CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN

HUMAN SOCIETY
Lecture 1
DEFINING CONFLICT

 Conflict is defined as a clash between individuals arising out of a difference in thought

process, attitudes, understanding, interests, requirements and even sometimes
perceptions
 “Social conflict is a struggle between opponents over values and claims to scarce status,
power and resources.” (L. Coser, The Functions of Social Conflict, 1956)
 “Conflict is a situation in which the conditions, practices, or goals for the different
participants are inherently incompatible.” (C. G. Smith, Administrative Science Quarterly,
1966)
 “A conflict exists whenever incompatible activities occur . . .  one party is interfering,
disrupting, obstructing, or in some other way making another party’s actions less
effective.” (M. Deutsch, The Resolution of Conflict, 1973)
ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT

 is the discord that arises when the goals, interests or values of different individuals
or groups are incompatible and those individuals or groups block or thwart one
another’s attempts to achieve their objective.
VIEWS ON CONFLICT

 Attitude towards the conflict in organizations has changed considerably in the last few
decades.
 3 Views of Conflict are;
 The traditional view of organizational conflict,
 Human relations view of organizational conflict, and
 Interactionist view of organizational conflict.
TRADITIONAL VIEW OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CONFLICT

 The traditional view on organizational conflict is the earliest of the trio.

 It was first developed in the late 1930s and early 1940s, with the most linear and simple
approach towards conflict. According to the traditional view, any conflict in an
organization is Outright bad, negative and harmful.
 Although conflicts are of different types, the traditional view only sees conflict as
dysfunctional and destructive.
 It suggests that organizational conflict must be avoided by identifying the
malfunctioning callus.
 Moreover, the traditional view on organizational conflict identifies poor
communication, disagreement, lack of openness and trust among individuals and the
failure of managers to be responsive to their employees’ needs as the main causes and
reasons of organizational conflict
CONT’D

 The traditional view is the early approach to conflict which assumed that all
conflict was bad and to be avoided. The conflict was treated negatively and
discussed with such terms as violence, destruction, and irrationality to reinforce
its negative implication.
 The view that all conflict is negative certainly offers a simple approach to looking
at the behaviour of people who create conflict.
 We simply need to direct our attention to the causes of conflict, analyzing them
and take measures to correct those malfunctions for the benefit of the group and
organizational performance.
 The traditional view of conflict fell out of favor for a long time as scholars and
academics came to realize that in some circumstances a conflict was inescapable.
HUMAN RELATIONS VIEW OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CONFLICT

 From the late 1940s to the mid-70s, the human relations view dominated the topic
of organizational conflict.
 In that period, the fields of management and organizational behavior were
expanding.
 The traditional view was challenged by various studies and surveys, and therefore,
the human relations view on organizational conflict presented a significantly
different perspective on the topic.
CONT’D

 The human relations view on organizational conflict primarily teaches us to accept

conflict.
 It identifies conflict as an important aspect of any organization, which simply
cannot be more important, unlike the traditional view, the human relations view
does not discard conflict as an outright negative and destructive thing.
 Instead, it says that an organizational conflict may be beneficial for the
individuals, groups and the organization in general.
CONT’D

 This perspective even suggests that organizational conflicts within groups may
even lead to better group performance and outcome.
 The human relations view of conflict treats conflict as a natural and inevitable
phenomenon and, so can’t be eliminated from any organization.
 Here, the conflict was seen in a positive light as it was suggested that conflict may
lead to an improvement in a group’s performance.
INTERACTIONIST VIEW OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CONFLICT

 With further studies in the field of organizational behaviour, people started to accept
conflict as an integral and somewhat positive aspect
 . The interactionist view on organizational conflict extends that concept.
 While the human relations view accepted organizational conflict as an important part, the
interactionist view on- organizational conflict takes the same concept one step further.
 It suggests that an ongoing, minimum level of conflict is necessary and beneficial for a
group.
 In the interactionist view, an organization or group with no conflict is more likely to
become static, non-responsive, inflexible and inadaptable.
 It states that a minimum level of conflict is beneficial for the group because it maintains a
certain level of creativity, self-evaluation, and competition among the individuals.
CONT’D

