Why Does Conflict Arise in Organizations

Why does mesh arise in organizations, and how it layab give away be managed ABSTRACT This essay seeks to illust order how organizational battle finish non be avoided. It provide demonstrate the mingled ways in which negate whitethorn arise within organizations and classify them into a range of sorts. thither depart be a thorough analysis to show if meshing is exacting or negative towards the growth of an organization. Findings of the previous lead then chip in to different mechanisms that mickle be utilise when managing involution to ensure exacting outcomes in an organization.The aforementi geniusd will be put uped by relevant theories, which will assist in reinforcing the validity of this essay. INTRODUCTION In this art object of rapid development organizations ar formed as a affable entity to foster an environment of financial, economic and social growth. Organizations can range from great governmental bodies to small business. Organizations crap evolved through different phase angles, from its birth to maturity. During these stages organizations lean to be adversely affected by crisis of leadership, autonomy, control and bureaucracy.Consequently these crises arrest involution unavoidable. Additionally, an organization may be exemplified where twain or more(prenominal) individual establish a relationship in order to progress to and acquire a desired intention. on that point atomic number 18 various schools of noteing as it pertains to divergence including the Traditional View, humankind Relations View and the Int termctionist View. more than so fighting exists at different levels namely Intrapersonal, Interpersonal and Intergroup. stock-still in that respect may be some techniques available to manage meshing like Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration, Conciliation and Consultancy.The following paragraphs will further explain the scopes of encroach and how it can be managed. CONFLICT It is a deal that begins when whizz partially perceives that an another(prenominal) community has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the inaugural part c ars about. 1 An organization is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, which controls its aver answerance, and which has a boundary separating it from its environment. 2 Schools of thoughts with regards to run afoul The Traditional ViewThis positioning was habitual in the the 1930s and 40s where it was conceived that the existence of dispute can only be harmful to the growth of an organization. Therefore in that era negate should make been avoided, this resulted in less(prenominal) focus to research on the evidences of impinge. The Human Relations View The human relations position pioneered that divergence was inevitable in all groups and organizations. It could never be eliminated and it in any case some measure proves to be honest to a groups performance. This was dominant in the late 40s and mid 70s. The Interactionist ViewThis vision encourages the existence of bout at an ongoing minimum level, enough to take note the group viable, critical and creative. After looking at the above sucks it will not be feasible to say that involvement is good or corky. It can only be examine as bad or good based on the font of involution. (The schools of thoughts were taken from Stephen Robbins, organisational doings, tenth ed. 2003) Functional Interactionist view does not see all conflict as good but those conflicts that supports the goals and improves performance is called functional conflict or constructive conflict.Dysfunctional On the other hand conflict that is dysfunctional relates to the conflict that advances alienation, inefficiency and generally has adverse effects on productivity. To know if a conflict is all functional or dysfunctional, the geeks must be known. Types of Conflict labor Conflict- this relates to the content and goals of the task that is to be performed, Relationship Conflict- this focus on social relationships, and outgrowth Conflict- this relates to how the task recovers done. Studies show that Relationship conflict most of the times turns out to be dysfunctional.Task, relationship or process can perpetrated in the following ways Intrapersonal Conflict occurs within us when we are at odds with ourselves, when we are torn in the midst of choices we need to make, when we are spoil with our goals or accomplishments. Conflict within us very a lot leads to conflict with others. Interpersonal Conflict occurs amongst twain or more individuals. We great power get into a heated debate in a meeting, get in an argument with a co conk outer, or have a bad encounter with our boss. This is the type of conflict we are most extend toed with in this releaseshop, although our discussion has bearing on the other types.Intergroup Conflict occurs between groups nations, gangs, work areas, etc. For fashion model, your departmen t at work might have an us vs. them attitude about some other department. Intra/ Interpersonal and Intergroup was taken from a Business Management skills denomination from Dave Neal found on http//www. scarecrowworkshops. com/b-conflict-management. html The Process of Conflict diagram will dish out illustrate why conflict arise in organizations, this was taken from Stephen Robbins, Organizational Behaviour, 10th ed. 2003 pic stagecoach 1 shows some of the conditions that has the capacity to develop conflict A break raft in chat is significant in contributing to conflict . The full-strength sense of discourse is for the receiving party to understand what the transmitter is communicating in order to attain the refine feedback. The bereaucratic nature of an organization facilitate the process of unsuccessful communication. This is so as training passed on to subjects may be prone to deterioration. This may be so as the subordinate or receiver may not attach the urgency of