The Role of Ethical Leadership in Managing Human Resource and Conflict Management

Babalola, M. T., Stouten, J., Euwema, M. C., & Ovadje, F. (2018). The relation between ethical leadership and workplace conflicts: The mediating role of employee resolution efficacy. Journal of Management, 44(5), 2037-2063.

            The article explores the use of ethical leadership in managing human resource and conflict management. Ethical leadership has been projected to deliver a conducive environment for the employees to grow their efficiency and relationship with management. Mediation model has also been listed among ethical practices which can be used in promoting cohesion in an organization setting. The article examines a wide coverage from Europe and on ways corporate use the model in conflict resolution.

            Babalola, Mayowa T. is a scholar in organizational psychology in the University of Leuven, Belgium. He has reputable records in studies involving ethic and leadership. Jeroen Stouten and Martin C. Euwema are professors of occupation and organization psychology in KULeuven. Dr. Franca Ovadje is an internal consultant in human resource management and organizational change. Together they form a team which has developed a reliable information combining the different aspect of organization management.

Bennett, T. (2014). The role of workplace mediation: A critical assessment. Personnel Review, 43(5), 764-779.

The article address mediation as a popular methods being used in the management of conflict at workplaces. The article uses qualitative sectorial analysis to address the use of the method in institutions of higher learning in North England. Through interviews, the research was to compare the application of the method in this institution similar to the application in business organizations. The findings revealed the application of mediation to solve conflict depends on the environment the style is implemented. The study produced a more comprehensive presentation on the practice as it is applied in different environments.

Professor Bennett, Tony is an Australia scholar and book author from the Western Sydney University in the department of cultural and social studies. His work has been published and accepted in the education sector as relevant. The study findings correspond to the need of finding a solution to the conflict in workplace.

Bystraya, Y., Stash, S., & Makarenya, T. (2016, September). ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE: THE CONFLICTS RESOLUTION INSTRUMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT. In Economic and Social Development (Book of Proceedings), 16th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social (p. 697)

The author describes the processes control and enterprise management in enterprise using technology. The author develops a business model using architecture which is technology oriented. The architecture is developed to remove the mechanical view of enterprises management, develop control in organization management which are capable to remove contradictions developed in the management systems.

Yulia Bystraya, Svetlana Stash, Tatiana Makarenya together have developed different credible research concerning interaction of employees and their environment.

Gilin Oore, D., Leiter, M. P., & LeBlanc, D. E. (2015). Individual and organizational factors promoting successful responses to workplace conflict. Canadian Psychology/psychologie canadienne, 56(3), 301.

            Unlike other articles which relate to conflict as disagreement from bad relation, this article address it as a vital tool to human interaction. It suggest short term conflict and how resolution can be managed to build a long term positive consequences. It address ways of developing management of conflict at individual level rather than a framework to solve them. It address different methods which can be employed to build support for successive conflict response. The author address individual traits such as cognitive power, emotion and psychological fitness as ways employees can be trained to solve conflict. Organization have the responsibility to provide training in conflict management skills such as mediation.

            Gilin Oore, Debra is an associate professor in department of psychology in St. Mary’s University in Canada. Michael P. Leiter is a psychology professor in Acadia University and a scholar who has invested in research about relationship of people and their work places. Diane E. LeBlanc is a professor in St. Mary’s University in department of interdisciplinary studies. The experience of the three author give credit for their work to be considered for credible academic referencing

Helms, W. S., & Oliver, C. (2015). Radical settlements to conflict: Conflict management and its implications for institutional change. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(4), 471-494.

The article describe the radical measures, which can be taken in an organization such as making truce to solve conflict in the organization. It develops the topology of strategies which can be used in conflict management in different institutions. It provides new insight on the institution changes and strategies that can manage conflicts in the organization. It scope is wide enough to use in reviewing ways to solve conflict in organizations.

Christian Oliver is a professor and a researcher on institutional policies and factors affecting economic. Wesley S. Helms is an associate professor on strategic action in University of Brock. Both have experience and have done various research articles on the strategic management of people.

