Organizational Behavior:

Conflict Management

Kumar Joshi
Joshi.kj91@gmail.com
Conflict Management
 OB: Conflict Management
Concept
Conflict is inevitable in modern
organizations.
It is a natural disagreement
resulting from individuals or groups
that differ in attitudes, beliefs,
values or needs.
It can also originate from past
rivalries and personality
differences.
 OB: Conflict Management
Definition:
Conflict is a process that begins when one party
perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is
about to negatively affect, something that the first party
cares about – S. P. Robins

Conflict is any situation in which two or more parties feel

themselves in opposition – Newstrorm and Davis
Causes of Conflict
 OB: Conflict Management
Common causes of conflict
1. Unmet needs and wants
2. Values
3. Perceptions
4. Knowledge
5. Assumptions
6. Expectations
7. Growing up differently
 OB: Conflict Management
Causes of conflict
1. Unmet needs and wants
• Needs are things that are essential to our well-
being. Conflict arises when people’s basic
needs for recognition, affection, and affiliation
are not met.
Note: Needs and desires are different things.
 OB: Conflict Management

Causes of conflict
2. Values
• Values are beliefs or principles we consider to be
very important.
• Serious conflicts arise when people hold
incompatible values or when values are not clear.
• e.g. Use of time, money, hard work, friendship,
privacy, health, charity, safety, integrity, honesty
etc
 OB: Conflict Management

Causes of conflict
3. Perceptions
• People interpret reality differently. They perceive
differences in the severity, causes and
consequences of problems.
• Misperceptions or differing
perceptions may come from
self-perceptions, others'
perceptions, differing
perceptions of situations and
perceptions of threat.
 OB: Conflict Management

Causes of conflict
4. Power
• How people define and use power is an important
influence on the number and types of conflicts that
occur.
• Conflicts can arise when
people try to make others
change their actions or to
gain an unfair advantage.
 OB: Conflict Management

Causes of conflict
5. Expectations
• Conflict occurs when there is a mismatch of
expectations
• When we do not clarify expectations and review
them periodically
• e.g. Team Manager expects employees to wear
formal clothes and the generations Xers who do not
want to wear suits and ties.
 OB: Conflict Management

Causes of conflict
6. Growing up Differently
• We all grew up differently based on our race,
ethnicity, gender and age.
• We get into conflicts with one another if we come
from different world and we tend to misunderstand
our actions, and create distance between us
 OB: Conflict Management
What happens when conflict is unresolved
Sources of Conflict
 OB: Conflict Management

Sources of Conflict:
Conflict can arise from a variety of sources:
• Goals - Conflict can happen as a result of
conflicting goals or priorities. It can also
happen when there is a lack of shared
goals.
• Personality conflicts - are a common
cause of conflict. Sometimes there is no
chemistry, or you haven’t figured out an
effective way to click with somebody.
 OB: Conflict Management

Sources of Conflict:
• Scarce resources - Conflict can happen
when you’re competing over scarce
resources.
• Styles - People have different styles. Your
thinking style or communication style might
conflict with other’s thinking style or their
communication style.
 OB: Conflict Management

Sources of Conflict:
• Values - Sometimes you will find conflict in
values. The challenge here is that values
are core. Adapting with styles is one thing,
but dealing with conflicting values is
another. That’s why a particular business,
group, or culture may not be a good fit for
you.
Conflict Management Styles
 OB: Conflict Management
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument -a model for
handling conflict
 OB: Conflict Management
Five types of conflict management – based
on two dimensions: Assertive and
Cooperative
1. Accommodation
2. Avoiding
3. Competition
4. Compromise
5. Collaboration
 OB: Conflict Management
Five types of conflict management
Accommodation
• Accommodating the other party requires a lot of
cooperation and little courage.
• Basically we agree to accommodate the other party
by acknowledging and accepting his point of view or
suggestion.
 OB: Conflict Management

Five types of conflict management

2. Avoiding
• This style does not require any courage or
consideration for other party. They just withdraw into
their shells to avoid conflicts.
• They give up their personal goals
and relationships.
• They stay away from the issues
over which the conflict is taking
place and from the persons they
are in conflict with.
 OB: Conflict Management

Five types of conflict management

3. Competing style
• They try to overpower opponents by forcing them to
accept their solutions to the conflict.
• They do not care if others like or accept them and
assume that conflicts are either won or lost and they
want to be the winner.
• They try and win by attacking, overpowering,
overwhelming and intimidating others.
 OB: Conflict Management

Five types of conflict management

4. Compromising
• They are moderately concerned with their own goals
and their relationships with others.
• They give up part of their own goals and persuade
others in a conflict to give up part of theirs.
• They compromise, give up a part of their goal and
relationship in order to find agreement for the
common good.
 OB: Conflict Management

Five types of conflict management

5. Collaborative
• Collaborating plays a major role and requires a great
courage and much consideration.
• Collaborating with other party involves listening to
their side, discussing areas of agreement and goals,
and ensuring that all parties understand each other.
• It requires thinking creatively to resolve the problem
without concessions. Collaborators are usually
admired and well-respected.