Conflict Management: 1 Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 1

 Management today is faced with responsibility of
ensuring optimum levels of growth and productivity
 Work Environment is full of conflicting

situations
 Surveys show the modern manager spends over

20% of his time handling one conflict or the other

Conflict is a conscious attempt made by one
party to block the goal achievement of the other
party
Conflict is the extent to which people oppose

and block each other

Importance of conflicts
Traditional view
 All conflicts harmful
 Every conflict viewed negatively
 Associated with violence, turbulence,

agitation, destruction and irrationality

Behavioral school of thought
 Conflict is logical and inevitable in any

organization should be accepted
 Since an organization is composed of

individuals and they have different perceptions of
goals, and differing values, conflicts are bound to
arise.
 The conflicts focus on problems and instigate

search for better and innovative solutions.

Interactive view
 This view not only accepts conflicts as

inevitable, but also encourages it.
 The conflicts must be resolved, so that they do

not get out of control.
 The inevitability of conflict results from the

struggle for limited rewards, status, responsibility
or power and innate aggressive and competitive
instincts in people.

Interactive view
 If harmony, peace and cooperativeness prevail for

a long time, the group is likely to become non-
responsive to innovation and change.
 So, the task of manager to manage it is such a

manner, so that its beneficial effects are maximized
and negative or harmful aspects are minimized.

Functional and dysfunctional conflicts
Functional -The conflicts which result is increased

organization performance and help the organization
to attain its goals may be termed functional.
Dysfunctional- The conflicts which hinder an

organizations growth and present it from achieving
its goal can be termed as dysfunctional.
This depends upon the nature of conflict, intensity,

duration and the manner in which it is handled.

Sources of conflict
I. Competition for limited resources
 Men, material, money
 Power, status or manager’s time
No organization can provide all these resources to all

the groups as per their demand, so the groups
compete for the limited resource and many conflicts
arise form this source.

Sources of conflict
2. Diversity of goals
 Each group in the organization has different

functions to perform and so develop their own goals
and norms.
 These may be incompatible with each other.
 One group may try to achieve the goal at the

expense of the other, especially when the reward
system to linked to performance.

3. Task interdependence
The groups in an organization have to interact with

each other in order to accomplish their tasks.
 Locked inter-dependence- when the two work

groups may not directly interact with each other but
are affected by each others action.
 Sequential interdependence- when one group’s

performance depends on another group’s prior
performance.
 Reciprocal inter-dependence- when two or more

groups are mutually interdependent in
accomplishing their tasks.
4. Differences in values and perception
Various groups in the organization hold

‘conflicting’ values and perceive situations in a
narrow individualistic manner e.g. management
labour conflict.
5. Organizational ambiguities
Job descriptions may not be available or if

available not updated.

6. Introduction of change
Change can lead to inter-group conflicts.

When an organization is merged into another,
power struggle often exists.
7. Nature of communication
Poor communication is the cause of all conflicts

“if we just communicate with each other, we could
eliminate our differences”

8. Aggressive nature of people
Personality differences in the individuals who

are highly authoritarian, arrogant, autocratic and
dogmatic- lead to potential conflict.

Different types of conflicts
I. Intra-personal conflicts
These are the conflicts within an individual. These

can be
 Offer of a good job in a city where one is not

willing to go.
 One is attracted to equally appealing alternatives

e.g. Seeing a movie or go out for a picnic.
 One is repelled by two equally unpleasant

alternatives e.g. Threat of being dismissed if one
fails to report against a friendly colleague who is
guilty of breaking organization rules.
II. Inter-personal conflicts
These are the conflicts between individuals.
These may be due to personal dislikes;

personality differences, difference of opinion about
task related matters.
III. Intra-group conflicts
These are the conflicts between an individual

and a group.
These are due to individual’s inability to conform

to group norms.
IV. Inter-group conflicts
These are the conflicts between groups within an

organization.
 Conflict between unions vs. Management
 One union vs. another union
 One functional area (production), vs. another

functional area (maintenance)
 Direct recruits vs. promoters etc.

V. Conflict between organizations-
This is considered desirable if limited to the

economic context only.
This leads to innovative and new products,

technological advancement, and better services at
lower prices.


