Types Of Conflicts example essay topic

Donald Tate University of Phoenix MGT/331 Group # FV 03 BAC 01 Joe Cheng July 22, 2003 Summary The following is a description of the organizational behavior of the Transportation Security Administration / TSA, at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California. I speak to this subject with deep regard and respect as a result of being currently employed there as a screening supervisor. Much of the information I write is of a general nature due to the security sensitive status of my position and would deeply appreciate the understanding of the reader of my inability to talk in specifics of any given situation or issue. Communication The management at the Transportation Security Administration considers our organization to be a paramilitary group at the very least. Special attention is given to the ability of individuals to adhere to the standard operating procedure and follow direct orders with out question as long as they are within the boundaries of the standard operating procedure document. Speaking for myself, I find this a less than easy situation to work in given that I am an intuitive-feeling type A personality that often sees things as they could and should be instead of the way they are in the current environment.

(University of Phoenix, (Ed.) 2002, pg 23) Let's just say that I'm good at self-monitoring or changing with required needs of other higher authority types. (University of Phoenix, (Ed.) 2002, pg 25) The generally accepted way of communicating follows a chain of command with the subordinates held accountable for their actions and words by the direct superior. This concept is borrowed specifically from our nations military and police force leaving little room for personality types. In fact, I'm beginning to believe that the desired personality trait that was most desired upon hiring follows the authoritarianism belief of trusting higher authority.

(University of Phoenix, (Ed.) 2002, pg 24) This does not mean there is no room for exception, instead it means that they went after a very specific type of person to insure the security of our nation and was willing to accept someone who was a little different as long they maintained a high ethical standard. In short, our communication at TSA tries to marry an open honest environment with strict adherence to rules and regulations. Culture The values and attitudes at John Wayne airport for the TSA are best described by Magli no and associates value category of helping and concern for others. (University of Phoenix, (Ed.) 2002, pg 28) I say this because if the pay scale does not reflect what the intensity and working conditions of their job in tale. The fact is they don't make much money when compared to the counties statistical average income. If any one were to ask why any of us took the job to begin with the general consensus would be the same for all, to do something of eminent good, the money is very secondary.

The subculture is the majority with a tightly knit group bound with one very strong idealistic point of reference. Another area of cultural makeup is ethnic and gender diversity. One must remember that we are a federal agency, and while hiring practices should be in line with equal opportunity employment practices, it is not the same EEO that the private sector adheres. We do have a screener workforce that is made up of about 65% women and 20% men over the age of 40.

The other side of that equation is that most of them are Caucasians, which may not reflect the surrounding residential area. Again, the rules are a little different for the private sector as compared to a federal agency. In essence, anyone can take issue with our practices but does not have the ability to litigate an issue without the written approval of federal agency that is being sued. Conflict Conflict and conflict resolution is a major part of what the TSA organization does as a whole. Fortunately, the majority of the conflict is between the traveling public and our screeners and not between the screening workforces themselves. When I view the types of conflicts that my group is faced with, I can see that this is one of the major threads that makes us a little closer to each other as people.

The majority seems to come to each other's side as a form of support to when the surrounding environment becomes difficult and serves as an aid in team building on a daily basis. When conflict between employees does arise it is dealt with swiftly since we are very much in the public eye and any dissemination between us is not acceptable and can result in undesired press coverage. The way conflict is handled is in accordance with typical military fashion, meaning we try to recognize the importance of each individuals view and insure the compliance to the set rules. Other types of conflicts such as planned and unplanned change are resolved using mostly the rational persuasion strategy. (University of Phoenix, (Ed.) 2002, pg 63) The change is presented as a result of a specific action that would constitute it being required for the sake of eminent good backed by facts.

Technology Because of the security sensitive nature of my job, and the safety of our nation, I am not able to address this subject in any manner that would seem acceptable. I can say that TSA has all the latest technology available to thwart any attempt at terrorism and we are adopting new technology as it becomes available along with the training needed to use this technology effectively.

Bibliography

University of Phoenix (Ed. ). (2002). Organizational behavior [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. New York: Wiley.