CHAPTER FIVE

CONFLICT AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

5.1. Meaning and Nature of Conflict
Conflict is a relationship between two or more individuals and groups who have or think that
they have incompatible goals and needs. The incompatibility may thus be real or perceived and
may be over material and/or symbolic resources. Most people perceive conflict as a negative
term and assign negative connotations to it. However, inherently conflict is neither negative nor
positive. Some of its aspects may be either positive or negative.

Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively
affected something that the first party cares about. Conflict can be considered as an expression of
hostility, negative attitude, aggression and gross misunderstanding. Conflict can be functional or
dysfunctional. It can be task oriented conflict, behavioural conflict and structural or process
oriented conflict.

A conflict is the moment of truth in a relationship-a test of its health, a crisis that can weaken or
strengthen it, a critical event that may bring lasting resentment, smouldering hostility,
psychological scars. Conflicts can push people away from each other or pull them into a closer
and more intimate union; they contain the seeds of destruction and the seeds of greater unity;
they may bring about armed warfare or deeper mutual understanding.

The idea of conflict is basic to our understanding and appreciation of our exchange with reality--
of human action. Conflict can be seen simply as a distinct category of social behaviour--as two
parties trying to get something they both cannot have. Moreover, conflict can be apprehended as
a potentiality or a situation, as a structure or a manifestation, as an event or a process.

Conflict is multidimensional; it envelops a family of forms. We select one depending on our

analytical purposes and practical problem. Because my concern is to understand conflict as a
social field phenomenon, one must first consider conflict as a general category. From this most
general conception one can work towards comprehending social conflict, and its empirical
manifestations.

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Reality comprises multiform and interwoven potentialities, dispositions, and powers. What
aspect becomes manifest depends on the dialectical confrontation between this reality and our
perspective, which is a power, an outward directed vector. What we perceive is the result of
the conflict between this vector and reality's inward bearing vector of power.

Conflict is a balancing of vectors of powers, of capabilities to produce effects. It is a clash of

powers. Conflict is the pushing and pulling, the giving and taking, the process of finding the
balance between powers- the moving back and forth in a field of confrontation--to describe
perception. For perception is seldom determinate. It is a continual balancing of outward directed
and inward bearing vectors of power, a perpetual conflict.

Most fundamentally, therefore, conflict is correlative to power. Power, simply, is the capability
to produce effects; conflict is the process of powers meeting and balancing. To understand what
powers become succeed requires comprehending their conflicts; to understand conflict involves
untangling the powers involved.

Conflict is therefore universal and inevitable. Our very experience presupposes conflict in its
generation, and our knowledge, apart from its a priori categories, is based on such conflict. Our
learning about ourselves, others, and reality, our growth and development, and our increasing
ability to create our own heaven or hell, comes through conflict. The desire to eradicate conflict,
the hope for harmony and universal cooperation, is the wish for a frozen, unchanging world with
all relationships fixed in their patterns--with all in balance.

5.2. Process of Conflict

Pondy developed a conflict process model, which is useful to understand how a conflict starts.
He has outlined five steps that he calls as ‘conflict episode’. These are latent conflict, perceived
conflict, felt conflict, manifest conflict, and conflict aftermath.

Latent Conflict: It is a first stage of conflict when conflict-promoting situations appear on the
scene between individuals and groups. In this stage potential conflict inducing forces exist. For
example demand for various resources by departments when some may get and be satisfied and
others may not get and be dissatisfied. At this stage the seeds of dissatisfaction have been sown.

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Perceived Conflict: When one party frustrate the design of the other party, people perceive that
a confluctual conditions exist. For example sales manager may need additional budget for
promotional activities which financial manager may not release. The sales manager may attribute
lack of finance as potential cause for fall in sales. Thus, a conflict between the two may brew. At
this stage the conflict does not surface.

Felt Conflict: At this stage, the conflict is actually felt and cognised. As stated earlier, the funds
are not released by the finance manager and the problem is being surfaced and there is a
likelihood of confrontation.

Manifest Conflict: In this stage, there is not only recognition or acknowledgement of conflict
but also manifestation of conflict by covert or overt behaviour. It is a stage of open dispute. Both
parties devise their strategies to face each other. In the above example sales manager may make
his point for additional funds for promotional activities especially during festival season. Finance
manager may openly turn down the request since he might have allotted additional funds for
procurement of better raw material for production department. Sales manager may argue that
better raw material has no meaning unless the facts are brought to the notice of customers, which
can only be done through promotional campaign. The debate may be unending and frustrating.

