CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction
People Power Cooperative (PPC) is a service cooperative of self-employed and
non-regular workers and professionals who want to improve the quality of their
economic

lives.

It

introduces

the

concept

of

transforming

"employees"

to

"entrepreneurs" in a cooperative enterprise. This is a very innovative concept that

addresses the issue of contractual workers and their productivity. PPC used a model
which ensures the long-term engagement of these contractual employees via Self
Employment.
VISION
To be the leading worker-owned social enterprise that continuously improves the
quality of life of our worker-members for the socio-economic enrichment of our
respective communities.
MISSION
To our owner members: We will have sustainable, sources of livelihood in the mettle of
productivity, teamwork, entrepreneurship, and social and environmental responsibility
To our customer/Business partner: We will provide our members and customers with
novel and outstanding products and services that deliver the most effective solutions
and alternatives to their needs and wants.

Page | 1

To our communities: We will strengthen our communities by creating accountable

partnerships towards peace, productivity, and prosperity.
Background of the Study
Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts
sensibly, fairly, and efficiently. Since conflicts in a business are a natural part of the
workplace, it is important that there are people who can understand conflicts and 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.
There are several causes of conflict. Conflict may occur when:

A party is required to engage in an activity that is incongruent with his or her

needs or interests.

A party holds behavioral preferences, the satisfaction of which is incompatible

with another person's implementation of his or her preferences.

A party wants some mutually desirable resource that is in short supply, such that
the wants of all parties involved may not be satisfied fully.

A party possesses attitudes, values, skills, and goals that are salient in directing
his or her behavior but are perceived to be exclusive of the attitudes, values,
skills, and goals held by the other(s).

Two parties have partially exclusive behavioral preferences regarding their joint
actions.
Page | 2

Two parties are interdependent in the performance of functions or activities.

Conceptual Framework

Conflict
Management

Inharmonio
us
workplace

People Power
Coop.

Harmonious
Workplace

The diagram above served as the conceptual framework of this research. It

shows the connection between the conflict management of People Power Cooperative
and their possible results in the organization.

Statement of the Problem

This research is about how People Power Cooperative manages conflict in their
organization.
Specifically, the research sought to find answers to the following questions.
Page | 3

1. What is Conflict Management?

2. What are the ways to manage conflicts within an organization?
3. What are the ways People Power Cooperative uses to manage conflicts?
Definition of Terms
1) Conflict a serious disagreement or argument between two or more parties
2) Organization an organized body of people with a particular purpose, especially
in a business, society, association, etc.
3) Behavioral Preferences different standards in terms of how one acts towards
the other, and vice versa.

Page | 4

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

These related literature and studies will prove the level of credibility of this
research. These serve as sources of a wider range of information to eradicate further
confusions.
Foreign Literature
On an article written by Mike Myatt (2012), Heres the thing - leadership and
conflict go hand-in-hand. Leadership is a full-contact sport, and if you cannot or will not
address conflict in a healthy, productive fashion, you should not be in a leadership role.
The issues surrounding conflict resolution can be best summed-up by adhering to the
following ethos;Dont fear conflict; embrace it its your job. While you can try and
avoid conflict (bad idea), you cannot escape conflict. The fact of the matter is conflict in
the workplace is unavoidable. It will find you whether you look for it (good idea more
later) or not. The ability to recognize conflict, understand the nature of conflict, and to be
able to bring swift and just resolution to conflict will serve you well as a leader the
inability to do so may well be your downfall.
Based on the above paragraph, it just says that the one who leads must know
how to deal and handle conflicts. Conflict is everywhere and anytime. If one employee
doesnt want whats happening, it might become a serious conflict. Managers, the one
Page | 5

who usually leads, must also know how to prevent this kind of problems. Resolving
conflicts is also one of the tasks of managers. Therefore, unresolved conflicts might
result to loss of productivity, and barriers among employees. The company might also
lose good and skilled employees if conflicts were not prevented and solved.

Culture frequently plays a role in the origin of conflict (Girard and Koch, 1996).
Perceptions, expectations, behaviors and communication patterns are all rooted in
culture and the question is not whether or not the effect occurs, but what the effect is.
When the other individuals culture codes are understood, conflict prevention and
resolution can be more effective (Girard and Koch, 1996)
In these statements, it states that culture, perceptions, expectations, behaviors,
and communication can really affect conflict. These aspects are some of the causes
why conflict arises in an organization. Everyone especially managers who lead must
understand and respects every employees differences and perceptions in order to
prevent conflicts, though it is inevitable. Employees must work harmoniously to lessen
conflicts.
If conflicts arent resolved it can cause problems in the workplace. In an article
written by Brady Wilson (1991), Workplace trauma, as psychologists refer to the
condition caused by employee abuse, is emerging as a more crippling and devastating
problem for employees and employers alike than all the other work-related stresses put
together."
Page | 6

Good Conflict management is really important to organizations because if you

wont implement such, it may give inharmonious workplace and relationship to your
employees, stressed and burned out employees dont produce good performance in
work and in the end, it will just be the companys loss.

