What is conflict?

• https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/C
omp-De/Conflict-Management-and-Negotiation.html
• Conflict is an inevitable part of human existence,
either in organizational life or in one’s personal life.
• Perhaps we can also say that in all human endeavors,
if cooperation is one side of the coin, conflict is the
other
• Conflicts tends to occur at several plateaus, between
two or more individuals, groups, organizations, or
even nations.
Conflict may be occurred between two
individuals, as in the case of superior vs.
subordinate, husband vs. wife, housewife vs.
tenant, etc.
Groups may be drawn into conflict with each
other on the basis of caste, community and
ethnic differences or union-management
rivalries.
Fighting, controversy, hostility and
confrontation- all of which may be termed as
‘Conflict’- occur nearly everyday between
individuals and between groups, although they
may not openly evidence themselves.
A battle, contest or opposing forces existing
between primitive desires and moral,
religious or ethical ideas ( Webster’s
Dictionary)
A state of incompatibility of ideas between
two or more parties or individuals

Conflict management is the practice of

identifying and handling conflict in a
sensible, fair and efficient manner
What is the nature of conflict? How does it affect the
individual and the organization?
The general assumption is that conflict tends to have
negative consequences for both the individual and the
organization.
For example, yourself in an intense conflict situation.
Examine your state of mind. You are tense, uneasy,
extremely anxious and probably unable to concentrate
on your work. Naturally in such situations, your
performance is adversely affected. Decision made may
not be appropriate.
 Alcoholism
 Drug abuse
 Excessive smoking
 Under-eating & overeating
 Extremely aggressive
 Submissive behavior.

Other physiological changes :

 More adrenalin and noradrenalin are shot into the blood and continue
the state of arousal and excitation.
 Speed up of the heartbeat, enlargement of the blood vessel of the
skeletal muscles, and the heart and increase in blood pressure.
 Digestion is affected as the stomach ceases to function properly.
 More of hydrochloric acid is secreted into the stomach.
 Have you ever slammed a door in rage?
 Are you persuaded to avoid the issue?
 Do you say ‘you should’ or ‘you never’?
 Do you sometimes make accusing statements like ‘you started it’ or
‘it’s your fault’?
 Do you often cover up your real feelings by saying ‘it doesn’t matter’
when it does, or ‘I’m fine’ when you are not?
 Ever been so hurt, angry and annoyed that you don’t care about the
other person, you just want revenge?
 Have you ever wished you could handle those difficult people better?
Psychological Responses:
 Inattentiveness to other things
 Lack of interest in work
Job dissatisfaction
Work anxiety
Estrangement or isolation from others
Frustration

Behavioural Responses :
Excessive smoking
Alcoholism
Undereating or overeating
Aggression towards others or work interruption
Decreased communication
Resisting influence attempts
Physiological response:
Psychosomatic disorders such as-
Peptic ulcers
Respiratory problems such as asthma
Hypertension
Headaches
Coronary problems
Beneficial Consequences:
When properly managed, conflict can have beneficial
consequences. They can-
-Motivate individuals to do better and to work harder.
-Satisfy certain psychological needs like dominance,
aggression, esteem and ego.
-Provide creative, constructive, and innovative ideas (For
example; employee benefits today are the outcome of the
union-management conflicts over the past decades)
-Add variety to one’s organizational life.
-Provide diagnostic information.
-facilitating an understanding of the problem, people, and
interrelationship between people, better condition among
individuals and departments.
Dysfunctional Consequences:
-Conflicts affect individuals and organizational
performance.
-May promote self-interests or personal gains at the
cost of others or the organization.
-Intense conflicts over a prolonged period affects
individuals emotionally and physically.
-Time spent on conflicts increases cost.
-conflicts may lead to work sabotage, employee morale
problems, loss of productivity
 Types of conflict