Conflict Aftermath: Once the conflict is resolved between the two parties, there is always a
party, which is looser because the resolution is the outcome of win – lose or the compromise
strategy, a stage is set for subsequent conflict incidents. A party, which feels defeated, may start
preparations and be on the lookout for the assault to take the revenge. Conflict resolution has
been added as an additional box in the figure to elucidate that conflict aftermath is a direct
function of the results of the conflict resolution style adopted and exercised in any given
situation.

5.3. Sources of Conflict

From the underlying causes, we now move to the specific sources of conflicts, sometimes also
referred to as issues involved in a conflict or issues at stake in a conflict.
1. Information: Lack of information, misinformation and different interpretations of
information can lead to conflict. Disputants may not have sufficient information or even the
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 same information about a given situation. In other instances, groups and individuals may
interpret the same data or information in differing ways or they may assign different levels of
importance to the same data. Control and manipulation of information is a major weapon in
conflict situations.
2. Miscommunication: Ineffective communication is another source of conflict. Even if there
are no basic incompatibilities between groups and individuals, miscommunication and
misunderstanding can lead to conflict. Moreover, stakeholders may have different
perceptions about the facts in a situation and until they are clarified, there can be no
resolution. Self-centredness, selective perception, emotional bias and prejudices lead to
differing perceptions between the stakeholders of a conflict. Lack of skill in communicating
one’s viewpoint in a clear and respectful manner often results in confusion, hurt and anger,
all of which fuel the conflict further. Whether the conflict has objective sources or has arisen
due to perceptual or communication problems, the people involved experience it as very real.
3. Resources: This relates to conflict over material resources such as land, money or objects,
which are evidently identifiable and can be negotiated. Historically, disputes over access to
and control of territory, material, economic and scarce natural resources have been one of the
dominant sources of conflict. One major element in the colonial empire building of the 19th
and 20th century was the competition for resources and defence of national economic interests
which were defined in territorial terms. Here each faction wanted to grab as much as it could;
its behaviour and emotions were directed towards maximising gain. In extreme cases,
disputants may resort to military action or the threat of it to gain or defend access to
resources perceived as vital for survival, for example, the developed Western countries attach
a great deal of importance to maintaining their access to oil supplies in the West Asian region
and are prepared to undertake extreme measures to do so. In the twenty-first century,
demands for land, fresh water and other natural resources are growing rapidly due to increase
in population as well as consumption.
4. Relationships: Relationships are an important facet of human life. As human beings, we
have personal (family) and social (community) and/or organisational (business) relationships.
In these relationships, people have disagreements over a variety of issues, which is very
normal. However, sometimes the interdependence created by these relationships introduces a
destructive dimension to these differences, for example, a wife is repeatedly subjected to

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 abuse and domestic violence but is unable to walk out of the relationship because (apart from
other social and cultural pressures) she may be economically dependent on her husband, who
is aware of this interdependence and uses it to his advantage.
5. Interests and Needs: Non-fulfilment of interests and needs are a major source of conflict.
The non-fulfilment of these needs may be either a reality or just a perception. In fact,
important needs for identity, respect or participation are often at the heart of conflicts that
ostensibly seem to be a contest for material things. Conflicts usually arise because of the
denial of following needs:
 Unfulfilled needs for economic resources or the perception that economic resources are not
distributed fairly;
 Unfulfilled needs for safety, respect and participation in social life or a perception of unjust
relationships and humiliation; and
 Unfulfilled needs for identity, culture, religious values or a perception that these are
threatened. When the needs of individuals, communities and nations are denied in the
abovementioned areas, it leads to structural violence.
Vertical structural violence can operate in the following arenas insulting the respective needs:
 Repression – political – the insulted need is freedom;
 Exploitation – economic – the insulted need is well-being; and

 Alienation – cultural – the insulted need is identity. Exploitation was the essence of violence.
Individuals view violence as anything that impeded individual self-realisation and that
violence could be either direct or structural in nature. Dehumanisation is a case in point.

6. Structures: Structures- both social and organisational- determine who has access to power
and resources, who has the authority to make decisions and who is afforded respect. Conflicts
about or within structures often involve issues of justice and competing goals.

