- Conflict resolution is the steps taken by leaders and employees (or their representatives) to solve disagreements in the workplace
- Successful conflict resolution usually requires the needs of both the business and its employees to be met
- There is a range of ways to resolve workplace conflict
- Conciliation & arbitration
- Employee participation
- Industrial democracy
- No-strike agreements
- Single-union agreements
Approaches to Conflict Resolution
| Approach |
Explanation |
Example |
|
Conciliation & Arbitration
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- Conciliation involves an independent mediator supporting negotiation and compromise between conflicting groups
- Arbitration involves an independent mediator making a decision to resolve a dispute on behalf of conflicting groups
- Non-binding arbitration decisions can be accepted or ignored by conflicting parties
- Binding arbitration decisions involve a compromise that must be accepted by both parties
- Pendulum decisions are a binding decision that makes no compromise - they declare entirely for one party
|
- In 2019 Prospect union and airports company Hial invited the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to conciliate in a pay dispute
- Air traffic controllers increased pay demands were at odds with Hial's refusal to increase wage budgets
|
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Employee Participation
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- Employee participation involves giving authority to workers to take on responsibilities and have some level of authority in the organisation
- Examples include teamwork, suggestion schemes, quality circles and worker panels
|
- Animation studio Pixar has a successful culture of collaboration which enables teams to work together on complex creative projects
- Employees are encouraged to share ideas, actively participate in the creative process and make decisions
|
|
Industrial Democracy
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- Industrial democracy involves workers having significant involvement in the decision-making process
- Worker-owned businesses and worker co-operatives have strong commitments to industrial democracy
|
- Workers at the UK's John Lewis Partnership influence how the business is run through their elected representatives in local forums
- Staff, known as partners, also receive a generous share of business profits
|
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No-strike Agreements
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- An agreement with trade union members not to take strike action when workplace conflict arises
- These agreements can improve the reputation of a trade union
- Builds trust and increases the likelihood of businesses being willing to negotiate
|
- An "Olympic truce" was declared following meetings between unions including the National Syndicate of Air Traffic Controllers (SNCTA) and the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation
- Despite ongoing conflict French air traffic controllers' unions agreed that no strike action would take place until after the 2024 Olympics in Paris
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Single-union Agreements
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- A business agrees to negotiate with one, rather than multiple, trade union organisations to resolve conflict
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- After refusing for many years Starbucks started, in 2023, to negotiate with the Starbucks Workers United union
- Early agreements include a $20 per hour starting wage, a 32-hour minimum working week for full-time employees and credit card staff tipping at all stores
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