According to Vassil, Eamets, and Motsmees (2014) model states that daily operations of an organization lead to differences in productivity, opportunities for promotion and payments. The model explains how labor markets work to disadvantaged people. In the internal labor markets, employers hire workers from outside or use internal workforces based on the progress of the worker. Large firms normally put workers in groups for purposes of having similarity within the group. Institutions may classify their opportunities into primary and secondary jobs. Primary jobs require specific skills, higher remuneration, opportunities for promotion and lasting attachments. However, secondary jobs demand lesser skills, have lower earnings, fewer opportunities for promotion and higher turnover.
2.5. Government’s Role to combat discrimination
Discrimination inhibits equity and fairness at work when equally qualified people receive different treatment based on gender or race (Okechukwu et al., 2014, p.577). Government and trade union intervention have the mandate to provide a level ground where every qualified person has an equal chance of getting an opportunity without discrimination. Fighting discriminations requires setting up standards for all individuals and collective behavior, training everybody about those standards and creating consequences for those who violate the set rules. Government plays a fundamental role in creating a platform for the creation of such standards and enforcement of the law (Ward 2017, p.129). The governments have passed anti-discrimination laws that give each an equal opportunity to get hired upon proofing competencies and required skills. Affirmative actions are executive orders that require employers to honor contractual agreements. Affirmative actions reduce the gap between advantaged groups and disadvantaged groups based on gender and race. Economists agree that government minimum wage can prevent discrimination and promote equity and fairness in the workplace. Minimum wage policy alters the labor market wages for women and disadvantaged groups and provides a mechanism for a regular increase in salaries and social securities. However, the government should be cautious not to transfer discrimination from the labor market to employment discrimination.
2.6. Realistic Group Conflict Theory and its Implications for Conflict at Workplace
Kervyn, Fiske, and Yzerbyt, (2015) maintains that Realistic Group Conflict Theory is a plausible theory that has strong support from both laboratory and field study researchers. The theory is applied in understanding local and intergroup conflicts that surround the business world. The theory explains how perceived competition for scarce resources can cause conflict between groups. Muzafer Sherif developed the theory in 1966 that states that when two or more elements seek a similar inadequate resource, conflict arises, destructive stereotypes and viewpoints build up, and finally discrimination manifest among the groups. The theory can be applied in the retail environment to enhance cooperation among the group members. To reduce discrimination and conflict at workplace managers must set superordinate goals. The goals help employees to cooperate at work instead of competing to achieve resources they need. Sherif’s “Robbers Cave” study showed that when a group of boys is put into a competition, conflict arises. Teamwork and work diversity makes people mingle and hence lose their stereotypes. Kokkonen, Esaiasson, and Gilljam, (2015) revealed that workforce diversity enables individuals to have interethnic friends relations across the labor market. The realistic conflict theory can be applied in a retail environment to advocate for diversity and integration. In the workplace, the concept reveals the potential consequences of community competition over the limited resources and increased racial diversity. The concept thus necessitates the establishment of successful organizational diversity that incorporated multicultural workforce. The RGCT assist business people to understand how to handle discrimination against diverse ethnic and racial groups. Groups with the notion that only scarce resources are made for a certain group, they attempt to remove the source of competition by increasing their group capabilities. However, decreasing completion from the out-group is done through the expression of negative attitudes or revengeful tactics leading to serious conflict at work.
2.7. Conclusion
The main contributing factors to conflict include conflicting needs, styles, perception, goals, pressures, roles, differences in personal values and unpredictable policies. Common methods of tackling dispute include Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) such as arbitration, negotiations and mediation and Dispute System Design (DSD). Managers in retail business need to understand that they can only control responses to conflict but not the consequences. Successful conflict resolution depends on effective channels of communication and strategies. Conflict not only occur between people but also group. Innovative dispute systems, evidence-based ombudsdry and alternative dispute resolution system (ADR) assist managers to manage conflict in the workplace effectively. Understanding different models of discrimination also provide a clear understanding of the type of discrimination, how to handle dispute arising and more importantly how to create an organizational culture. Conflict management has recently attracted evidence-based strategies that integrate the conventional methods with research.