7. Power: Power can mean different things – legitimacy, authority, force, or the ability to coerce.
It is a vital ingredient in conflict situations; conflicts either centre on the search for more power
or a fear of losing the same. However, power is intangible; it cannot be counted. But power does
not exist in a vacuum; it is present in, and based on, relationships. Besides, one should look at
resources as a key area that determines the actual location of power or the need for power. Power
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conflicts can occur between individuals, groups or nations, when one or both sides choose to take
a power approach to the relationship and wish to maintain or maximise the amount of influence
that they exert in the relationship and the social setting. It is impossible for one side to be
stronger without the other being weaker, at least in terms of direct influence over each other.
Thus, a power struggle ensues which usually ends in victory for one side and defeat for the other,
or in a ‘stand-off’ with a continuing state of tension. Power can be either hard (coercive) or soft
(persuasive). Hard power consists of the ability to command and enforce while soft power
comprises of the ability to bring about cooperation, provide legitimacy and inspire. In violent
conflict situations, hard power dominates, as armies and militias grapple for victory. On the other
hand, soft power is essential for peace making and peace-building. Power should necessarily be
accompanied by accountability; otherwise it tends to give rise to more conflicts. Being
accountable would mean finding ways to report to others and being open to be questioned by
others.
8. Governance: Governance relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power or verify
performance. It is concerned with the way in which society is governed, the distribution of
authority and resources within it, and the legitimacy of these in the eyes of the members of
society. Governance, basically, is a process of decision-making and the process by which
decisions are implemented or (not implemented). In simple terms, ‘governance’ is what a
‘government’ does. Politics provides the means by which the governance process operates.
‘Good governance’ is an indeterminate term used in development literature to describe how
public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in order to guarantee the
realisation of human rights. According to the United Nations, good governance has eight
characteristics: consensus-oriented, participatory, following Rule of Law, effective and efficient,
accountable, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive. Good governance is considered to
be integral to economic growth, the eradication of poverty and hunger, and sustainable
development. It makes violent conflict less likely. If governments reflect the values and satisfy
the needs of those over whom they exercise authority, they will be legitimised.

9. Rights: Denial or violation of rights and the struggle for elimination of these violations are at
the heart of many conflicts. Civil and political rights are often called ‘first generation rights’ and
include rights of the individual in society to life, liberty and freedom of opinion and expression.
Gandhi had always stressed on the centrality of the individual and felt that society could not be
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built on a denial of individual freedom. Economic, social and cultural rights are known as
‘second generation rights’ that comprise of rights to basic necessities such as food, shelter, health
and education. The ‘third generation rights’ refers to collective rights like those of minorities and
marginalised groups. Human rights are thus necessary for individuals to lead a dignified life.
Some of the major Human Rights Conventions are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
1948; Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966; Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, 1966; Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women,
1979; Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, 1984; Convention on Rights of the Child, 1989. Rights may theoretically be
guaranteed by the constitution of a state but in practice may not be accessible to the marginalised
or they may be intimidated by powerful people from claiming their rights. Ultimately, the
repeated denial of rights may lead to violent conflict. Thus while analysing conflicts, it is
necessary to look at structural violence and explore the position and perception of stakeholders
with regard to rights and freedoms.