 All these things result in increased group performance, more creative solutions to problems and
better outcomes.
 We should mind it that even the interactionist view does not claim that every type of conflict is
beneficial and healthy.
 It clearly states that only the functional and constructive forms of conflict help the group, while
the dysfunctional or destructive forms of conflict should be avoided.
 The interactionist view indicates that conflict is not only an encouraging force in a group but also
an absolute necessity for a group to perform effectively.
 While the human relations view accepted conflict, the interactionist view encourages conflicts
because a harmonious, peaceful, tranquil, and cooperative group is prone to becoming static
apathetic and non-responsive to needs for change in innovation.
 So the major contribution of the interactionist view is encouraging group leaders to sustain an
ongoing minimum level of conflict enough to keep the group viable, self-critical and inspired.
SOCIAL CONFLICT THEORY

 Social conflict theory is a Marxist-based social theory which argues that

individuals and groups (social classes) within society interact on the basis
of conflict rather than consensus.
 Through various forms of conflict, groups will tend to attain differing amounts of
material and non-material resources (e.g. the wealthy vs. the poor).
 Conflict Theory purports that due to society’s never-ending competition for finite
resources, it will always be in a state of conflict.  The implication of this theory is
that those in possession of wealth and resources will protect and hoard those
resources, while those without will do whatever they can to obtain them. This
dynamic means there is a constant struggle between the rich and the poor.
CONT’D

 Conflict Theory, developed by Karl Marx, purports that due to society’s never-
ending competition for finite resources, it will always be in a state of conflict.
 The implication of this theory is that those in possession of wealth and resources
will protect and hoard those resources, while those without will do whatever they
can to obtain them. This dynamic means there is a constant struggle between the
rich and the poor.
EXAMPLE

 Occupy Wall Street

 Part of the backlash following the 2008 economic crisis, Occupy Wall Street was a two-month political
protest on Wall Street, New York. Its slogan, “We Are the 99%,” referred to the increasing wealth and
income discrepancy between the wealthiest 1% of the population and the rest of the country. Time
Magazine named “The Protester,” both international protesters and those involved with Occupy Wall
Street, as its 2011 Person of the Year.
 Pay inequalities between genders and races
 The 2008 financial crisis, in which large companies and banks received government bailouts
 Government attempts to manage conflict between privileged and underprivileged citizens through
financial tools like taxes, incentives, minimum wage and regulations
 Relationships between groups like landlords and renters or employers and employees
 Inequalities in the public education system, in which students have unequal opportunities for success
 Inequalities in the criminal justice system
CRITICISM OF CONFLICT THEORY

 Though conflict theory is the basis of several subsequent theories in sociology, including race
conflict theory and critical theory, it has its share of criticism. Modern criticisms of conflict
theory include:
 It focuses on conflict to the exclusion of stable economies and societies.
 Scientific research on interpersonal conflict is lacking.
 There is a limited ability to extend conflict theory into a microeconomic scale, including family
systems.
 It often excludes intersectionality, which describes the network of attributes that make up a
person’s identity.
 Conflict theory discounts positive societal trends, such as humanitarianism and acts of peace.
 It does not include individuals who move into upper social classes through means of merit or
skill (e.g., educational advancement, sports careers, career promotion, etc.).
MODERN CONFLICT

 American sociologist C. Wright Mills founded modern conflict theory in the mid-20th
century. He updated Marx's original theory to apply to modern society, renaming the
"ruling class" the "power elite." He argued that this group—composed of business,
economic, military and political leaders—makes important decisions with their own status
and well-being in mind.
 Conflict theory continues to evolve. Other modern interpretations include:
 Conflict is normal and essential, and it helps society operate and integrate.
 Conflicts with realistic goals have a purpose in society and should not be suppressed.
 Power is a natural part of all social and professional relationships, not just lower and
higher classes.
 An individual's access to certain resources can affect how or if they try to improve their
social status.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS