Conflict Management

Lecture: 1
Conflict: meaning:

Conflict is an inevitable part of human existence, either in organizational life or in ones

personal life. When two or more social entities (i.e. individuals, groups, organizations and
nations) come in contact with one another in attaining their objectives, their relationship may
become incompatible or inconsistent. We can say that in all human endeavors, if co-operation
is one side of the coin conflict is the other.

Conflict means disagreement or opposition of interests, ideas, goals etc.

Fighting, controversy, hostility and confrontation all of which may be termed as
---

conflict. It is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has
negatively affected or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares
about.

Many scholars have defined conflict in different ways. Some of these are given below:

Conflict is a breakdown in the standard mechanism of decision making so that an

individual or group experiences difficulty in selecting an alternative---- March and
Simon

Conflict is an interactive state in which the behavior or goals of one actor are to
some degree incompatible with the behaviors or goals of some other actors----
Tedison et.al

Conflict occurs when two or more parties in an organization have to interact to

accomplish a task make a decision, meet an objective or solve a problem and the
parties interests clash, one partys actions cause negative reaction in others, or parties
who are unable to resolve a controversy clash out at each other.............. D. H. Sta
matis.

Conflict is said to exist between two or more individuals or work groups when they
disagree on a significant issue or issues and clash over the issue.......William F.
Glueck.

Conflict, an inevitable part of life in the work place are generally regarded as a
negative force that creates tension, lower productivity and disrupts employee
relationship....... John W. Newstrom.

Conflict is a part of organizational life and may occur within the individual, between
individual, between the individual and the group, and between groups.......... Koontz.

Smith defined it as a situation in which the conditions, practices and goals for the
different participants are inherently incompatible.

According to Litterer, Conflict is a type of behavior which occurs when two or more
parties are in opposition or battle as a result of perceived relative deprivation from the
activities of or interacting with another person or group
From the above definitions, we get the following characteristics of conflict:
Conflict is any situation in which two or more parties feel themselves in opposition.
It is disagreement over interests between and among the parties.
It is due to incompatible behaviors between and among the parties.
It is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively
affected, or about to negatively affect, the interest of the first party.

Organizational conflict:

Conflict is one of the major organizational phenomena. Organizational conflict is an

interactive state of incompatibility in behaviors, goals, activities, or interactions among
organizational members.

Transitions in Conflict thought:

The traditional view (classical view, 1930-1940) of organizational conflict:

The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided.

Classical organizational theorist like Fayol, Gliuk & Urwick, Taylor & Waber prescribed that
organizational structure rules & procedure, hierarchy, chain of command etc. limits the level
of conflict & increase the level of organizational efficiency.

Frederick Taylor believes that the functioning of an organization would improve if the
following principles were implemented:

i. Development of Science determining fair work of a day

ii. Scientific selection & progressive development of workers
iii. Fitting of workers to their respective task
iv. Constant & intimate cooperation of managers & workers
v. Provision for reward
vi. Development of organizational structure to control organizational activities

Max Weber proposed a structure of organization that he called bureaucracy.

Bureaucratic organization must follow the following fundamental principles:

i. A well defined hierarchy of authority.

ii. Division of work based on functional specialization.
iii. A system of procedure dealing with work situation.
iv. Impersonality in interpersonal relationship.
v. Selection & promotion of employees based on their technical competencies.
vi. A system of rules covering rights & duties of employees.

Human relations view (Neo-Classical view) of organizational conflict: (late 1940 mid -

1970)

The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group Neo-classical
organization theorist like Mayo, Lewin, Likert, Whyte attempted to minimize conflict by
altering social system of the organization.
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The modern view (Interactions View) of organization conflict:

The belief that conflict is not only a positive force in a group but that it is absolutely
necessary for a group to perform effectively. The view represents the following:

i. Recognition of the absolute necessity of conflict.

ii. Explicit encouragement of opposition.
iii. Define conflict management with situation & solution
iv. Consider conflict management as a major responsibility of management.

Robbins (1974) presented three philosophies of organizational conflict in the following

way:

1. The philosophy of conflict of the classicists, or traditionalists, was based on the

assumption that conflict was detrimental to an organization and, as such, must be
reduced or eliminated.

2. The classical stage was followed by the behavioralists philosophy, which can best be
described as the recognition that conflict is inevitable in organizations. Behavioralists
accept the presence of conflict and even occasionally advocate the enhancement of
conflict for increasing organizational effectiveness. But they have not actively created
conditions that generate conflict in organizations.

3. The philosophy of conflict of the integrationists is the third philosophy, which differs
significantly from the previous two. It is characterized by the following:

a. Recognition of the absolute necessity of conflict;

b. Explicit encouragement of opposition;
c. Defining conflict management of include stimulation as well as resolution methods; and
d. Considering the management of conflict as a major responsibility of all administrators.

Conflict Process: It has got 5 stages

A. Potential opposition: The presence of condition that create opportunities for conflict to
arise.

Organizational change: technological, political and social change.

Personality clash: certain personality types, personality differences.
Different sets of values: different beliefs, value differences.
Contrasting perception & Communication: prior experiences, expectations,
problems in communication, misunderstanding.
Structural problems: status, diversity of goals, participation, post, jurisdiction,
reward system etc.
Lack of trust: capacity to depend, takes time to build but destroyed in a moment

B. Cognition and personalization:

Perceived conflict: awareness of the existence of conditions.