Conflict process
Conflict is a dynamic process, which includes-
 Antecedent conditions
 Cognitive states
 Affective states
 Conflicting behavior


Conflict process
Stage –I, Potential antagonism- This includes the

presence of antecedents conditions that create
opportunities for conflict to arise, such as:
 Scarcity of resources
 Heterogeneity of members
 Diversity of goals, values
 Perception degree of dependence between
groups
 Insufficient exchange of information etc.


Conflict process
Stage – II, Cognition and Personalization- The

antecedents’ conditions must be perceived as
threatening if conflict is to develop.
The situation may be ignored if it is seen as

minimally threatening.
More over the perceived threat should be able to

involve the parties.


Conflict process
Stage– III, Conflict behavior- At this stage a

conscious attempt is made by one party to block the
goal achievement of the other party
Most of the conflict behaviors are displayed in the

forms of :
Resignation and withdrawal
Appeasement and compromise
Confrontation and collaboration etc.


Conflict process
Stage-IV- Aftermath- The consequences could be in

terms of:
Performance of group
Quality of relationship in the involved parties
Change of structure and polices etc.
These in turn influence the antecedent conditions

and probability of future conflicts.


Impact of conflict
Following changes may occur due to conflict.

 Group cohesiveness increases and its
members show greater cordiality
 The group becomes task oriented – The group

climate changes from informal to task-oriented in
order to deal with the external threat

Impact of conflict
Following changes may occur due to conflict.

 Leadership becomes more directive – As group

becomes more task-oriented the leader becomes
more authoritarian.
 Organization structure becomes more rigid
 Authority and responsibility relationships

become more clearly defined.

Prolonged group conflicts cause the following
changes in relationship between groups.
 Groups become antagonistic toward each other
 Each group sees the other as an enemy, which

interferes with its goal-oriented behaviour
 Perceptions are distorted- each group develops

positive perceptions about its own group and
negative perceptions toward the other.

Prolonged group conflicts cause the following
changes in relationship between groups.
 Communication ceases to exist- the group

member of one group avoid interaction with the
other and if forced to interact, they tend to show
hostility and aggression towards each other
 Groups apply a double standard- each group

sees all the vicious aspect of the other and remain
blind to same acts performed by their own group.

Potential benefit of inter-group conflict

Conflict clarifies the real issues- when groups of
people express their concerns and differences, it
helps to sharpen the real issues involved in a
problem. Without conflict many of the organizational
problems may go unnoticed and remain unsolved.
Conflicts increase innovation- conflicts

create/generates ideas, view points and stimulate
innovation.

Potential benefit of inter-group conflict

Intergroup conflicts solidify the group- The members
tend to work together, move closely and a manager may
use this new cohesion to reduce internal conflicts.
Conflict serves as a catharsis- These provide an outlet

through which the member ventilate their feelings
without damaging organizational functioning.
Conflict resolution solidifies inter-group relationships-

Once the group conflict is successfully solved, it can
solidify the relationships between groups and it may
even make the group close to each other.

Stimulating productive conflict
Following are the signs where conflict stimulation is

needed:
 Organization filled with ‘yes men’

 Employees are afraid to admit ignorance
 Compromise is stressed in decision making
 Managers put too much emphasis on harmony
and peace.

Stimulating productive conflict
Following are the signs where conflict stimulation is

needed:
 People are afraid of hurting the feelings of

others.
 Popularity is given more importance than
technical competence
 People show great resistance to change
 New ideas are not forth coming
 Unusually low rate of employee turn-over.

Techniques for conflict stimulation

I. Manipulate communication channels-
 Deviate messages form traditional channels
 Repress information
 Transmit too much information
 Transmit ambiguous or threatening information

Techniques for conflict stimulation

II. Alter the organization structure (redefine jobs, alter

tasks, reform units or activities)
 Increase units size

 Increase specialization or standardization
 Add, or transfer organizational members
 Increase interdependence between units
III. Alter personal behavior factors
 Change personality characteristics of leader

 Create role conflict
 Develop role incongruence 33
Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW

Resolving inter-group conflicts
I. Conflict-Avoidance strategies- This attempts to

keep the conflict from coming into open.
 Ignoring the conflict- No action is taken
 Imposing a solution- Forcing the conflicting

parties to accept a solution devised by a higher-
level manager.

