April, 2008

Workers management conflicts at small businesses Part 2

In my last article I stated that I will keep you informed on the problem I am trying to resolve dealing with workers/ management conflict taking place at my current job.

I also stated that currently, I am working in the State of Qatar, a small country in the Arabian Gulf.
There is a large number of expatriates working here, people from Asia, US, Europe and the Middle East. Working with people with diverse cultural backgrounds is interesting and challenging at the same time.

Dealing with workers-management conflict in a country in this part of the world is quite different than dealing with it in the US. I had to prepare myself by:

1- Familiarizing myself with the cultural backgrounds of all parties involved.
2- Familiarizing myself with the current labor laws in the country.
3- Meeting with senior managers in the company to get an idea of current practices in conflict management in the country.

My next step was to meet with all the parties involved to reach to the root of the conflict.
Direct talk was the key to resolve the conflict; the mechanics were worried about their pay and other minor issues regarding work. The Management was not happy with the way the mechanics voiced their concerns, it felt it was intimidating.
In the meeting:
1- All the mechanics were giving a chance to express their concerns which mainly were:
a- Not getting paid on time
b- No contact number where they can call if they have an issue
c- No group leader

2- The management were concerned with:
a- Mechanics not being patient with the pay issues, the management had no intention to delay their pay, but at times, especially with small businesses, things get out of control
b- The management didn’t appreciate the way the some of the mechanics intimidated the office secretary with their demands
c- The management didn’t appreciate nor it will allow the formation of any types of unions

The meeting went real smooth and all the points above were discussed. The mechanics were giving a monthly date (from the 1st to the 5th of the month) where they should receive their pay; they were told they can not have a group leader or from any types of unions and all their grievances must be communicated to management and finally they were giving a number to call in case they had any concerns.

The management acknowledged the frustration felt by the mechanics when they didn’t get their pay on time or when they cant find the right person to call when the faced a problem.
All the above points were translated into an agreement and was signed by both parties

Workers management conflicts at small businesses

As I start with my new work assignment with a new company and in a new country, I will again share my experience of managing small businesses.
Right now I am in the State of Qatar, small country in the Arabian Gulf region and one of the contenders to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

My first assignment as business development manager with my new company is to resolve a labor dispute between a group of mechanics and the management.

As the case with many small businesses around the world, most of the small companies don’t have clear guidelines for new employees nor there a clear job description for the current employees.

The issue I am having at hand is dealing with the mechanics complaining that the company is not providing them with what they were promised and the management complaining that the mechanics demands never ends and they have no respect for the company’s policy or a respect for its staff members.

The firs thing I requested form all parties involved is to have a general meeting with me to hear from everyone involved in the case, I want to start by having a fresh look at the whole problem.

Meanwhile, I have instructed my direct staff to work on the followings:
1-Develop employee’s handbook that details in particular “employee-management relations.”
2-Re-write the current contract with the mechanics to the level accepted by all parties involved.
3-Write complete job description, skills set and duties of every employee. One of the issues that led to the current conflict is that no one is ready to take the responsibility during time of crisis.

This is the immediate steps I took to resolve the current conflict; I will keep posting about any new developments as they happen.