Absenteeism and Conflict – Causes, and proposed solutions: The Case Study of AS Røra Fabrikker

Question

You are an organizational consultant hired to improve the effectiveness of an actual work organization that you are personally familiar with (for those without work experience, interview a relative, friend or classmate to obtain the necessary information). The organization can be a publicly or privately run business, government or non-profit agency, located anywhere in the world. For a large sized organization, focus on one unit within it (e.g., department, division or outlet). First, briefly describe the organization’s purpose, mission, culture and the specific job duties of its members (3-4 pages for this section).Second, describe 2-3 major problems within the organization that are related to Organizational Behaviour. For each problem, discuss the behavioural symptoms, e.g., absenteeism,and the underlying reasons/causes, e.g., lack of motivation (6-9 pagesfor this section). Last, propose specific, concrete solutions that address the problems’ symptoms and causes to improve the organization’s performance and productivity. The problem diagnosis and solutions should draw on the concepts and theories of Organizational Behaviour covered in the course. (5-8 pages for this section).You are encouraged but not required to use outside sourcesand/or websites to justify and support your position. When using outside sources,be sure to cite and reference appropriately using APA format.Your paper will be marked 75% on content (statement of problems, how well the concepts and theories were utilized) and 25% on presentation and mechanics (grammar, spelling, syntax, etc.). The paper, including all footnotes, references, appendices, and figures should not exceed 20 double-spaced typed pages, using either Arial or Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1” margins printed one-size on 8.5” x 11” white paper. There is no minimum page requirement; the average number of pages submitted has been 14-15.

Answer

Name:

Institution:

Contents

Introduction. 2

Overview of the Organization. 3

Major Problems within the Organization: Absenteeism and Conflict. 4

Proposed Solutions. 10

Conclusion. 16

References. 17

Introduction

Absenteeism is a serious problem that continues to hinder business operations in many companies today. In many cases, it is caused by a poor work environment, lack of motivation, concerns regarding job security, and lack of proper communication between a company’s strategies and its employees. In many situations, employees may use sick leave as an excuse for absenteeism for an extended duration of time. In fact, the challenge of absenteeism due to ill health has become so pervasive that most companies have established an elaborate policy governing ill-health absenteeism. However, such policy measures may not reduce the level of absenteeism unless the underlying factors such as lack of motivation, ergonomic factors, job insecurity, lack of job satisfaction, and communication barriers are addressed.

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            The aim of this paper is to highlight the problem of absenteeism in an organizational context. It not only identifies the problem but also discusses its manifestations, factors that lead to its occurrence, and the efforts being made within the organization to deal with that problem. The organization that will form the basis of the case study is AS Røra Fabrikker, a Norwegian private company that specializes in food production. The paper ends with proposals on the specific, concrete solutions that can be used to address the problems’ symptoms and causes with a view to improve the organization’s performance and productivity. Throughout the paper, insights for problem identification and justifications for proposed solutions are derived from concepts and theories of organizational behavior.

Overview of the Organization

            AS Røra Fabrikker is a small private company that operates in the food business in a rural region of Inderoy in Norway. It is specifically involved in the processing of fruits and vegetables. The company had 66 employees as at the end of the 2014/2014 financial year. It was established in 1938 under the name Inntrøndelag Frukt- og Bærsalgslag, and soon afterwards its name was changed to Trøndefrukt. In 1975, the company finally adopted the current name. AS Røra Fabrikker has established itself as a reputable, albeit small, agricultural product company that produces juice, jam, syrups, fruit compotes, pickled cabbage, and other related food items. It is as a subsidiary of a larger company called Coop Norge Industri. It operates as a single food-production division together with another subsidiary company specializing in coffee and bakeries. Its products are shipped and sole to cooperatives across Norway.

