Resolving conflict: non-legislative methods

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Resolving conflict non-legislative methods
What is a conflict? Conflict resolution Non-legisl
ative methods for resolving industrial conflict
The law of contract
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What is conflict?

• Conflict is
• Disagreements between people
• Between directors, management and unions, and
  business and its customers
• Causes of conflict
• Directors and management have different goals
  (e.g. profitability)
• Business and customers disagree on selling price,
  quality and service
• Leadership style of managers can cause conflict
  with staff
• Industrial relations issues (e.g. wages, working
  conditions and productivity)
• Business and suppliers disagree about delivery
  dates, quality, discounts and credit terms

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Conflict Resolution

• Conflicts should be resolved to avoid
  businesses and employees losing out
• Consequences of ignoring conflict
• Company can lose sales
• Employees lose wages
• Customers shop elsewhere
• Two methods of resolving conflict
• Legislative
• Non-legislative

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Non-legislative methods of resolving conflict
(part 1)

• Negotiate a solution
• Aim is to resolve the dispute quickly
• Involves direct discussion between parties (e.g.
  employeremployee or employerunion)
• Both sides might have to compromise
• Conciliation
• Third party (conciliator often an Industrial
  Relations Officer (IRO) provided by Labour
  Relations Commission (LRC) http//www.lrc.ie/)
  hears both sides of the dispute and suggests a
  solution
• Commonly used in industrial disputes
• Weakness is that the conciliators
  recommendations are not binding

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Non-legislative methods of resolving conflict
(part 2)

• Mediation
• Mediator must be agreed to by both parties in
  dispute
• Mediator (provided by LRC http//www.lrc.ie/docume
  nts/multilingualpdfs/5english.pdf) intervenes
  when dispute is dead-locked and neither side
  wants to continue
• Mediator suggests ways to move things on to
  reach a solution
• Arbitration
• Both sides ask for an arbitrator to be appointed
• Both sides agree the decision of the arbitrator
  is binding
• Not used often in industrial disputes

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The Law of Contract

• A contract is a legally binding agreement that is
  enforced in law
• Example buying a house or obtaining a loan
• Two parties involved in a contract offerer and
  offeree
• Offerer makes the offer
• Offeree receives the offer

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Elements of a valid contract

• All these must be present for a contract
  to be valid
• Agreement the offer and acceptance
• Consideration the money value of contract
• Intention both parties want the contract for it
  to exist
• Capacity parties must be of legal age (18 or
  over) to enter into contract
• Consent both parties must consent to contracts
  terms without pressure
• Legality of form if a contract is not legal,
  its not binding
• Writing contract may need to be in writing to be
  valid

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Termination of Contract

• Can be terminated by either party
• By performance obligations not carried out
• By agreement mutual consent of offerer and
  offeree
• By breach of contract one party didnt fulfil
  obligation
• By frustration unforeseen events (e.g. death,
  theft or, bankruptcy)
• Remedies for a breach of contract
• Damages financial compensation
• Specific performance court orders that terms
  must be fulfilled
• Rescind the contract contract cancelled by court
  order

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