ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT

Conflict - any situation in which incompatible goals, attitudes, emotions, or behaviors lead to disagreement or opposition between two or more parties.

• Conflict is an inevitable part of personal, organizational and societal life.
• Conflicts arise due to competition, differences in values, attitudes, experiences, goals and perception of limited resources.

​

CAUSES/SOURCES OF CONFLICT

• Structural Factors
• Specialization
• Interdependence
• Common resources
• Goal differences
• Authority relationships
• Status inconsistencies
• Jurisdictional ambiguities

​

CAUSES/SOURCES OF CONFLICT

• Personal Factors
• Skills & abilities
• Personalities
• Perceptions
• Values & ethics
• Emotions
• Communication barriers
• Cultural differences

​

CONFLICT TYPES

• Interpersonal conflict
• Conflict between two or more people.
• Individual differences create interpersonal conflict.
• Differences are noticed between people in terms of personalities, perceptions, values and attitudes.

CONFLICT TYPES

​

• Intergroup conflict
• Conflict between two or more groups
• Conflicts occur when one group sets out to undermine the other, gain power and improve its image.
• Conflicts also arise from such cases as different viewpoints, group loyalties and competition for resources.

​

​

CONFLICT TYPES

• Intrapersonal conflict
• Occurs within an individual as a result of conflicting role taken by the individual.
• Example : home/work conflict.
• Individuals clashes with their role as parent and as worker.

​

​

​

​

​

CONFLICT TYPES

• Interorganization conflict
• Conflict occurs between two or more organizations
• Conflict between organizations pursuing similar objectives.
• Conflict between head office and manufacturing unit.
• Competitions among organization.

​

​

ANALYZING INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT

• Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham have developed a very popular descriptive framework for analyzing and understanding the dynamics of inter-personal behavior.
• The framework developed by johari is termed as ‘ Johari window ‘.
• The Johari Window : is based on four types of interactive forms of interpersonal behavior.

​

JOHARI WINDOW

• The term ‘self’ used in the model refers to ‘me’ and ‘others’ to ‘you’.
• There are certain things that the person knows about himself or herself and also certain things he/she does not know.
• Similarly, there are certain things that the person knows about other and certain things does not know.

​

JOHARI WINDOW

• 1. Open Self : In this interactive cell, the person knows both about oneself and other. Since there will be openness in interaction between the two, there would be less chances for interpersonal conflict.
• 2. Hidden Self: In this situation, the person knows about oneself but does not know about the other one. As such person remains hidden from the other with the fear how the other might react. In other words, the person may hide his/her true feelings from other. The situation becomes source for possible conflict.

JOHARI WINDOW

• 3. Blind Self: This situation is opposite of hidden self. The person knows about other person but does not know about oneself. The result is that, the person might unintentionally arguing and irritating to the other. As in the hidden self, here also chances for occurring conflict.
• 4. Undiscovered Self: In this situation, the person neither knows oneself nor the other person. Such situation creates quarrel between the two and becomes the most explosive situation for interpersonal conflict.

ASPECTS OF CONFLICTS

Functional Conflict – supports the goals of the group & improves performance.

• a healthy, constructive disagreement between two or more people.
• works toward the goals of an organization or group.
• Functional conflicts lead to innovation and creativity, thus open possibility for high performance and organizational improvement.
• a win-win situation  occur.

​

ASPECTS OF CONFLICTS

• Dysfunctional Conflict :  hinders or destroys group performance
• an unhealthy, destructive disagreement between two or more people.
• blocks an organization or group from reaching its goals.
• a win-lose situation occur.

​

​

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONFLICT AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONFLICT AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT

• At point A, there is small or no organizational conflict and the performance of the organization suffers.
• As the organizational conflict level increases from point A to B, organizational effectiveness is likely to increase. When an organization has a desirable conflict level (point B), Managers are probable to be open and encourage different perspectives.
• As the conflict level increases from point B to C, conflict escalating(conflict give birth to further conflicts ) to the point where the performance of organization suffers. Example : Managers are likely to waste resources of the organization for personal gains.