            The company operates through four production departments. During the high season, which comes before Christmas and the summer holidays, the company hires about 15 part-time workers. In most cases, employees work in two shifts. However, during the high season, it changes its mode of operation to accommodate three shifts. To address various problems affecting it, AS Røra Fabrikker has put in place an effective internal control system that focuses on aspects of safety, health, and environment. There is also a health service system comprising of a qualified ergotherapist, a doctor, and a nurse. The company also insures its members against all forms of occupational injury. Other initiatives include the establishment of a safety monitoring system as well as the creation of a clear structure that defines responsibility and authority for each manager and employee. Specifically, all managers are assigned the responsibility for the expertise and knowledge of all the employees working under them. Thus, the managers are ultimately answerable in all quality-related matters in their areas of specialization within the production process.

            The organizational culture of AS Røra Fabrikker closely resembles that of its parent company, Coop Norge SA, a leading Norgegian cooperative with over one million members. Coop Norge SA is an integral part of the cooperative movement in Norway which started in the mid-nineteenth century. Today, Norway retains a tradition in which stores are owned and operated by cooperatives. The operations of AS Røra Fabrikker are a reflection of this thriving tradition. Groups of cooperatives come together to produce items before distributing them to their member-companies at wholesale prices. During the course of history, numerous changes have occurred in the way cooperatives are run. For example, during the 1950s, the Norwegian law was amended to allow cooperatives to sell their merchandize to non-members.

Moreover, to go with the changing times, many cooperative-based companies, including AS Røra Fabrikker have had to change their names, reorient their management structures, and refine their human resource management practices. One of these changes involves hiring part-time workers during the peak season. However, lack of proper communication between managers and employees has traditionally created a situation where job security is a major concern for employees, and this has greatly contributed to the current problem of chronic absenteeism.

Major Problems within the Organization: Absenteeism and Conflict

            Two major problems that affect the organization today are absenteeism and a conflict between management and staff. Absenteeism becomes prevalent mainly during those days when gossiping is on the increase. Employees resort to gossiping whenever no information is forthcoming from the management regarding pressing issues that directly affect them. This situation demonstrates that the level of uncertainty at AS Røra Fabrikker is very high. Many employees feel that there are numerous efforts that can be undertaken to ensure that the working environment is improved. In this case, absenteeism may be interpreted as an indication that conflicts between employees and management may occur in the foreseeable future.

            One of the reasons why absenteeism is a rampant problem at AS Røra Fabrikker is because job satisfaction levels are at an all-time low. Although the working conditions at the company are arguably better than average as far as standards in the sector are concerned, this state of affairs is not being communicated properly to employees. There is a serious problem with interpersonal aspects as far as the company’s operations are concerned. Consequently, a growing number of employees perceive their working conditions to be poorer than they really are. 

            Similarly, conflicts between management and staff have become very common. Supervisors often feel that they are being bullied by management. To vent their frustration, the supervisors resort to gossiping in rest rooms and within the company’s compound. This phenomenon has created a culture of mistrust, social conflicts, and a feeling of insecurity. Moreover, misinformation has become rife particularly in regards to the company strategy. Under such conditions, it is understandable that the staff feel that they are not exerting any meaningful influence as far as the growth of the company is concerned (Mayer & Gavin, 2005; Pech & Slade, 2006).

            Sometimes conflict manifests itself in a different way, whereby the relationship among colleagues in some of the company’s departments tend not to be so cordial. Worse still, managers who seem to be aware of this problem seem somewhat uncomfortable dealing with them. The indication is that these managers fear that any efforts to resolve the conflicts may be interpreted as an attempt to meddle unnecessarily into staff matters. Consequently, the company has adopted a de facto policy of working on problems relating to conflicts among employees within departments in a very gradual manner. The impression that arises from this approach is nothing seems to be happening to address the problem at all.