Hutagalung, I. (2017). The Function of Interpersonal Communication in Conflict Management Organization. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 33, p. 00009). EDP Sciences.

            In the article, the author delivers the function of communication in an organization. The interpersonal communication is the main cause and solution to conflict. If it is implemented perfectly, effective communication will ensure proper operation between departments, among the staff and arising conflicts are solved conversationally. The article articulate the need of effective communication in service industry such as bank to ensure smooth running. The author also list character traits such as empathy and openness which contribute to effective communication.

Dr.  Hutagalung is a communication researcher and tutor in the department of communication in Universitas Mercu Buana. She has written more than 20 credible and approved articles on effective communication in organization making her work suitable as a reference.

Kugler, K. G., & Brodbeck, F. C. (2014). Corporate communication and worker perceptions of conflict management and justice. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 7(4), 265-281.

            The article use qualitative method to prove the hypothesis that corporate communication and passing of political messages in pursuit of understanding multi-dimensional messages are related to conflict management and finding justice. The article advice Organization to develop culture endorsing beneficial conflict management and support.

            Katharina Kugler, Ph.D. is a researcher in psychology at the University of Munich, Germany. She holds a Fellowship in complexities and conflict and concentrate her research effort to the role emotion play in conflicts. Felix C. Brodbeck is a professor and chair to economic and Organizational Psychology at the LMU Munich. The reputation of the two makes their work eligible for referencing.

Kopytova, I. (2018). MANAGEMENT POTENTIAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN RESOLVING BUSINESS CONFLICTS. Agricultural and Resource Economics International Scientific E-Journal, 4(1), 77-90.

            To be able to solve conflict, it is good to relate to the cause. The article relate the cause of conflicts to the organization to the internal relation among the workers which is shaped by the organization culture. Through a qualitative survey of the Ukraine human resource departments, the research quantifies the importance of the management taking seriously the role of organization culture when developing policies. The study is an empirical reference on ways of promoting a conflict free organization culture.

Kopytova, Iryna is a researcher on organization culture, management theories and business infrastructure in the university of Zhytomyr National Agro-ecological University in Ukraine. His works have been accepted across different international journals.

Leon-Perez, J. M., Medina, F. J., Arenas, A., & Munduate, L. (2015). The relationship between interpersonal conflict and workplace bullying. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(3), 250-263.

            Different people receive attack at their workplaces whether physical or psychological from conflict that arises. This article is developed to summarize the impact of conflict management style to solving interpersonal conflict and bullying at workplaces. The paper present the results of a study conducted in Spain in different organizations. The result of the study suggest that efforts to manage conflict can greatly reduce the chances of escalating emotional interpersonal conflict of even bullying. The article connect the intense conflict in organization to negative organization behavior which may led to bullying therefore there is need for the management to install systems which will solve conflict before they translate to more severe outcomes.

Leon-Perez, Jose M and Francisco J. Medina and Lourdes Munduate are professors in the department of psychology in the University of Sevilla. They are experts in organization, social and applied psychology. Dr. Alicia Arenas comes from the same university but from department of sociology. Together and individually have participated in research of hundred publications on organization psychology hence their experience give credit to their work.

McKenzie, D. M. (2015). The role of mediation in resolving workplace relationship conflict. International journal of law and psychiatry, 39, 52-59.

There is an option of seeking legal jurisdiction in case a conflict occurs in a workplace. There are processes which ensure the workers can legally make claims when a conflict occurs. The article explain the legal processes of acquiring a claim. It also elaborate on the consequences of claims. The author emphasizes on the negative impact of legal process in solving conflict. The paper through sematic analysis of available data explores relationship conflict in workplace and use of ADR strategies in conflict management.

Donna Margaret McKenzie is a research affiliate with Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Her work is of high quality and has been accepted by international journal of law.

McKibben, L. (2017). Conflict management: importance and implications. British Journal of Nursing, 26(2), 100-103.

