The other day

The other day, I was at a mega mall - standing in a queue to pay for my groceries. Suddenly, there was a lot of commotion and a group of people were trying to prevent two of the mall staff from going at each other with knives drawn out. Their anger was so palpable and I could sense a fear that they might even kill each other, if not stopped. The situation was growing tense, when a rather senior-looking silver-haired Manager appeared on the scene. He gave a whack to both of them, ordered them to go back to work and asked the crowd to disperse - all in one swift motion. It was as if he had cast a spell - both the staff slunk away, eyes downcast, respectful towards the man and the tension just switched off..

We live in a world which is on the move. Information overdrive, intense competition and technological advances are bringing in newer challenges to this great art of conflict resolution. Our threshold to tolerate has vastly diminished. We keep hearing about road rage, unprovoked violence in public life, harsh and violent body language in situations where it is not required at all. There is a great deal of seething rage, anger, resentment and turmoil in a vast number of people, which when left unresolved, often manifests itself in different ways. It is like a box of ammunition with a short fuse and requires just a small spark to ignite. Consequences are often disastrous, be it the man who shot and killed several innocent people at a theater screening Batman or the fellow who went on a rampage at the Sikh Gurudwara in the United States. Alienation and loneliness combined with despair and hopelessness can be a lethal cocktail of emotions.

Recently there was a news item about a conflict between Management and Labour at a leading Automobile Manufacturing Plant in India. One of the General Managers was reported to have been killed - a very serious offense, following which the plant had to be shut down temporarily. A very volatile situation with extremely low level of trust, emotional vulnerability, complete breakdown of transparency, absence of clear communication and insinuation. One can very well imagine what could happen in this kind of climate.

I was reflecting that about a decade ago, every company used to have Labour Welfare Officers and Personnel Managers who were well-trained in Industrial Relations, studied the labour laws in great detail, cut their teeth into Human Resources Development with a long stint in the production shop floor, developed keen insight and understanding, which in turn led to compassion and a flexible and tolerant view of life, which helped Management and Labour come to the discussion table. Suffice to say there was a considerable amount of things which were mostly resolved through informal consultations and quite chats on the sidelines, no issue ever blowing up, unless it was something very serious.

These Labour Welfare Officers and Personnel Managers are now extinct, replaced by state-of-the-art professionals who have a top-class B School Management Degree in Human Resources Development. They are extremely sound in tactics, strategies, presentations, negotiations, presence of mind and manouvering. However a careful study reveals, because the devil is in the detail, that they have scanty experience in handling labour or conflict management and resolution in a decidedly win-win approach. A flash strike, a tool-down strike, lock-out or an angry group of agitated workers are all nightmares for them, as they are not equipped emotionally and their people skills are awfully poor, exposing them in the rough and tumble of people management.

While we do concede that times have changed, we have come very far away from those times and Managements are much more benevolent and transparent. Employee welfare is the order of the day and not an exception. Having said this, I continue to wonder whether it was wise to completely scrap away from those positions in manufacturing and service areas, which had its own utility and relevance. Possibly the Labour Welfare Officers and Personnel Managers may stage a comeback, as the fact is that no matter how much technology advances, processes improve, conditions congenial, people have emotions, fears, anxieties, hopes and expectations; machines and technology cannot understand it, while human beings can. We need more humane people in dealing with Human Resources, as after all they are the greatest resources an enterprise has.

Conflict Management, arbitration, peace keeping skills are in shortage today. In a world of increasing global competition for market share, instant gratification through goods and services, continuously developing technologies, this fine art is a rare commodity. This article analyses this skill through the Author's personal experience.