            Some of the efforts that have been made to address these problems include improving the company’s physical working environment, planning of ad hoc staff discussions, job rotation, the introduction of a health service system, and the establishment of specialist training programs among employees. Even as these efforts are being made, a poor working environment continues to be a major cause of absenteeism and conflicts between management and staff. The problems are especially endemic for employees who work in the warehouse. Some of the frequent problems in the warehouse include ill health, under-manning, and dissatisfaction with the prevailing wage levels. The absence of an ergonomic working space, coupled with poor remuneration, has greatly contributed to the current stalemate at the warehouse.

Another crucial factor underlying absenteeism and conflicts is lack of trust between management and the staff. Team spirit is virtually non-existent and employees are no longer being motivated. Under the current circumstances where employees are unsure of their contribution to the company’s success, it is evident that no efforts are being made to motivate the workforce. For this reason, employees may be excused for feeling as if they are not an integral part of the company. Similarly, one begins to understand why absenteeism has become such an endemic problem.

Although most managers at AS Røra Fabrikker are middle-aged and staff feel that it is possible to discuss “anything” with them, no discussions are actually going on. It seems that both the managers and staff at the company have been held hostage by an organizational culture in which the level of mistrust is too high to allow cordial interactions. The same situation confronts the operations manager, who has been working hard to deal with the problem of absenteeism. Despite her efforts and her caring attitude, employees feel that they cannot fully trust management to address their welfare. Her efforts to promote open dialogue have so far been futile. Despite her best efforts to promote quality, responsibility, and productivity, most employees still feel that their contribution to the company’s growth has and will never be appreciated.

A number of efforts have been fast-tracked at the management level with a view to promote trust between staff and the company’s management. For example, the company has been improving various physical aspects of the entire working environment. Similarly, it has released several press releases in which it acknowledges the existence of a major problem in regards to the flow of information at all levels. Some of the efforts had far-reaching “implications” at the implementation stage. For example, the company appointed a work environment committee whose mandate was to assess the problem and come up with technical recommendations. Despite these efforts, the feeling among most employees is that they do not know who is in charge of the reform process. This sense of opaqueness in the manner in which management resolves crises only ends up fueling more mistrust on the part of employees. In most cases, supervisors are caught in the middle, not knowing whether to take sides with management or the staff.

 Management does not reach out to employees at a personal level. Top executives seem not to understand what it means to go through various shifts within a week, to be exposed to dangerous working conditions, and to toil for the company all year round without any form of recognition except a meagre salary and a few bonus schemes. This is an indication that the idea of a “one-happy-family” kind of organization is lacking at AS Røra Fabrikker. As such, it is not surprising that many employees choose to stay away from work, while those who make their way to work are easily engaged in conflicts with their peers, supervisors and management. 

Negative attitude towards work is a major symptom of the problems confronting AS Røra Fabrikker today. This is particularly the case in the production department, where the changes being made to improve the physical working conditions are too minor to trigger motivation and job satisfaction. It is only negative attitude that can explain the situation whereby hardly any changes in the company’s problems of absenteeism and conflict occurred even after meaningful efforts were made to train managers on how to communicate with employees and to accord greater co-determination right to employees. New managers were particularly catching up with the rest of the AS Røra Fabrikker in terms of perceiving their company negatively. Barely after a new policy was introduced in which the management team was given a trial period, two managers choose to leave the company.

The personnel policy has significantly been changed in a positive way as part of ongoing efforts to improve job security and satisfaction. Specifically, the company has established a new provision that paves the way for the employment of workers on a permanent basis. However, the employees will have to be monitored on a medium-term basis to determine if they fit into the company, and therefore, deserving of an opportunity to be granted permanent employment. Despite this move, absenteeism remained considerably high. The negative attendance factor despite far-reaching efforts to promote employee development point to mistrust of management, lack of job satisfaction, deep-rooted job insecurity, and poor communication among managers, supervisors, and production line workers. Given that this is a small company, the problem of poor communication need not have turned out to be the sort of monstrous problem that it turned out to be. Something must be terribly wrong in terms of the way top management interacts with and communicates the core mission of the organization to its employees.

