Chapter 11: Conflict Management

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Conflict
Conflict arises whenever individuals have different values, opinions, needs, interests and are
unable to find a middle way. Similarly, Conflict is defined as a clash between individuals arising
out of a difference in thought process, attitudes, understanding, interests, requirements and even
sometimes perceptions.
A conflict results in heated arguments, physical abuses and definitely loss of peace and harmony.
A conflict can actually change relationships. Friends can become foes as a result of conflict just
as in the case of Tim and Joe. A Conflict not only can arise between individuals but also among
countries, political parties and states as well. A small conflict not controlled at the correct time
may lead to a large war and rifts among countries leading to major unrest and disharmony.
Causes of Conflicts
There may be various causes/reasons for conflicts in the organization. The manager has to take
the necessary steps to resolve these conflicts. The most causes of conflicts in the organization are
pointed out below:
- Misunderstanding
- Personal Differences
- Information Deficiency
- Goal Differences
- Lack of Role
- Clarification
- Threat To Status
- Lack of Trust
- Scarce Resources
- Poor Communication
- Organizational Changes
Transitions in Conflict Thought:
There have been conflicting views over the role of conflict in groups and organizations. There
are three different schools of thought emphasizing different roles conflict in organizations.
These three schools of thought are:
(i) The Traditional View
(ii) The Human Relations View
(iii) The Inter-actionist View.
The views of all these schools of thought are explained as:
1. The Traditional View:
According to the traditional view, conflict, by definition, was harmful and was to be avoided.
This view was consistent with the attitudes that prevailed about human behaviour in the 1930s
and 1940s. Traditionally, conflict was viewed negatively, and it was used synonymously with
such terms as violence, destruction and irrationality. Conflict was seen as a dysfunctional
outcome resulting from poor communication, a lack of openness and trust between people and
the failures of the managers to be responsive to the needs and aspirations of the employee.
Conflict could cause losses in productivity because groups would not cooperate in getting jobs
finished and would not share important information. Too much conflict could also distract
managers from their work and reduce their concentration on the job.
Thus, traditional writers had a very conservative view about conflict as they considered it totally
bad and advocated that conflicts must be avoided, with the result that sometimes; there is a
tendency to suppress conflict and push it under the rug. By ignoring the presence of conflict, we
somehow try to wish it away.
Both the scientific management approach and the administrative school of management relied
heavily on developing such organizational structures that would specify task, rules, regulations
procedures and authority relationships so that if a conflict develops, then these inbuilt rules will
identify and correct problems of such conflict. Thus, through proper management techniques and
attention to the causes of conflict, it could be eliminated and organisational performance
improved.
2. The Human Relations View:
The human relations view dominated the conflict theory from the late 1940s through the mid
1970s. The human relations view argued that conflict was a natural occurrence in all groups and
organisations. Since conflict was inevitable, management should accept the conflict. This theory
says that conflict is avoidable by creating an environment of goodwill and trust. But still
conflicts are bound to happen due to differences in opinions, faulty policies and procedures, lack
of cooperation, allocation of resources which will lead to distortion and blockage in
communication.
Accordingly, management should always be concerned with avoiding conflict if possible and
resolving it soon if possible, in the interests of the organisation and the individuals.
3. The Inter-Actionist View:
Modern View Point, while the human relations view accepted conflict, the inter-actionist
approach encourages conflict. This view is based on the belief that conflict is not only a positive
force in a group but is also necessary for a group to perform effectively. This approach
encourages conflict. According to it if the group is harmonious, peaceful and cooperative, it is
prone to become static and non responsive to the needs for change and innovation. Therefore, the
group leader must allow some conflicts to happen in the group, so that the group may remain
viable, self critical and creative.
However, conflicts must be kept under control to avoid their dysfunctional consequences. The
major contribution of the inter-actionist approach is encouraging group leaders to maintain an
ongoing minimum level of conflict, enough to keep the group viable, self critical and creative.
Thus, it becomes evident that to say conflict is all good or bad is in appropriate and naive.
Whether a conflict is good or bad depends on the type of conflict. Specifically, it is necessary to
differentiate between functional and dysfunctional aspects of conflict.
Positive or Functional Conflicts:
If we look at conflict from functional point of view, conflicts are supposed to serve the following
functions:
1. Release of Tension: Conflict when expressed can clear the air and reduce the tension which
might otherwise remain suppressed. Suppression of tension can lead to imaginative distortion of
truth, sense of frustration and tension, high mental exaggerations and biased opinions resulting in
fear and distrust. When members express themselves, they get some psychological satisfaction.
This also leads to reduction of stress among the involved members.
2. Analytical Thinking:
When a group is faced with a conflict, the members display analytical thinking in identifying
various alternatives. In absence of conflict, they might not have been creative or even might have
been lethargic. The conflicts may induce challenge to such views, opinions, rules, policies, goals
and plans which would require a critical analysis in order to justify these as they are or make
such changes that may be required.
3. Group Cohesiveness:
Inter group conflict brings about closeness and solidarity among the group members. It develops
group loyalty and greater sense of group identity in order to compete with the outsiders. This
increases the degree of group cohesiveness which can be utilized by the management for the
attainment of organisational goals in an effective manner. As cohesiveness increases, differences
are forgotten.
4. Competition:
Conflicts promote competition and hence it results in increased efforts. Some persons are highly
motivated by conflict and severe competition. Such conflict and competition, thus, lead to high
level of effort and output.
5. Challenge:
Conflicts test the abilities and capacities of the individuals and groups. It creates challenges for
them for which they have to be dynamic and creative. If they are able to overcome the challenge,
it will lead to search for alternatives to existing patterns which leads to organisational change and
development.
6. Stimulation for Change:
Sometimes, conflict stimulates change among the people. When they are faced with a conflict,
they might change their attitudes and be ready to change themselves to meet the requirements of
the situation.
7. Identification of Weaknesses: When a conflict arises, it may help in identifying the
weaknesses in the system. Once the management comes to know about the weaknesses, if can
always take the steps to remove them.
8. Awareness: Conflict creates awareness of what problems exist, who is involved and how to
solve the problem. Taking cue from this, management can take the necessary action. 9. High
Quality Decisions: When conflicting, persons express their opposing views and perspectives,
high quality decisions result. The people share their information and check each other reasoning
to develop new decisions.
10. Enjoyment:
Conflict adds to the fun of working with others when not taken seriously. Many people find
conflict enjoyable to competitive sports, games, movies, plays and books.