10. Culture: Culture is an important factor in social conflict. It is learnt from the family,
community, school, and media; it is not something human beings are born with. Culture
determines the way individuals and groups act, the manner in which they relate to others and the
way they think about and perceive events happening around them. Thus it is necessary to
understand the cultural contexts of the individuals and groups involved in a conflict especially in
situations where the contending sides are from different cultures. In fact, Marc Ross argues that
there is a ‘culture of conflict’, which he defines as “a society’s configuration of norms, practices
and institutions that affect what people enter into disputes about, with whom they fight, how
disputes evolve, and how they are likely to end.”
11. Ideology: Ideology is mostly used in reference to the public world of politics. Political
ideologies such as Fascism, Nazism, and Marxism involve a set of fundamental beliefs about
economic organisation or governance of society. One of the most famous ideological conflicts of
the 20th century was the one between the Capitalist Bloc and the Communist Bloc popularly
termed as the Cold War, which manifested in ways such as the formation of economic and
military blocs, and proxy wars between client-states at the regional and local level. The Cold
War ended with the disintegration of the former Soviet Union and withering away of the
Communist Bloc.
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12. Religion: Religion refers generally to the private world of spirituality. It is particularly
relevant to conflict because it may contain strong claims to exclusivity; the faithful are
considered to constitute distinct, exclusive communities. Besides, religious belief can become a
motivation in political action, and can be used by leaders for selfish political ends or as means
towards those ends. Moreover, scriptures have at various points in history been interpreted and
misinterpreted to justify slavery, racism and women’s subordination. Conflict between religions
has occurred throughout history but in the contemporary period some of the major religions of
the world are witness to a surge in fundamentalist elements. Fundamentalists have attempted to
extend their sphere of influence from places of worship to the state and the society as a whole
leading to escalation of conflicts not only between religions but also within the moderate and
extremist sections within religions as well as with the state and society at large. However,
religion need not always be a source of conflict; it can also be a resource for peace.
13. Identity: The oft-asked question of the Cold War era, ‘what is your ideology’ has been
replaced in the post-Cold War era by the question ‘who are you’. People are increasingly
conscious of ‘who they are’ and asserting their cultural and social identity. They are realigning
themselves on the basis of ancestry, religion, language, values and institutions, and are rejecting
distant and alien rule. This is an indication of the growing importance of identity consciousness
in the post-Cold War era. Identity is used to describe a person’s sense of self and the relation of
the self to the world. It is a basic human need that provides meaning and a sense of security as
well as predictability for the individual and the group within a given social context. Without a
strong sense of “who we are” and how we can “be” and continue to exist and feel safe in our
surroundings, our relationship of the self or group to the world is threatened. Personal identity
and dignity were very important. He argued that the loss of self-respect had to be avoided
because without self-respect and inner security one cannot reach the road leading to self-
realisation or start on the road to nonviolence. There are multiple identities- as broad as ‘woman’
or ‘man’ or a member of collectives such as ethnic, religious, or racial groups or as narrow as a
member of one particular family. Identities concern people’s existential needs and values. They
can be inclusive as well as exclusive; they can endure for generations or change with shifting
situations (in response to threats, which may be either real or perceived, forcing people to adopt
labels because identity markers such as ethnicity and religion may be exploited for selfish ends).

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Some identities are more important than others depending on how one perceives one’s identity
but also depending on place, times and circumstances.
With the rise in identity consciousness, religion, language and ethnicity are increasingly serving
as fault lines for conflict. In contemporary times, ethnicity is seen as one of the most important
elements of identity and the underlying cause of most on-going conflicts. However, it must be
clarified that many conflicts that are labelled as ‘ethnic’, suggesting that ethnicity is the cause. In
reality ethnicity has been used there as a ‘method’ by which people have been mobilised in
support of a particular leader or movement.
14. Values: Values are dear to individuals and groups – these are the beliefs that shape their
identity and faith perspectives that give meaning to their lives. Incompatibility in ways of life
and ideologies such as preferences, principles and practices that people believe in can lead to
value conflicts. When states, groups and individuals assert the rightness and superiority of their
way of life and their political-economic system vis-à-vis other states, groups and individuals,
values can then become a major component in such conflicts. Values are often seen as a part of
one’s identity; and thus, challenge to values is often seen as a threat to identity, resulting in
defensive reactions by individuals and groups since they assume that resolution of the conflict
will require a change in values.

5.4. Conflict Outcomes

Conflict is inevitable among humans. It has functional and dysfunctional outcomes.

Functional outcomes
 Innovation, creativity, and change
 Improved decision-making processes
 Alternative solutions
 Synergetic solutions to common problems
 Enhanced individual and group performance
 Opportunities to search for new approaches to solve problems
 Opportunities to articulate and clarify the positions of each party

Dysfunctional outcomes
 Stress, burnout, and dissatisfaction

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  Reduced communication between individuals and groups
 Climate of distrust and suspicion
 Reduced job performance
 Increased resistance to change
 Reduced commitment and loyalty

5.5. Conflict Management

Conflict might escalate and lead to non-productive results, or conflict can be beneficially
resolved and lead to quality final products. Therefore, learning to manage conflict is integral to a
high-performance in an organisation. Although very few people go looking for conflict, more
often than not, conflict results because of miscommunication between people with regard to their
needs, ideas, beliefs, goals, or values. Furthermore, learning how to manage conflicts can
decrease the odds of non-productive escalation in organisations. Conflict management involves
acquiring skills related to conflict resolution, self-awareness about conflict modes, conflict
communication skills, and also establishing a structure for management of conflict in your
environment (The Foundation Coalition, 2003). Conflict management, has been used as a generic
term to cover the whole scope of positive conflict handling. It is referred to as a more limited
way to the settlement and containment of violent conflict while conflict resolution is a more
comprehensive term, which implies that the deep- rooted sources of conflict are addressed and
transformed.