the message that the sender in run fored.As such, this reluctance may cause the final message or information to be significantly ambiguous, which would result in conflict. Additionally, another informant of conflict is structural factors as it pertains to sizing, Staff Heterogeneity, Participation, Line-Staff distinction, Reward Systems, Resource mutualness and Power. In terms of size an organzation tend to operate more effciently and with less conflict when it is small. The manger has more direct influence in the phoner in terms of supervision and the overseeing of delegated tasks.However where the company grows in size the reins of controll are strained. There may now be increased long suit and bereaucracy. Consequently there may be increased opport unit of measurementy to for misconception of information and therefore conflict. For fount, an interview was done at a renowned company, WASA in Trinidad and Tobago. The manager of the Construction Services Department North is respo nsible for various pipe laying projects therefore it is mandatory for him to retrieve materials for the various projects.The retrieval of these materials does not lie in his hands, thoroughly, but this function is in the first place aquiline on the Manager of Corporate Services-Supplies to source the proper(a) provider of the materials. This process of sourcing these materials may be long at times therefore pose the pipe laying projects sometimes on long delays. Consequently there is the possibility of having conflict between these two managers but note guardedly that the structure of certain procedures within the organization is the main cause for the conflict.The result of staff heterogeneity appears to have an adverse effect as it pertains to conflict. There are legion(predicate) issues which may arise referable to differences in staff. For pillow slip the junior staff in a company may feel that the senior staff may be too inflexible. They generally keep up more power in organizations and junior staff may be subjected to their redundancy and myopic work approach. Thus conflict may tend to arise. Moreso, Partcipation, in terms of decision making, is a source for conflict. A subordinate may need to be able to express their opinions. Where employees re condition a forum to express their decision making opinons it may be noted that conflict is more likely to occur. According to Robbins, an atmosphere of conflict may be created as the employee is unable to prevail with his point of view due to his lack of trust. Futhermore According to Allen 1955, line and staff distinctions may be another cause for conflict. It may be noted that Line units perform tasks that are directly related to the core activities of the organization. However, staff units perform tasks that support the line function. This definition was taken from the book Organizational Behavior by K.W. Thomas. This may be exemplified in the aforementioned WASA scenario where a line unit member involved in the installation of pipe was hampered in carrying out his task. This may result in conflict as the staff unit may be removed and not place as oft emphasis on the centralized operations of the company as a line member. It may be excessively noted that conflict may arise in terms of reward systems. This refers to the fact that one party may receive a reward at the expense of the other. As such conflict would tend to arise. and that i Personal Variables, this is basically character differences.An important factor is found in stage 2 due to the fact that the antecedents of conflict must be perceived or felt. This is so because all the possibilities in stage 1 could occur but the feelings associated with stage 2 may not necessarily transpire. Further observation of the above diagram with regards to stage 3, which are techniques to handle conflict can also encourage conflict, for instance competing (this speaks for itself) and also avoiding due to the fact that the matter is never resolved leaving the parties unsatisfied and also no growth was do towards achieving the organizations goals.In Addition stage 4 can also promote conflict depending on what happened in the previous stage. If the conflict handling techniques (stage3) was cataclysmic then behaviours (stage 4) may be verbal attacks, threats and ultimatums, aggressive physical attacks or overt efforts to terminate the other party. Therefore it can be analyzed that stage 3 can also initiate more conflict. There are other major fields of study within organizational behaviour that can be a recipe for conflict. Some of these are as follows.Job Satisfaction- Job satisfaction is an integral aspect in organizational conflict. The employee needs to feel truly a part of the company and that his contribution is instrumental to the companys progress. He must also feel challenged by his work load and not bogged dispirited by mundane and alienating tasks. Personalities and perceptions- (express on this factor and mention the following in the right context) there is the Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (a test of 100 questions that asks mess how they react to a certain situation and then this break down into sixteen personality types. 