A Study on the Strategies and Effects of Managers'Han-dling of Employee Grievances in the Chinese Context
In recent years,due to adjustments in industrial structure and development drivers under the new normal,coupled with struc-tural imbalances in the labor market,labor disputes have been on the rise.An important strategy for managing labor relations is to enhance the ability to prevent and autonomously resolve disputes within orga-nizations.This involves establishing internal grievance and negotia-tion response systems within enterprises to uncover preventive mech-anisms through daily interactions between labor and management.In practical labor relations management,the resolution of labor disputes increasingly relies on the discretionary power of managers.The strat-egies managers employ in handling disputes directly determine the outcomes of these grievances and the effectiveness of the grievance mechanism.However,there is a notable lack of research on how managers handle employee grievances in the Chinese context,which significantly limits our understanding of grassroots labor dispute res-olution mechanisms and managerial behavior.Therefore,this study explores the strategies and effects of handling employee grievances in Chinese enterprises.It aims to reveal the dynamic processes manag-ers use in addressing employee grievances,ultimately constructing a theoretical framework for managerial strategies in grievance handling within the Chinese context.This study conducted grounded theory analysis on interview data from 328 employees to construct a model for handling employee grievances in the Chinese context.The findings reveal the following characteristics of managers'grievance handling strategies in China:Firstly,Chinese managers primarily use seven strategies when deal-ing with employee grievances:concession,cooperation,compromise,avoidance,persuasion,coercion,and retaliation.Retaliation and persuasion are unique strategies in the Chinese context.According to the labor relations balance theory and based on the preference for organizational versus employee interests,retaliation,coercion,and avoidance can be categorized as strategies oriented towards protect-ing organizational interests.Compromise and cooperation are con-sidered interest-balancing strategies,while concession is an employee interest-oriented strategy.Secondly,the study analyzed the hierarchi-cal distribution of grievance handling strategies.A grievance incident may involve up to five strategy transitions.Over 90%of grievances are resolved within two stages.As the grievance process progresses,the likelihood of using compromise,cooperation,and concession increases,which enhances the possibility of meeting employee de-mands to some extent.Thirdly,the study examined the contexts in which different grievance handling strategies are employed.At the initial stage of grievance handling,managers tend to use coopera-tion strategies based on the value placed on employee opinions and shared goals between managers and employees.Compromise and concession strategies are typically employed to prevent more severe losses to the enterprise.Persuasion strategies often serve as a buffer to make employees comply with company regulations.Avoidance strategies usually stem from managers'disregard for the grievance issue or a desire to avoid conflicts among leadership.Coercion and retaliation strategies reflect a firm defense of managerial authority at the expense of employee interests.In the second stage of grievance handling,cooperation strategies are often remedial actions for the initial strategies.Persuasion and compromise strategies typically address the coercion strategies used in the first stage.Concession strategies are aimed at preventing conflict escalation and often repre-sent a compromise with valuable employees.Avoidance strategies at this stage generally arise from a manager's reluctance to take respon-sibility or to avoid leadership conflicts.Coercion strategies reflect a commitment to maintaining authority,sometimes indicating collusion among management.In the third stage,concession is employed to prevent conflict escalation,while avoidance is often used by griev-ance-handling managers to avoid power conflicts among themselves.Persuasion strategies indicate a firm defense of organizational inter-ests.Lastly,the study explored the outcomes of different grievance handling strategies.Cooperation and concession strategies generally resolve grievances satisfactorily,leading to employee satisfaction and preventing further escalation of conflicts between employees and the organization.When organizations use compromise and persuasion strategies,employee demands are partially met,resulting in three potential outcomes:satisfaction and resolution,continued grievances due to unmet expectations,or resignation and tolerance despite unmet expectations.When organizations adopt coercion,avoidance,or retal-iation strategies,employee demands are not met and may even suffer further harm.In such cases,grievances remain unresolved,leading to continued complaints,resignation,or escalation of the grievance.The theoretical contributions of this study can be summarized in three main aspects:Firstly,by exploring the strategies employed by management during the grievance handling process,this study ex-tends the theory of employee grievances in the Chinese context.It analyzes three managerial tendencies and the corresponding seven strategies,as well as the potential outcomes,thereby constructing a grievance handling model specific to China.Secondly,this study reveals that grievance handling is a multi-layered dynamic process.The findings indicate that resolving a grievance can involve up to five hierarchical levels.When employees file grievances and receive feedback from management,they adjust their perceptions and expec-tations,deciding whether to continue or abandon the grievance.If the employee continues,the manager,in turn,must decide whether to adjust their handling strategy based on the employee's feedback.This research contributes to understanding the evolution of the grievance process from the perspective of labor-management interactions.An-alyzing the hierarchical progression of grievance handling provides valuable insights for preventing the deterioration or escalation of la-bor relations.Thirdly,this study expands the research on managerial behavior in the Chinese context.It examines the strategies employed by managers at different stages of grievance handling and the con-texts in which they are applied,addressing the gap in situational anal-ysis within leadership style research.This helps to better understand managerial behavior within Chinese cultural settings.On a practical level,given the increasing labor-management conflicts,it is essential to resolve disputes effectively within the organization through proper grievance handling.Companies should enhance grievance procedures,improve grievance management,and promptly follow up and address grievances,ensuring thorough feedback and subsequent actions.Organizations should document employee griev-ances systematically,similar to crisis management systems,by estab-lishing a comprehensive grievance management system.This system should encompass the entire process,from grievance alert to post-res-olution feedback,creating a complete and structured workflow.
Employee GrievanceGrievance Handling StrategyLabor Relations ManagementGrounded Theory
万方数据
维普
