CHAPTER

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

This chapter contains an introduction, a statement of the problem, a conceptual

framework, the significance of the study, its scope and limitations, and definitions of

terms that provide an overview of the research.

INTRODUCTION

Conflict management in the workplace is an issue that every leader, manager, or

employee has to deal with at one time or another. The basics of conflict management

include improving communication, teamwork, and a systematic approach to solving

the disagreement. Disappointments, disagreements, and conflict are unavoidable

throughout the process of achieving organizational goals. This strongly implies that

bickering, backbiting, blaming, gossiping, and undermining others will never be

entirely eradicated from any human culture.

According to Albert (2011), there are both productive and destructive workplace

conflicts; “conflict is said to be positive when it is constructively discussed by the

parties and amicable terms for settlement are reached.” He emphasized that

constructively managed workplace conflict induces positive employee performance,

while poorly managed workplace conflict lowers employee morale, reduces employee

productivity, increases employee absenteeism, increases the chances of losing skilled

personnel, leads to loss of man and machine hours, and may lead to an increase in the

number of defective products produced due to a lack of quality control.As a result,

companies have been dealing with the issue of unionized and non-unionized agitation

from workers at all levels for quite some time. They are subjected to a variety of

strike actions, unceremonious resignations, court proceedings, and even the exchange

of blows among coworkers.

Disputes between co workers, though widespread, are dangerous because they

involve fragile interpersonal relationships which will cause an office and an entire

business to be affected. As a result, it is necessary to analyze whether this social

variable is a burden or a blessing for business organizations. The purpose of this

research is to determine whether conflicts have a positive or negative impact on the

job order employee’s performance at General Santos City water district company.

The primary goal of the research is to investigate the strategies of General Santos

City water district company t in terms of handling/managing conflicts in the

workplace.It is the prime concern of all profit-making activities to ensure that their

companies perform well in this competitive business environment. To do this, they

investigate the advantages and disadvantages of all the variables that are directly and

indirectly related to the efficiency of their workers in particular and their businesses in

general.

Conflict is unavoidable in business organizations, especially among employees and

groups. Conflict, when treated properly, will augment and improve employee

performance. However, if it incites hostility among individuals or groups, the

consequences can be disastrous. In terms of the impact of conflict on the economy,

evidence from associated literature is mixed.This research, on the other hand, would

demonstrate how conflict affects the performance of  GSCWD job order employees 

and the company as a whole. As a result, it was necessary to investigate the

experiences of job order employees in an organization in order to gain a better

understanding of the strategies that had proven effective over time. This research may

have positive social change consequences in that it may be helpful in identifying

conflict-management strategies that have been instrumental in assisting managers to

effectively manage workplace conflict.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1. The respondents (job order employees of GSCWD) in terms of :

             1.1 Age

             1.2 gender

             1.3 position

              1.4   monthly salary

2. What are the factors that causes conflicts in the organization/workplace?

2.1 organizational factors

2.2 individual factors

3. What are the effects of conflicts in the workplace?

3.1 positive effects

3.2 negative effects

4. What are the various approaches/methods available for effective conflict

management in your organization?

5. Can conflicts be totally prevented or eradicated within the workplace?

    Hypothesis 

The main causes of workplace conflicts are:

H0: Not individual and organizational factors.

H1: Individual and Organizational factors

Workplace conflicts impact:

H0: Positively on employees‘ performance

H1: Negatively on employees‘ performance

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Limitations are problems that the researcher cannot control but have the potential to

influence the outcome of a study (Marshall & Rossman, 2016). There were some

drawbacks to this qualitative research study. First, the accuracy of participant

responses may have limited the study's findings because participants may not have

provided any information that could have been harmful to their respective

organizations. Furthermore, the method of participant selection, which was purposeful

sampling, had the potential to limit the representatives of the results in the sense that,

since workplace conflict has been shown to have a negative impact on companies,

participants may have tried to provide responses that portrayed a particular image of

their operations.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study's results would provide insight on workplace conflict management

techniques to managers and workers, especially to the   job order employees in the

General Santos City water district company who would use the research findings to

improve their performance. The study's findings will also help other shareholders in a

government institution to develop adequate HRM policies that will help the sector

improve administration conveyance through improved and more efficient processes.

The research will provide policymakers with information on the workplace conflict

management techniques used by the General Santos City water district compa
 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

    
Competing Collaborating
   Assertiv  
eness
    
Unas
   sertive  
assertiv
e
    

    

    

    

    

    

        

FIGURE 1. Five Methods of Managing conflicts

DEFINITION OF TERMS

This study uses some terms which may be unfamiliar to the reader, thus these

words were defined conceptually and operationally to give the reader a clear

understanding of the study.

Conflict Management- Conflict management is the process of limiting the negative

aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. The aim of

conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes, including

effectiveness or performance in an organizational setting.

