Ombudsman to the Rescue

A Case Study
Questions:
1. How has the ombudsman decreased conflicts at Sigmet?

 The Ombudsman decreased conflicts at Sigmet by frequently asking the

employees how things are going especially when working daily in the
workplace. Also, acts as the guidance counselor to upset employees. The
ombudsman’s role is to pay close attention to the employee’s concerns and
problems it can be personal and organizational because personal issues of
an employee can affect its work performance and can lead to disruption of
daily operations of the company. While organizational issues can affect team
performance and can lead to internal conflict in the company and it is not
good for the company’s reputation. For every session to the ombudsman,
Issues shared by the employees are all confidential then, to create a better
solution to the problem the employees should answer truthfully.

2. Would you feel comfortable using an ombudsman to resolve a conflict with a

coworker? Why or why not?

 In my perspective, it depends on how big the issue or conflict I have between

a coworker. If I think that our conflict is light and can be solved or fixed by
ourselves, I do not need guidance to an ombudsman to resolve our problems.
But It will take time to fully fixed our conflicts because our emotions dominate
our behavior. When the time has come, I will personally talk to that coworker
then, understand and apologize to him or her if we had a misunderstanding or
conflict, this will help to make me mature and can help how I can handle
several situations to other people. While if our conflict affects our work
performance in the company and affects other people. I will feel comfortable
asking for guidance to an ombudsman to resolve our conflicts.
3. What could companies do to maximize the effectiveness of an ombudsman?

 When a company experience having internal conflicts in their workplace and

this conflict affects the daily production and operation of the business. A
company can maximize the effectiveness of an ombudsman by hiring a well
and professional one. An organization should hire an ombudsman which has
the experience of handling other people's concerns and issues and can help
guide and resolve problems. Based on the case study, it shows that Sigmet
employees experienced better communication, less stress, pressure, and
conflict. Then, some neutral employees are also volunteering to also resolve
other coworkers’ conflicts. Moreover, senior management gained 30% more
time to collaborate through other colleagues and creates a good relationship
with them. Overall, office morale drastically improved.