STUDY ON CONFLICT AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN

ORGANIZATION

A Seminar Paper
By Shilpa Mishra
3rd Semester, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
Bhairahawa Multipal Campus, Tribhuvan University
MGT233: Seminar on Leadership and Organization Behavior

Submitted to
Bachelor of Business Administration
(BBA)Program

Bhairahawa Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University

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 Table of contents

1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................1-3
1. Background of Paper
2. Statement Problem's
3. Objectives
4. Methodology
2. DISCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS ............................................................. 3-8
1. Conceptual Review
2. Empirical Review
3. Analysis
3. CONCLUSION… ....................................................... 8-12
4. REFERENCES ................................................................13

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 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
In any environment, institution or organization, conflict cannot be avoided due to differences
among individuals' ideas, desires, perceptions and needs. Ingeneral, conflict is defined as an
antagonistic state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more parties
(Patzak, 2012 &Wilmont and Hocker, 2001). Conrad (1991) indicated that conflicts happen
as a result of interactions among interdependent people who perceive that their interests are
incompatible, inconsistent or in tension; Lewis Coser, (1956), an American sociologist,
defined conflict as the clash of values and interests, the tension between that is and what
some groups feel ought to be. Regarding this definition, conflict has the functions of pushing
societies and leads to new economic systems, technologies, institutions; his contribution is
that he determined the functional and dysfunctional roles that can be played by the conflict.
Moreover, Robbins (2005) has defined conflict as a process that begins where one party
perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect,
something that the first party cares about. This definition emphasizes that conflict is about
perceptions, not necessarily real hard facts. Differences among individuals including ideas,
goals, and competition for resources can lead to conflict (Fleetwood& Karen L. 1987). There
are other differences, particularly in the business world such as situation, environment,
experience, personality and peer group; such characteristics cause differences in needs,
values, beliefs and personal attitudes. In addition, conflict was defined by Hocker and
Wilmontin (1985) as an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who
perceive incompatible goals, scarce rewards, and interference from the other party in
achieving their goals (Borisoff & Victor, 1998).
Conflict Managementis the use of processes, tools, and skills to find creative and respectful
ways to manage disagreements and disputes. It includes the ability to resolve conflict
collaboratively through effective communication skills, such as active listening and assertive
speaking. Managing conflict is an art. It is something you improve on—not master.
Individuals can increase their conflict competence through skills-based training, coaching, and
having leaders who walk the talk. Direct intervention of conflict resolution practitioners can
help organizations
Become more adept at addressing conflict and developing
conflict competent employees. Successful leaders recognize the importance of these skills and
theimpact they have on their organization's health and productivity. They also know that the
lack of these skills can lead to poor morale, decreased productivity, and low retention rates
among employees. The cost of developing conflict competent employees is a fraction of the
cost of unresolved conflict.

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 1.2 Problem's Statement
A Problem Statement is a critical component of the research project, as it provides a clear
and concise roadmap for the research, and helps to ensure that the research is well-designed
and addresses a significant and relevant issue. Conflict is the most important element in
the organization that impacts on the performance of the organization. Conflict may
also be beneficial to the organization where it brings about radical change in the
organizational power structure, current interaction pattern and entrenched attitude
and also can lead to increase in productivity. While some conflicts are functional
others are not. It can also affect the organization negatively when it is associated
with decreased employee satisfaction, insubordination, decreased productivity,
leads to economic loss, fragmentation to mention but a few. This research study is
concerned with the better understanding relationship between the conflict
management and organization performance. The following are the problems
highlighted in this research:

1. What are the sources of conflict?

2. What are the types of conflict?
3. What are the different types of conflict management techniques?
4. Is there any impact of conflict on organization performance?

1.3 OBJECTIVE:

Following are the objectives of this research study:

1. To identify the sources of conflict management organization.
2. To understand the types of conflict management organization.
3. To ascertain how the conflict will be managed in the organization effectively.
4. To identify whether conflict management has impact on organizational performance or
not.

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1.4 Methodology
Methods refers to the overall process which is designed to explain the readersprecisely
how the research process are set to find the answer of research questions. This part of
the paper describe about the design of seminar paper, searching and collection of
information about subject matter from the deferent sources and finally the methods of
analysis of literature available from various sources. The literatures about concerned
topics are first searched from text, reference books and after wards research papers are
searched from goggle scholar. The literatures are arranged in systematic way for
comprehensive analysis to find solution of the research problem.

2. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

2.1 Conceptual Review

The primary concern of this section of paper is to highlight the important concepts of
the topics and discuss the present research issues regarding the current topics. This
section of the paper has been divided into three parts. The first part begins with
important conceptual issues and second part deals with related article on conflict
management, and organization performance. Finally from the review of literature, the
literatures are analyzed and discuss in depth to get findings.

Meaning of Conflict Management Organization

Conflict Management is the use of processes, tools, and skills to find creative and
respectful ways to manage disagreements and disputes. It includes the ability to
resolve conflict collaboratively through effective communication skills, such as active
listening and assertive speaking. Managing conflict is an art. It is something you
improve on—not master. Individuals can increase their conflict competence through
skills-based training, coaching, and having leaders who walk the talk. Direct
intervention of conflict resolution practitioners can help organizations become more
adept at addressing conflict and developing conflict competent employees. Successful
leaders recognize the importance of these skills and the impact they have on their
organization's health and productivity. They also know that the lack of these skills can
lead to poor morale, decreased productivity, and low retention rates among employees.
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 The cost of developing conflict competent employees is a fraction of the cost of
unresolved conflict.

Sources of Conflict Management in Organization

Several factors have been identified as causes of conflicts Management in
organizations. These include;

i. Change the Structure:- When structure is a cause of dysfunctional conflict,

structural change can be the solution to resolving the conflict. Consider this situation.
Vanessa, the lead engineer in charge of new product development, has submitted her
components list to Tom, the procurement officer, for purchasing. Tom, as usual, has
rejected two of the key components, refusing the expenditure on the purchase.
Vanessa is furious, saying, “Every time I give you a request to buy a new part, you
fight me on it. Why can’t you ever trust my judgment and honor my request?”

Tom counters, “You’re always choosing the newest, leading-edge parts—they’re hard
to find and expensive to purchase. I’m supposed to keep costs down, and your
requests always break my budget.”

“But when you don’t order the parts we need for a new product, you delay the whole
project,” Vanessa says.

Sharon, the business unit’s vice president, hits upon a structural solution by stating,
“From now on, both of you will be evaluated on the total cost and the overall
performance of the product. You need to work together to keep component costs low
while minimizing quality issues later on.” If the conflict is at an intergroup level, such
as between two departments, a structural solution could be to have those two
departments report to the same executive, who could align their previously
incompatible goals.

ii. Change the Composition of the Team:-If the conflict is between team members, the
easiest solution may be to change the composition of the team, separating the
personalities that were at odds. In instances in which conflict is attributed to the
widely different styles, values, and preferences of a small number of members,
replacing some of these members may resolve the problem. If that’s not possible
because everyone’s skills are needed on the team and substitutes aren’t available,
consider a physical layout solution. Research has shown that when known antagonists
are seated directly across from each other, the amount of conflict increases. However,
when they are seated side by side, the conflict tends to decrease (Gordon et al., 1990).

iii. Consider Majority Rule:-Sometimes a group conflict can be resolved through

majority rule. That is, group members take a vote, and the idea with the most votes is
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 the one that gets implemented. The majority rule approach can work if the
participants feel that the procedure is fair. It is important to keep in mind that this
strategy will become ineffective if used repeatedly with the same members typically
winning. Moreover, the approach should be used sparingly. It should follow a healthy
discussion of the issues and points of contention, not be a substitute for that
discussion.

iv.Conflict-Handling Styles:-Individuals vary in the way that they handle conflicts.

There are five common styles of handling conflicts. These styles can be mapped onto
a grid that shows the varying degree of cooperation and assertiveness each style
entails. Let us look at each in turn.

The types of conflict management organization

1. Intra-Personal Conflict:- Intra-personal conflict arises within an individual. This is the conflict
between two or more roles of an individual. When a person must decide between two desirable
options that are equally desired or between two bad goals, intrapersonal conflicts happen. Under
these circumstances, a person becomes confused about the roles, priorities, and alternative
processes to select.

2. Inter-Personal Conflict:- Interpersonal conflict arises between two or more individuals.

Interpersonal conflict is probably the most common and widely recognized conflict in the
workplace. This kind of conflict can arise between two managers because of rank differences,
between subordinates because of role conflicts, between managers and subordinates because of
authority delegation, or between subordinates and managers because of role conflicts.

3. Intra-Team Conflict:- Intra-team conflict occurs between the members of a team. Conflicts
between team members who are on the same team might arise over concepts, roles, plans,
policies, and procedures. When there is polarization in the conflict, the team performs worse.
However, such a disagreement can also be leveraged to generate better concepts, options, and
methods of doing existing activities.

4. Inter-Team Conflict:- Inter-team conflict arises between two or more work teams in the
organization. This conflict is also called inter-group conflict or inter-departmental conflict.

5. Inter-Organizational Conflict:- Inter-organizational conflict arises between two or

more organizations involved in providing the same type of product or service. These conflicts
may be related to because of competition, variation in quality, price, quantity, service, or product
delivery. The conflicts between suppliers and buyer organizations, or conflicts between similar
organizations are examples of inter-organizational
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conflict
Conflict Management techniques in Organization
The success of the organization depends on the ability of conflict recognition and the very way
of conflict management. Conflict management implies integration of all factors which can
contribute to conflict resolution or its prevention. Those factors are improvement of
communication and practicing discipline in the organization, as well as having in mind the
life phases of parties included. Different authors know about various approaches to conflict
management. Besides five typical approaches and strategies on conflict management which we
will show and explain, it is important to point out that an important role bears also the
organization itself as the third party in conflict. The organization appears as the mediator
between adversaries or as arbitrator. This third party in organization is managers which by using
their experience have to constantly develop new strategies and tactic for conflict resolution by
using their experience. Moreover, it is generally acknowledged that conflict represents the most
severe test of manager’s interpersonal skills.

Avoidance

The avoiding style is uncooperative and unassertive. People exhibiting this style seek to avoid
conflict altogether by denying that it is there. They are prone to postponing any decisions in
which a conflict may arise. People using this style may say things such as, “I don’t really care if
we work this out,” or “I don’t think there’s any problem. I feel fine about how things are.”
Conflict avoidance may be habitual to some people because of personality traits such as the need
for affiliation. While conflict avoidance may not be a significant problem if the issue at hand is
trivial, it becomes a problem when individuals avoid confronting important issues because of a
dislike for conflict or a perceived inability to handle the other party’s reactions.

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Accommodation

The accommodating style is cooperative and unassertive. In this style, the person gives in to
what the other side wants, even if it means giving up one’s personal goals. People who use this
style may fear speaking up for themselves or they may place a higher value on the relationship,
believing that disagreeing with an idea might be hurtful to the other person. They will say things
such as, “Let’s do it your way” or “If it’s important to you, I can go along with it.”
Accommodation may be an effective strategy if the issue at hand is more important to others
compared to oneself. However, if a person perpetually uses this style, that individual may start to
see that personal interests and well-being are neglected.

Compromise

The compromising style is a middle-ground style, in which individuals have some desire to
express their own concerns and get their way but still respect the other person’s goals. The
compromiser may say things such as, “Perhaps I ought to reconsider my initial position” or
“Maybe we can both agree to give in a little.” In a compromise, each person sacrifices something
valuable to them.

Competition

People exhibiting a competing style want to reach their goal or get their solution adopted
regardless of what others say or how they feel. They are more interested in getting the outcome
they want as opposed to keeping the other party happy, and they push for the deal they are
interested in making. Competition may lead to poor relationships with others if one is always
seeking to maximize their own outcomes at the expense of others’ well-being.

Collaboration

The collaborating style is high on both assertiveness and cooperation. This is a strategy to use for
achieving the best outcome from conflict—both sides argue for their position, supporting it with
facts and rationale while listening attentively to the other side. The objective is to find a win–win
solution to the problem in which both parties get what they want. They’ll challenge points but
not each other.
.

Impact of Conflict Management on Organization Performance

Chandan (2005) expresses that where they not brought under control in good time, conflicts
could work against the achievement of organizational goals. Individual and group responses in
conflict situations could range from sabotage, slowing down the pace of work, over-load to lack
of cooperation. More importantly, targets and objectives are achieved by groups and individuals
and as such, more critical the conflict is to the core operations of the organization and the higher
the position in hierarchy of persons in conflict situation, the more devastating the impact of such
conflict situations. 9
Precisely, because the goals of the organization are formulated by individuals, when the same
individuals are in conflict situation some organizational goals either do not get achieved in good
time or may be re-aligned or modified. Chandan (2005) observes that under conflict situation
organizational performance is hampered. This is because as conflict rages on individual workers
become more aggrieved, less committed to work, frustrated, unmotivated and less productive.
These lead to levity, loss of time, low productivity and output. Ultimately, organizational
performance is adversely affected.
McDaniel (2001) supports this by stating that the problems of organizational conflict is that if it
not properly managed, it hampers productivity, lowers moral, causes more and continued conflict
and breeds indiscipline and misconduct. These hamper productivity, profitability and
performance of the organization. The bad consequence of organizational conflict makes it
imperative for management to ensure that conflicts are promptly resolved as they occur.

