Nature of Organizational Conflict

Conflict – any situation in which incompatible

goals, attitudes, emotions, or behaviors lead
to disagreement or opposition between two
or more parties
Functional Conflict – a healthy, constructive
disagreement between two or more people
Dysfunctional Conflict – an unhealthy,
destructive disagreement between two or
more people
 Consequences of Conflict
Positive
Consequences
Leads to new ideas
Stimulates creativity
Motivates change
Promotes organizational
vitality
Helps individuals and groups
establish identities
Serves as a safety valve to
indicate problems
Negative
Consequences
Diverts energy from work
Threatens psychological
well-being
Wastes resources
Creates a negative climate
Breaks down group cohesion
Can increase hostility and
aggressive behaviors
 Diagnosing Conflict
• Examine the issue
• Analyze the context
• Know the parties involved
 Questions to Use When
Diagnosing Conflict
Yes No

Are the parties approaching the conflict

from a hostile standpoint?
Is the outcome likely to be a negative
one for the organization?
Do the potential losses of the parties
exceed any potential gains?
Is energy being diverted from goal
accomplishment?
 Causes of Conflict
in Organizations
Structural Factors Personal Factors
• Specialization • Skills and abilities
• Interdependence • Personalities
• Common resources • Perceptions
• Goal differences • Values and ethics
• Authority relationships • Emotions
• Status inconsistencies • Communication barriers
• Jurisdictional ambiguities • Cultural differences
 Forms of Conflict
in Organizations
Interorganizational Conflict – conflict that
occurs between two or more organizations
Intergroup Conflict – conflict that occurs
between groups or teams in an organization
Intragroup Conflict – conflict that occurs
within groups or teams
 Forms of Conflict
in Organizations
Interpersonal Conflict – conflict that occurs
between two or more individuals

Intrapersonal Conflict – conflict that

occurs within an individual
Managing Interpersonal Conflict
• Understand power networks
• Recognize defense mechanisms
• Develop strategies to deal with difficult
people
 Forms of
Intrapersonal Conflict
Interrole Conflict – a person’s experience of conflict
among the multiple roles in his/her life
Intrarole Conflict – conflict that occurs within a single
role, such as when a person receives conflicting
messages from role senders about how to perform a
certain role
Person–role Conflict – conflict that occurs when an
individual is expected to perform behaviors in a
certain role that conflict with his/her personal
values
Resolving Intrapersonal Conflict
• Use self-analysis
• Diagnose the situation; ask
• Does the organization values match my
own?
• Ask role senders what is expected
• Use political skills to buffer negative
effects of role conflict stress
 Defense Mechanisms
Aggressive Mechanisms
Fixation – an individual keeps up a dysfunctional
behavior that obviously will not solve the conflict
Displacement – an individual directs his or her
anger toward someone who is not the source of
the conflict
Negativism – a person responds with pessimism to
any attempt at solving a problem
 Defense Mechanisms
Compromise Mechanisms
Compensation – an individual attempts to make up
for a negative situation by devoting
himself/herself to another pursuit with increased
vigor
Identification – an individual patterns his or her
behavior after another’s
Rationalization – a compromise mechanism
characterized by trying to justify one’s behavior by
constructing bogus reasons for it
 Defense Mechanisms
Withdrawal Mechanisms
Flight/Withdrawal – entails physically escaping
a conflict (flight) or psychologically escaping
(withdrawal)
Conversion – emotional conflicts are expressed
in physical symptoms
Fantasy – provides an escape from a conflict
through daydreaming
 Win–Lose versus Win–Win
Strategies

Strategy Dept. A Dept. B Organization

Competitive Lose Lose Lose
Lose Win Lose
Win Lose Lose
Cooperative Win– Win– Win
 Ineffective Techniques for
Dealing with Conflict
Nonaction

Character
Assassination Secrecy
Conflict
Due Process
Nonaction Administrative
Orbiting
 Effective Techniques for
Dealing with Conflict
Superordinate Goals

Confronting Expanding
and Resources
Negotiating Conflict

Changing Changing
Structure Personnel
 DIMENSIONS OF CONFLICT HANDLING
INTENSIONS Killman& Thomas

COMPETING COLLABORATING
Assertive I take charge
(High) Problem Solving
Might makes it
We both win
COMPROMISING
We meet half way

AVOIDING ACCOMMODATING
I give in
Un-assertive I Leave Have it your way
(Low)

Un-cooperative Cooperative
Cooperativeness (High)
(Low)
 CONFLICT HANDLING MODES
MODE LEVEL OFASSERTVINESS LEVEL OF CO-
OPERTATION

COMPETING HIGH LOW

COLLABORATING HIGH HIGH

AVOIDING LOW LOW

ACCOMODATING LOW HIGH

COMPROMISING MODERATE MODERATE

 Management Conflict Styles
Passive I’m Assertive
behavior not OK — I’m OK — behavior
You’re OK You’re OK
High concern Accommodating Collaborating
for others’ style style
needs
Compromising
style
Aggressive
Avoiding Forcing
behavior
style style

Low concern I’m

High concern
for others’ for own
needs not OK — needs I’m OK —
You’re not OK You’re not OK
 Creating a
Conflict-Positive Organization
Value diversity
and confront
differences
Seek mutual
Take stock to
benefits, and unite
reward success and Conflict behind cooperative
learn from Positive goals
mistakes

Empower employees to
feel confident
and skillful
 3 Organizational
Views of Conflict

Competitive
conflict Belittle
differences

Seek
Suspect win–lose
situation

Blame

SOURCE: The Conflict-Positive Organization by Tjsovold, © 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J.
 3 Organizational
Views of Conflict

Avoidance of
conflict Evade
differences

Reduce
Despair risks

Withdraw

SOURCE: The Conflict-Positive Organization by Tjsovold, © 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J.
 3 Organizational
Views of Conflict

Positive
conflict Value
diversity

Seek
Take mutual
Stock benefit

Empower

SOURCE: The Conflict-Positive Organization by Tjsovold, © 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Conflict Management Tools
 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
TECHNIQUES
Be proactive instead of reactive. Good plan shape good
decisions. That's why good planning helps to make elusive
dreams come true. -Lester R. Bittel
Be slow to anger-especially over petty issues. Anger is
always more harmful than the insult that caused it. -Chinese
Proverb

Instead of telling people they are wrong, point out mistakes

indirectly. A person convinced against his will is of the same
opinion still. -Samuel Butler
 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
TECHNIQUES
Look for some type of common ground as soon as possible.
A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that
everyone believes he has the biggest piece. -Ludwig Erhard

If you find that you are in the wrong, admit it. It's easier to
eat crow while it is still warm. -Dan Heist
 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
TECHNIQUES
Admit one of your own poor decisions before pointing out a
similar error by others. A man should never be ashamed to
own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying... that he is
wiser today than he was yesterday. -Alexander Pope, from
Miscellanies by Jonathan Swift

Mend fences whenever possible. Never does the human soul

appear so strong as when it forgoes revenge, and dares
forgive an injury. -E.H. Chapin
 IS ALL CONFLICT BAD ?
• PROMOTES NESESSARY ORGANISATIONAL
CHANGE
CONFLICT CHANGE

ADAPTATION
SURVIVAL