Negative or Dysfunctional Conflicts:

The dysfunctional aspects of the conflicts can be visualized in the following ways:
1. High Employee Turnover: In case of intra-individual and inter-individual conflicts
particularly, some dynamic personnel may leave the organisation, if they fail to resolve the
conflict in their favour. In this case, organisation will be the sufferer in the long run due to the
loss of key people.
2. Tensions: Sometimes, conflict can cause high level of tensions among the individuals and
groups and a stage may come when it becomes difficult for the management to resolve the
conflicts. This will result in anxiety, frustration, uncertainty and hostility among the members.
3. Dissatisfaction: Conflict will result in discontentment to the losing party, who will wait for an
opportunity to settle the score with the winning party. All this tussle will result in less
concentration on the job and as a result, the productivity will suffer.
4. Climate of Distrust: Conflict often creates a climate of distrust and suspicion among the
members of the group as well the organisation. The degree of cohesiveness will be less as the
discords will be more. The concerned people will have negative feelings towards each other and
try to avoid interaction with each other.
5. Personal Vs. Organisational Goals: Conflicts may distract the attention of the members of
the organisation from organisational goals. They may waste their time and energy in finding
ways and tactics to come out as winners in the conflict. Personal victory becomes more
important than the organisational goals.
6. Conflict as a Cost: Conflict is not necessarily a cost for the individuals. But the conflicts may
weaken the organisation as a whole, if the management is not able to handle them properly. If the
management tries to suppress conflicts, they may acquire gigantic proportions in the later stages.
And if the management does not interfere in the earlier stages, unnecessary troubles may be
invited at the later stages. It is a cost to the organisation, because resignations of personnel
weaken the organisation, feeling of distrust among members have negative impact on
productivity and so on.
Conclusion: Conflicts contained within reasonable limits, thus, serve, several useful purposes
and can be functional for individuals, groups and to the institution. However, if conflict is
allowed to develop beyond control, it could tend to become destructive, resulting in such adverse
situations as strikes, sabotage and other dysfunctional behaviour. There should be an optimum
level of conflict that is very useful for the development of that is very useful for the development
of creativity, high problem solving behaviours and productivity.
5 Stages/Levels/Steps Conflict Process are;
We can identify the stages in a conflict born and grows in an organization. In this post, we will
look at the stages of a conflict covering its birth, rise, and ending in it.
The conflict process consists of five stages that show how conflict begins, grows, and unfolds
among individuals or groups with different goals, interests, or values of the organization.

