CHAPTER FIVE

MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT

5.1. Nature and Definition of Conflict
Conflict in organizations is inevitable as far as people work together. Conflict has considerable
influence not only on the behavior, performance and satisfaction level of employees but also on
the effectiveness of an organization.

Conflict can be defined as any situation in which incompatible goals, attitudes, emotions or
behaviors lead to disagreement or opposition between two or more organizational members or
groups. That is, conflict occurs because people do not always agree on goals, issues, perception,
and because people inevitably compete.

According to Robbins, conflict is a process in which an effort is purposefully made by one

person or unit to block another that results in frustrating the attainment of other’s goals or the
furthering of his or her interests.

Conflict is a struggle between incompatible or opposing needs, wishes, ideas, and interests of
people.

5.2. Functional Vs Dysfunctional Conflict

In the past many organizational practitioners operated on the assumption that any and all conflict
was bad and thus should be eliminated. Today, we understand that is not the case. A more
accurate and enlightened view is that conflict is neither inherently good nor bad, but is
inevitable. It is true that too much conflict can have negative consequence because it requires
time and resource to deal with it and because it diverts energy that could more constructively be
applied elsewhere. Too little conflict, on the other hand, can also be negative in that such a state
can lead to stress and tiredness and provide little or no impetus for change and innovation.
Everything is going smoothly; people may become more comfortable to want to make changes
that could improve organizational effectiveness. If true, of course, that some conflict situations
produce nothing positive. Other conflict situations, however, may be beneficial if they used as
instruments for change or innovation. Thus, in dealing with conflict, the crucial issue is not so
much the conflict itself but how it is managed. In this respect, we shall have both functional and
dysfunctional conflict.

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Functional Conflict a functional conflict is a confrontation between groups that enhance and
benefits the organization’s performance. It is also healthy & constructive disagreement between
two or more people.
Dysfunctional Conflict is any confrontation or interaction between groups that harm the
organization or that hinder the achievement of organizational goals. Beneficial conflict can often
turn into harmful ones. In most cases, the point at which functional conflict becomes
dysfunctional is impossible to identify precisely. The same level of stress and conflict that
creates a healthy and positive movement toward goals in one group may prove extremely
disruptive and dysfunctional in another group (or at a different time for the same group). A
group’s tolerance for stress and conflict can also depend on the type of the organization it serves.

5.3. Types of Organizational Conflict

A) Intra-personal Conflict: Intra-individual conflict refers to conflict within the individual. It

is internal to the person. This conflict arises due to the divergent goals and multiple roles
which the individual is expected to play.
B) Inter-personal Conflict: Interpersonal Conflict occurs between two individuals or between
an individual and a group. Example:
 Two managers competing for the same promotion.
 Two parties striving for possession of some resource available to only one party.
C) Intra-group Conflict: Intra-group conflict consist the conflicts that occur between group
members. There can be conditions where individuals within groups find themselves in
conflict with groups in organizations. For instance an individual may violate group norms.
D) Inter-group conflict: Inter-group conflict occurs between two or more groups in an
organization - work groups, social groups, etc.
Example: line and staff conflict or a conflict between working teams.
E) Inter-organizational Conflict: In an organizational situation, conflict may manifest itself in
a number of different modes. Such conflicts may be within the organization itself or between
various organizations. Conflict between organizations is considered desirable if limited to the
economic context only and it may lead to innovative and new products, technological
advancement and better services at lower prises.

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5.4. Sources of Conflict in an Organization

1. Organizational Change: Conflicts may arise due to differing views on the directions to take
in the wake of new developments in the dynamic environment. These new developments take
place in technological, political, economic, and social areas. These new developments, in
turn, affect the organization. So, conflicts may develop among people when there are diverse
opinions about how to face and move along with the dynamic environment.
2. Personality Clashes: People do not think, feel, look or act alike. Though the reasons could
be difficult to explain, many a time people find others “rubbing them the wrong way.”
3. Differences in Value Sets: There are different sets of values and beliefs for different people,
which may sometimes contradict each other. Such disputes may be difficult to resolve due to
the lack of objectivity in them.
4. Threats to Status: Status in the society, group, or organization is very important for many
individuals. When the desired image is threatened or under threat by someone’s actions,
conflict arises.
5. Perceptual Differences: It is quite natural that people perceive things in different ways, but
it is also true that they fail to appreciate such differences in each other’s perception. This is
yet another cause for conflicts.
6. Competition for Limited Resources: Resources of organizations are finite. As a result there
are times when groups or individuals fight for resources. Top management may prioritize
some group(s) over other groups for more allocation of resources. And heads of various
departments may make value judgments about why management had favored that group(s)
and not others that may result in intra or inter-group conflict. The general rule is that, the
greater the scarcity of resources in the organization, the greater the potential for conflict.