REFERENCES
Baillien, E., Bollen, K., Euwema, M., & De Witte, H. (2014). Conflicts and conflict management styles as precursors of workplace bullying: A two-wave longitudinal study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23(4), 511-524.
Beehr, T.A., 2014. Psychological stress in the workplace (psychology revivals). Routledge.
Bélanger, J.J., Pierro, A., Barbieri, B., De Carlo, N.A., Falco, A. and Kruglanski, A.W., 2015. Handling conflict at work: The role of fit between subordinates’ need for closure and supervisors’ power tactics. International Journal of Conflict Management, 26(1), pp.25-43.
Bingham, S., 2015. Moving Forward with Research in the Organizational Ombuds Profession. Journal of the International Ombudsman Association, 8(1).
Blomgren Amsler, L., Avtgis, A.B. and Jackman, M.S., 2017. Dispute System Design and Bias in Dispute Resolution. SMUL Rev., 70, p.913.
Bradley, B.H., Anderson, H.J., Baur, J.E. and Klotz, A.C., 2015. When conflict helps: Integrating evidence for beneficial conflict in groups and teams under three perspectives. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 19(4), p.243.
Brett, J., 2018. Intercultural challenges in managing workplace conflict–a call for research. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, 25(1), pp.32-52.
Brubaker, D., Noble, C., Fincher, R., Park, S.K.Y. and Press, S., 2014. Conflict resolution in the workplace: What will the future bring?. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 31(4), pp.357-386.
Certo, S., 2015. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Coleman, P.T., Coon, D., Kim, R., Chung, C., Bass, R., Regan, B. and Anderson, R., 2017. Promoting Constructive Multicultural Attractors: Fostering Unity and Fairness From Diversity and Conflict. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 53(2), pp.180-211.
Currie, D., Gormley, T., Roche, B. and Teague, P., 2017. The management of workplace conflict: Contrasting pathways in the HRM literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(4), pp.492-509.
Danielsson, C.B., Bodin, L., Wulff, C. and Theorell, T., 2015. The relation between office type and workplace conflict: A gender and noise perspective. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 42, pp.161-171.
Einarsen, S., Skogstad, A., Rørvik, E., Lande, Å.B. and Nielsen, M.B., 2016. Climate for conflict management, exposure to workplace bullying and work engagement: a moderated mediation analysis. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp.1-22.
Ewens, M., Tomlin, B. and Wang, L.C., 2014. Statistical discrimination or prejudice? A large sample field experiment.Review of Economics and Statistics, 96(1), pp.119-134.
Folger, J., Poole, M.S. and Stutman, R.K., 2017. Working through conflict: Strategies for relationships, groups, and organizations. Routledge.
Gilin Oore, D., Leiter, M.P. and LeBlanc, D.E., 2015. Individual and organizational factors promoting successful responses to workplace conflict. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 56(3), p.301.
Ikiebey, G., 2015. A Review of Extant Literature to Build the Socio-Economic Framework Africapitalism.
Joseph, C. 2015. Eight Sources of Conflict. Chron.com. [online]. Available from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/eight-sources-conflict-743.html [Accessed March 7, 2018]
Katsikea, E., Theodosiou, M. and Morgan, R.E., 2015. Why people quit: Explaining employee turnover intentions among export sales managers. International Business Review, 24(3), pp.367-379.
Katz, N.H., 2017. Mediation and dispute resolution services in higher education. The mediation handbook: Research, theory and practice. Routledge, pp.170-178.
Kervyn, N., Fiske, S. and Yzerbyt, V., 2015. Forecasting the primary dimension of social perception. Social Psychology.