Stage 1: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility

The first step in the conflict process is the presence of conditions that create opportunities for
conflict to develop. These cause or create opportunities for organizational conflict to arise. They
need not lead directly to conflict; one of these conditions is necessary if the conflict is to surface.
For simplicity’s sake, these conditions have been condensed into three general categories.
- Communication,
- Structure
- Personal Variables.
Stage 2: Cognition and Personalization
The parties must perceive conflict to it; whether or not the conflict exists is a perception issue,
the second step of the Conflict Process. If no one is aware of a conflict, then it is generally
agreed that no conflict exists. Because competition is perceived does not mean that it is
personalized.
For example; A may be aware that B and A are in serious disagreements, but it may not make A
tense or nations, and it may have no effect whatsoever on A’s affection towards B. It is the felt
level when individuals become emotionally involved that parties experience anxiety, tension, or
hostility.
Stage-2 is the place in the process where the parties decide what the conflict is about, and
emotions play a major role in shaping perception.
Stage 3: Intentions
Intentions are decisions to act in a given way; intentions intervene between people’s perceptions
and emotions and their overt behavior.
Using two dimensions, cooperativeness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the
other party’s concerns) and assertiveness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or
her concerns), five conflict-handling intentions can be identified.
Stage 4: Behavior
This is a stage where conflict becomes visible. The behavior stage includes the statements,
actions, and reactions made by the conflicting parties. These conflict behaviors are usually overt
attempts to implement each party’s intentions. When most people think of conflict situations,
they tend to focus on Stage 4. Why? Because this is a stage Where conflict becomes visible. The
behavior stage includes the statements, actions, and reactions made by the conflicting parties;
These conflict behaviors are usually overt attempts to implement each party’s intentions. But
these behaviors have a stimulus quality that is separate from intentions. As a result of
miscalculations or unskilled enactments, overt behaviors sometimes deviate from original
intentions. It helps to think of stage 4 as a dynamic process of interaction.
Stage 5: Outcomes
The action-reaction interplay between the conflicting parties results in consequences. These
outcomes may be functional in that the conflict improves the group’s performance or
dysfunctional in that it hinders group performance. Conflict is constructive when it improves the
quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovations, and encourages interest and curiosity
among group members to provide the medium through which problems can be aired. Tensions
released and foster an environment of self-evaluation and change. Conflict is dysfunctional when
uncontrolled opposition breeds discontent, which acts to dissolve common ties and eventually
leads to the destruction of the group. Among the more undesirable consequences are a retarding
of communication, reductions in group cohesiveness, and subordination of group goals to the
primacy of infighting between members.
Types of Conflict
Intra-Personal Conflict (Within an Individual)
Intra-personal conflict arises inside an individual. It arises due to divergent goals and multiple
roles, which the individual is expected to play. Goal conflicts occur when an individual faces the
problem of choosing among competing goals. Role conflicts arise when the expectations of a
role are materially different or opposite and the individual can meet one expectation only at the
cost of other expectations. It also occurs due to role ambiguity. Role ambiguity occurs when an
individual is not clear regarding his duties and responsibilities.
Interpersonal Conflict (Between Individuals)
It occurs in a condition when two or more persons interact with one another. Such interaction
may take place between peers or seniors and subordinates. The conflict between them may arise
due to the difference in the choices made by them. It is a result of an individual’s inability to
confirm the norms of the group. The main causes of it are personality differences, perceptions,
clash of values and interests, power and status differences, scarcity of resources, etc.