7. Work Flow Relationship: Where the group’s performance is dependent on another group, or
if interdependence allows one group to gain at another group’s expense, opposing forces is
stimulated. This is a sure recipe for generating conflict.

5.5. Conflict Management Strategies

It may be said that it is the mismanagement of conflict rather than the conflict itself that causes
real trouble in an organization. Current ideas imply that the level of conflict in an organization
needs to be carefully managed – If there is too much, conflict needs to be reduced, and if there is
too little, the level may need to be increased in a controlled way. In practical terms this means
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that a decision has to be made about whether to resolve any conflicts or to stimulate a conflict
that exists. It is difficult, however, because there are no hard-and-fast guidelines to judge an
appropriate level of conflict.
A viable strategy for conflict management begins with an analysis of the conflict situation and
then moves to the development of strategy options.
A) Analysis of Conflict Situation
Managers can analyze a conflict situation by identifying the following:
1) Conflicting parties: The conflict may arise between individuals, groups, or departments.
2) Source of conflict: The conflict may arise from factors such as differences in value sets,
perception differences, scarcity of resources, workflow relationship, etc. Analyzing this requires
trying to view each situation through the eyes of the parties involved.
3) Level of conflict: The situation may be at a stage where the manager must deal with it
immediately; or the conflict may be at a moderate level of intensity.
If the goals of the workgroup are threatened or sabotage is occurring, the manager must take
action immediately. If individuals or groups are simply in disagreement, a less immediate
response is required.
B) Conflict Stimulation
The current view is that in certain circumstances there can be benefits in stimulating a degree of
conflict within an organization. In situations such as this, the matter needs to be handled in a
very careful and controlled way so that matters do not go too far and result in something that is
highly dysfunctional.
Conflict Stimulation Techniques/Ways
1) Stimulating Competition: This is probably the least risky strategy of all techniques.
Many organizations may have measures of this type in place. A fairly common one is the use of
incentives, such as awards, and bonuses for outstanding performance.
2) Communication: This is a more risky way of stimulating conflict, and if not used with great
care it can result in emotional conflicts. The tactic here is using ambiguous or threatening
messages to increase conflict levels. Information is used to create ambiguity, or even an element
of apprehension or fear.
An example is the judicious use of a rumor that a major reorganization to reduce overheads or
improve performance is being considered.

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3) Altering Organizational Structure: This is another measure that contains pronounced risks.
While organizational structure can be used to make conflict less likely, it can also be a major
source of conflict. Realigning work groups, altering rules and regulations, increasing
interdependence, and making similar structural changes can disrupt the status quo in the
organization. A healthy degree of competition between subunits can encourage innovation and
improved performance but putting units against each other can lead to outright war.
4) Bringing in Outside Persons: Often this is the most risky strategy of all. It is usually
underpinned by the belief that if someone with different background values and attitudes is
imported, that person will be a source of inspiration to current employees and pull them out of
their contentment or complacency. However, it can also go sadly off track and result in a high
degree of relational conflict because the people come to see the newcomer as a threat, and they
all unite against the person.
C) Conflict Resolution
One of the things that can make conflicts hard to resolve is the way that the parties behave
towards each other. The key to conflict resolution is often found in a fuller understanding of their
styles of behavior.
Conflict Resolution Techniques
1) Problem solving: Interested parties confront the issue and cooperatively identify the
problem, generate and weigh alternate solutions and select a solution. It is appropriate for
complex issues plagued by misunderstanding. It is a face-to-face meeting of the conflicting
parties for the purpose of identifying the problem and resolving it through open discussion.
It is inappropriate for resolving conflicts rooted in opposing value systems.
2) Superordinate goal: It s a technique used to create a shared goal that cannot be attained
without the cooperation of each of the conflicting parties.
3) Expansion of Resources: When a conflict is caused by the scarcity of a resource-say,
funding, promotions, and desirable work or working conditions, etc- the expansion of
resource can create a win-win situation. Unfortunately, it is often not possible in practice.
4) Avoidance/Withdrawal: Managing a conflict with an avoiding strategy involves not seeking
to meet your own objectives or the objectives of the other person. The manager passively
withdraws or ignores the problem. It is appropriate when the issue is trivial, neither party has

