Assignment Sample MBA_7_CCR Curiosity Creativity and Research
Title: IMPACT OF MEDIATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) FOR ERADICATING WORKPLACE CONFLICTS BY PROFESSIONALS: A CASE STUDY OF WALMART
Introduction
In this modern era of globalization, it has been seen that most organizational workplaces have been facing a diverse range of issues or conflicts. Therefore, for ensuring more productive work with best outcomes, such conflicts should be reduced with the help of better strategies. In this way, mediation along with positive human resource management (HRM) practices has played pivotal roles in terms of bringing in future growth, development, and success (Einarsen et. al. 2018). Throughout this whole study, relevant things regarding research topic areas have been discussed. Those have consisted of research background, aim, and rationale, questions, and objectives, literature review, suggestions accordingly.
Research Background / Description
In recent days, against extreme levels of workplace conflicts in the most modern business organizations, mediation has often become a more productive approach with the key purpose of resolving such conflicts rather than existing formal procedures. In addition to this, it has helped a lot to improve the levels of trust as well as team relationships. This has also been used to deal with conflicts when those have risen at the same time (Jung and Yoon 2018). From an in-detailed perspective, mediation must help a lot to explore the real issues in the workplace. When existing employees have shared relevant information, it must lead towards a better realization of problems that might arise in the workplace, which might also be affected in the future. In these unusual circumstances, mediation must allow prominent HR managers in terms of designing feasible solutions against those issues at once. As stated by Aljawarneh and Atan (2018), a neutralized third party might also assist in this situation for reaching a voluntary, mutually beneficial resolution at the same point.
On the other hand, it can also be said that for improving the existing HRM practices in the workplace of most business organizations also, mediation has played a pivotal role. This is because; mediation has been successfully utilized for resolving any kind of further business disagreements around workplace relationships rather than other kinds of disputes. Those are like pay or issues related to dismissal or any kind of misconduct. As mentioned by Rai and Agarwal (2018), with the help derived from positive mediation effects, it has been able to reduce some negative work practices involving bullying and harassment, communication issues, discrimination, and others extensively. Regarding this sense, it has also been said that through successful application of mediation, parties who have been negotiating should settle their issues with enhanced levels of control over the outcome of their dispute. In this case, those work or business parties should have equal meaning in the entire process. Though there is no such determination or any kind of fault, the parties must reach a mutually agreeable resolution against all kinds of conflicts at the workplace easily (Watson et. al. 2017). In one word, it can also be said that through proper means of preservation of relationships, some positive valued aspects and morals at the workplace have been established like mutual understanding, respect, trust, belief, extensive communication, and others accordingly.
From another point of view, in the sense of human resource management (HRM) practices at the workplace, it has mainly been identified that positive or productive practices from HR managers have played significant roles. In detail, to develop a productive and promising conflict management framework in a business organization, the HR department of a company has played their roles as the acts of mediator between existing employees as well as responsible managers. In this way, it becomes possible to ensure a quick resolution against all kinds of plausible conflicts arising in the workplace. In addition to this, such a proactive conflict management framework has also ensured that employers should not violate any kind of fundamental rights of an employee ever. As reported by Zahlquist et.al. (2019), the HR personnel of the organization has also settled workplace disputes through successful interpretation of Wal-Mart’s policies and employment or labor laws accordingly.
In the field of Wal-Mart, it has also been seen that the practice of recognizing as well as dealing with disputes must help to build a rational, balanced, efficient conflict management framework. As indicated by Zhang et. al. (2017), in this company, it has been found that due to some reasons including differences in values, unique personalities, poor communication, high level of workplace competition, and others, severe conflicts have arisen in the workplace. Therefore, with the help of some conflict resolution approaches embodied with mediation including avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise at work, and collaboration must help a lot to overcome such corporate hurdles without any trace of disruptions.
Research Aim and Rationale
This current research study has aimed to find out the core impact of mediation and positive HRM strategies to manage workplace conflicts. In addition to this, this study has also focused on Wal-Mart organization in the UK, where most professionals have also been trying out to adopt successful mediation practices by their HR managers to resolve workplace conflicts at the same time.
The key reason behind conducting the current research study is to find out how mediation among HR managers of Wal-Mart has helped to manage conflicts at the workplace. Besides that, this research study has also helped a lot to make prominent HR managers in the organization with a diverse range of positive outcomes and benefits altogether (Martin et. al. 2021). By managing workplace conflicts and issues, it has also been able to improve other segments of business with a lot of productivity and profitability, which helps Wal-Mart to achieve competitive edge and market share in the UK at the same time.