• Inter-personal and intra-

personal
• Inter-group and intra-group
• Competitive and Disruptive
 Interpersonal conflict refers to a
disagreement between two people. The
main cause of the interpersonal conflict
is the difference between individuals.
People always have differences, based
on their attitudes, beliefs, culture and
values. Furthermore, they have their
own set of goals, expectations,
personalities and perceptions, which
lead to conflicts.
 Intrapersonal conflict refers to a
disagreement within an individual,
which is caused by one’s own actions,
emotions, beliefs and values. In other
words, it is a psychological involvement
that occurs within you. Sometimes, it is
a conflict between should and wants.
Here, should is always driven by values
and believes while a want is driven by
the environment.
 Intergroup conflict refers to a
disagreement between two or more
groups. Different groups of people
interrelate to operate a business and to
accomplish organizational objective and
goals. Thus, this interrelation can lead
to conflicts between groups of people.
For instance, the sales team of a
company may have a dispute with the
technical team about a new product
launch.
 Intragroup conflict refers to a
disagreement between members of a
group who shares common targets,
interests or other identifying features.
Intragroup conflicts may occur in
workplaces, and this can be considered
as small-scale. When conflicts occur
within a specific population group, it is
large scale conflicts.
 A conflict is usually viewed as
something negative, as it generates a lot
of antagonism and frustration between
the parties involved. However, a
conflict does not necessarily have to be
destructive. In a constructive conflict,
even though, a disagreement between
two parties emerges, this can be
resolved in a positive manner so that it
benefits both parties. This is often
referred to as a win-win situation
because both parties benefit from it.
Also, the communication that takes
place between the two parties is often
honest and open communication.
They do not involve emotional,
imprudent responses and are focused
on finding a solution.
 Unlike a constructive conflict, a
destructive conflict is
characterized by feelings of
frustration and antagonism.
Destructive conflicts do not
bring about positive outcomes
and damages the productivity of
an organization. In such a
situation, both parties make an
effort to win at whatever cost.
They refuse to communicate
honestly and openly and reject
the solutions brought about by
the other party.
Low Intensity Optimal High Extremely High
Intensity Intensity(Beyon Intensity
d optimal limits)
-Passivity -Explore the -Defensive -Confused
-Lack of interest environment behaviour -Disorganized
-Apathy -Meet the challenges -Withdrawals behaviour
-Indifference -Goal oriented
-Submission -Extreme
-Carelessness activities
-Neglect -Overcoming -Suppression aggression
-Non-Committal barriers -Denial -Freezing over
behaviour (Environmental, -Depersonalization -Paranoiac
-Procrastination Institutional) -Wishful Thinking behaviour
-Withdrawal -Search for -Day dreaming
alternatives -Aggression
-Interaction with -Stereotyping
others
-Rigidity
-Seek solution
-Make decision -Contaminating
-Perseverance issues
-Creativity
-Zeal or enthusiasm
-Controlled
aggression
Without an element of novelty, ambiguity, critical
outlook and tension, work would be drab and
monotonous. It would lead to apathy or indifference
on the part of the employee. Conflicts can act as
catalysts for bringing changes in organizations, in
work performance and one’s self-improvement.

If conflicts are to be functional and constructive , the

following aspects have to be borne in mind by the
superiors in stimulating conflicts in his subordinates
 The conflict generated should be felt as a challenge by the
employee to bring out his best.
 It should not be highly incongruent with the employee’s
existing perceptions, attitudes, or values.
 It should be within the limits of one’s tolerance for conflict
or ambiguity.
 It should not generate fear of failure or of punishment in
the employee.
 It should not question one’s self-evaluation, but be
congruent with it. Solving the conflict should be seen as
controlling to one’s self-confidence or self-esteem or any
such other positive reinforcement.
 It may generate in the subordinate the need to know and to
expand his knowledge, and the need to interact positively
with the other.
 Conflict should be depersonalized.
1. Task
2. Work environment
3. Interpersonal relations
4. Changes in organizational structure and
design
5. Formal or informal communication
6. Subordinate goals
7. Attitudes and needs of the employees
 Conflict Process
Antecedent conditions

Perceived conflict Felt Conflict

Manifest behavior

Conflict Resolution
Or Suppression

Resolution aftermath
Scarce Resources
Conflicting attitude
Ambiguous jurisdiction
Communication barriers
Need for consensus
Unresolved prior conflicts
Knowledge of self and others
 Perceived Conflict
This is a situation where it becomes aware that
one is in conflict with another party. It can block out
some conflict.

 Become aware that one is in conflict with another party

 Can block out some conflict
 Can perceive conflict when no latent conditions exist
 Example: misunderstanding another person’s position
on an issue
 Felt conflict is a type of conflict which the individual think
that whatever is going on within the organization is not
favourable for him and not supporting to him. Generally,
felt conflict arises due to lack of knowledge about working
environment and not satisfied with job which are
delegated to him or her.
 Emotional part of conflict
 Personalizing the conflict
 Oral and physical hostility
 Hard to manage episodes with high felt conflict
 What people likely recall about conflict
Manifest conflict is the
stage when the two
parties engage in
behaviours which induce
responses from each
other. The most obvious
of these responses are
open aggression, apathy,
sabotage, withdrawal and
perfect obedience to rules.
 Conflict resolution is
conceptualized as the methods
and processes involved in
facilitating the peaceful ending of
conflict and retribution.
Committed group members
attempt to resolve group conflicts
by actively communicating
information about their conflicting
motives or ideologies to the rest of
group (e.g., intentions; reasons for
holding certain beliefs) and by
engaging in collective negotiation.
Aftermath conflict is
described as the post-
resolution or peace-
making period. The
potential for conflict may
still exist in the aftermath
and can be even greater
than before if one person
or group perceives
himself/itself as being a
"looser" in the previous
conflict.
Not being a role model
Take credit, no recognition
Be judgmental
Send written messages
Subordinate should come to see me
Make yourself inaccessible to your team
Individual Vs team approach
Telling them? Consulting them? Or deciding with
them?
Come tomorrow
Introduce change without consultation or
discussion
Poorly defined goals
Divergent personal values
Lack of cooperation/trust
Competition of scarce resources
Unclear roles/lack of job description
Stress
Absenteeism
Staff turnover
De-motivation
Non-productivity
Frequent meeting of your team
Allow your team to express openly
Sharing objectives
Having a clear and detailed job description
Distributing task fairly
Never criticize team members publicly
Always be fair and just with your team
Being a role model
 Conflict is unavoidable

Complexity of organizational relationship

Interaction among workers
Dependence of workers on one another
Conflict is a healthy sign not
a negative process

It reflects dynamics

Poorly managed conflicts
Unfavorable with counter productive
results
Problems and negative attitude

Well managed conflicts

Stimulate competition
Identify legitimate differences
Powerful source of motivation