What is Conflict Management?

Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and managing conflicts sensibly,
fairly, and efficiently. Conflict management process deals with (perceived) incompatibilities or
disagreements arising from, for example, diverging opinions, objectives, and needs. Since
conflicts in a business are a natural part of the workplace, it is important that there are people
who understand conflictsand know how to resolve them. This is important in today's market
more than ever. Everyone is striving to show how valuable they are to the company they work
for and at times, this can lead to disputes with other members of the team.

Conflict Stimulation Techniques:

Conflict stimulation refers to intentional actions or techniques employed to incite or escalate
conflicts within organizations or workplaces. While conflict is generally viewed as disruptive
and undesirable, there are instances where controlled conflict can be beneficial for promoting
creativity, innovation, and improved decision-making processes. The following are four
techniques commonly used to stimulate conflicts:
Reorganizing: Restructuring organizational units or departments to introduce changes that
create friction and conflicting interests, disrupting established dynamics.
Communication: Encouraging open and transparent communication channels to foster diverse
opinions and perspectives, leading to clashes and disagreements.
Encouraging Competition: Introducing performance-based incentives or rewards that fuel
conflict as individuals or teams strives to outperform one another.
Bringing in Outsiders: Engaging external consultants or experts with fresh perspectives that
challenge existing norms, leading to conflicts as individuals defend their positions or resist
change.

Conflict Resolution Techniques

Conflict resolution refers to the process of addressing and resolving conflicts in a constructive
and satisfactory manner. It involves finding mutually agreeable solutions that meet the needs and
interests of all parties involved.
Here are four common conflict resolution techniques:
Problem-Solving: This technique focuses on identifying the underlying issues causing the
conflict and working collaboratively to find a solution that satisfies everyone’s interests. It
promotes open communication, active listening, and the exploration of creative alternatives.
Accommodation: In this technique, one party willingly yields to the other’s needs or preferences
to resolve the conflict. It emphasizes maintaining relationships and prioritizing harmony over
individual desires.
Compromising: This technique involves finding a middle ground where each party gives up
something to reach a mutually acceptable outcome. It requires negotiation and a willingness to
make concessions to reach a fair resolution.
Avoidance: Sometimes, conflicts can be temporarily set aside or avoided when the timing or
circumstances are not conducive to resolution. While avoidance may not be a long-term solution,
it can provide a cooling-off period or allow for further reflection before addressing the conflict.

Conflict Prevention Techniques

Conflict prevention techniques in the workplace refer to proactive measures and strategies
employed to minimize the occurrence or intensity of conflicts. Rather than allowing conflicts to
escalate and disrupt the functioning of the organization, these techniques aim to identify potential
sources of conflict and address them before they become major issues.
The following are four common conflict prevention techniques:
Superordinate Goals: Emphasize shared objectives to encourage collaboration and reduce
conflicts arising from competing goals.
Reduce Interdependence: Restructure workflows or responsibilities to minimize reliance on
conflicting parties, reducing potential clashes.
Exchange of Personnel: Rotate or exchange individuals between conflicting groups to promote
understanding and collaboration.
Liaison Group: Establish a forum for ongoing communication and conflict resolution among
representatives from conflicting parties.