Felt conflict: emotional involvement, anxiety, tenseness, frustration or hostility
C. Intentions: Participants intentions are decisions to act in a given way.
 Competing: desire to satisfy ones interest, regardless of the impact on the
other party. Win-lose game.
Collaborating: each desire to satisfy fully the concern of all parties in a conflict.
Win-win game.
Avoiding: desire to withdraw from conflict.
Accommodating: willingness to place opponents interest above own interest.
Lose-wine game.
Compromising: each party is willing to give up something

D. Behavior: Statements, actions and reactions made by the conflicting parties.

E. Outcomes: The action reaction interplay between conflicting parties results in

consequences.

Functional outcomes (Functional conflict): Conflict that supports the goals of the group arid
improves its performance.
It improves the quality of decision.
Stimulates creativity and innovation.
Encourages interest and curiosity among group members.
Provides the medium through which problems can be aired and tensions released.
Fosters an environment of self-evaluation and change.

Dysfunctional outcomes (Dysfunctional conflict): Conflict that hinder group

performance.
Dissolve common ties.
Leads to the destruction of the group.
A retarding of communication.
Reduction in group cohesiveness
Subordination of group goals.
Bring group functioning to a halt and potentially threaten the groups survival.

Conflict occurs between the two social entities, when the following issues are present:
i. Incongruent with needs/interest
ii. Holds behavioral preference
iii. Shortage of resources
iv. Exclusive perception of the attitude value, goals, skills etc
v. Interdependence in the performance or actions
vi. Partially exclusive behavioral preferences
vii. Interference of third parties

Sources of conflict:
Conflict arises from six sources. These have been explained below:

1) Organizational change:
Changes in policy, structure, strategy, technology and goal of the organization give rise
to conflict.
2) Different sets of values:
People hold different beliefs, philosophies, values etc. These diverse dimensions may
result in conflict.
3) Threats to status:
Social status or social rank is very important to many. When this status is threatened,
conflict arises with the person / persons giving such threat.

4) Contrasting perception:
People perceive things differently and think that their perception is correct. Conflict
arises when they try to impose their own beliefs upon others.

5) Lack of trust:
Relationship requires some degree of trust, the capacity to depend on each others word
and action. Trust opens boundaries and builds social fabric. It takes time to build trust,
but it can be destroyed in an instant. The moment the trust is lost, conflict arises.

6) Personality clashes:
The concept of individual differences is fundamental to organizational behavior. Not all
people think, feel, look or act alike. These individual differences lead to conflict.

Effects of conflict: A model:

Conflict may produce four distinct outcomes. The following model shows the outcomes:
WIN-LOSE WIN- WIN

03 04
LOSE-LOSE LOE-WIN

01 02

Bs outcome
Explanation:

1. Lose-lose: It is a situation in which conflict deteriorates to such a point that both

parties (A and B) are worse off than they were before.

Example: an executive who fires the only person who knows the secret formula for the
organizations most successful product.

2. Lose-win: It is a situation in which one party (A) is defeated and the other party (B)
is victorious.

3. Win-lose: This situation is reverse to lose-win with B losing to A.

4. Win-win: It is the situation in which both parties are in a better position than they
were before the conflict began. This is a preferred outcome to achieve in ongoing
relationship such as with suppliers, customers and employees.

REACTIONS TO INTENSE CONFLICT SITUATIONS:

1. Psychological Responses
 inattentiveness to other things
lack of interest in work
job dissatisfaction
work anxiety
estrangement or alienation from others
frustration

2. Behavioral Responses
excessive smoking
alcoholism
under eating or overeating
aggression towards others or work sabotage
decreased communication
resisting influence attempts

3. Physiological Responses
Psychosomatic disorders such as:
peptic ulcers
respiratory problems such as asthma
hypertension
headaches
coronary problems

Conflict-resolution strategies:

There are five strategies for conflict resolution. Each of these represents different degrees of
concern for ones own as well as anothers outcomes, and has a predictable outcome. They
are explained below:

1) Avoiding (inaction): Means physical or mental withdrawal from the conflict. This
approach reflects a little concern for both partys interest and often results in a lose-
lose situation.

2) Smoothing (Yielding): Means accommodating the other parties interest. This

approach places greatest emphasis on concern for others at the cost of ones own and
result in a win-lose outcome.

3) Forcing (contending or distributing): Means using power tactics to achieve a win.

This strategy relies on aggressiveness and dominance to achieve personal goals at the
expense of the concern for the other party. The result is a win-lose situation.

4) Confronting (problem solving or integrating): This approach focuses on high

concern for ones own outcome as well as that of the other party. It seeks to maximize
the achievement of both partys goals, resulting in a win-win outcome.

5) Compromising: Means searching I or middle ground or being willing to give up

something in exchange for gaining something else. This strategy reflects a moderate
degree of concern for self and others, with no clear-cut outcome.

General considerations in conflict resolution through confrontation:

The tactics are the following:
1) To agree on a common goal: to solve the problem;
2) To try to understand the other partys viewpoint, needs, and bottom line;
3) To clarify the strengths and weaknesses of both the partys positions;
4) To ask questions to elicit needed information
5) To avoid arguing or using yes-but responses;
6) To be flexible, not to be fixed;
7) To recognize the possible needs of both parties for face-saving;
8) To give the other party substantial credit when the conflict is over.