The senior management of this company has indicated the ever-increasing prevalence and occurrence of conflict-related problems in the company which are adversely affecting the company. Although this study was too small to generalize to the entire trucking industry, relevant recommendations will certainly help to significantly reduce the occurrence of negative conflicts in the organization.
Overview of Labour Related Conflict in South Africa
Therefore, the increased regulation of the labor market in South Africa has given labor a strong platform to not only negotiate for better wages, but also to see and drive political goals. However, the relatively rapid radical changes in the labor environment have created a lot of uncertainty for businesses.
Motivation for the Study
South Africa has a strong trade union movement which is aligned with the new government. According to Kingdon and Knight (2001), the change of political dispensation in 1994 in South Africa added momentum to labor in the form of government alliance with workers, greater political intervention, introduction of minimum wages, social charges for payrolls and protection of jobs through legislation. .
Focus of the Study
Problem Statement
To identify the extent to which work-related procedures address conflict-related issues within the company. To identify the extent to which the failure or poor performance of communication processes within the company contributes to conflict.
Research Questions
Limitations of the Study
Significance of this Study
5 appropriate action, a significant amount of conflict within the organization will be reduced, creating fertile ground for better employee feedback, better employee morale, and team spirit. The overall efficiency and effectiveness of a company will surely improve if we better understand the nature of conflict in that company in order to equip management to make appropriate changes.
Chapter Outline Chapter One: Introduction
The key findings will be discussed in relation to the key objectives and research questions of the study. It highlights what was researched, the outcomes of the research and the evaluation of the outcomes in relation to the key research questions.
Conclusion
Based on the results and findings of the research, further recommendations and suggestions for further research within the field are provided. Dealing with conflict involves the diagnosis and intervention of conflicts, both at the individual and group level.
Workplace Conflict in the South African Context
According to the report, 64% of dismissals declared unfair by the CCMA are both procedurally and substantively unfair. According to the CCMA, allegations of dishonesty underlie the majority of dismissal cases before the CCMA.
Perspectives on Conflict
Unitarist Perspective
Are our managers really so good at monitoring and giving feedback that most interns accept when they are fired for not being up to the job. According to the general consensus among South African labor law experts, the figures may indicate that managers avoid strict monitoring, do not engage in measurement and feedback, and fail to get rid of underperforming workers.
Pluralist Perspective
Marxist and Radical Perspective
Capitalism forces minimization – labor process theory considers the role of labor and the labor process within the framework of the pursuit of surplus generation (profit) in volatile and uncertain capitalist markets. According to Martin and Fellenze (2010), labor process theory offers a way to consider the nature of labor in capitalist organizations and perhaps place conflict in a broader context.
The Nature of Conflict
Institutionalized conflict – workers are paid less than the true value of their labor – this is the basis of the wage-work agreement. If properly identified and treated, it can help minimize the destructive influences of the win-lose situation.
Why Conflict Management Is Important
The Circle of Conflict
This contributes to this study's objectives and research questions, which relate to the causes of conflict in the organization. Lack of essential work-related information about employees as well as poor data collection can also be a potential source of conflict in the organization.
Sources of Conflict
If an organization bases reward and punishment systems on performance levels, the likelihood or potential for conflict within the organization is even greater. Unjust Treatment - An individual's perception of unfair or unjust treatment, such as in the operation of human resources policies and practices, or in reward and punishment systems, can lead to tensions and conflict within the organization.
Conflict and Communication
- Identify the problem
- Propose several possible solutions
- Evaluate each alternative
- Determine the best solution
- Implement the alternative
During brainstorming, the parties record every possible approach to the problem that they can envision without considering the feasibility of the ideas. Something unexpected may have come up, or managers may have overlooked an aspect of the problem.
Effects of Conflict in the Workplace
Using the analogy of a water pipe, there will be too little pressure in the system and no water will come out of the tap. This model views conflict as a force that can be harnessed to ensure that slack is kept out of the organization.
Strategies for Managing Conflict
29 The aforementioned literature review has highlighted important and relevant aspects of conflict within the workplace. Therefore, the aforementioned literature was examined in relation to the main objectives of this study, which included determining the causes of conflict within the company, the frequency and extent of conflict, and which departments and procedures within the company contributed to the conflict.
