CONSEQUENCES OF ROLE CONFLICT AND AMBIGUITY

Most people experience occasional role conflict and ambiguity. In small doses, role conflict and
ambiguity may be good for the individual and the organization. When there are no
disagreements and no uncertainty associated with a role, people can become so comfortable in
the position that they constantly strive to preserve the status quo. Some role stress, therefore,
can lead to useful adaptation and change. In sum, there is a level of hostility below which
conflict and ambiguity may be benign but above which they will be negative.

Excessive role stress can have dysfunctional consequences, both psychological and behavioral,
for the individual and the organization.

Ano nga ba ang role ambiguity?

Role ambiguity is the absence of clearly formulated information on performance expectations,
goals, duties, authority, responsibilities, obligations and other working conditions related to role
performance and that occurs when employees perceive a lack or absence of clarity in the
activities necessary to carry out a correct performance (Rizzo, House & Lirtzman, 1970).

An example is when employees show serious doubts about what managers or their supervisors
expect from them, and how to meet those expectations. They will start asking “What should I
do?”, “How will I be evaluated?”, “What do they expect from me?”, “How will I satisfy them?” and
many more. Those questions will have a behavioral effect on them, they will feel demotivated
as they don’t know what to do to meet the expectations of their bosses. There will also be a
reduction in performance because they are experiencing job tension.

When others have different perceptions or expectations of an individual’s role, the individual
tends to experience role conflict because it is difficult to satisfy a set of expectations without
rejecting the other, that is, they perceive that they cannot meet the demands of all the people
they must serve.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES
When a salesperson perceives that role partners have conflicting expectations about how the
job should be performed, the salesperson becomes the “person in the middle.” How can they
satisfy the demands of one role partner without incurring the wrath or disappointment of others?

Perceived role ambiguity can have similar negative consequences. When salespeople feel they
lack the information necessary to perform the job adequately, or they don’t know what role
partners expect of them, they lose confidence in their ability to perform the sales role
successfully. Salespeople tend to worry a great deal about whether they are doing the right
thing and about how role partners will react to their performance. They may also lose
confidence in role partners and blame them for failing to communicate their expectations and
evaluations adequately.

BEHAVIORAL CONSEQUENCES
Perceived role conflict and ambiguity can produce dysfunctional behavior consequences among
the sales force. It is naive to think that a happy worker is invariably a productive worker, but
evidence collected from a variety of occupations suggests that a worker’s satisfaction influences
job behavior. For instance, a negative relationship consistently appears between job satisfaction
and absenteeism and employee turnover. Low satisfaction is also related to turnover among
salespeople, although the relationship is moderated by economic conditions and the availability
of alternative jobs.

Another relationship that appears in studies of other occupations is a positive correlation

between satisfaction and performance, although there is controversy over the nature of the
relationship. Some argue that high satisfaction leads to good performance; others argue that
good performance makes workers more satisfied with their jobs. The available sales
management literature seems to suggest a salesperson’s job satisfaction is directly related to
performance on the job and that conflict and ambiguity are negatively related to sales
performance. Role ambiguity and role conflict even affect whether sales managers and
salespeople agree on how well the salesperson is doing the job.

MANAGING CONFLICT AND AMBIGUITY IN SALES PERSON

Given that conflict and ambiguity produce dysfunctional psychological and behavioral
consequences for salespeople, the next question is: Can sales management do anything to hold
conflicts and ambiguities at a reasonable level or help the salesperson deal with them when
they occur? Evidence suggests that experienced salespeople perceive less conflict than less-
experienced representatives.

The reason why experienced salespeople perceive less conflict is because they already have
enough knowledge on the performance expectations, goals, duties, authority, responsibilities,
obligations and other working conditions related to role performance. They know what is
expected from them and how to satisfy their manager and supervisors. Since they have the
experience on how the work is done, they know how to properly handle their psychological and
behavioral problems without affecting their performance.

ROLE ACCURACY
The role component of the model contains three variables: role conflict, role ambiguity, and role
accuracy. It is appropriate to highlight role accuracy separately for two reasons.

First, role accuracy can be viewed both generally and from the standpoint of specific linkages.
When it is viewed generally, its impact and antecedents are similar to those for role conflict and
ambiguity. But additional insight is gained by looking at role accuracy with respect to specific
linkages. Second, role accuracy specifically influences the motivation component of the model,
and to understand role accuracy, it is necessary to assess its impact on the salesperson’s
motivation to perform.

NATURE OF ROLE ACCURACY

A salesperson has accurate role perceptions when he or she correctly understands what role
partners expect when performing the job. Role accuracy involves such considerations as
whether salespeople correctly think they can negotiate on price, promise shorter delivery times
than normal, and handle back charges and adjustments for customers.

More specifically, role inaccuracy arises when the salesperson incorrectly perceives the
relationships between activities and performance dimensions, or between performance
dimensions and rewards.