Abstract
Conflict is a phenomenon of negative emotional feelings and reactions that arise between parties with different opinions, ideas and views. Conflict in an organization is almost unavoidable. Conflict might happen between an employer and an employee when there is dissatisfaction or disagreement between them towards certain work situation. The employee sometimes does not have a mutual understanding with his employer regarding certain issue until the end. This will lead to the involvement of a third party to help them resolve the problem. In Malaysia, the Labor Department is responsible for managing conflict between an employee and his employer. To ensure that the conflict is being handled effectively and efficiently, it is crucial for the Labor Department to have a set of strategies to help them in the conflict management process. However, our preliminary investigation shows that there is no standard or specific work process being used by the department. Every officer used their own method in managing the conflict assigned to them. Thus, it caused the department not being efficient in handling the cases. To address this issue, this study explores the process of conflict management carried out and proposed a standard procedure of conflict management that can be used by the Labor Department. This research adopted the qualitative method using a case study approach and aimed to understand the elements involved in the process of conflict management. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews involving five respondents consists of officers in the department. The results of this research have identified nine elements in the conflict management process. Results from this research could be used by the Labor Department in strategizing their method of managing conflict handled by the department. By having a standardized method, officers could handle the task more smoothly, thus increase the efficiency of the department and customer satisfaction and help the department to continue to be competitive and able to serve their customer better in the future.
Highlights
Conflict is a communicatively expressed tension characterized by a struggle between two or more relationally dependent individuals or entities
This study found that different officer follows a different work process in handling the cases
Some of the respondents mentioned that when they were not sure what they are supposed to do, they will ask their colleague or other senior officers to help them. They find it difficult to carry out their work due to the absence of a standard work process in the department
Summary
Conflict is a communicatively expressed tension characterized by a struggle between two or more relationally dependent individuals or entities. Wilmot and Hocker (2007) defined conflict as an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent from others in achieving their goals. The most important decision to make is how best to manage the conflict This decision can change the interaction between the two parties involved in the conflict (Ellis & Baiden, 1991). Conflict might happen between an employer and an employee when there is dissatisfaction or disagreement between them towards certain work situation (Isa, 2015; Nwokocha, 2015). The employee sometimes does not have a mutual understanding with his employer regarding certain issue until the end. This will lead to the involvement of a third party to help them resolve the problem. To ensure the industrial peace and harmony, it is important to manage the relationship of the employer and the employee through an effective and efficient conflict management process (Adu, Muah, Sanda, Sarfo & Box, 2015)
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