A520.2.3.RB – Conflict Resolution
My
work experience started when I was 15 years old. Ever since, I have learned all
about customer service, been a subordinate, following orders, been responsible
and ethical at all times, etc. But this is the first time, I carry a tittle and
I am responsible for a team as a Customer Service Specialist. I currently work
in the retail industry and in my short experience I can say I have already
encounter role conflicts. Mintzberg’s Taxonomy of Roles describes different
functions a manager handles and all of these roles may vary from one manager to
another. Mintzberg’s managerial roles (Yukl, 2013, p. 29) are distributed in
three classifications and subsections in between, (1) Information Processing
Roles: disseminator, monitor, and spokesperson; (2) Decision-Making Roles:
entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator; and (3)
Interpersonal Roles: liaison, figurehead, and leader. I believe I am a mix of
all three.
As a
Customer Service Specialist my duties vary but overall, I am in charge of all
cashiers and their proactive participation throughout the day. As a leader in
my pattern of relationships, I am constantly called from one place to another
to either approved transactions, exchanges, deal with unhappy customers, etc.,
and my time is consumed very quickly. In addition, I am responsible to monitor
everyone has an equal share of responsibilities and maintaining a balance
between work and everyone’s needs. One of the most memorable role conflicts I
have encountered was last December. We have gone through very extensive and
tiring stressful days with the holidays approaching. Everyone was overworked
and pretty much ready to go home at the minute their shifts were over. I
remember it was time for one of my team members to leave his shift at around 4
pm, and ten minutes before he left, I asked if he could please help me taking
two boxes full of hangers to the receiving area, and that way help us get out
at night a bit faster. We normally closed at 9:30 pm but due to the holidays we
were closing at 11 pm. And with the incoming madness of customers, our recovery
time took between one to two hours; therefore, we were leaving at around 12:30
am every night.
I
started to collect the rest of the hangers to then close the boxes and that way
he could take them away. As a result of my request to my team member, he was
really upset and started to complain on why is he the one doing that when he is
supposed to leave. I explained to him that it would only take five more minutes
and that he was doing everyone a huge favor. Nevertheless, he was not happy
about it and he started to make a huge scene in front of customers. I told him,
we were not going to have that conversation in front of customers but he seemed
more frustrated. In the end, I told him that if he had an issue with my
request, he could direct his concerns with the store manager.
I
then, spoke to the store manager and explained the situation. But as I was
talking to him, I realized that these kinds of issues are diminutive to him,
and that he had better things to waste his time on. So, quickly told him I was
going to talk to my team member and fixed the “issue.” Soon after, I called my
team member privately and addressed the situation by first apologizing if I was
rude to him and then explaining how vital is his help to us and how
appreciative I was about it. As the conflict resolution video clip explained,
negotiation means, “hearing out, understanding where does the other person’s
needs come from” (2008). Moreover, I told him that I understood we were all
tired and suggested to start allover, and move on. The next day came by, and he
was perfectly fine and ready to help. So, I guess he understood I never meant
to force him into doing something for no reason, and he understood that we are
all team players and we are a team as a whole. In the end the so-called
conflict had a successful resolution.
This
conflict makes me understand the demands I am expected to follow but yet I am
constraint due to the fact that my team members believe the final authority is
the store manager. The use of roles and the study of demands, constraints and
choices in the study of leadership is empowering knowledge that makes me
realize how my role as a leader affect everyone and how everyone affects my
job. “Managerial jobs differ greatly in the amount and type of demands and
constraints the job holder faces. However, even within the same job, the
demands and constraints will vary depending on the perception of the jobholder.
They are not entirely determined by objective conditions but result instead
from the dynamic interaction between manager and role senders” (Yukl, 2013, p.
32). Therefore, as a future leader, I am aware that even though this was not a
huge issue like most organizations face, my role as a lead helped me see the
bigger picture. It is impossible to predict an outcome of two people with
different perspectives but compromise is the best solution. Hence, there will
always be room for improvement on how to handle this conflict and future ones.
References
Conflict Resolution - Part 1 & 2. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vga7bhGd5dI
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations. (8th ed.) Dorling
Kindersley / Pearson Education, Inc.
Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through: A
guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (4th edition). Boston, MA:
Pearson.
Roberts, C. (2008). Developing Future Leaders: The
Role of Reflection in the Classroom. Journal
of Leadership Education, 7(1), 125-126. Retrieved from http://www.leadershipeducators.org/Resources/Documents/jole/2008_summer/JOLE_7_1_Roberts.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment