Management: Problem Analysis

This model of the Research Report addresses the case study of Andrew Bartlett's plumbing business in Western Australia.

See attached copy of the case, taken from 'Andrew Bartlett: Managerial dilemmas'. In Bartol, K., Tein, M., Matthews, G. & Martin, D. (2005). Management: A Pacific Focus, McGraw-Hill and Irwin, p.p. 471-2

Introduction

[1] Team-structured organisations are becoming increasingly popular in many different industries and in situations where companies have geographically distributed offices. Jehn and Mannix (2001, p. 238) note that work teams provide many benefits to an organisation, including increased innovation and discussion of ideas, knowledge-sharing and commitment to goals. However, teams have also been negatively associated with conflict within organisations. While some conflict within teams is now considered beneficial, it is essential that it be managed effectively to avoid problems (De Dreu & Weingart 2003, p. 741). [2] The high level of conflict that exists in Andrew Bartlett's business is a serious managerial problem [3] because the negative effects of conflict can result in low employee morale, leading to reduced productivity and effectiveness, and staff turnover. [4] In this report, I will argue that this conflict is due to poor communication and a lack of structured work processes in the Bunbury office. In order to address this problem, [5] Andrew Bartlett must restructure the Bunbury office by appointing an administration manager to handle non-technical matters and by introducing a structured communication process to deal with issues as they arise. Implementation of this strategy will result in an improvement in both team effectiveness and employee satisfaction.

Problem Identification

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[5A] The Australian plumbing industry is currently facing major changes with the introduction of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005. The Act is aimed at improving occupational health and safety practices, reducing unlawful behaviour, and protecting employees within the industry (MPMSAA 2005). In addition, the Institute of Plumbing Australia is emphasising the importance of technical training and establishing career paths for individuals in the industry (Swift 2005). Despite the focus on industrial relations and training, there appears to be little attention in the industry to education on business and people management. The recent trend toward work teams, together with the fact that managers now spend more than a quarter of their time dealing with conflict ([6]Thomas & Schmidt cited in Meyer, Gemmell & Irving 1997, p. 1), means that conflict management is vital within an organisation. [7] As such, the conflict occurring within Andrew Bartlett's business is a significant managerial issue.

[8] Dysfunctional conflict has been found to have extremely negative effects in an organisation if the issue is not addressed. In particular, lowered employee morale due to conflict is known to lead to reduced productivity and effectiveness resulting in the quality of work completed by employees suffering (De Dreu & Van Vianen 2001, p. 310). [9] As appears to be occurring in Andrew Bartlett's organisation, this leads to unsatisfied customers and, ultimately, the business suffers financially. In addition, increased staff turnover is a major consequence of workplace conflict (Medina, Munduate, Dorado, Martinez & Guerra 2005, p. 220). [10] In this business, staff turnover is an explicit problem as several employees involved in the conflict have already threatened to resign. If the cause of the conflict is not resolved, not only will it result in the loss of current staff, but it is also likely to be repeated with future employees. Replacing staff is not only an inconvenience to the business but also very costly due to recruitment and training expenses. For these reasons, addressing this issue immediately is crucial to the organisation's continued success [11].

Critical Analysis

[12] Task conflict relates to opposing ideas and disagreement about decisions regarding work issues. Task conflict is often considered to have a positive impact on teams because it improves effectiveness and acceptance of outcomes through increased discussion of alternative ideas (Medina et al 2005, p. 220). [13] However, some studies have found task conflict to negatively effect team performance (De Dreu & Weingart 2003, p. 734-747). According to DeChurch and Marks (2001, p. 5) how task conflict is managed determines whether its impact on teams is positive or negative. De Dreu and Van Vianen (2001, p. 312) suggest that collaboration, working together to find an acceptable solution, is most effective in managing task conflict. [14] In Andrew Bartlett's business, the task conflict relates to the unfair distribution of jobs and apportioning of blame in the Bunbury office. In addition, the lack of communication within the team indicates that, in this situation, the conflict is of no benefit, as it does not produce increased discussion.

[15]

Relationship conflict relates to interpersonal conflict resulting from differing values and belief systems (Medina et al 2005, p. 220). In contrast to task conflict, [16] it is generally considered to have a negative impact on both team performance and satisfaction. According to Medina et al (2005, p. 220) the two types of conflict are linked and therefore the impact of relationship conflict on task conflict must be examined. The results of their study indicated that relationship conflict alone, and a combination of high relationship and high task conflict, reduced satisfaction and increased the likelihood of resignation (Medina et al 2005, p. 225). While task conflict can be beneficial where relationship conflict is low, Medina et al (2005, p. 225) warn that it may lead to relationship conflict so encouraging task conflict should be done with caution. This is most definitely the case in the Bartlett organisation, as it appears that the task conflict in the Bunbury office has led to interpersonal clashes. De Dreu and Weingart (2003, p. 734-747) also found that as conflict increases any benefit is lost and performance is reduced. Their results suggested that both types of conflict have a negative effect on employee satisfaction and team performance and this is reflected in the current situation in Andrew Bartlett's business [17].

Solution Strategy

[18] Jameson (1999, p. 277) notes that managers are often in a position to use conflict to identify the need for organisational change. In