3 Leadership skills- this is where studies were done analyzing the type of employees to see what type of leadership skill will be best suited in order to facilitate an ambiance of little conflict/ functional conflict thus enhancing the organizations performance. Hersey and Blanchards situational theory reiterate this. In other terms if a manager does not have the right type of leadership skills to suit his staff conflict can occur. Organizational Change- if change is not accepted this can cause conflict peculiarly if this change affects the culture of an organization.For example, a technology change may cause conflict if workers perceive they are not ready to handle it. (use other examples) Techniques to Manage Conflict Conflict may be managed If confli cts results in wasteful outcomes then it must be managed. The various ways of managing conflict are Negotiation- this is a process in which two or more parties stand in goods or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them. 4 Mediator- A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning, persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives.Arbitrator- this involves a third party to a negotiation who has the authority to dictate an agreement. Conciliator- A trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and the opponent. Consultant- an impartial third party, skilled in conflict management, who attempts to facilitate creative problem solving through communication and analysis. The definition s of the former four was taken from Organizational Behaviour, Stephen Robbins, 2003. excessively the positive ways of handling conflict (stage3 of the diagram) Collaborate, Compromise and Accommodate (expand on these point s) Other ways are Superordinate goals this is creating a shared goal that cannot be attained without the working together of the conflicting groups. Smoothing- de-emphasizing on differences while looking at the common interest. Behavioural Change techniques can be used to alter personality. morphologic Change Techniques can be used to avoid interactions between the conflicting groups Conclusion In conclusion conflict in an organization is inevitable.In essence, in the 1930s and 40s the Traditional View enveloped that all conflict as destructive and hence should be avoided at all cost. Additionally conflict is unavoidable in all organizations and it can never be eliminated. It has been proposed that conflict may also be advantageous to a groups performance. The aforementioned denoted the Human Relations View which was prevalent among the late 1940s and mid 1970s. Moreover, the interactionist view states that a minimal level of conflict is necessary for the stimulation of creativity. moreover conflict can operate on various levels namely Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Intergroup. It is caused mainly through communication, structural and personal behaviour factors. Communication factors pertain to the agony of information along the communication line. Structural factors that lead to conflict may include size, staff heterogeneity, participation, line staff distinctions, Reward systems, Resource interdependence and Power. Bibliography The following was taken from http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Conflict and can be redone from an organizational sideConflict is a state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more hoi polloi or groups of people, which is sometimes characterized by physical violence. Military conflict between states may constitute war. edit Definitions In political terms, conflict refers to an ongoing state of hostility between two or more groups of people. Conflict as taught for graduate and professional work in conflict reso lution commonly has the definition when two or more parties, with perceived incompatible goals, seek to undermine each others goal-seeking mental ability.One should not confuse the distinction between the presence and absence of conflict with the difference between competition and co-operation. In competitive situations, the two or more parties each have inversely inconsistent goals, so that when either party tries to reach their goal it will undermine the attempts of the other to reach theirs. Therefore, competitive situations will by their nature cause conflict. However, conflict can also occur in cooperative situations, in which two or more parties have consistent goals, because the manner in which one party tries to reach their goal can still undermine the other.A clash of interests, values, actions or directions often sparks a conflict. Conflicts refer to the existence of that clash. Psychologically, a conflict exists when the reduction of one motivating stimulus involves an increase in another, so that a new adjustment is demanded. The word is applicable from the jiffy that the clash occurs. Even when we say that there is a potential conflict we are implying that there is already a conflict of direction flat though a clash may not yet have occurred. edit Types and Modes of ConflictA conceptual conflict can escalate into a verbal exchange and/or result in fighting. Conflict can exist at a variety of levels of analysis intrapersonal conflict (though this normally just gets delegated out to psychology) interpersonal conflict emotional conflict group conflict organizational conflict community conflict intra-state conflict (for example civil wars, election campaigns) international conflict environmental resources conflict intersocietal conflict intra-societal conflict ideological conflict diplomatic conflict economic conflict military conflict religious-based conflict (for example Center For Reduction of Religious-Based Conflict) Conflicts in these levels may appear nested in conflicts residing at larger levels of analysis. For example, conflict within a work team may play out the dynamics of a broader conflict in the organization as a whole. (See Marie Dugans article on Nested Conflict. John Paul Lederach has also written on this. ) Theorists have claimed that parties can conceptualise responses to conflict according to a two-dimensional evasion concern for ones own outcomes and concern for the outcomes of the other party.This scheme leads to the following hypotheses naughty concern for both ones own and the other partys outcomes leads to attempts to find mutually beneficial solutions. High concern for ones own outcomes only leads to attempts to win the conflict. High concern for the other partys outcomes only leads to allowing the other to win the conflict. No concern for either sides outcomes leads to attempts to avoid