This is a presentation I did with several other management students in relation to our Organisational Behaviour module. More specifically it outlines how emotions and conflict can alter workplace interactions.

1. Conflict and emotional
labour
Module Name: Organisational Behaviour
Seminar Tutor Name: Kudrat Khuda
Seminar Group Name: F
Group Members: Milosz Piekut - 16605682
Liam Maddox - 14472035
Craig Ranjisi - 13459013
Oliver Wright - 16626052
James Goodwin - 16609982

2. Introduction
• What are emotions?
• Why do we need to understand emotions in the workplace?
• Why is this presentation of importance?
(Youtube, 2017)

3. 1. To what extent the cultural construction of emotions can
create conflict?
What is conflict?
• “Conflicts are likely to concern disagreements about the conduct and goals of work, the tasks to be
performed, (...) as well as basic interpersonal conflicts” (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013, Pg.726)
Culture
• The ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society. (Oxford Dictionaries, 2017)
Organisational Culture
• “How employees perform in work, how the workers feel about their work” (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2017, Pg. 108)
• A culture that is a minority might fear the lack of adaptation, hence create the conflict.

4. 1. To what extent the cultural construction of emotions can
create conflict? (Cont.)
How can differences in culture cause issues?
• Language barrier
• A comprehensive lack of understanding.
(lack of a word or emotion in their culture).
• The barrier to adapt to certain behaviour within the group.
(E.g, Laugh when someone shouts).
• Muslims pray 5 times at certain time a day. (issues if Islam is a minority and a meeting has to take
place at the exact time of a prayer). (islamic-relief, 2017)
(Organisation Development, 2017)

5. 1. To what extent the cultural construction of emotions can
create conflict? (Cont.)
Two Approaches to the problem:
Time washing away difficulties
• Avoidance
• Smoothing
Managers getting involved:
• Executive decision
• Forcing mediation (hopes for collaboration - Compromise)
(Huczynski, Buchanan, 2017, Pg714)
Example of inter-personal conflict: Walberg Bank Group
(Johnson, H., 2012)
(Skillsconverged, 2017)

6. 2. To what extent the cultural boundedness of conflict renders
complex the articulation or requirement for emotional labour in
the workplace?
What is Emotional Labour?:
Emotional labour is managing feelings and expressions to comply with the emotional requirements of a job.
Example a person working in care home will have to be a more compassionate personal, as compared to other
jobs. (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2017, Pg724)
Types of emotional labour:
• Surface acting – Deep acting.
• Emotional Labour and job Satisfaction
• Hofstede’s Theory
Ashforth and Humphrey, (1993)

7. 2. To what extent the cultural boundedness of conflict renders
complex the articulation or requirement for emotional labour
in the workplace? (Cont.)
Example of an Issue
• Voice to Voice situation (Info-line, customer service)
What are the outcomes of such issue?:
• Some cultures/languages are one toned/paced so it’s hard to get the sense of enthusiasm/happiness that a
customer expects from the staff

8. 3. How can organisations make the most of differences in the
expression of emotions while avoiding bias in the recruitment
and selection process in jobs requiring emotional labour?
(Cont.)
Examples of differences:
• Certain cultures’ emotions at work can be better suited to particular jobs
• E.g Tahitian lack the expression of sadness
• Tahitians may be better suited to customer service jobs which require employees to be happy and
welcoming
(Inspectorinsight, 2017)

9. 3. How can organisations make the most of differences in the
expression of emotions while avoiding bias in the recruitment
and selection process in jobs requiring emotional labour? (cont.)
What does this cause?
• This could cause bias in requirement
• Organisations may only hire those from a certain culture which are more suited to the emotional
labour required

10. 3. How can organisations make the most of differences in the
expression of emotions while avoiding bias in the recruitment
and selection process in jobs requiring emotional labour? (cont.)
Solutions:
• Hire a diverse group of employees (does not mean everyone from a culture may express the
same as the rest of the culture)
• Ability to express certain emotions may transfer to other employees.
• Assign jobs to those fit to their ability of expression of emotion