II. Conflict- diffusion strategies- These keep the conflict is
abeyance and attempts to “cool” the emotions of the
concerned parties.
 Soothing – By playing down its extent or

importance.
This is useful as a stop-gap measure to let people cool

down and regain perspective and confining the
disagreement among groups to management level.
This is also useful where conflict concerns non- work

issues e.g. different beliefs and values.


II. Conflict- diffusion strategies
 Appealing to super ordinate goals-One can diffuse

conflict by focusing attention on higher goals that the
groups share or the long range aims that the groups
spare.
This tends to make the current problem seem

insignificant.
The most frequently used goal is organizational

survival, if the groups do not cooperate sufficiently.

III. Conflict containment strategies

Using representatives -Manager can meet the

representatives of the opposing groups.
The rationale is that these representatives know the

problem and can argue groups points of view
accurately and forcefully.
This is more effective, before the positions of the two

groups become public and fixed.


III. Conflict containment strategies (Cont.)

Structuring the interaction- If the amount of contact
between the groups is increased, it is likely that they
would know each other side better.
Bargaining- This is the process of exchanging

concessions until a compromise is reached. Usually
in this, each side begins to demand more than they
really expect to get.

IV. Conflict confrontation strategies- These uncover
all the issues of the conflict and try to find a mutually
satisfactory solution.
This attempts to find a solution that reconciles or

integrates the needs of both parties, who work
together to define the problem and identify mutually
satisfactory solutions.


IV. Conflict confrontation strategies (Cont.)

 Definition of problem should be joint effort on
shared fact finding
 Problems should be specified in clear terms

rather than on perceptions of individuals
 Points of agreement and differences should be

identified
 Discussion between the groups should be on

specific and non-evaluative points.

IV. Conflict confrontation strategies (Cont.)

 Group should work together to develop
alternative solutions or suggest a range of
solutions.
 Solutions should be evaluated objectively in

terms of quality and acceptability to two groups.
 All agreements about separate issues are

considered tentatively until every issue is dealt
with problem solving for its success requires.

V. Conflict resolution strategy-Especially when the
sources of conflict result from coordination of work
among different departments. This can be done as:

Redesigning could be to reduce task -inter
dependence and to assign each group clear work
responsibilities. (i.e. create self concerned work
groups)
To develop overlapping or joint work responsibilities,

use of different abilities of different departments.
E.g. integrated functional teams from different depts.
to complete the tasks.

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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 1

 Work Environment is full of conflicting

 Surveys show the modern manager spends over

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 2

Conflict is the extent to which people oppose

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 3

 All conflicts harmful

 Every conflict viewed negatively

 Associated with violence, turbulence,

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 4

Behavioral school of thought

 Conflict is logical and inevitable in any

 Since an organization is composed of

 The conflicts focus on problems and instigate

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 5

 This view not only accepts conflicts as

 The conflicts must be resolved, so that they do

 The inevitability of conflict results from the

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 6

 If harmony, peace and cooperativeness prevail for

 So, the task of manager to manage it is such a

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 7

Functional -The conflicts which result is increased

Dysfunctional- The conflicts which hinder an

This depends upon the nature of conflict, intensity,

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 8

I. Competition for limited resources

 Men, material, money

 Power, status or manager’s time

No organization can provide all these resources to all

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 9

 Each group in the organization has different

 These may be incompatible with each other.

 One group may try to achieve the goal at the

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 10

The groups in an organization have to interact with

 Locked inter-dependence- when the two work

 Sequential interdependence- when one group’s

 Reciprocal inter-dependence- when two or more

Various groups in the organization hold

Job descriptions may not be available or if

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 12

Change can lead to inter-group conflicts.

Poor communication is the cause of all conflicts

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 13

Personality differences in the individuals who

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 14

These are the conflicts within an individual. These

 Offer of a good job in a city where one is not

 One is attracted to equally appealing alternatives

 One is repelled by two equally unpleasant

These are the conflicts between individuals.

These may be due to personal dislikes;

III. Intra-group conflicts

These are the conflicts between an individual

These are due to individual’s inability to conform

These are the conflicts between groups within an

 Conflict between unions vs. Management

 One union vs. another union

 One functional area (production), vs. another

 Direct recruits vs. promoters etc.

Prof.A.K. Sood NIHFW 17