Steps in conflict management

It is very important to avoid mixing up steps in conflict management with conflict management
strategies. Strategies employed in conflict management can be viewed from different perspective
and according to level of existence of groups or parties such work teams, communities, corporate
entities, or organisations, states or nations involved in the conflicts. Thus, no one way is the best
and for different situation. There are five steps to managing conflict. These steps are:

1. Analyse the conflict: This required analysing the nature and type of conflict. It raises
important questions such as who are the groups involved, who they represent, how they are
organised, what their power base is, and historical relationships among the groups. It is also
important to find out how the conflict arise and also identify and describe main and
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 secondary issues. In the course of analysing the conflict negative issues can be reframed
positively. Then see if issues are negotiable and what is the position of parties involved in
these issues and what are their common interests. To progress, further questions should be
ask, such as what information is available and what other information is needed? What
values or interests are challenged? Then, possible strategies are looked into. Would
consensus serve all interests? Are there external constraints or other influences that must be
accommodated? What are the past experiences (if any) of the groups working together? What
is the timeline for a decision? How will the public and the media be involved and informed?
Will an outside negotiator be needed? Sources of these answers can come from interviews of
some of the groups concerned, partners, organisation archives, or from personal experience.

2. Determine management strategy: Proper understanding of the nature and type of conflict
will surely influence the selection of the most appropriate strategy bearing in mind that
sometimes it may be necessary to have a neutral negotiator to help move the groups toward
consensus. There are five conflict management strategies, which are Collaboration,
Compromise, Competition, Accommodation and Avoidance.
3. Pre-negotiation: The third step in managing conflict requires laying down the ground work
which should occur prior to negotiation. These ground works are Initiation, Assessment,
Ground rules and agenda, Organization and Joint fact.
4. Negotiation: Negotiation which is the process whereby parties seek to settle or resolve their
conflict is another step that put issues in perspective to lasting solution. Negotiation entails the
interest of parties, options for satisfying interests; evaluation entails discussion of options and
determining the best, written agreement and finally, commitment to agreement.

5. Post-negotiation: Once negotiation is complete, the parties will need to implement the
decisions made. Some key steps include ratification and implementation of agreement. The
partnership will need to have a plan to monitor progress, document success, resolve problems,
renegotiate terms and celebrate success.

Conflict management strategies

There are five conflict management strategies which are explained below:

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i. Collaboration: Collaboration works by integrating ideas set out by multiple people. The
object is to find a creative solution acceptable to everyone. Collaboration, though useful, calls for
a significant time commitment not appropriate to all conflicts. For example, a business owner
should work collaboratively with the manager to establish policies, but collaborative decision-
making regarding office supplies wastes time better spent on other activities. It focuses on
working together. Use this approach when the goal is to meet as many current needs as possible
by using mutual resources. This approach sometimes raises new mutual needs. Collaboration can
also be used when the goal is to cultivate ownership and commitment.

This strategy signifies joint efforts, gain for both parties and integrated solutions arrived at by
consensual decisions. When people are high on collaborating, they have to be concerned about
how they spend their time and other organizational resources. Collaboration is time and energy
consuming. Not all situations need collaborative solutions. Over use of collaboration and
consensual decision-making may reflect risk aversion tendencies or an inclination to defuse
responsibility.

ii. Compromise: This is a mutual give and take strategy- you can engage in mutual give-and-
take. This approach is used when the goal is to get past the issue and move on together. This
strategy typically calls for both sides of a conflict to give up elements of their position in order to
establish an acceptable, if not agreeable, solution. This strategy prevails most often in conflicts
where the parties hold approximately equivalent power. Business owners frequently employ
compromise during contract negotiations with other businesses when each party stands to lose
something valuable, such as a customer or necessary service.

