HRM, organizational citizenship behaviour and conflict management: The case of non-union MNC subsidiaries in Ireland

Over the years, an evergreen in the literature on the management of the employment relationship is the observation that organizations will pay a high price if workplace conflict is not addressed quickly and effectively. Days lost to some form of industrial action, sickness and absenteeism rates can be high, and management-employee relations can become strained if not embittered. Just what constitutes an effective approach to managing workplace conflict has always been the subject of debate. But there has been a fair amount of agreement that it involves HR managers establishing a range of formal procedures to address disputes and grievances (Turnbull 2008). At the moment, a popular theme in the relevant literature is that many organizations are seeking to upgrade these traditional formal procedures by diffusing new ADR practices and processes (Lewin 2008). The argument is that workplace conflict has become more small-scale and individual in character, which needs to be addressed by new conflict management strategies.