Kokkonen, A., Esaiasson, P. and Gilljam, M., 2015. Diverse workplaces and interethnic friendship formation—A multilevel comparison across 21 OECD countries. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 41(2), pp.284-305.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, 14, p.97.
Leon-Perez, J.M., Medina, F.J., Arenas, A. and Munduate, L., 2015. The relationship between interpersonal conflict and workplace bullying. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(3), pp.250-263.
Li, Q., Li, Y., Gao, J., Zhao, B., Fan, W. and Han, J., 2014, June. Resolving conflicts in heterogeneous data by truth discovery and source reliability estimation. In Proceedings of the 2014 ACM SIGMOD international conference on Management of data (pp. 1187-1198). ACM.
Longe, O., 2015. Impact of Workplace Conflict Management on Organizational Performance: A Case of Nigerian Manufacturing Firm. Journal of Management and Strategy,6(2), p.83.
Man, D.C.K. and Lui, S., 2015. The effect of task and partner-related interactions on trust in a cooperative relationship. InJoint Conference of the 9th Asia Academy of Management and the 8th Taiwan Academy of Management.
Matthiesen, S.B. and Einarsen, S., 2015. Perpetrators and targets of bullying at work: Role stress and individual differences. Perspectives on Bullying: Research on Childhood, Workplace, and Cyberbullying, 22(6), p.135.
Mba, O. 2013. Conflict Management and Employee Performance in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Bonny Island. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 2(4), 125-139.
Milligan, R.S., 2016. Conflict and Diversity Associated With Four Generations in the Workforce (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).
Okechukwu, C.A., Souza, K., Davis, K.D. and de Castro, A.B., 2014. Discrimination, harassment, abuse, and bullying in the workplace: Contribution of workplace injustice to occupational health disparities. American journal of industrial medicine,57(5), pp.573-586.
Oni-Ojo, E.E. and Roland-Otaru, C.O., 2013. Alternative dispute resolution strategies for sustainable development in Africa: insights from Nigeria. Journal of Management and Entrepreneurial Development, 3(1), pp.37-54.
Park, J.H. and Ono, M., 2017. Effects of workplace bullying on work engagement and health: The mediating role of job insecurity. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(22), pp.3202-3225.
Sharma, V., 2014. Managing Conflict at workplace.International Journal of Management, IT and Engineering,4(6), p.179.
Stern, D., 2017. 7 Types of Conflict [WWW Document]. LIVESTRONG.COM. URL https://www.livestrong.com/article/165639-7-types-of-conflict/ (accessed 3.10.18).
Susan H. 2017. Prevent Employment Discrimination and Lawsuits. From https://www.thebalance.com/prevent-employment-discrimination-and-lawsuits-1917923
Thorne, B., 2017. How To Solve The 8 Causes Of Workplace Conflict [WWW Document]. I Done This Blog. URL http://blog.idonethis.com/workplace-conflict/ (accessed 3.8.18).
Uchendu, C., Anijaobi, F. and Odigwe, F. 2013. Conflict Management and Organisational Performance in Secondary Schools in Cross Rivers State. Nigeria Research Journal in Organisational Psychology and Educational Studies, 2(2), 67-71.
Valentine, S. and Fleischman, G., 2018. From schoolyard to workplace: The impact of bullying on sales and business employees' machiavellianism, job satisfaction, and perceived importance of an ethical issue. Human Resource Management, 57(1), pp.293-305.
Vassil, K., Eamets, R. and Mõtsmees, P., 2014. Socio-demographic model of gender gap in expected and actual wages in Estonia.
Ward, J.K., 2017. Challenging a Climate of Hate and Fostering Inclusion: The Role of US State and Local Human Rights Commissions. Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev., 49, p.129.
Ware, S., 2016. Principles of alternative dispute resolution. West Academic.
Yeung, D.Y., Fung, H.H. and Chan, D., 2015. Managing conflict at work: Comparison between younger and older managerial employees. International Journal of Conflict Management, 26(3), pp.342-364.
