CONFLICT

B Y : N I D H I A G R AWA L
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DEFINITION

According to Robins, “ Conflict 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 person cares about.”
NATURE OF CONFLICT

• Conflict is any situation in which two or more parties feel themselves in opposition.
• Conflict is an interpersonal process that arises from disagreements over the goals to attain or
the methods to be used to accomplish those goals.
• Conflict is inevitable.
• All conflict is not necessary bad but there are conflicts that can increase the performance of
the employees.
TRANSITIONS IN CONFLICT THOUGHT
TRADITIONAL VIEW

• All conflict is harmful and needs to be avoided.

The Human Relations View

• Conflict is natural and inevitable, and that need not to be evil, but rather has
the potential to be a positive force in determining group performance.

The Interactionist View

• Conflict is not only a positive force in a group but that it is absolutely

necessary for a group to perform effectively.
FORMS OF CONFLICT
Relationship Conflict

• Exists when there are interpersonal incompatibilities among group

members.

Task Conflicts

• Disagreements about the content of a task and work goals.

Process Conflicts

• Disagreement about how a task should be accomplished, individuals’

responsibilities and delegation.
LEVELS OF CONFLICT

Organisational
Intergroup
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
INTRAPERSONAL

• Conflict that occurs within the individual.

• Sources of intrapersonal conflicts:
1. Conflict Due to Frustration : Frustration occurs when there is blockage in your goal directed
activity.
2. Goal Conflict:
3. Role Conflict and Ambiguity:
GOAL CONFLICT

• Kurt Lewin 1930s has described conflict as two opposite tendencies i.e. Approach and
Avoidance.
• Three types of goal conflict :
1. Approach-approach conflict
2. Approach-Avoidance conflict
3. Avoidance- Avoidance Conflict
APPROACH-APPROACH CONFLICT

• The individual is attracted towards two appealing goals.

• Has least impact on the organisational behaviour.
• Conflict is resolved quickly.
• This type of conflict can be analysed by cognitive dissonance theory.
 APPROACH-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT
• The individual is both attracted to and repelled by the same goal.
• Has a strong impact on the organisational behaviour.
• Gradients of approach-avoidance conflict.
AVOIDANCE- AVOIDANCE CONFLICT

• The person is confronted with two undesired or threatening possibilities.

• This type of conflict does not have a great deal of impact on oragnisational behaviour.
• It is easily resolved the person may not choose either of them and may simply run from it.
• But sometimes the person has to either choose one of the situation and which can leads to
dissatisfaction.
 ROLE CONFLICT AND AMBIGUITY

• Role is defined as a position that has expectations evolving from established norms.
• There are three types of role conflict:
1. Conflict between the person and the role: in this there is a conflict between the person’s
personality and the expectations of the role.
2. Intra role conflict: usually it is created by the contradictory expectations about how a role
should be played.
3. Inter role conflicts: results from differing requirements of two or more roles that must
played at the same time.
INTERPERSONAL LEVEL

• Conflict occurs between two person.

• Sources of interpersonal conflicts:
1. Personal difference.
2. Information deficiency.
3. Role incompatibility.
4. Environmental Stress.
5. Threats to Status.
6. Trust
ANALYZING INTERPERSONAL
CONFLICT
Johari Window
Developed by Joseph Luft And Harry Ingham
It helps to identify the interpersonal styles and also determines the characteristics of each style.
Also suggest ways of interpreting the conflicts that develop between the self and others.
‘self 'is thought to be ‘me’ and ‘others’ as the ‘you’ in two person interaction .
 INTERGROUP
• Conflict occurs whenever individuals belonging to one group interact collectively or
individually with the other group or its members in terms of their reference group member.
• Social psychologist Muzafer Sherif’s Realistic Group Conflict Theory (RGCT) considers
intergroup conflict is produced by the existence of conflicting goals ( competition) and is
reduced by mutually desired goals that can be attain through intergroup cooperation.
• Sources of Intergroup Conflict:
1. Competition for resources
2. Task interdependence
3. Jurisdictional ambiguity
4. Status struggles
CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUPS IN
CONFLICT
• There is a clear distinction and comparison between “we” and “they”.
• A group that feels that it is in conflict with the other group becomes more cohesive in order
to defeat the other group.
• The positive feelings and cohesiveness does not transfer to the members of the other group.
• Threatened group members feel superior- they overestimate their own strength while
underestimate the other group.
• Amount of communication between conflicting group decreases.
• If a group is losing a conflict their cohesiveness between the members decreaes and they
experience intense tension.
• The intergroup conflict and the resulting hostility is not the result of neurotic tendecies on the
part of the individual members.
ORGANISATIONAL
• Organizational conflict is disagreement by individuals or groups within the organization.
• In organisation individuals face many conflicting organisational cross pressures operating on
them.
• Four basic types of structural conflict are:
1. Hierarchical conflict : it is the conflict between th variuos levels of the organisations. For e.g.
conflict between the manager and the workers.
2. Functional conflict: there may be conflict between various functional department of
organisation like conflict between production and marketing department.
3. Line staff conflict: conflict between line and staff.
4. Formal -informal conflict: conflict between the formal and informal rules
OUTCOMES OF CONFLICT
 EFFECTS OF CONFLICTS
• Conflict can be both functional and dysfunctional.

Advantages Disadvantage

• people are stimulated • may feel defeated

• more creative • could suffer
• more committed to the psychological problems.
outcome. • cooperation and
teamwork may
deteriorate.
• distrust may grow
among people.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION

• Conflict Resolution is any methodology that effectively get all parties’ needs met, as
sufficiently as possible, in order to restore peace and cooperation.
• Intentions help the participants to choose their strategy.
• The participant needs to choose his intentions i.e. win or lose. Which depends on two
dimensions i.e.
1. Assertiveness; the degree to which the person attempts to satisfy his own needs.
2. Cooperative the degree to which the person attempts to satisfy the needs of others
STRATEGIES
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

conflict Conflict Conflict

stimulation Resolution management
CONFLICT RESOLUTION TECHNIQUES

• Problem solving in which they have face to face meeting of the conflicting parties to identify
their problem and find a solution.
• Expansion of resources when the conflict occurs by scarcity of resource.
• Authoritative command is where management uses its authority to resolve the conflicts.
CONFLICT STIMULATION TECHNIQUES

• Communication : using threatening or ambiguous situation to stimulate the conflict.

• Bringing in outsiders: Adding employees to the group whose values differ from the present
employees.
• Restructuring the organisation: Altering certain rules increasing interdependency between
groups.
THE CONFLICT PROCESS
REFERENCES

• Robins and Sanghi, (2007) 11th edition Organisational Behaviour: Pearson Education, India.
• Luthans, F (2013) Organisational Behaviour : An evidence based approach, N.D: McGraw-Hill
(India).
• Newstrom, J.W (2007) Organisational Behaviour : Human Behaviour at work: N.D McGraw-
Hill.
THANK YOU