Compromising is a mode when both parties try to find out some expedient, mutually acceptable
solution that sacrifices both the parties partially. In compromising, there is no clear winner or
loser. None of the party is fully satisfied as they ration the object of conflict and accept the
solution which is not complete to either of the parties

iii. Competition: Competition operates as a zero-sum game, in which one side wins and other
loses. Highly assertive personalities often fall back on competition as a conflict management
strategy. The competitive strategy works best in a limited number of conflicts, such as
emergency situations. In general, business owners benefit from holding the competitive strategy
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in reserve for crisis situations and decisions that generate ill-will, such as pay cuts or layoffs.
You can compete with the others. You can work to get your way, rather than clarifying and
addressing the issue. Competitors love accommodators. This approach is used when there is a
very strong conviction about the position.

iv. Accommodation: In accommodating mode a person scarifies his own interest for
accommodating other person’s interest. It is form of selfless generosity, obeying other person’s
point of view. This mode is usually adopted when other person’s view is stronger, you want to
achieve goodwill and indicate that you are reasonable.

This is a strategy that entails giving the opposing side what it wants. For example, a business that
requires formal dress may institute a "casual Friday" policy as a low-stakes means of keeping the
peace with the rank and file. You can accommodate it. You can give in to others, sometimes to
the extent that you compromise yourself. Use this approach very sparingly and infrequently, for
example, in situations when you know that you will have another more useful approach in the
very near future. Usually this approach tends to worsen the conflict over time, and causes
conflicts within you.

v. Avoidance: A strategy that seeks to put off conflict indefinitely. By delaying or ignoring the
conflict, the avoider hopes the problem resolves itself without a confrontation. In some
circumstances, avoiding can serve as a profitable conflict management strategy, such as after the
dismissal of a popular but unproductive employee. Those who actively avoid conflict frequently
have low esteem or hold a position of low power. The hiring of a more productive replacement
for the position calms much of the conflict.

Avoidance is a poor strategy hence if someone else is able to handle the situation of conflict
more effectively, should be allowed to do so. Managers having high score on avoidance as a
strategy of conflict management, may suffer from delayed decision making and hence the loss to
the organization. Those who have a low score on avoidance thereby wanting to attend to every
single issue may spend lot of time on every trivial issue, hurt people’s feelings and stir hostility
in the organization that should be taken care of. This strategy is generally used when the issue is
unimportant or other issues are more pressing. It is also used when confrontation has a high

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potential for damage or more information is needed. The drawbacks are that important decisions
may be made by default.

5.6. Stimulation of Conflict

Conflict improves group and organizational effectiveness. The stimulation of conflict initiates
the search for new means and goals and provides the stimulus for innovation. The successful
solution of a conflict leads to greater effectiveness, to more trust and openness, to greater
attraction of members for each other, and to depersonalization of future conflicts. In this write up
we are discussing how the stimulating conflict can provide benefits to the organization.

Conflict is a means by which to bring about radical change. It can be effective device by which
management can drastically change the existing power structure, current interaction patterns, and
entrenched attitudes. Conflict facilitates group cohesiveness. Whereas conflict increases hostility
between groups, external threats tend to cause a group to pull together as a unit. Inter group
conflicts raise the extent to which members identify with their own group and increase feelings
of solidarity. Conflict brings about a slightly higher, more constructive level of tension. When
the level of tension is very low, the parties are not sufficiently motivated to do something about a
conflict.

Groups or organizations lacking conflict are likely to suffer from indifference, stagnation,
groupthink, and other weakening syndromes. In fact, more organizations probably fail because
they have too little conflict, not because they have too much. Take a look at a list of large
organizations that have failed or suffered serious financial setbacks over the past decade or two.
The common thread through these companies is that they are stagnated. Their management
became satisfied and unable or unwilling to facilitate change. These organizations could have
benefited from functional conflict.

It may be true that conflict is an inherent part of any group or organization. It may not be
possible to eliminate it completely. However, just because conflicts exist there is no reason to
glorify them. The negatives consequences from conflict can be devastating. The list of negatives
associated with conflict is awesome. The most obvious are increased turnover, decreased

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employee satisfaction, inefficiencies between work units, sabotage, labor grievances and strikes,
and physical aggression.

Effective managers build teamwork. A good manager has a coordinated team. Conflict works
against such an objective. A successful work group is like a successful sports team; each member
knows his or her role and supports his or her teammates. When a team works well, the whole
becomes greater than the sum of the parts Management creates teamwork by minimizing internal
conflicts and facilitating internal.

5.7. Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is a process where a given disagreement between parties is mediated to reach
a proper solution. It is a way to work out certain differences that arise between parties. Conflict
resolution can be considered both a skill and a process. From a skill perspective, a person might
possess a highly-developed ability to solve conflicts through mediation, persuasion, negotiation
or even dissuasion. This skill has a high value in workplaces where conflicts are a common thing
between staff members. This skill includes listening and negotiation skills, along with emotional
intelligence and interpersonal skills.