Different working environment receive conflict in different levels. The article address conflict in health sector. It takes to consideration the main causes of conflict which are mainly interpersonal relationships and change management. it also emphasize on the need to welcome the new staff and assimilate them to established work system in  a way they understand the environment to reduce collusion. It also explore the methods of managing disputes such as having a good leadership, mutual respect, communication and acceptance to change.

McKibben Laurie is a respected research associate in the UK Palliative Care Day Services. Her work are accepted by british journal of nursing making the acceptable to use as reference.

Nesterkin, D. A., Porterfield, T. E., & Li, X. (2016). Relationship Conflict, Conflict Management, and Performance of Information Technology Teams. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 56(3), 194-203.

            The success of a team depends on how well the members can interact, communicate and solve or avoid conflicts when working together. The article address the success of working together and setting group goals can help to manage conflict in a team. The result show that mediation is a strong tool which has an effective rate of 60%. It also show that 80% of the activities in conflict management in a team are carried out through team collaboration and goal setting

            Most of the work in organization is carried out through team. The article get relevance in addressing conflict management in teamwork. Dmitriy A Nesterkin is an IT scholar and author of different publication in software development. Tobin E Porterfield is a professor and chair of Department Chair of E-Business & Technology Management at Towson University while Xiaolin Li is a technology scholar from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Being in the technology department, they understand the importance of a team work.

Saeed, T., Almas, S., Anis-ul-Haq, M., & Niazi, G. S. K. (2014). Leadership styles: relationship with conflict management styles. International Journal of Conflict Management, 25(3), 214-225.

There arise conflicts among manager of different departments or between the manager and the subordinate. Using a survey in the industrial sector, the article summarizes the need for transformative leadership in conflict management. The article summarizes the use of different leadership style some that are conflict inflicting like compromising style while some other managers avoid resolving them. There is a great different in the type of institution in managing style with a notable difference in professional setting.

Tahir Saeed is a member of PTCL research while Shazia Almas and M. Anis-ul-Haq are researchers in Department of Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad while GSK Niazi in School of Business Management in the same university. Their work has relevance since they have conducted a survey from the market.

Stipanowich, T. J., & Lamare, J. R. (2014). Living with ADR: Evolving Perceptions and Use of Mediation, Arbitration, and Conflict Management in Fortune 1000 Corporations. Harv. Negot. L. Rev., 19, 1.

Alternative dispute resolution has been the trend to address conflict in modern world. The article address new ways companies are using to solve conflict in early studies through mediation and arbitration. It incorporate a survey done in the 1000 fortune companies and the revolution they have undergone in handling and managing conflicts using corporate business policies, less legal but private formal settlement which result to satisfactory but durable results. The survey also found that companies are integrating more informal approaches in solving conflicts.

Stipanowich Thomas is a chair of Dispute resolution in William H. Webster and a university Professor in Law at Pepperdine University. He is the dean of Institute for Dispute Resolution, which is ranked the best in disputes resolution in the United States making his work more credible for referencing. J. Ryan Lamare on the other hand is an associate professor in the School of Labor and Employment in the University of Illinois. He has done research in employment, human research and dispute resolution. Their work is one of the most comprehensive source of information obtain in the subject of managing conflict in the work places.

Tjosvold, D. (2014). Reflecting on reviewing: Applying conflict management research. Journal of organizational behavior, 35(8), 1079-1092.

Different research have been done but the application towards solving conflict has been poorly implemented. This article expends conflict management studies to scrutinize the prospects and difficulties in production of constructive review for the field and for specific scholars. The article show the reasin why there is difficulty in handling conflict openly and constructively.

Tjosvold Dean is a researcher in the Lingnan University in Hong Kong.  He is an expert in organization psychology and social psychology having participated in writing more than 300 academic article on the fields.

