Conflict Management

Racial conflict, a special kind of actual or perceived opposition of values, interest, thoughts and need at the place where one works as noted by Singley and Bell (2002). Racial conflicts can either be internal or external and at the same time categorized as substantive conflict or personalized conflict. Generally, racial conflicts in the workplace are triggered by a myriad of factors for instance fueled by ignorance and hatred over promotion, hard work or just racism. The easiest detonator of racism is difference individual voices concerning political stand concerning particular minority community in the society. This has given the civil society and most of the voluntary organization whom are whistleblowers to this menace a headache on the fact that after all the diversity training and the destruction that this atrocity brings still workers deploy it in the working place (Budd & Bhave, 2010).

It has been noted that when racial conflicts if they are not constructively and timely addressed, the consequences are far beyond our imagination as it can lead to low productivity, increase psychological stress, distrust, high rates of employees turnover, low quality, reduced creative collaboration and team problem solving, poor customer satisfaction, gossip as well as delayed or missed deadlines (Stanovich & West, 2000). Broadly, the organization will not attain its predetermined desired goals and objectives. Furthermore the organization is slapped with litigation concerning racial discrimination.

According to Kahneman (2003) mostly the management is the ones whom are the culprits of this offence, this they indulge through name-calling depending on the victim racial background. The most affected are the African and Latino American, who mainly fall in the minority in most of the workplaces. From the observation surveys, it is still sickly viewed that racial harassment is still rampant and it is escalating. Some of the factors which have fueled this are political, economy and social activities like violent video games and movies. On the internet when censoring of information flow is not regulated this has triggered hatred which crawls through discussion in the working place offering people immunity to practice this devilish behavior which fosters racial hostile workplace (Lindley, 2002).

Real Life Racial Conflict Experience

Sometime back will Smith a native African American was in a conflict with his branch manager over the hours he should work, that include the reporting time and time of departure. The reason that Will thought of starting work at a different time rather than that put down by the management was a difference in thoughts between him and his branch manager and it thus caused the conflict. The manager of the branch Will worked for always expected all employees to work standard hours. Will was a student in the local university taking evening classes which started at four thirty and his standard working hours were to end at five. The HRM had approved that Will be allowed to be departing earlier so that he would have time to facilitate for his studies (Stanovich & West, 2000).

However, the branch manager knowingly aware that Will had authority to leave early would still gorge him for leaving early. This continued until one evening when Will was about to leave the branch manager together with another two white male assistance roughed Will up and locked him in the locked till six in the evening making him miss his final assessment examinations. The branch manager had been calling him racial names like the black boy, which because he needed the wage to facilitate for his tuition fees just brushed off. The names later turn to shoves whenever they met in the corridors accompanied with rude remarks like “just enjoy our priorities soon will make you all leave to the jungle in Africa you monkey.” Will attempted to take the matters to higher authority but was advised by other staff members that the company belonged to one of the branch manager relative and that such incident usually result to the victim being dismissed.

Will later in the campus confronted the faculty committee and aired his reason for not being able to take his examination. Will was reinstated and allowed to take the examination and the faculty helped him file a lawsuit against the branch manager. Will was compensated for the emotional distress and the branch manger was jailed for ten month from charges ranging from racial and gender discrimination as other employees also come forward and filled litigations (Singley & Bell, 2002).

Ageism Conflict in the Work Place

The term ageism is one ugly which is mainly defined as discrimination or prejudice which favors or discriminate certain age group in the workplace. According to Ballagh (2009) this is usually viewed to be a prejudice strategy which is devised to discriminate against the certain targeted group in the workplace. This negative attitude or stereotype is projected toward certain people marginalized because of their age group. Usually, in the most common setup in the major institution the most discriminated group is the elderly. Prejudice is mostly triggered against elderly employees whom have reached nearly the retirement age which is standard in the majority of the nation is 65 years. This discrimination ranges from differential issuance of life insurance premiums, training, promotions, hiring and violation of the rights of the elderly worker (Mille, 2005).

Usually also affected are the youth this usually happens when recruiting, the age bracket that is usually affected by this factor includes age bracket from 19-25 year of age. Majority of the nation due to the carrying of foul over ageism conflict in the corporate arena has adapted the Discrimination in Employment Act (McEvoy & Cascio, 2008). This act usually protects the rights of all applicants who have qualified in the vacancy that the organizations have advertised that is vacant. Usually because of the experience that majority of the organization usually advertises as requirement many of the youth are sidelined because of this fact. However, this act attempt to elaborate that it’s not the experience that would work but the desire and the edification that the candidate possesses. This is so because many of the youthful applicants usually are fresh from school and have no experience however they are equipped with new and advance knowledge which would be helpful in the changing time and technology as echoed by Bramlett and Wilson (2001).

Real Life Ageism Conflict Experience

Jacky a prudent smart graduate after finishing her business administration course at the University of Miami, thought that this would be an opportunity to go and harvest million of dollars from the corporate industry. However, what lay ahead of her would forever remain in her mind for the rest of her years. The daily post advertisement which Jacky applied the job vacancy did not articulate that she needed ten years experience which she did not have or qualify to posses as she was green from campus. The interview was filled with lot of question of where else she had worked before despite her resume portraying that she was straight from college. However, due to her qualification and compared to the other candidate she was the most qualified one, however another senior lady was employed on the vacancy and Jacky was told that she would be hired as an assistant. Having little money left and the will to be free from depending on the parent funding she took the job.

The senior administration manager who was hired to man over Jacky as she gets the ropes of the job was not polite. She would gang with the other members of the organization whom were well over their menopause age project abusive recommendation on the chores which Jacky has accomplished feigning that she had done a shoddy job. This continued month after month and when she went to the higher authority she was told to take the matter to the HR whom was among those discriminating her and making abusive remark concerning her work. When this torment continued and she could not take it any longer she met with the CEO one day in the corridor and aired her grievances. However, this only made matters worse as the other executive now poured all their anger on her, the working hours were escalated posing that the office was in peak period. The workload was enormous and when she complained they articulated that they were only training her so she should not bother them as she was not even qualified. The senior lady did not attend to any office chore as all were diverted to Jacky (McEvoy & Cascio, 2008).

One of the junior intern sympathized with Jacky and helped her report the matter to the board of directors and later failed a litigation on ageism discrimination which had caused her emotional distressed. Jacky applied for another job in another place and was offered a position and administration manager. Here she was treated with respect regardless of her age and she produced success that saw the organization move from lower to upper scale in the market standing.

Conclusion

Racial or ageism conflict at the working places affects both the workers and the productivity of the corporation, thus this longevity is escalated even to the customers. When work-related conflicts are not constructively and timely addressed, the consequences are far beyond our imagination and blow beyond proportion adding to vices like increase psychological stress, distrust, high rates of employee’s turnover, low quality, reduced creative collaboration and team problem solving and poor customer satisfaction. However, if addressed the workplace is a place where productivity accumulate and the organization flourish.