Workplace conflict- it includes any type of conflict which takes place within a

workplace or among workers and/or managers, potentially including conflict between

employees out of work hours.

Avoiding-is a conflict management strategy whereby the manager or person resolving

conflict has no concern for either conflicting parties (Bonache et al., 2016).

Avoidance results in no winners or losers because as implied by Bang (2016),

managers avoid addressing the situation by either withdrawing or sidestepping

Competing -Referred to as dominating (Yeung et al., 2015) or forcing by Beitler et

al. (2016) and involves assertiveness. Competing is the strategy where one party

asserts his or her concern over others to resolve conflict (Gbadamosi et al., 2014).

Collaborating-Referred to as integration (Vollmer, 2015) or problem-solving (Beitler

et al., 2016), is the conflict management strategy that is synonymous with teamwork

and cooperation on the part of all conflicting parties’ (Beitler et al., 2016).
Collaboration is a win-win situation for all parties’, and the onus is on all parties

working through their differences.

Compromising - the strategy whereby there arises a mutual concern for both

conflicting parties (Yeung et al., 2015). It involves the situation where all conflicting

parties need to find common ground to ensure a peaceful environment (Vollmer,

2015). According to Gbadamosi, Baghestan, and Al-Mabrouk (2014), this strategy is

assertive as well as cooperative and is the common ground between competing and

accommodating.

Accommodating -Referred to as obliging (Yeung et al., 2015) or yielding (Beitler

et al., 2016), accommodating as a conflict management strategy is the practice

whereby concern to resolve a conflict is high on satisfying others than one’s self

(Vollmer, 2015); that is, you win, I lose.

CHAPTER II

RELATED LEARNING LITERATURE

This chapter presents the critical review of literature relevant to the concept of the

present study. It also analyses some studies and materials from the internet to provide

sufficient background and information’s essential for the accomplishment of this

study.

2.1 Conflict

While conflict is commonly regarded as dysfunctional, it can also be functional;

conflict has both positive and negative consequences. It can be beneficial when it
promotes imagination, the clarification of points of view, and the growth of human

capacities to deal with interpersonal conflicts. Organizational conflict is not abnormal

because it creates or provides an opportunity for alteration and settlement between the

aggrieved parties for the benefit of both the workers and the organization (Osad &

Osas, 2013). Conflict can be harmful because it causes resistance to change, uproar,

interpersonal mistrust, low efficiency, and organizational ineffectiveness.(Hotepo,

Asokere, Abdul-Azeez, & Ajemunigbohun, 2010)

2.2 Workplace conflict

Many writers have characterized workplace conflict in various ways. Obi (2012)

described workplace conflict as an act of dissatisfaction and contention used by either

employees or employers of labor to exert unreasonable pressure on each other in order

to obtain their demands.

It is the process by which managers create plans and put policies and processes in

place to ensure that conflict situations are settled successfully. According to Knippen,

Yohan, and Ghalla (2011), conflict resolution broadens understanding of the issue,

enhances resolutions, and tends to work toward consensus and pursue a real

commitment to decision making. A significant amount of emotional and

psychological energy is produced during the conflict process because there is a larger,

higher element of disagreement and discord.Workplace conflict emerges on a daily

basis. Disagreements arise among coworkers. There are disagreements between a

manager and his employee.

2.3 Causes of Conflict in Organization

There are several factors that contribute to conflict in an organization, and scholars

have different perspectives on these factors. According to Odoh, as cited in Nnam

(2013), causative factors of conflict include no or late payment of wages and salaries,

management style, employment conditions, social awareness of employees,

inappropriate termination of appointment, motivational and promotional factors,

awkward dispute and grievances modus operandi, violation of collective agreement,

interdependence, management opposition, and so on.Similarly, Obasan (2011)

acknowledged that causes of conflict in an organization include group members

having different perceptions from each other, bringing different beliefs to their work,

limited funding, diversity in attitude that leads to different objectives, variation in

point of view based on different clarification from the same information, and

frustration due to inability to achieve a goal.

According to Grace (2012), conflict can arise as a result of operational or personal

factors; for a proper context of employees conflicts, she presented various factors

such as personal issues that have to do with personal problems with partner or family

members, which could lead to acquired aggression. Goal differences caused by

inconsistency of goals between departments in an organization, interdependence that

brings synergy to departments and members working in the organization, personality

conflicts caused by diversity in people, and poor communication that causes strife and

confusion among management and staff

Corporate incivility can also lead to conflict within a company. Corporate incivility is

defined by John-Eke and Gabriel (2019) as an impolite act meted out to employees by

organizations or their agents; examples include organizations' nonchalant response to

a sexual harassment report, the organization's discriminatory practices, such as

religious, sex, marital, and ethnic discrimination, and the organization's insensitivity

to the plight of the em These three situations, if not treated correctly, have the

potential to cause conflict within the organization. Another factor that contributes to

workplace conflict is roles and expectations; this refers to job descriptions.which

individuals in the organization are expected to perform; however, conflict may arise

among teams, particularly when individual roles are not clearly stated, resulting in

each employee having a different interpretation of the same role (Whitlam &

Cameron, 2012)