11. Taylorism (Scientific Management)
Taylorism continues through to the Global Era
Organisations worldwide still follow the bureaucracy idea
• Clocking in and out
• Surveillance
• Definite hierarchy
• Allocation of work by managers
“People only go to work for money”
• Peter Warr found in 1982 that 70% of people would go to work without any financial incentive
(Hack-Polay, 2017)
(Google Images, 2017)

12. The Hawthorne Studies
What is the theory about?
• “The basis of Human Relations School of Management, which in turn became the basis of
organizational behaviour” (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2017, Pg. 325)
• Fritz Jules Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson, created book called “Management and the
Worker” which has made an impact and revolutionized social science thinking.
Muldoon, J. (2017)

13. Humanistic Organisation Theory

14. Poland v UK

15. Conclusion
1. Language and behaviour across cultures differ and can create conflict
• Those can be resolved by certain approaches by management
2. Different types of jobs require different types of emotions
• Job roles should be assigned accordingly to the culture, employers should show understanding whilst
recruitment
3. In the modern world, employers must accept that everyone has different backgrounds and can’t
discriminate on that.
• Assigning specific jobs to specific cultural background - still be diverse!
Overall, emotions play a big role in the workplace, they must be seen as important by employers.

16. References
• Ashforth, B. and Humphrey, R. (1993) Emotional LaborIn service roles: The influence of identity, (Pg. 88-115) Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Blake_Ashforth/publication/243778103_Emotional_Labor_in_Service_Roles_The_Influence_of_Identity/links/54e7c440
0cf2f7aa4d4e28d2/Emotional-Labor-in-Service-Roles-The-Influence-of-Identity.pdf [Accessed: 1st March, 2017]
• Hack-Polay, D. (2017) Classical theories: Taylorism and bureaucracy, Available from: https://blackboard.lincoln.ac.uk [Accessed: 2nd March, 2017]
• Homer H. Johnson, (2012) Resolving Conflict at the Walberg Bank Group, Available from:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8aba39b5-6ba9-40db-a464-
e77c79526fb6%40sessionmgr104&vid=2&hid=119 [Accessed: 2nd March, 2017]
• Huczynski, A. and Buchanan, D. (2013) Organizational Behaviour. 8th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
• Huczynski, A. and Buchanan, D. (2017) Organizational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
• Islamic Relief UK, (2017) Prayer Times in London, Available from: http://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/prayer-
timetable/?tmad=c&tmcampid=7&tmplaceref=General_Ads&tmclickref=GG_Salah&gclid=Cj0KEQiA3Y7GBRD29f-7kYuO1-
ABEiQAodAvwJMhfCzJmNHKnP7QsXheQt8aIwMFE86V2eTE9a_FxngaAp5P8P8HAQ [Accessed: 7th March, 2017]
• Inspectorinsight, IMG, (2017) How Different Are Cultures? Available from: http://www.inspectorinsight.com/semiotics/how-different-are-cultures-introduction-
to-semiotics-part-1/ [Accessed: 11th March, 2017]
• Oxford Dictionaires, (2017) Culture, Available From: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/culture [Accessed: 11th March, 2017]
• Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, IMG, (2017) Available from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow-pyramid.jpg [Accessed: 10th March, 2017]
• Muldoon, J. (2017) The Hawthorne studies: an analysis of critical perspectives, 1936-1958 Available from:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/JMH-09-2016-0052 [Accessed: 5th March, 2017]
• YouTube, Video, How Emotions Differ Across Cultures, (2015) Available From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JChxT9Yv2iw [Accessed: 20th February,
2017]
• Organisation Development, IMG, (2017) Social Psychology - Intergroup Relations and Conflict Available from:
http://organisationdevelopment.org/tag/intergroup-conflict/ [Accessed: 5th March, 2017]