The idea of team groups also seems to be virtually non-existent at AS Røra Fabrikker. It is evident that a culture of teamwork has not been nurtured by the company’s top leadership. In a situation where employees to not identify with any work group or team, the level of absenteeism is likely to be high (Felfe & Yan, 2009). At the same time, most staff members are likely to be dissatisfied with their work. This situation has affected the company’s financial performance in a negative way. Project managers are going through a tough time trying to complete projects on time. Moreover, supervisors are encountering numerous challenges in their efforts to promote cooperative efforts with a view to reach daily performance targets. The level of lethargy at AS Røra Fabrikker is simply baffling. It is as if a “silent revolution” is simmering and no one really knows what to do about it.

In a desperate attempt to address the company’s problems, management introduced a new strategy where focus was on the private lives of individual employees. The objective was to enhance a sense of identity as well as improve job satisfaction. Additionally, a lot of emphasis has been on measurable results, whereby employees are enlightened about their contribution to the performance targets of the company. The top managers of the company hope that by enhancing the work environment and promising job security, they will be able to attract the best talent in the industry, especially technical employees such as engineers. It remains to be seen whether the efforts will bring about the intended change of attitude and a subsequent end to the problems of absenteeism and conflict.

Proposed Solutions

            There are a number of solutions that can be developed with a view to deal with the problem of absenteeism at AS Røra Fabrikker. They include enhancing communication between managers and staff, employee training on self-management of attendance, and the introduction of a company policy geared towards reducing unplanned absenteeism. At AS Røra Fabrikker, the problem of absenteeism has been contributed to primarily by lack of proper communication between managers and their employees. The communication should be geared towards explicitly explaining the objectives of the company. In many cases, the employees have been staying away from the job simply because they are not sure about the direction that the company is taking. 

            Communication is an excellent way through which the employee-organization relationship can be nurtured. Whenever there is more frequent manager-employee interaction, employees are likely to endeavor to demonstrate more citizenship behavior and to exhibit a higher level of affective commitment to the company. In other words, the performance and attitudes of employee can be significantly affected by the level of employee-organization communication. The citizenship behavior also tends to contribute to an increase in the level of trust and greater collaboration among co-workers. Under these circumstances, employees are likely to be motivated by the economic exchange governing their relationship with their employer to remain focused on their jobs at all times.

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            Towards enhancing communication, the company’s top executive managers should come up with a set of guidelines governing their relationship with employees. Specifically, it is important for them to develop a communication strategy that clearly demonstrate their commitment to organizational flexibility as well as increased employee performance. In these messages, they should inform employees that they will be rewarded with greater flexibility if they continue to reach their targets in terms of performance improvement.

            The next important recommendation for managing absenteeism is employee training on self-management of attendance. Training in self-management is an excellent way of teaching employees about ways of assessing problems, setting specific challenging goals relating to those problems, and monitoring the environment to identify and respond to factors that hinder goal attainment. This king of training should also encompass strategies that reinforce goal attainment as well as mechanisms for punishing those who fail to work towards the attainment of the stipulated goals.

            The need for employee training on self-management is best explained by social learning theory (Frayne & Latham, 1987). According to this theory, self-reactive influences play a critical role in influencing the behavior of employees. It stipulates that individual employees should be trained on how to arrange environmental contingencies, establish specific goals, and produce consequences for all their actions in order to learn to control their behavior. At AS Røra Fabrikker, many employees seem to consider themselves inefficacious in terms of coping with the demands of the environment particularly those relating to their execution of their workplace tasks. There is also a dominant view managers have a somewhat low opinion of employees, and that this is unlikely to change even if the employees increase their attendance. Many employees feel that once they are perceived as poor employees, it becomes impossible for them to redeem their damaged reputation. At the same time, the company may need to assess any personal obstacles and group norms that may be contributing to the low attendance levels. At the same time, improving outcome expectancies is an excellent way of dealing with self-dissatisfaction, and this can best be achieved through training on issues of self-development. Moreover, training programs contain an important element of communication, meaning that the adoption of this approach to the management of absenteeism can also contribute significantly to the enhancement of the organization-employee relationship.