On the other hand, conflict resolution is also a process that may involve several parties
depending on the issue at hand. The parties involved in the conflict can react differently towards
its appearance. They can avoid it, collaborate, negotiate, try to soften the conflict or compete
with each other. Third party mediators are often employed when conflicts have reached
an impasse. Also, conflicts can be solved unilaterally (by an authoritative figure) or jointly (when
parties reach a certain agreement by themselves). The outcome of conflict resolution procedures
can be categorized as win-win, win-lose or lose-lose situations, being the win-win scenario the
most desirable one. Common forms of conflict resolution include:
 Negotiation: It is a discussion among two or more people with the goal of reaching an
agreement. Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the
desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities
who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement can be beneficial for all or
some of the parties involved. The negotiators should establish their own needs and wants

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 while also seeking to understand the wants and needs of others involved to increase their
chances of closing deals, avoiding conflicts, forming relationships with other parties, or
maximizing mutual gains. The goal of negotiation is to resolve points of difference, gain an
advantage for an individual or collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests.
Distributive negotiations, or compromises, are conducted by putting forward a position and
making concessions to achieve an agreement. Negotiation can be:
a) Distributive negotiation: It is a compromise, positional negotiation, or hard-bargaining
negotiation that attempts to distribute a "fixed pie" of benefits. Distributive negotiation
operates under zero-sum conditions, where it is assumed that any gain made by one party
will be at the expense of the other. Bargaining over prices on an open market, as in the
purchase of a car or home, is an example of distributive negotiation.
b) Integrative negotiation: It is also called interest-based, merit-based, or principled
negotiation. It is a set of techniques that attempts to improve the quality and likelihood of
negotiated agreement by taking advantage of the fact that different parties often value
various outcomes differently. integrative negotiation attempts to create value in the
course of the negotiation ("expand the pie") by either "compensating" the loss of one item
with gains from another ("trade-offs"), or by constructing or reframing the issues of the
conflict in such a way that both parties benefit ("win-win" negotiation).
 Mediation: It is a voluntary and confidential process in which a neutral third-party facilitator
helps people discuss difficult issues and negotiate an agreement. Basic steps in the process
include gathering information, framing the issues, developing options, negotiating, and
formalizing agreements. Parties in mediation create their own solutions and the mediator
does not have any decision-making power over the outcome.
 Arbitration: It is a process in which a third-party neutral, after reviewing evidence and
listening to arguments from both sides, issues a decision to settle the case. Arbitration is
often used in commercial and labor/management disputes.
 Community Conferencing: It is a structured conversation involving all members of a
community (offenders, victims, family, friends, etc.) who have been affected by a dispute or
a crime. Using a script, the facilitator invites people to express how they were affected and
how they wish to address and repair the harm that resulted.

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5.8. Interpersonal Relations Management
Relationships’ refers to bonds of family and friendship. The aim of this service is to help you
build and maintain healthy and stable relationships with people you long to have in your life and
not to keep them just because you are linked with a common family tree or an interest. Daily
communication and effort is required in order to keep the spark alive in your relationships.

People are social beings who need help and support from other people in order to survive
physically and psychologically. When their relationships with their colleagues/staffs or friends
are in crisis, every aspect of their lives is negatively affected, such as their professional,
financial, psychological, dietary life. People who face interpersonal difficulties tend to lose their
composure, their concentration and they are in a bad mood, which makes them unable to deal
with everyday problems. The interpersonal relationship management service is ideal for people
who want to fix and revitalize their relationships with some people and also for those who spot
cracks in their relationships and they wish to save it. Therefore, interpersonal relations
management is used to:
 Pay attention to you when you try to talk to them.
 Establish harmonious relationships with people around you (partner, friends, parents,
children, relatives).
 Find effective solutions to everyday crises.
 Deal with disagreements and fights in a calm manner.
 Set the example so that more people try to overcome problems without losing their
composure.
 Accept different views and perspectives.
 Create a safe and peaceful environment, where people can communicate successfully.

References

Don Hellriegel, John W.Slocum, J, and Richard W.Woodman (1989). Organizational Behaviour,
5th ed., West, St.Paul, Minn.
Louis R. Pondy (1969). Organization Conflict, Concepts and Models: administrative science,
quarterly, pp. 296-320.

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