Conflict Management

Posted: August 29th, 2013

Conflict Management

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Conflict management

Conflict management in an organization enables it to deal with major events that threaten to misfortune an organization, the public in general or its stakeholders. Conflict management attempts to deal with threats that have already occurred (Gupta, 2010). This discipline entails the employment of skills and techniques required for identifying, understanding, and coping with critical situations, from the very moment they occur up to the point where the procedures of recovery are implemented. An organizations credibility and reputation are influenced heavily by their response perceptions in the course of these critical situations (Gupta, 2010). There needs to be an organized manner in communication when responding to crises and should be in a timely manner. Communication throughout the authoritative hierarchy should be consistent and open in order to facilitate a successful crisis resolution maneuver.

Sears Holdings Corp, a retailing organization has been undergoing a tough and turbulent financial period in the recent years, struggling with falling sales and dowdy merchandise. The company was a previously revered retailing outfit dating back to the nineteenth century. The struggling retail company registered weak holiday sales and forecasted revenues plummeting by more than half, with comparison to other recent financial periods. Sears together with K mart stores have struggled against competitors such as wall mart, target and home depot. With very few options in its hands, the company has resolved to closing down some of its stores. With customers complaining of having a hard time connecting with Sears and K mart stores; some even admitting of better services offered by the companies main competitors, Target and Wal mart, in terms of cleanliness and consumer sovereignty. It seems that from the current environmental changes since the stores were set up, they have fallen short of competitive business requirements such as accessibility.

The weaknesses in sales are attributed to the reluctance of the company to invest in other new stores, ferocious competition by other retail outfits, steep discounting measures and other missteps, including financial servicing forays and the move to sell off credit card businesses that were lucrative. The projected closing revenue represents only about three percent of the overall Sears Holdings’ stores in the entire United States, which number at an amazing seven thousand plus stores. The company has gone further to predict that the fourth quarter-adjusted income would be less than half amount that was reported for the same quarter the previous year, which was nine hundred and thirty three billion dollars. It is also anticipating a non-cash charge in the same quarter, to write off the value of deductions in tax that do not show signs of any profitability if put into use.

As a move to resolve this crisis, the management announced that the company would close down not less than one hundred stores. The company has however hinted on the further closure of more stores as it will focus on supporting the better performing stores. This is an aim to reduce their current liabilities. The closings that were recently announced are forecasted to generate a colossal amount of revenue ranging from a hundred and forty million dollars to an estimated seventy million dollars. This stores closing maneuver is the latest visible strategy by the company’s management, in an effort to manage this encumbering crisis. The company will now rely on its present assets, including the inventory, its real estate and highly valuable proprietary brands as a means of finding new alternatives. This warranted move would actually propagate a huge loss in terms of jobs to its employees. Managing conflict involves taking risks and making outright decisions to achieve the set goals.

Conclusion

Conflict management involves the whole management of an organization as they put their skills and knowledge into use when making crucial decisions in striving to achieve the set objectives (Jude 2008).