Private and Public Sector: Conflicts and Resolution – HRM Practice in Saudi Arabia

The foundation of an organization is to combine the dynamism and knowledge of diverse people. Often such combinations may result in conflicts too. To take advantage of joint work requires conflict management. In this paper, the central focus is on the conflict management and resolution in Saudi Arabia’s public and private sector. It is because Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that have immensely benefitted from globalization. Not only does it export oil, but also require a knowledgeable, skilled, and able workforce. In a country that 27% of the workforce is composed of the expatriates, it is important to identify and define the various factors that influence Human Resource Management practices. Management and resolution of conflicts is a functional area for the Human resource departments. The scope of conflict, as it were, includes those actions that hamper work relationships and interactions. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia presents an important context for this study. As such, there are three study areas for this paper. These include conflict management and resolution, Saudi Arabia, and Human Resource Management. Through the blending of concepts associated with the study areas, it is possible to define not only industrial relations but also the difference in approaches taken by the public and the private sector. Because of the composition of the workforce, and the inevitability of conflicts, it is important to identify the environmental issues, which render the conditions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unique, and, for several reasons, a challenge to Human Resource Management professionals. Since conflicts at workplace are inevitable, Saudi Arabia’s unique political and social context provide a chance to define the conflict management and resolution approaches available for the public and private sector. Among other things, this paper resolves that the conflict management and resolution in the public sector is a rigid process.