The relationship between the level of conflict and the level of organizational performance
Picture 2: relationship between level of conflict and level of organizational performance

Source: according to Huczynski A., Buchanan D.: Organizational Behavior, Pearson Education
Limited, Harlow, 2001., p.775
Picture 2. shows the relationship between the level of conflict and the level of organizational
performance. Depiction shows the division on levels A, B, and C, each showing the effects
conflicts can have on organization.
Level A shows the low level of conflict in organization which results in low level of
organizational performance. By encouraging conflicts in level A we land at the optimum level of
conflict, where there is a high level of organizational performance and the medium level of
conflict. This level of conflict is marked as B in the picture 2. If conflicts continue to escalate,
we arrive at the third level, in which the level of performance decreases, and is marked by C in
the picture 2.
The organization should always strive towards the optimal level of conflict, because only

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reasonable conflicts have positive effects on organization. On the contrary (without conflicts or if
the level of conflict is too high) conflicts will result in negative consequences for the
organization, as well as for an individual as the party in the conflict.

2.2 Empirical Review

Conflict is endemic to all social life; it is an inevitable part of living because it is related to
situations of scarce resources, division of functions, power relations and role-differentiation
(Darel, 2003). Because of its ubiquity and pervasive nature, the concept has acquired a multitude
of meanings and connotations presenting us with nothing short of a semantic jungle. With the
absence of a comprehensive definition of conflict, various definitions have been offered by many
researchers from multiple disciplines. Some of these have originated from disciplines such as
psychology, behavioral sciences, sociology, communication and anthropology.
Ubaku, (2003) viewed conflict as a process in which one party perceives that its interests are
being opposed or negatively affected by another party Johnson and Johnson (1994) described
conflict as "the process that results when one person (or a group of people) perceives that another
person or group is frustrating, or about to frustrate an important concern, and accepted that it is
an interactive process manifested in incompatibility, disagreement or dissonance within or
between social entities (that is individual, group, organization, etc.). Obasan (2011) conceived
conflict as a process of social interaction and a social situation, where interests and activities of
participants (individuals or groups) actually, or apparently, confront block and disable the
realization of one party's objectives action which is incompatible with another action prevents,
obstructs, interferes with, injures, or in some way makes it less likely less effective.
Oppenheim, (1992) identified conflict as an interactive process manifested in incompatibility,
disagreement or dissonance within or between social entities. Conflict can occur between
individual, groups, organizations, and even nations. As human being interacts in organizations,
differing values and situations create tension. Conflict is thereby viewed as a situation in which
two or more individuals operating within a unit appear to be incompatible.
Osisioma and Chukwuemeka (2012) believed that conflict was conceptually dependent on major
components such as expressed struggle, interdependence, perceived incompatibility of goals,
perceived scarce rewards, and interference. In light of those major components, conflict is
defined as an expressed struggle between two or more interdependent parties perceiving
incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from others in achieving their goals.

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2.3 Analysis
Several research report, article and reference books were reviewed related wit conflict, conflict
management and organization performance it finds that conflict management is necessary to for
the better organizational performance. Conflict Management is the use of processes, tools, and
skills to find creative and respectful ways to manage disagreements and disputes. The goals of
the organization are formulated by individuals, when the same individuals are in conflict
situation some organizational goals either do not get achieved in good time or may be re-aligned
or modified. If the organizational conflicts are not managed properly, it hampers productivity,
lowers moral, causes more and continued conflict and breeds indiscipline and misconduct. These
hamper productivity, profitability and performance of the organization.

1. CONCLUSION

From the study it is concluded that the conflict management strategies are crucial for the
attainment and achievement of organizational goals and objectives. In other words, if the
management is not knowledgeable in conflict resolution strategies, it will affect the performance
of organizations negatively but if conflict is constructively managed, it will enhance
organizational performance.Conflict management positively and significantly stimulates
organizational performance. The study therefore concluded that organizational performance
should be enhanced when the organization maintain an acceptable level of conflict resolution in
the work environment to help coordinate and control the activities of the organization.

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