Research Questions
Here have been presented key research questions of current study as follows:
- RQ1: How have positive mediation effects improved HRM capabilities and functioning among responsible managers in Wal-Mart?
- RQ2: What are the key roles of mediation to improve job performance and satisfaction among existing employees of Wal-Mart at the workplace?
- RQ3: How have positive mediation effects helped Wal-Mart to achieve competitive edge and market share by reducing high staff turnover and increasing employee retention respectively?
Research Objectives
Here have been demonstrated key research objectives of current study as follows:
- RO1: To explore the positive effects of mediation practices in the Wal-Mart workplace to improve capabilities of HRM managers.
- RO2: To find out the positive roles of mediation and positive HRM capabilities in terms of improving Wal-Mart’s employees’ job performance and satisfaction levels at the workplace.
- RO3: To evaluate the positive mediation effects in Wal-Mart in terms of boosting competitive edge and market share through reduced level of employee turnover and increased employee retention
Literature Review
Impact of Mediation for managing Workplace Conflicts
In recent days of modern business organizations, it has mainly been found that numerous workplace conflicts might rise rapidly. Those have consisted of workplace bullying, harassment, discrimination practices, inequality, huge pay gap, and others. Due to these kinds of conflicts, most employees are unable to deliver their best performance at work due to lack of motivation, engagement, influence, collaboration, and participation. According to Kim, (2019), such adverse effects in a business organization might lead towards high staff turnover, low level of employee retention, and other kinds of negative impacts. For this specific reason, a company might face a huge range of business challenges in the market like sudden monetary loss, less productivity, low amount of profitability, and others.
However, in contrast to this, though conflict management at the workplace is quite a difficult task, positive mediation effects have played pivotal roles to overcome these issues at the workplace of an organization effectively. The mediator in the workplace always tries to find out a solution to overcome such business hurdles. As indicated by Zhao and Liu (2020), by arranging some mediation training and development sessions among employees also, it has been able to develop high awareness levels. It must deliver positive insights and perceptions of the accreditation process, which has also implemented hard measures and perceptions to use mediation at the workplace.
Impact of Mediation to improve performance of HRM professionals
In this case, it has mainly been found that through successful incorporation of mediation at the workplace, it becomes possible to boost the level of HRM professionals’ performance in a business organization. Concerning this fact, it can also be realized that successful mediation practices must improve HRM functionalities in a company leading towards high recognition and goodwill of the same in the market as long-term business benefits (Paul and Kee 2020). As workplace conflict has been considered a serious concern for business, proper mediation training must help to develop a feasible conflict management infrastructure at the workplace at the same time.
On the other hand, it has also been understood that Absenteeism has been considered as an issue in the workplace of any organization, which drives up employee maintenance costs with associates. Therefore, such overburdening at work must increase the level of employee stress at work by decreasing performance, whereas mediation must help to reduce this adverse effect directly. Apart from that, it has also been seen that high rate of employee turnover for a company is undoubtedly a negative effect towards loss of business, where mediation must help HRM professionals to induce fair, transparent, and equal hiring and recruitment strategies with recognition and goodwill in the market for a long period (Rai and Agarwal 2018).
Relationship among Mediation, HRM capabilities, and Conflict Management
In this scenario, it has mainly been identified that some key factors of business consisting of conflict management, mediation, HRM capabilities, and emotional intelligence (EI) have been connected positively. In detail, it has been said that a high level of EI at the workplace must help a lot to ensure an increased level of job performance among existing employees for a business organization directly. In addition to this, it has also been found that it has also been considered as a kind of mediating effect of effective and efficient conflict management style ever. As per expected outcomes, it has also been observed that both emotional intelligence as well as conflict management styles at the workplace have significantly and positively connected to employees’ job performance at the workplace of any business organization. As stressed by Teo et. al. (2020), feasible conflict management styles have also exerted a kind of significant mediating effect on the relationship between EI along conflict management styles at the same time. Most business organizations in the modern market scenario have been tending to promote as well as facilitate EI among their existing employees with an enhanced effort to improve their work performance, which will also eventually yield positive outcomes for the business as a whole.