Another solution to the absenteeism problem is the introduction of a company policy provides specific rules on how the issue should be handled at all times. Whenever employees realize that there is an absence management program within the organization, employees are likely to think twice before seeking to access sick leave. This is because they will be aware of the company’s active interest and efforts to reduce absenteeism. The introduction of the program can also lead to a significant improvement in communication between management and employees regarding the issue.

It seems that at AS Røra Fabrikker, an absence culture has been deeply entrenched. This situation has been contributed to by the history of absenteeism, patterns of absenteeism, as well as the perception that management embraces a permissive approach to the issue of absenteeism. This culture should be dismantled by introducing an absence management program that is strongly embedded on an elaborate company policy on absenteeism. This solution will go a long way in erasing the perception among employees that the company has a permissive approach towards absenteeism.

Some of the specific issues that should be addressed in the company’s absenteeism policy include the role of supervisors and managers counseling skills development, recognition and support services for distressed/sick employees, and the use of feedback. The company should also put in place arrangements to induct employees into the absence management program by enlightening them on its various components such as the presence of a database that captures all relevant data on absenteeism trends for each employees. It is important to inform employees about the importance of the system of attendance data collection particularly in terms of the analysis of trends and patterns that can facilitate policy development. The resulting awareness about the problem of absence will go a long way in improving attendance levels as well as resolving the lethargic culture of absenteeism.

Other than the creation of the database, the absenteeism policy should contain a clear statement highlighting the principles and objectives underlying the renewed efforts to promote attendance. The objectives should not just be highlighted in the policy booklet but also explained in meetings where all employees are made to believe their suggestions have a critical role to play in the policy development process. These efforts should be geared towards creating awareness on the company’s position on the areas of employee leave entitlements, actions to be taken whenever absences occur, and guidelines for the management of specific cases of regular absence.

The problem of conflict between management and staff at AS Røra Fabrikker also needs to be resolved. Before devising a solution, it is important to identify the kind of conflict that is affecting the company, which in this case is interpersonal. In interpersonal conflict, most recommendations fall in the categories of minimization, reduction, and “conflict resolution”. Unfortunately, no specific diagnostic tool exists for identifying, and categorizing conflicts into taxonomies and typologies within organizations. Moreover, no specific rules have been stipulated in theory to inform decisions on whether to commence conflict resolution, maintain the existing conflict levels, or ignore the conflict altogether. Nevertheless, the level of conflict at AS Røra Fabrikker is so high that it has started exerting a negative impact on productivity. Supervisors are no longer motivated due to harassment and victimization by managers while antagonism between employees and senior management is at an all-time high due to failure by the latter to communicate the company’s vision in clear terms.

In light of this situation, the best solution should involve altering the structural and behavioral sources of conflict as well as introducing mechanisms through all organizational participants can learn about various styles of handling conflict to enable them to deal with diverse conflict situations effectively. Organizational learning should be promoted especially in today’s rapidly changing business environment. The most important benefit of organizational learning is that it tends to have a positive impact on long-term effectiveness. Emphasis should specifically be on double-loop learning, whereby focus is on changes in the assumptions and values underlying strategies, goals, and policies. This approach can work well for AS Røra Fabrikker because the company has an existing structure and operational processes that form an excellent platform for the promotion of long-term effectiveness. In this context, the structural and behavioral sources of conflict can easily be altered and replaced with a culture of continuous improvement through learning.

