A. Discuss 3 causes of workplace conflict
1. Poor planning by the management. The employer may be the source of the conflict in this case by having the employees get engaged in a program that is poorly managed and planned (Tillett, & French, 2017). Here, the human resource officer does not sit down to come up with a good plan on how to do the work ahead. For instance, in this case of the labor union against the police department, the human resource officer failed terribly in coming up with a short term strategy and then let it go into long term implementation. This is the reason why the plan that was meant to last for a short period went into years, allowing the police officers to take it as a long term plan and giving their reactions to it. For example, taking out loans while depending on their overtime salaries.
2. Inadequate consultations with the relevant stakeholders. In this case, the police officers were not consulted but were involved in the implementation as police staff. More so, they were never included in the making of decisions. As a result, they did not understand the motive of the strategy to increase their overtime and salaries. They did not know that this thing was just meant to last for a short period and therefore saw it as a long term plan. In the same way, they were also never consulted on the cutting of the overtime work. Consequently, they had to resist.
3. Misunderstanding and misconception between the employer and the employee. When the employer does not understand what the employee wants at a particular period, then there is a problem. Additionally, when the employee sees that the employer is taking some measures that appear to be drastic, suspicion arises. The question that arises here is on the motive of such a measure and as a result, mistrust and rebellion generate. In this case, the employee thinks that the employer is acting in bad faith by announcing the recruitment of new staff meant to reduce the overtime hours.
B. Discuss 2possible short-term outcomes if the conflict is not resolved
1. Increase in crime. Criminals are most likely to take advantage of the situation. Due to the go-slows, the perpetrators of criminal activities shall have an increased chance of not being caught and therefore utilize the opportunity maximally before things are sorted out to end the conflict.
2. There shall be massive wastage of public resources in paying the officers’ salaries and wages that they did not work for. They are supposed to uphold the law and justice. Nonetheless, the labor union makes sure that they do not do so yet they have to be paid despite being on go-slows or unnecessary sick offs. Public resources are therefore wasted a lot.
C. Discuss 2 possible long-term outcomes if the conflict is not resolved.
1. Subversion of justice in the city. The high number of criminal activities as a result of laxity in the police force shall give criminals the opportunity to walk away freely. More so, the justice system cannot work efficiently without the police officers being careful and taking their work seriously (Masters, & Albright, 2018).
2. Ineffective police force due to possible conflict between new recruits and the existing police officers. The existing officers are not likely to welcome the new ones because the former feel that they are being undermined by the latter. This is the reason why the labor union says that the rookie officers shall not be guaranteed thorough training as it is supposed to be due to the go-slows. Therefore, there shall be a divided force which shall make it weak and unable to execute the mandate of preserving law and order.
D. Discuss 3 possible actions for resolving the current conflict about overtime pay.
1. Holding discussion and consultations with the representatives of the police officers which is the union. In this way, the two parties can come into an agreement because each shall understand the intentions of the other. Thus, they shall be able to meet half way to create a win-win situation through bargaining.
2. Giving the overtime strategy some period before the introduction of the new strategy. Because the police officers are used to having overtime payments, they can be allowed to have it for a given period. This means that a notice shall be served whereby they shall be alerted on the new system and strategies that should be implemented. More so, it indicates that the officers shall get adequate time to prepare for the changes and they shall already have a positive mindset and approach towards the new cuts in overtime (Butler, & Mullis, 2018).
3. The new human resource officer should asses and do an appraisal of the police officers based on their performance. The demands of the security of the city should be the basis of the assessment rather than having to look at the salaries earned. The main aim is to have the security of the city maintained and improved if need be. Payments should not be the concern if the main aim and objectives have been achieved and the police force is happy.
E1.Identify and discuss 2basic components of a work culture that prevent negative conflict.
1. Goal setting and strategy. When employees are well acquainted with the strategies of the firm, they are aware of what they are striving to achieve. More so, these employees know how they should go about it.
2. A transparent reward system. This would significantly reduce the struggles for promotions between comrades because they are aware of the promotion system. The system should be clear on when and how a member of the staff should be promoted.
E2. Create 2 new specifications that relate to a candidate’s ability to effectively manage workplace conflict.
1. The candidate should be able to be creative in solving problems such that the conflict would not create complications but would be eliminated positively.
2. Increased emotional intelligence would also be a useful tool.
E3. Create 3 situational interview questions designed to illuminate a job candidate’s competency in managing a workplace conflict
1. Give a case whereby you were given an order by a manager that was inconsistent with the policy of the company. How did you respond? How did it lastly end up?
2. What would you do to a worker who violates ethical standards?What about a departmental policy that does not make sense? How would you handle such a situation?
3. Give a case whereby you tried to solve a conflict with the two individuals maintaining their hardline stances whereby none wants to compromise their position on the matter.

F. Identify and explain 2 methods (metrics)for evaluating employee relations improvements.
1. Identifying the source of the conflicts. When the cause is investigated and appropriately identified, there is a high chance of preventing it from recurring. Such an investigation would also help eliminate the problem areas so that solutions are found. Prevention would be possible so that serious issues do not arise from a past mistake.
2. The time that is taken to investigate a conflict should be well estimated because it is a useful and sensitive resource (Brubaker et al., 2017). The employees that are involved need to be assured that their issues are being solved within the least time possible. Investigators are held accountable when time is tracked so that they do not take forever in solving a short lived problem. Effective conflict resolution programs reduce the number of grievances and conflicts in the long term.
 
References
Brubaker, D., Noble, C., Fincher, R., Park, S. K. Y., & Press, S. (2017). Conflict resolution in the workplace: What will the future bring? Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 31(4), 357-386.
Butler, D. S., & Mullis, F. (2018). Forgiveness: A conflict resolution strategy in the workplace. The Journal of Individual Psychology.
Masters, M. F., & Albright, R. R. (2018). The complete guide to conflict resolution in the workplace. Amacom Books.
Tillett, G., & French, B. (2017). Resolving conflict: A practical approach (Vol. 199, No. 1). Sydney: Sydney University Press.

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