A seventeen-week Executive Diploma in Mediation and Arbitration course opened in Accra at the weekend with a call on workplace leaders to learn to manage conflicts.
Mr. Austin A. Gamey, Chief Executive, Gamey and Gamey Academy of Mediation said realising that the basic nature of human beings was to avoid painful or unpleasant experiences whenever possible, it was incumbent on all leaders or those who provided leadership to strive towards conflict competence.
This, he noted, was because conflicts were bound to occur, hence the need for leaders to equip themselves with skills so as to deal with it.
Mr Gamey said from experience, poorly managed conflict created enormous costs in the form of wasted time, higher turnovers, lawsuits, destruction and loss of human lives.
This, he noted, could lower productivity.
Mr Gamey said there was the need for workplace leaders to always remember that when people were left to engage in destructive conflict, they pulled back, stopped sharing information, and took fewer risk.
This was often because their morale was low, working relationships were strained and issues of stress and the sapping of employee' energy set in, he said.
Mr Gamey said, the results were often poor-quality decision making due to the lack of losing creativity.
He said it was not possible to do away with conflicts at the workplace because people would always have differences in value, goals, principles and tactics and this, more often than not, led to conflicts.
"The key consideration becomes how we deal with these differences," he added.
He said, for the leaders to be able to manage the conflicts and bring about change in their workplaces there was the need for them to engage in improving their own conflict awareness skills as well as those of their organisations and citizens.
Mr. Gamey said leaders should not wait for others to raise the issues relating to conflict resolution, but rather they should always be in the lead in showing the way.
During the 17-week period, the 25 participantsincluding Chief Executive Officers (CEO), Directors, Human Resource Managers, Industrial Relation Officers, Lawyers, Security Officers, Trade Union leaders and some chiefs would be trained and equipped with what leaders needed to do to become personally competent in dealing with conflicts.
Professor Kofi Quarshiga, Director, Human Rights Centre of the University of Ghana, Legon, said in the past, the approach to the teaching and management of conflict had been adversarial, which was always on the defensive trying to prove his or her innocence.
The managing of conflicts had often led to the destruction of relationships and it was for such reasons that medication and arbitration was being promoted as best Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
The ADR, he noted, was nothing new to Ghanaians since it had always been practiced in the traditional settings since long ago.
Mrs Clevenda Bright-Parker, Liberian Ambassador appealed to the organisers to extend the programme to other places in the sub region, including Liberia, Cote d’ Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
"If the ADR is taught across the sub-region I believe the level of conflicts would be minimised," she said.
Mr Jerome Akafi, Deputy CEO and Senior Consultants Gamey and Gamay urged participants to endeavour to become agents of change, not only in their workplaces but across the length and breath of the country and beyond.
GNA
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Saminu Abdul Rasheed smashes national record again with 9.84s sprint in Georgia
1 hour -
Blekusu Coastal project: We’re reclaiming our coastlines – Housing Minister
4 hours -
Pricey plantains push Ghana’s market sellers to diversify
4 hours -
Full list: NPP delegates approve 54 reform motions, reject proposals on youth age, election supervision
4 hours -
WAFCON 2024: Cynthia made it easy – Chantelle hails goalkeeper after penalty saves
4 hours -
Cyber Security Authority boss suspended over use of military bodyguard
4 hours -
WAFCON 2024: I want to make history – Grace Asantewaa dreams of lifting the trophy
5 hours -
Afenyo-Markin accuses NDC of rebranding and claiming credit for NPP projects
5 hours -
2024 WAFCON: Grace Asantewa shines as Black Queens reach semis
5 hours -
WAFCON 2024: Ghana beat Algeria 4-2 on penalties to book semi-final spot for the first time since 2016
5 hours -
NPP Delegates reject motion to shift polling station selection oversight to regional committees
5 hours -
2024 WAFCON: Black Queens set up semifinal clash with hosts Morocco
5 hours -
Dr. Amuasi champions healthy sustainable socio-ecological systems thinking in Lancet One Health Commission Report
5 hours -
Without unity, we’re just individuals with ambition – Afenyo-Markin
5 hours -
Rebecca Tweneboah Darko: Scattered thoughts; Scary times
5 hours