Conclusion
As far as a private business is concerned, this can only result in a higher profitability ratio within the business. The details of the pilot study conducted by the researcher will also be described in this chapter.
Type of Research
Issues such as research approach, sampling techniques and data analysis, reliability and validity of the research will also be examined in detail. Ethical considerations related to this research will be discussed as well as the design and construction of the research instrument.
Quantitative Research
This study has used the questionnaire as its research instrument, which is in line with one of the most widely used methods of collecting data in quantitative research. Sticks closely to the original set of research objectives, arrives at more objective conclusions, tests hypotheses, determines questions of causality.
Qualitative Research
Achieving high levels of reliability of collected data due to controlled observations, laboratory experiments, mass surveys, or other forms of research manipulations (Balsley, 1970).
Sampling
33 According to Walonik (1997), random sampling is the purest form of probability sampling where each member of the population has an equal and known chance of being selected. This method was chosen because it ensured that every member of the company had an equal chance of being selected.
Analysis of Data
Reliability
Joppe (2000), as cited in Golafshani (2003), defines reliability as “…The extent to which results are consistent over time and accurately represent the total population studied is called reliability and whether the results of a study can be reproduced under a comparable methodology, then the research instrument is considered reliable.”. The above quote refers to the reliability in terms of replicability or repeatability of the research results.
Validity
The reliability of the research conducted in this study was determined by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient test. The 'face validity' of the questionnaire used in this study was determined by the researcher ie.
Research Ethics
Validity questions the accuracy of the measurement tools in research and whether what is being measured was intended to be measured in the first place. This process included the application of an Ethical Clearance Certificate, which is mandatory for all staff and students as members of the University community, both graduates and undergraduates, before any research is conducted.
Questionnaire Design
Society trusts that the results of research reflect an honest attempt by scientists to describe the world accurately and without bias. The researcher has complied with The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) research ethics policy regarding this study.
Pilot Study
Potential shortcomings and deficiencies regarding the administration of the questionnaire as well as the collection of completed questionnaires were also highlighted during this process.
Fieldwork
Conclusion
The degree as well as the frequency of occurrence of conflicts in organizations must be carefully monitored and assessed to determine whether there is a need for urgent intervention in the organization. Based on the management's recommendations as well as obvious registered cases of conflict in the organization, the researcher decided to investigate the problem in more detail.
Data Collection
Most respondents are unsure whether management is involved in most conflict situations at work. A large percentage of respondents (48.7%) do not agree that they experience the most conflict in terms of communication with management. A total of 34.6% of respondents strongly agree that they experience the most conflict in terms of communication with supervisors, 29.5% agree, 24.4% disagree and 11.5% are unsure.
A total of 51.3% of respondents disagree that they experience the most conflict in communication with administrative staff.
Conclusion
The specific setting for this study was a privately owned trucking business in the greater Durban area. The results of this study are now looked at and evaluated in terms of the study objectives set in the first chapter of this study as well as the percentages obtained from the previous chapter.
Research Objectives
- Objective 3: To identify the extent to which work related procedures address conflict related issues within the company
- Objective 4: To identify the extent to which the failure or underperformance of communication processes within the company contribute to conflict
- Objective 5: To determine which departments experience the most conflict
- Question 26
- Question 27
A total of 52.5% of respondents collectively disagree that they experience the most conflict in communication with management. A total of 51.3% of respondents disagree that they experience conflicts in communication with administrative staff.
Main Findings of the Study
- Objective One
- Objective two
- Objective Three
- Objective Four
- Objective Five
The majority of respondents were unsure whether most conflict within the company occurred as a result of unclear communication processes. There seems to be a considerable amount of uncertainty about the resolution of conflict situations within the company.
Conclusion
This study was conducted on a relatively small scale to provide insight into the prevalence of conflict within this private trucking business. The incidence of conflict in one form or another, especially within the transport industry, is increasing.
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL
I have been involved in some form of conflict (eg arguments, disagreements, etc.) at work in recent months. Most conflicts at work arise from unclear instructions from senior staff (eg managers) to operational staff (eg supervisors and drivers).