Mediation-based HRM positive effects on Employees’ Job Performance
Finally, it is important to say that good means of mediation-oriented training and development measures of HRM professionals across modern-day business organizations must examine barriers as well as facilitators in terms of becoming successful in mediation at the workplace. It has also been forecasted that for evaluating the wider effects of mediation training on employees’ job roles and responsibilities, both soft and hard skills at work have been highly and equally prioritized. As advocated by Sivapragasam and Raya (2018), for delivering a positive insight into organizational view of effectiveness and efficiency of work, a house of mediation training has been highly justified.
On the other hand, it has also been understood that for increasing existing employees’ work performance in a business organization, there are also some barriers, constraints, or challenges. In detail, it can be said that most HRM professionals in companies have acquired a perceived lack of impartiality in the mediator, which might lead to lack of trust and belief. Other issues like unrealistic expectations at work, lack of proper business infrastructure, and other organizational issues like lack of support in-process and others have risen at the same point. As opined by Amrutha and Geetha (2021), due to improper time management, lack of monetary and natural business resources available also, most HRM professionals along with key facilitators have been facing a lot of challenges after all. Hence, it has been suggested to increase the level of willingness among all members at the workplace in terms of high engagement and collaboration or participation at work, open-mindedness activities, potential listening and hearing skills, adequate skills and shared knowledge of mediators, and other kinds of valued aspects have been highly prioritized. In one word, it can also be said that with the presence of an established or developed organizational framework, it has been able to implement positive mediation effects as an important element after all.
Suggestions
In this section of current study, here have been presented some feasible recommendations are for this current research study. In addition to this, such recommendations have played major roles in terms of implementing positive mediation effects in Wal-Mart’s workplace towards successful development of a systematic conflict management framework. As suggested by Martin et. al. (2021), it has also helped a lot to improve employee wellbeing with high participation or collaboration, motivation, and influence embodied with increased level of job performance and satisfaction altogether.
Now, here have been demonstrated such plausible recommendations for this research study as follows:
- Firstly, in the case of Authority and Status, the right of involved work parties should be developed as per open agreement. It has also embodied key roles and responsibilities of employers in terms of incorporating positive outcomes at the workplace of Wal-Mart.
- Then, in the case of Consent, Wal-Mart’s key business administrators must come to mediation with a proper resolution at work. As proposed by Nassoura and Hassan (2021), it has also helped them to achieve business objectives with safety and security at the workplace.
- It has been recommended to embrace the meaning of Confidentiality. This is because; the employer should have the interest to resolve any further business disputes through successive mediation meetings. In addition to this, there must also be a need for extensive level of communication which should determine the prospect of business success with the help derived from both mediator and employer at the same time (Martin al. 2021).
- In the sense of Status of Outcomes, any kind of work must be resolved quickly with the support of open business agreement.
- It has also been suggested to ensure proper means of Workplace Planning, which must be considered as a kind of classic model of mediation at Wal-Mart’s workplace with a diverse range of positive outcomes and benefits altogether. However, in this situation, sometimes due to some delays at work, the work commitments might be staggered with negative results after all (Shoaib al. 2021).
Finally, it is important to say that apart from mediation, key roles, as well as responsibilities of key HRM professionals at the business organization, have been highly prioritized. This is because; with the successful incorporation of positive mediation effects, an HRM professional can improve his/her potential at work with adequate skills and shared knowledge. As stated by Jawahar et. al. (2021), it has also been proposed to follow ethical principles and guidelines embodied with organizational code of conduct, relevant acts, and legislation and others have also been highly supported to protect employees from any further hazard without any further trace of work disruptions at the same point. Employees’ work health and safety should also be considered as an important aspect for continuing business success.
Conclusion
From that upper in-detailed discussion, it can be concluded that mediation has been referred to as a kind of new form, which has extensively been used for managing workplace conflicts in modern-day business context. Especially for Wal-Mart across the UK market, mediation must improve workplace relations between employers and employees filled with enhanced levels of work satisfaction and benefits. It has also been understood that positive effects of mediation at the workplace must boost HRM potentials at work leading towards high rates of employee satisfaction and benefits, which has also helped a lot to deliver rich performances at work at the same time.
References
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Amrutha, V.N. and Geetha, S.N., (2021). Linking organizational green training and voluntary workplace green behavior: Mediating role of green supporting climate and employees’ green satisfaction. Journal of Cleaner Production, 290, p.125876.
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Jawahar, I.M., Bilal, A.R., Fatima, T. and Mohammed, Z.J., (2021). Does organizational cronyism undermine social capital? Testing the mediating role of workplace ostracism and the moderating role of workplace incivility. Career Development International.
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