Local Literature
In a related research by Concepcion Martirez (2008) she states that My findings
indicate that every persons conflict management styles are not dependent on their
position level of management, age, civil status, educational attainment, and sex.
In this research, she clearly shown that conflict management styles differ with
different people and it is not dependent on any external preferences thus showing that
external reasons cannot hinder a person to give a good conflict management.
Michael Ramsay (2001), stated that To prevent conflicts, a professional code of
conduct should be established, not only in the hospital but also as part of group practice
policies and medical staff bylaws. Ground rules make it easier to discipline, as they take
personality out of the equation. A disciplinary structure should be developed, so that the
mechanisms and the referral pattern to higher authority are well understood. General
knowledge of this discipline pathway can often facilitate resolution at a lower level.
Everyone needs to understand that there are firm limits on inappropriate behavior.

Page | 7

Not just in hospitals but to every organization, it is clear that an organization

should have clear group policies and rules to avoid conflicts because it would be easier
to control or discipline your employees. Respect should also be observed in the
organization and it must be clear to everyone that internal conflicts is not welcome in the
organization because it would not affect their performance positively.

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Findings
Like any other cooperatives, People Power Cooperative (PPC) also experiences
conflicts within their organization. It is inevitable for its members to have fights due to
their personality implications and misunderstandings. When team members work
together during the course of completing their tasks and responsibilities, there is always
a possibility for conflict. In the case of this cooperative, if the other members cannot
hold any longer the fight between the persons having contradictions, the management
will get in the way. The management of People Power Cooperative (PPC) takes full
responsibility of their members' actions. The cooperative speaks to both parties
individually and listens to each sides and then afterwards, they let them meet face-toface to settle the disagreement between them. People Power Cooperative (PPC)
practices its core values which were lined after the name of their cooperative:

Page | 8

P-raise God is our main objective

P-aradigm shift

E-ntrepreneurial approach

O-n time and on the go

O-ne in goal

W-in-win solution

P-eace of mind

E-xemplary

L-ithe during economic downturn

R-espect

E-mpowerment

The above-mentioned values are being followed by the management in order to

direct every member of the cooperative to one direction, to achieve their common goal
and purpose. They instil to each one of the members these morals and the significance
of working together as a group, as a team, to attain their aspiration and become
successful. However, the values "Praise God is our main objective", "Peace of Mind",
and "Respect" are the shared values in the People Power Cooperative (PPC) that can
avert from having conflicts among its members.

Conclusion
People Power Cooperative is a man-power cooperative that provides services to
its members and clients. The board of directors and members cooperation and
communication with one another are the reason behind their success. There are
different factors on why they are able to manage conflicts within their cooperative.
Page | 9

First factor is the PPCs board of directors which are honest and transparent with
each of the members. Their members know everything that is happening to the
cooperative because the board of directors strongly believe that their members deserve
to know everything and that nothing should be hidden from them in order to create trust.
Second factor is PPCs thorough selection of their directors in lieu of the
effectiveness of the management. They believe that a problem of a member will
eventually become a problem of the whole cooperative. That is the main reason why
they are very strict in implementing rules inside the cooperative. It makes their members
obey and respect the management.
Third factor would be because they are service cooperative. They make sure that
the members are continuously given education and training about their offered services
like marketing, production, auxiliary etc. so that their members continue to learn and
grow forward as the company grows itself. They serve as a role model to its members
especially in meetings, appointments, and in accepting responsibilities and duties.
Fourth factor would be PPCs ways of making sure that all of their members
voice out their opinions and ideas and participate actively in their meetings and other
cooperative activities which generally involve the members support.
The last factor would be the members thorough compliance with the
cooperatives principles. They are open to all people who want to be a part of their
cooperative and they make sure that each members support the cooperative by giving
contributions in financial amounts and in service.
Page | 10

The continuous education and training that the cooperative gives to them results
to their members being well-educated and well-equipped with the right attitude which
makes the cooperative invulnerable when it comes to conflict. Their members also show
the cooperative values such as equity, democracy, equality, honesty, openness, and
social responsibility which also has an impact towards the conflict management of the
cooperative.

Recommendation
No one can stop conflict arises, but it can be prevented and resolved. In order to
prevent conflict, managers should know the conflict management styles like
accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, competing, and compromising. In order to
accommodate, managers should cooperate to a high degree.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_management

APPENDICES
Transcript of Interview
Interview Question:
1) Do you experience conflicts in your organization?
Page | 11

2) How do you sense a conflict ?

3) How do you handle situations like this?
4) What are the steps or stages in due process if the situation is already severe?
5) What are the shared values in your organization that can prevent from having
conflicts among members?

Page | 12