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From Representation Gap to Resolution Gap: Exploring the Role of Employee Voice in Conflict Management

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Reframing Resolution

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Abstract

This chapter explores the role of employee voice in the resolution of the management of conflict and the resolution of individual employment disputes. It is taken from a broader study of conflict management in the UK, based on five organizational case studies funded by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). Since the publication of the Gibbons Review into the UK’s system of employment dispute resolution in 2007, substantial policy attention has been paid to the ways in which organizations deal with individual workplace conflict. However, the role of employee voice in supporting (or challenging) organizations in the management of conflict has been a notable omission from this debate. Therefore this chapter seeks to begin to fill this gap and offer a greater understanding of the function that employee voice plays.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Employment tribunals are public bodies that have the authority to adjudicate on claims made under UK legislation in relation to unfair dismissal, discrimination and other employment related jurisdictions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. iROWE (Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment), University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK

    Gemma Wibberley

  2. Plymouth Business School, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK

    Richard Saundry

Authors
  1. Gemma Wibberley
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  2. Richard Saundry
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Gemma Wibberley or Richard Saundry .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Plymouth Business School, Plymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom

    Richard Saundry

  2. Sheffield University Management School, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Paul Latreille

  3. University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire Business School, Preston, United Kingdom

    Ian Ashman

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Wibberley, G., Saundry, R. (2016). From Representation Gap to Resolution Gap: Exploring the Role of Employee Voice in Conflict Management. In: Saundry, R., Latreille, P., Ashman, I. (eds) Reframing Resolution. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51560-5_7

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