CONFLICT PROCESS

CONFLICT PROCESS

• Pondy developed a process model of conflict which is very useful in understanding how conflict starts and different stages it goes through.
• Latent Conflict: In this stage, factors exist in situation which can become potential forces to induce conflict. Examples : Competition for scarce resources, communication barrier, divergence of subunit goals and role ambiguities.

CONFLICT PROCESS

• Perceived Conflict: A situation arises when one party perceives the other to be likely to disturb his/her goals. Such conflict can be resolved by improving communication between the groups.
• Felt Conflict: Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness, frustration and hostility is known as felt conflict. Felt conflict is the stage when the conflict is not only perceived but actually felt and cognized.

CONFLICT PROCESS

• Manifest Conflict: Manifest conflict is the stage when the two parties engage in behaviour which evokes response from each other. The most obvious of these responses are open aggression, apathy, withdrawal and perfect obedience to rules.
•  Conflict Aftermath: The aftermath of a conflict may have positive or negative repercussion for the organization depending upon the how conflict is resolved. If the conflict is genuinely resolved to the satisfaction of all participants, the basis for more cooperative relationship may be laid . On the other hand, if the conflict is merely suppressed but not resolved, the latent conditions of conflict may be aggravated and explode in a more serious from until they are rectified.

​

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

• Definition : The practice of recognizing and dealing with disputes in a rational, balanced and effective way.
• Conflict management implemented within a business environment usually involves effective communication, problem resolving abilities and good negotiating skills to restore the focus to the company's overall goals.

��

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

​

• AVOIDING
• The avoiding mode is low assertiveness and low cooperation. Many times people will avoid conflicts out of fear of engaging in a conflict or because they do not have confidence in their conflict management skills.
• Times when the avoiding mode is appropriate are when you have issues of low importance, to reduce tensions, to buy some time, or when you are in a position of lower power.

Avoiding Skills

• • Ability to withdraw
• • Ability to sidestep issues
• • Ability to leave things unresolved
• • Sense of timing

​

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

​

• ACCOMMODATING
• The accommodating mode is low assertiveness and high cooperation. Times when the accommodating mode is appropriate are to show reasonableness, develop performance, create good will, or keep peace. Some people use the accommodating mode when the issue or outcome is of low importance to them.

Accommodating Skills

• • Forgetting your desires
• • Selflessness
• • Ability to yield
• • Obeying orders

​

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

​

• COMPROMISING
• The compromising mode is moderate assertiveness and moderate cooperation. Some people define compromise as “giving up more than you want,” while others see compromise as both parties winning.
• Times when the compromising mode is appropriate are when you are dealing with issues of moderate importance, when you have equal power status, or when you have a strong commitment for resolution. Compromising mode can also be used as a temporary solution when there are time constraints.

Compromising Skills

• • Negotiating
• • Finding a middle ground
• • Assessing value
• • Making concession

​

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

​

• COMPETING
• The competing conflict mode is high assertiveness and low cooperation. Times when the competing mode is appropriate are when quick action needs to be taken, when unpopular decisions need to be made, when vital issues must be handled, or when one is protecting self-interests.

Competing Skills

• • Arguing or debating
• • Using rank or influence
• • Asserting your opinions and feelings
• • Standing your ground
• • Stating your position clearly

​

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

​

• COLLABORATING
• The collaborating mode is high assertiveness and high cooperation. Collaboration has been described as “putting an idea on top of an idea on top of an idea…in order to achieve the best solution to a conflict.” The best solution is defined as a creative solution to the conflict that would not have been generated by a single individual. collaborating takes a great deal of time and energy.
• Times when the collaborative mode is appropriate are when the conflict is important to the people who are constructing an integrative solution, when the issues are too important to compromise, when merging perspectives, when gaining commitment, when improving relationships, or when learning.

Collaboration Skills

• • Active listening
• • Nonthreatening confrontation
• • Identifying concerns
• • Analyzing input

​