conflict management

Conflict Management

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An organization consists of people of different backgrounds as these individuals differ in their opinions , perceptions , attitudes , beliefs and so on , interaction among them often leads to conflicts . Conflict may be defined as the disagreement between two or more individuals or groups over an issue of mutual interest . Conflicts may arise between two parties when : one party (an individual or a group ) feels that the actions of the other party

will either affect its interests adversely or obstruct the achievement of its goals the goals of both the parties differs significantly or are interpreted differently or the basic values and philosophies of the two parties are different (Robbins , 1998 br

. 437 . Conflicts can range from small disagreements to violent acts While some degree of conflict is desirable in organizations so as to promote the spirit of competition among employees , it jeopardizes the effective functioning of the organization if it is allowed to persist for a long time

Conflict Management Views

Conflicts are generally regarded as a destructive process that has to be eliminated from the workplace . There are two major views of conflict at workplace - Dysfunctional view and Functional view (Robert , B . 2005

Dysfunctional View : According to this view , organizations should give more importance to stability , discipline and liness . They should prevent members from getting involved in any type of conflict . If any conflict occurs , it should be immediately suppressed . Conflicts in organizations are regarded as an indication of defects in the design and structure of the organization . Therefore , efforts should be made to define jobs more clearly , clarify authority and responsibilities intensify disciplinary activities and increase the use of power in to control conflicts . However , the attempts to close the ways in which disagreements can be expressed curtail creativity and due to rigid disciplinary rules and structure , the organization looses its agility This ultimately reduces the competitiveness

Functional View : The functional view of organization conflict assumes that organizations need innovation , agility and responsiveness to change in to achieve their goals - not structure , discipline and liness . This modern view suggests that organizations should encourage conflicts because it enables employees to express their views opinions , and ideas freely and enhances their creativity and productivity . According to this view , conflicts in an organization provide feedback to management about its policies and procedures Conflicts provide an opportunity for management to identify what is wrong and take appropriate measures to rectify it

However , both of these two approaches suppress conflict for a short period of time , but increase the intensity of conflict and their potential to destroy the organizations

Conflict Resolution Techniques

Primarily , there are two dimensions that should be considered while attempting to resolve conflict - assertiveness (satisfaction of one 's own interests ) and cooperativeness (satisfaction of other 's interests Five types of conflict handling intentions can be applied using these two approaches (Ivancevich and Matteson , 334

Competing (assertive and uncooperative ) - when each...