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 a chance in satisfying its concerns or people need more time to cool down. It is inappropriate
for difficult and worsening problems.
5) Smoothing: This strategy calls for playing down of differences while emphasizing common
interests between the conflicting parties. Smoothing emphasizes finding areas of agreement
rather than dwelling on differences. It involves making concessions to maintain harmony and
avoid heated discussions.
 It is appropriate when it is possible to eventually get something in return.
 It is inappropriate for complex or worsening problems.
6) Accommodating: when one party seeks to appease an opponent, that party may be willing to
place the opponent’s interests above his/her own. In other words, in order for the relationship
to be maintained, one party is willing to be self-sacrificing. We refer to this intention as
accommodating. Ex- Supporting someone else’s opinion despite your reservations about it.
7) Compromise: In a compromising strategy, the parties reach a mutually acceptable solution
in which each gets only part of what he or she wanted. This is a give-and-take approach
involving moderate concern for both self and others. Here, there is no clear winner or loser &
provides incomplete satisfaction of both parties. This strategy can be used when the parties
have equal power and stalemate is likely, or temporary settlements are needed, or when time
is short.
8) Arbitration: Arbitration is a conflict resolution strategy where a neutral third party acts as
judge and issues a binding decision affecting parties in the negotiation process. However, the
authority of the arbitrator may also vary according to the rules set by the negotiators.
For instance, the arbitrator might be limited to choosing one of the last offers or suggesting
an agreement point that is non-binding or free to choose and make any judgment he/she
wishes. When opposing parties agree to submit their case to the decision of a third party they
may agree to accept the decision of the arbitrator as final or to make it appeal able. On the
other hand, arbitration can be voluntary (requested) or compulsory (forced on the parties by
law or contract). Arbitration always results in a settlement of the case/dispute/ problem.
9) Negotiation: Negotiation occurs when two or more parties – either individuals or groups
discuss specific proposals in order to find out a mutually acceptable agreement. It is a
common way of settling conflicts in business. For example, organizations use it to solve
internal disputes (between labor and management or between units competing for scarce

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 resources such as money or personnel) and external conflicts (deals with suppliers or
customers).
10) Altering the Human Variable: This strategy calls for using the behavioral change
techniques such as human resources training to alter attitudes and behaviors that cause
conflict.
11) Altering the Structural Variable: Conflict is resolved through changing the formal
organizational structure and the interaction patterns of conflicting parties through job
redesign, transfers, and the like.
12) Dominance: In this technique parties to the conflict are left free to settle their score by
mobilizing their strengths and capitalizing on the weaknesses of others. Parties use weapons
like fights, arguments and intimidation to win over each other. One party’s gain is another
party’s loss. The stronger ultimately dominates the weaker party.
 Dominating tends to be a power oriented approach. That, is to be successful it requires
that the using group have sufficient power to ‘force’ its resolution on the other group.

 This technique is adopted where both the parties adopt a very rigid stand.

13) Confrontation: In the confrontation strategy, the conflicting parties are forced to verbalize
their positions and disagreements. The objective is to identify a reason to favor one solution
or another and thus resolve the conflict. With skilled leadership and willingness to accept the
associated stress by all sides, a rational solution can frequently be found. Confrontation may
aggravate the struggle and contributes little to finding out innovative or constructive
solutions acceptable to all.
14) Collaboration: Collaboration is trying to find a mutually beneficial solution for both parties
through, problem solving. This strategy promotes mutual problem solving by both conflicting
parties. It is a situation where each conflicting party desires to satisfy fully the concerns of all
parties. Its important feature is information sharing so that both parties can identify common
ground and potential solution that satisfies both of them.
15) Authoritative Command / Impose a Solution: Finally, if all fails, it may be necessary to
impose a solution. But this has to be done with great care. It often works in the short term. If
the solution suits neither party, it seldom solves the problem itself. Indeed, there is always a
danger that the apparent resolution has been achieved at the price of both parties uniting
against the arbiter, who is now seen as a common enemy.

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Concluding Remarks
There is no one best technique; each is appropriate or inappropriate in certain situations. In
handling conflict, managers must remember that cultural differences play a part in the success of
a particular method. Managers should take the view that conflicts are inevitable as far as people
work in-groups in organizations having different interests and objectives. These conflicts may
have positive or negative outcome. Thus, the problem is not the existence of conflicts but their
management. In this regard, understanding individual and group behavior and communication
plays a great role. Although miscommunication is not the source of all conflicts, problems in this
process retard collaboration and stimulate misunderstanding. The various communication
barriers block the proper exchange of information. On the other hand, understanding and
appreciating the different values, believe personality and attitudes individual and group have and
effective communication avoids, if not, minimizes, these communication barriers and
misunderstanding. Effective communication creates common understanding, good human
relations and cooperation, which in turn minimize conflicts.

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