Literature Review Outline

Introduction

In a society where people live together, there will be disagreement on different issues. Workplace and businesses experience disagreement among the people working there. They range from interpersonal conflict to conflict with the working environment. It is difficult to give the accepted scholarly definition of conflict due to its application in diverse academic research. It is important for the organization to develop a system to manage these conflict before they escalate to levels that impact the operation of an organization. Conflict in workplaces causes strain to smooth working in the organization which can halt productivity of the employees. Organizations that exhibit a high level of conflict are prone to high turnover rate, work dissatisfaction and absenteeism, which leads to low productivity (Gilin Oore, Leiter & LeBlanc, 2015). Some of the conflicts escalate to bullying (Leon-Perez, Medina, Arenas & Munduate, 2015). Helms and Oliver (2015) argue that bring two conflicting sides in an organization can be a substantial catalyst for the interruption and organizational transformation rather than for steadiness or coherence in the business. Unfortunately, conflicts have not been discussed openly making it difficult for organization and leadership to review applicable methods (Tjosvold, 2014).

According to Babalola et al. (2016), workplace conflicts can be defined as the shared collective progression arising from strains between two or more people which is cultivated by the difference in values, ideas or interest. There are two types of conflict in an organization namely task conflict which arises from disagreement about work-related issues and relationship conflict which arises from contradicting personal values and character (Gilin Oore et al., 2015).

Causes of conflict

The universal divergence of ideas causes workers in a given organization to disagree on particular issues in how you either conduct business or relate with others in the office. One of the causes of disagreement is generation stereotyping.  (2017). McKibben (2017) relate the causes of conflict in an organization to interpersonal relation and change or poor management. People develop attitudes towards other according to their values and perceptions. There escalate conflict when management is ethical wrong in the implementation of policies or a change that forces new policies to the employees. According to Saaed et al., (2014), the type of leadership style exercised mostly by the middle-level manager determine the cohesiveness of the subordinate staff. Even with relationship differences, a system that encourages teamwork reduces conflict as workers strive and just to fit the system.

Conflict Management and Resolution

McKibben (2017) emphasizes the need to address the causes of conflicts. Workers are continuously experiencing stress in the workplace from the unconducive environment and interpersonal conflict (McKenzie, 2015). According to Gilin Oore et al., 2015), poorly resolved conflicts in an organization are costly and can escalate to formal legal cases, therefore, there is need to develop proper mechanisms to solve conflicts. Conflict management can be understood as the steps and action set or the parties involved in a disagreement can perform to settle their differences (Leon-Perez et al., 2015). To stabilize an organization environment, conflict management has been seen as a power tool (Helms & Oliver, 2015).

Different management styles have been proposed to make conflict management effective. Bystraya, Stach and Makarenya (2016), explain the importance of forming a business architecture in conflict management. An architecture is aimed to solve business contradictions from the management level. Good communication within the organization is one of the proposed methods. Hutagalung (2017) explain communication as a tool which can be used to shape organization relationships and culture a theory supported by McKibben (2017). Organizations are advised to develop culture endorsing beneficial conflict management and support (Kulger & Brodeck, 2014).

Another important tool in conflict management is good leadership. According to McKibben (2017), effective management, good leadership and cultivation of constructive group dynamics encourage sharing and the employees are open to accepting changes when they are introduced. An administration that displays transformational leadership implement an assimilating and considerate style in managing conflicts which are used to develop organization culture (Saaed et al., 2014). Ethical leadership is a tool which can be used to transform the perception of employees and can be used to create a conflict-free environment (Babalola, 2016). Leadership has the responsibility to develop a framework to manage conflict since it is responsible for developing policies that shape organizational culture, a tool suitable for conflict management (Kopytova, 2018).  Helms and Oliver (2015) explain the introduction of radical settlement set to solve conflicts because they receive expectation on how future conflicts can be managed. Research suggests that management should introduce a training session to the employees to guide them and instill personal skills in dealing with conflicts (Helms & Oliver, 2015 & Gilin Oore et al., 2015).

Mediation, Arbitration and negotiation are among most advocated for styles in conflict management. Antony (2014), approves the method due to its ability to address the power imbalance between the participants. He delivers the process of mediation and gives the importance. Gilin Oore et al., 2015 and Stipanowich & Lamare (2014) report on the increased use and satisfaction received from the process which requires the third party to solve a conflict. Nesterkin (2016) developed a model that shows how mediator impact in enhancing the cohesive and productive team.