Moreover, the company needs to develop a more proactive approach to the internal process by establishing a platform for seamless flow of information among employees, supervisors, and managers. The objective should be to create a model organization where no internal strain exists, there is smooth internal functioning, and an environment of benevolence and trust among all organizational participants is being promoted. As long as information is flowing smoothly both horizontally and vertically, most types of conflicts that continue to affect the company will be resolved. This solution is based on the theoretical understanding of inefficiency in internal processes as a major cause of organizational slack and conflict.

Communication between managers and staff should be promoted since it will create an environment where goals are clear, measurable, and consensual. It will also lead to an in-depth understanding of the connection between inputs and organizational performance. Organizational participants will easily overcome conflictive situations characterized by ambivalence about expectations. Under these circumstances, employees can be confident that their contribution will be recognized and possibly even rewarded. At AS Røra Fabrikker, employees are seemingly confused about the connection between the existing organizational processes and the expected performance. This may explain why conflicts tend to emerge whenever the organizational participants are requested to explain various performance-related issues.

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Conflict has had a far-reaching negative consequences for the company by destroying team effectiveness and job satisfaction. These challenges have been exacerbated due to the presence of relationship conflict. In relationship conflict, employee clash due to interpersonal issues, personal tastes, and political norms. This is a particularly troubling problem for Røra Fabrikker due to the sheer complexity of the production activities it undertakes as part of its core business. By elaborating on the relationship between the existing organizational processes and expected outcomes, the company can resolve conflicts that may easily lead to process losses.

To maintain a realistic approach to interpersonal conflict management, the company’s managers must not necessarily focus on reducing, suppressing, or eliminating conflict, but rather managing it to enhance organizational learning (Rahim, 2002). To manage conflict, emphasis should be on reducing affective conflict, attaining moderate conflict levels and restricting them to non-routine tasks, and enabling all organizational participants to learn novel ways of dealing with interpersonal conflict in diverse situations. Such an approach can enhance job performance at the individual while boosting job satisfaction. It can also promote intergroup collaboration within the organization. For AS Røra Fabrikker, this will be an important development since it will contribute to the resolution of other related problems such as poor manager-employee communication and absenteeism.

Conclusion

            Absenteeism and interpersonal conflict pose a serious threat to the survival of AS Røra Fabrikker. The two problems are a major hindrance to day-to-day business operations at the company. This paper sought to highlight these problems in terms of contributing factors and manifestations, and suggest to appropriate solutions based on organizational behavior theory. AS Røra Fabrikker is a small company but one with a deeply entrenched organizational culture. Unfortunately, the problems of absenteeism and management-staff conflict are an integral part of this culture. Management does not reach out to employees at a personal level, thereby leading to a lack of motivation. Moreover, the idea of team groups also seems to be virtually non-existent at AS Røra Fabrikker. A culture of teamwork has not been nurtured by the company’s top leadership.

            This paper suggests that to reduce absenteeism, the company should enforce three recommendations, namely enhancing communication between managers and staff, employee training on self-management of attendance, and the introduction of a company policy geared towards reducing unplanned absenteeism. Regarding the ideal solution to the existing conflict between management and staff, it is recommended that the company should promote organization learning through which all organizational participants will learn new ways through which the structural and behavioral sources of conflict can easily be altered and replaced with a culture of organizational effectiveness.

References

Felfe, J. & Yan, W. (2009). The impact of workgroup commitment on organizational citizenship behaviour, absenteeism and turnover intention: The case of Germany and China. Asia Pacific Business Review, 15(3), 433-450.

Frayne, C. & Latham, G. (1987). Application of Social Learning Theory to Employee Self-Management of Attendance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72(3), 387-392.

Mayer, R. & Gavin, M. (2005). Trust in Management and Performance: Who Minds the Shop While the Employees Watch the Boss? Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 874-888.

Pech, R. & Slade, B. (2006). Employee disengagement: is there evidence of a growing problem? Handbook of Business Strategy, 7(1), 21 – 25.

Rahim, A. (2002). Toward a theory of managing organizational conflict. The International Journal of Conflict Management, 13(3), 206-235.