Collaboration can be a critical part of decision-making
and conflict resolution. How can two parties make an informed decision or reach
a resolution to an ongoing conflict if they do not work together to solve the
problem? Huesbsch (n.d.) stated that collaboration can lead to respect between
co-workers as they go through the process of creative problem-solving. There
have been times where I have successfully used collaboration to solve a
conflict or make a good decision. There have also been times where I have
failed to collaborate with other stakeholders leading to unsuccessful conflict
resolution and poor decisions. There have been several instances that have occurred
at work over the last several months.
Before I get into the particular decisions and
conflicts, I first have to give you a little background on several changes that
have occurred over the last several months. Last September I was told that
there would be some lateral movement in the department and I have been chosen
as one of the individuals that will be given new duties. The finance department
of the college at which I am employed oversees the accounting of many different
areas including cash management, the Foundation, local TV station of the
college, grants, budget, and accounts payable. I had worked in many different
areas including budget and the TV station but had been the accountant for the Foundation
for the last six years. I was informed that I would now be transferred to cash
management. The position of Foundation accountant would now be combined with the
budget department and the accountant working for budget would now also be
handling the Foundation. Is your head spinning yet? I know mine has been for
the last several months.
After several months of training and learning my new
job duties, another decision was made that threw several people in the
department another curveball. The coworker who took my old position would now
be transferred into a new position in the department and I would be moved back
to my original post working for the Foundation. From a leadership perspective,
I understand the hustle and bustle that has occurred over the last couple of
months. I had been in my position for many years and they wanted me to branch
out and learn new skills. The coworker who took my position was trained as my
backup so the move made sense in that regard. The position that she transferred
to during the second move was a mandatory position that the President created
in our department and she was the by far the best fit for the position. I could
break down the decision of leadership and how collaboration and strategy may
have changed things but I will focus more on how the second round of musical
chairs created conflict, discord, and poor decisions in the department.
When the second round of transitions was announced
in March the employees involved were informed that the change would be
effective April 1, 2017. We were told
that on that date each person would begin doing their new job duties.
Unfortunately, this process was delayed due to not being able to find a
suitable candidate to fill the cash management position. After several meetings,
it was determined that May 1, 2017, would be the new effective date. May then
turned into June which then became July. The date has now been labeled undetermined
due to the year-end process. I am not saying all of this to complain because I go
to work each day to help the company in any way I can. The continual date
change plays a part in the conflict because it was determined that over this
time period two employees would share the responsibility for three positions.
Though we had initial meetings to determine who would do what over the
following months, plans do not always work out the way they are supposed to.
Due to the multiple moving pieces involved in each position, there were
instances where decisions were made without collaborating with the other
stakeholders which led to conflict. Two decisions come to mind that created
duplicate work that could have been avoided with proper collaboration.
The first incorrect decision I made involved a cash
management task. The college has multiple bank accounts, vendors, and cashiers,
so a spreadsheet design was created several years ago to ease the pain of
reconciling the monthly bank account. A report can be printed from the
accounting system to help create the manual spreadsheet. After I was told that
I would not be moving over to my new position at the end of May, I made the
decision that I should continue to work on the monthly spreadsheet like I had
in previous months. I printed the document from the system and began to create
the spreadsheet for April. After about a day and a half of manual input, I began
the monthly reconciliation process. I had been working on reconciling for about
a day or two when my coworker (there are two accountants in the cash management
department) came in to ask me to look over something with her. When she saw
what I was working on she began to laugh because she was working on the same
thing and had been for a couple of days. She was under the impression that I
was now working on my new duties and the lack of collaboration created
duplicate effort.
The second example involved a budget project. Most
budget transfers can be made easily in the system, but there are some transfers
that must be uploaded via a spreadsheet. A couple of weeks ago I received an
email requesting a budget upload but did not realize it also went to the other
accountant who has been tasked with helping out with budget. Long story short,
and I’m sure you know where this is headed when I was just finishing up the
spreadsheet I received an email that the upload was complete. The other accountant
completed the task.
What do these two examples have in common? Lack of
collaboration with my fellow coworkers (other stakeholders)! Hoch, Kunreuther,
& Gunther (2001) stated that observing the frames of different stakeholders
may allow you to identify any potential conflict. These two situations are
perfect examples of the poor decisions that can be made if a lack of
collaboration between stakeholders exists. There are several ways that
stakeholder involvement could have improved these decisions.
First, collaboration would have given us a clear
vision. Levine (2009) listed nine questions that should arise in any conflict.
The first question listed was “Does the preliminary vision fit everyone’s view
of the outcome” (Levine, 2009, p. 137). In both examples, the outcome was to
complete the task at hand, but neither I nor my coworker(s) thought to check
with one another about our vision. Secondly, collaboration could also have
contributed to the department meeting its goals successfully. Collaboration
between stakeholders could have also have saved employees for completing
duplicate work. Each employee was under the impression that they were supposed
to complete the task, so they did not bother to communicate with the other
employee. This lack of collaboration caused wasted time in the department which
is the fourth reason shareholder involvement should have existed in these
examples. Finally, stakeholder involvement could have created a supportive
environment in which we could improve the decision-making process. If we would
have communicated with one another then we could have developed a better plan
regarding how to divide the work so it was not duplicated. Also, emotions run
high during stressful situations and finding out that work was duplicated and
time was wasted was a bit stressful.
As I looked back on the decisions I made and their
consequences, I began to contemplate if there was anyone else who would have
added value to the process. I would like to say that there was. Hoch,
Kunreuther, & Gunther (2001) argued that decision-making should involve
getting advice from other individuals such as experts or customers. There were
already several meetings that had taken place about how the work would be
managed over the following months. I may have been able to ask the advice of my
supervisor but what I should have done was reach out to my coworker. A simple
conversation would have made the decision much easier and the conflict would
have been avoided.
This assignment and recollection of decisions taught
me three valuable lessons that will allow me to make better decisions in the
future. First, collaboration between other stakeholders is an important portion
of the decision-making process. I must let go of my assumptions and have a
conversation with my coworkers in complex or abnormal situations. I also
learned that I need to stop and ask myself questions like “Does the preliminary
vision take care of all specific concerns in the situation? or What needs
correcting or adjusting? (Levine, 2009). These simple questions can change the
outcome of a decision. Finally, I learned that slowing down can save time in
the long run. Because I did not slow down for a minute and communicate with my
coworker I ended up wasting time. The amount of time it would have taken to communicate
and collaborate was far less than the time wasted in duplicate work.
References
Hoch, S., Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. (2001).
Wharton on making decisions. John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Huesbsch, R. (n.d.). The advantages & disadvantages of collaborating
conflict management. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-collaborating-conflict-management-36052.html
Levine, S.
(2009). Getting to resolution: Turning conflict into resolution. (2nd edition).
Williston, VT: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
No comments:
Post a Comment