2.4 Conflict Management Strategy Concept

Follett (1926-1940), Blake and Mouton (1964), Thomas (1976), and others were

among the early scholars who became interested in conflict and conflict management

strategies. Follett, as quoted in Tabitha and Florence (2019), proposed three main

strategies for resolving interpersonal conflicts: dominance, compromise, and

integration; she also recommended that organizations should resolve conflicts through

avoidance and suppression strategies. According to Blake and Mouton, as quoted in

Tabitha and Florence (2019), who categorize their methods based on the level of

concern for people and production, interpersonal disputes can be handled using five

strategies: forcing, compromising, withdrawing, and problem solving and smoothing.

According to Tabitha and Florence (2019), Thomas advocated for a two-dimensional

framework of conflict resolution strategies based on the assertiveness and

cooperativeness of the parties involved. He identified five conflict resolution

strategies:
Competing, compromising, collaborating, accommodating, and avoiding are all

options. According to Rahim, as cited by Tabitha and Florence (2019), interpersonal

conflict can be managed through five strategies: dominating, obliging, integrating,

compromising, and avoiding, depending on the level of concern and those with whom

they interact. All of the researchers cited in this study agreed on the use of

compromise as one of the conflict management strategies; despite the fact that the

strategies of Thomas and Rahim are very similar, it is no surprise that even in

contemporary research, administrators have widely used their conflict management

strategies (Daly, Lee, Soutar & Rasmi, 2010).

Collaboration, competition, negotiation, avoidance, and compromising are some of

the key organizational conflict management strategies. The goal of a collaboration

strategy is to meet the needs of the parties involved, particularly when the members

have mutually significant goals.

Competition strategy refers to individual or group wish to achieve their goals and

objectives equally or at the expense of other groups; in an organization, individuals

and groups compete for scarce resources, position, acknowledgment, power, and so

on. Bargaining strategy When a contractual agreement between management and

employees becomes a legal matter, the bargaining strategy is used to settle it (Fajana

& Shadare, 2012). It gives all aggrieved parties involved the opportunity to express

themselves freely, regardless of the hierarchy of those engaged in the dispute.Scholars

have differing perspectives on the use of avoidance strategies in organizational

conflict management. According to Rollag, as quoted by Abdullah (2015), not all

work groups are teams because, in order to be considered a team, all of the

characteristics of a team must be present, which include dedication, goals,

transparency, and interdependence. The focus is on the fact that a group's conflict
resolution approach should shift from group to team. According to Abdullah (2015),

Simmons and Peterson agreed that the avoidance strategy is damaging to

organizational efficiency because disputes are inevitable and never resolved; they also

noted that avoiding conflict could exacerbate it the outcome and also create

employees’ opposition to management decisions.Compromising strategy facilitates a

give-and-take situation that focuses on meeting the needs of each group (Thomas,

Thomas & Schaubhut, 2008). The parties involved are ready to settle their differences

peacefully, with no one labeled as a winner or a loser. According to Spaho (2013),

compromising means reaching an agreement among individuals or groups involved in

the dispute who have a common interest. It is reasonable when the parties involved

are completely committed to reciprocal activities and have equal supremacy.

2.5 Theoretical framework

The findings of this research have theoretical as well as contextual implications. This

study constitutes theoretical or bibliographical studies on the use of Conflict

Management techniques as a tool for improving organizational efficiency. Despite the

fact that conflict resolution is an important tool for increasing organizational

efficiency, there have been few empirical studies on conflict resolution as a true tool

for increasing organizational effectiveness. This research showed, as anticipated, the

significance and effect of interpersonal working relationships in understanding

workers' perceptions of fairness. This fueled our knowledge of Conflict

Management’s important factors to increase the efficacy of the group. The study thus

serves as a tool to enhance the organizational efficiency of conflict management

studies.. As it is possible to question the validity of the results of this research study

the research findings show the legitimacy of the workplace environment.

2.6 Research gap

This research was aimed at establishing the relationship between organization’s

performance and the effective management of conflicts. The study's goals are to

assess how conflict is successfully managed; to assess the main causes of conflict; to

gain access to the performance effects of organizational conflict; to learn which

leadership approach is the most efficient way of tackling conflict; and to ultimately

make suggestions on the issue described, based on the results of the study. Sadly, a

gap exists in the study which identifies the styles or skills of leadership in dealing

with individual conflicts before the dispute escalates to more extreme behavior

requiring disciplinary action.