the conflict. In Western society, practitioners usually suggest that attempts to find mutu ally beneficial solutions lead to the most satisfactory outcomes, but this may not hold true for many another(prenominal) Asian societies.Several theorists detect accompanying phases in the development of conflicts. Often a group finds itself in conflict over facts, goals, methods or values. It is critical that it properly identify the type of conflict it is experiencing if it hopes to manage the conflict through to resolution. For example, a group will often treat an assumption as a fact. The more difficult type of conflict is when values are the root cause. It is more likely that a conflict over facts, or assumptions, will be resolved than one over values. It is extremely difficult to prove that a value is right or correct.In some instances, a group will benefit from the use of a facilitator or process consultant to help identify the specific type of conflict. Practitioners of nonviolence have developed many practices to solve social and political conflicts without resorting to violence or coercion. edit Examples Approach-avoidance conflict is an example of intrapersonal conflict. The Vietnam Conflict is commonly regarded as a war. The Arab-Israeli conflict forms a historical and ongoing conflict between Israel and Arab interests. See also Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Catholic-Protestant conflict in Northern Ireland furnishes an example of another notable historic conflict. For information on the conflict, see the Troubles, Bloody Sunday (Northern Ireland 1972), the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan Bombings and the 1998 Omagh bombing. Many conflicts have a supposedly racial or ethnic basis. This would include such conflicts as the Bosnian-Croatian conflict (see Kosovo), the conflict in Rwanda. Class conflict forms an important topic in much Marxist thought. Another type of conflict exists between governments and guerrilla groups or groups engaged in asymmetric warfare. = edit Causes of Conflict Structural Factors (How the company is set up) Specializ ation (The experts in fields) Interdependance (A company as a whole cant operate w/o other departments) Common Resources (Sharing the similar secretary) Goal Differences (One person wants production to rise and others want communication to rise) control Relationships (The boss and employees beneath him/her) Status Inconsistencies Jurisdicational Ambiguities (Who can discipline who) Personal Factors Skills and Abilities Personalities intuition Values and Ethics Emotions Communication barriers Cultural Differences Conflict is an emotionally outlined and driven, and does not exist in the absence of emotion. There are many components to the emotions that are intertwined with conflict. There is a behavioral, physiological, cognitive component. Behavioral- The way emotional own gets expressed which can be verbal or non-verbal and intentional or un-intentional. Physiological- The bodily experience of emotion. The way emotions make us feel in comparison to our identity. C ognitive- The idea that we assess or appraise an event to set off its relevancy to ourselves. These three components collectively advise that the meanings of emotional experience and locution are determined by cultural values, beliefs, and practices. Cultural values- culture tells people who are a part of it, Which emotions ought to be expressed in ill-tempered situations and what emotions are to be felt. Physical- This escalation results from anger or frustration. Verbal- This escalation results from negative perceptions of the annoyers character. There are several principles of conflict and emotion. 1. Conflict is emotionally Defined-conflict involves emotion because something triggers it. The conflict is with the parties involved and how they decide to resolve it Events that trigger conflict are events that elicit emotion. 2. Conflict is emotionally Valenced- Emotion levels during conflict can be intense or less intense. The intensity levels may be indicative mood of the importance and meaning of the conflict issues for each party. 3. Conflict Invokes a clean-living Stance- When an event occurs it can be interpreted as moral or immoral.The judging of this morality Influences ones orientation to the conflict, relationship to the parties involved, and the conflict issues. 4. Conflict is Identity based- Emotions and Identity are a part of conflict. When a person knows there values, beliefs, and morals they are able to determine whether the conflict is personal, relevant, and moral. Identity related conflicts are potentially more destructive. 5. Conflict is Relational- conflict is relational in the sense that emotional communication conveys relational definitions that tinct conflict. Key relational elements are power and social status. Emotions are satisfying in the workplace as long as they can be controlled and utilized for productive organizational outcomes. Bibliography 1 K. W. Thomas, Conflict and Negotiation Process in Organizations , in Dunnette and Hough (eds. ), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2ne ed. , vol. 3, 1992 2 http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Organization 3 R. R Mc Crae and T. Costa, Reinterpreting the Myers- Briggs Type indicator from the perspective of the five factor model of personality, ledger of Personality, March 1989 4 J.A. Wall, Jr. , Negotiation Theory and Practice, 1985 Antecedent Conditions Communication social structure Personal Variables Perceived Conflict Felt Conflict Conflict handling Intentions Competing Collaborating Compromising Avoiding Accommodating Overt Conflict Partys Behaviour Others Reaction Increased Group Performance rock-bottom Group Performance Stage 1 Potential Opposition or Incompatibility Stage 2 Cognition and Personalization Stage 3 Intentions Stage 4 Behaviour Stage 5 Outcomes