Line managers and the management of workplace conflict: evidence from Ireland

Abstract

In an effort to improve understanding of the role played by line managers in firms, this article examines the role of line managers and supervisors in the management of workplace conflict in firms in the Republic of Ireland. The article finds that while line managers are commonly seen as playing a significant role, they are also seen to do so often without organisational supports in areas such as training and performance monitoring and are seen often to lack the confidence to act independently. Line and supervisory ‘engagement’ in conflict management is found to be positively associated with a series of organisational outcomes, including relative labour productivity, relative absence rates and the capacity to handle change compared with other firms in the same industry. Line and supervisory management engagement in conflict management is found in turn to be associated with the use of commitment‐oriented HR practices and with the adoption by firms of a proactive approach to conflict resolution.

(Still) Up to No Good: Reconfiguring Worker Resistance and Misbehaviour in an Increasingly Unorganized World

“…However these earlier preoccupations with "divergences in institutional development," exemplified by Zeitlin (1987), downplayed important social and economic processes which shape industrial conflict and the institutions created to manage these behaviours (Teague and Roche, 2011). Over time these limitations led to invisible in/ formal, power/control binaries (Mumby, 2005) which often missed important social factors shaping organizational resistance, including issues such as gender (Pollert, 1981), masculinity (Collinson, 1992(Collinson, , 2005, occupational community identity (Ashcraft, 2005;van Maanen and Barley, 1984) and sexual orientation (Badgett, 1996), to name a few.…”

The Role of Line Managers in Retirement Management and Their Perceptions of Their Role of the Timing of Employee Retirement

“…A key theme in the HRM literature has been the devolution of human resourcing decisions to line managers, away from centralized HR departments (Bond and Wise, 2003;Colling and Ferner, 1992;Cunningham and Hyman, 1999;Hales, 2006;Teague and Roche, 2012;Torrington et al, 2008). …”

The challenge of managing informally

“…Certainly, the Government doubts the ability of line managers to resolve disputes informally: "it is clear that many more problems could be prevented from escalating into disputes if line managers were better able to manage conflict" (BIS, 2011a, p.17). Critically, despite the continued shift of responsibility for conflict management from HR to the line (McGovern et al, 1997;Teague and Roche, 2012), this concern has received little further consideration as the policy agenda has developed. Furthermore, it could be argued that the traditional preference of managers for informality (Rollinson et al, 1996) may sit uneasily beside increased emphasis on more systematic performance management (Taylor, et al, 2010;Newsome et al, 2013).…”

“…Although these are also now more explicitly linked to disciplinary outcomes, managers are encouraged to act in a 'flexible and positive way' (Armstrong and Barron 2005, p.12) and there appears to be an emphasis on the benefits of informality as a way of building consensus and enhancing performance in the context of employee involvement for example (Marchington and Suter, 2013). 'Proactive' interventions by line managers are increasingly perceived to reduce the likelihood of problems becoming entrenched or escalating into more overt conflict between the individual employee and the organisation, thus avoiding formal disciplinary sanctions (Teague and Roche, 2012).…”

“…Unsurprisingly the CIPD highlight that 'conflict management' and 'managing difficult conversations' are the two most challenging parts of a line manager's role (CIPD, 2013, p.7). However, managers are rarely trained specifically in conflict management (Teague and Roche, 2012) or in the complex skills associated with managing poor performance effectively (Saundry and Wibberley, 2014). Nor are they typically recruited based on their people management skills (Townsend, 2013).…”