick, C. J., & Mukherjee, N. (2018). The use of focus group
discussion methodology: Insights from two decades of application in
conservation. Methods in Ecology and evolution, 9(1), 20-32.
Van Laer, K., & Janssens, M. (2011). Ethnic minority professionals’ experiences with subtle
discrimination in the workplace. Human Relations, 64(9), 1203-1227.
Wilkes, E., Gray, D., Saggers, S., Casey, W., & Stearne, A. (2010). Substance misuse and mental
health among Aboriginal Australians. Working Together, 117.
References.
Barak, M. E. M. (2016). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage
Publications.
Brubaker, D., Noble, C., Fincher, R., Park, S. K. Y., & Press, S. (2014). Conflict resolution in the
workplace: what will the future bring?. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 31(4), 357-386.
Chavez, L. J., Ornelas, I. J., Lyles, C. R., & Williams, E. C. (2015). Racial/ethnic workplace
discrimination: Association with tobacco and alcohol use. American journal of
preventive medicine, 48(1), 42-49.
O. Nyumba, T., Wilson, K., Derrick, C. J., & Mukherjee, N. (2018). The use of focus group
discussion methodology: Insights from two decades of application in
conservation. Methods in Ecology and evolution, 9(1), 20-32.
Van Laer, K., & Janssens, M. (2011). Ethnic minority professionals’ experiences with subtle
discrimination in the workplace. Human Relations, 64(9), 1203-1227.
Wilkes, E., Gray, D., Saggers, S., Casey, W., & Stearne, A. (2010). Substance misuse and mental
health among Aboriginal Australians. Working Together, 117.
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