views of conflict

8/12/2019 Views of Conflict

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Views of ConflictThere exists three contrasting views regardingconflict.

Traditional view.

It is a belief that all conflict is harmful or bad and mustbe avoided.Conflict is viewed negatively.

Conflict is seen as dysfunctional outcome resulting

from poor communication, a lack of openness andtrust between people and failure of manage to be

responsive to the need sand aspirations of their

employees.


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Identify the causes of conflict and correctthese malfunctioning in order to improve

group and organizational performance.

But in reality it is not always possible to avoidor ignore all conflicts.


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Human relations View.

It is a belief that conflict is a natural and

inevitable outcome in any group. Since conflict is inevitable, it is wise to accept it.

It cannot be eliminated.

Conflict benefit a groups performance.


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Interactionsit view.

It is a belief that conflict is a positive force in a

group. It is absolutely necessary for a group toperform effectively.

This approach encourages conflict on the groundthat a harmonious, peaceful and tranquil and

cooperative group is prone to static, apathetic andnon-responsive to the needs for change andinnovation.

Encourage group leaders to maintain an ongoing

minimum level of conflict- enough to keep thegroup viable, self-critical and creative.


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Functional Versus Dysfunctional

conflict.

It is a conflict that supports the goals

of the group and improves its

performance.

It is constructive form of conflict.

Dysfunctional conflict, on the other

hand, hinders group performance. It is destructive from of conflict.


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Task conflict.

It is a conflict over content and goals of the work.

Relationship conflict. It focuses son interpersonalrelationships.

Process conflict. It relates to how the works getdone.

Relationship conflicts are almost alwaysdysfunctional.

Friction and interpersonal hostility inherent inrelationship conflict increase personality clashesad decreases mutual understanding which hinder

the competition of organizational tasks. Low level of process conflict and low level of task

conflict are functional.


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Levels of conflict

Conflicts may occur within a person, betweenpersons, or groups and across organizations as theycompete.

Intrapersonal conflict. It is also called intrapsychicconflict. It may occur within a person when he playstwo roles which are inconsistent.

It occurs when an organizational member is requiredto do certain tasks and roles that do not match his

expertise, interest, goals and values. Example: you may be a manager of a team

responsible for protecting and enlarging its resourcesand as a member of a the executive staff charged withthe task of reducing operating costs.


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Interpersonal conflict or dyadic conflict.

This may occur at different levels-vertical andhorizontal.

Interpersonal conflicts are a serious problem to manypeople because they deeply affect a persons emotion.

There is a need to protect ones self image and self-esteem from damage by others.

When self concept is threatened, serious upset occursand relationships deteriorate. There are many reasonsresponsible for interpersonal conflict.

Temperaments of two persons may be incompatible.

Personalities clash.

Failure of communication, differences in perception.


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Intragroup conflict

This is also known as intradepartmnetalconflict.

It refers to conflict among members of agroup or between two or more sub-groupswithin a group in connection with its goals,tasks, procedures and so on.


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Intergroup conflict or intraorganizational conflict.

Inter-group conflicts between different departments alsocause problems.

Each group tries to undermine the other, gain power andimprove its image.

Main causes are:

Different viewpoints,

Group loyalties, competition for resources.

Limited resources.

Example: product department may want new and more

efficient machinery, while at the same time, sales departmentwants to expand its sale force, but there are only enoughresources to supply the needs of one group.


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Conclusion.

Some conflict can be constructive and this iscertainly true at the intergroup level.

Conflicts may provide a clue that a criticalproblem between two departments needs tobe resolved.

People are stimulated to search for improvedapproaches that lead to better results.

It energizes them to be more creative a d toexperiment with new ideas.

Unless issues are brought into the open, theycannot be fully understood or explored.


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Once the conflict is resolved, the individualsmay be more committed to the outcomethrough their involvement in solving it.

Managerial challenge is to keep conflict at amoderate level, where it is most likely to

stimulate creative thoughts but not interferewith performance.

Conflict should not become so intense thatindividual parties either hide it or escalate it

to destructive levels.


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Conflict behavior

Conflict becomes visible through behaviors.

Behaviors includes statements, actins, and

reactions made by the conflicting parties. Behaviors are overt.

Through behaviors people implement theirintentions.


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- Conflict behaviors are:

Overt efforts to destroy the other party.

Aggressive physical attacks.

Threats and ultimatums,

Assertive verbal attacks.

Overt questioning or challenging others,

Minor agreement or misunderstandings.

Strikes, riots and war are the examples ofextreme behavior.


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Outcomes of conflict

Conflict may produce four distinct outcomes,depending on the approaches taken by the

people involved.

Lose-lose outcome. It is a situation in which aconflict deteriorates to the point at both parties

are worse off than they were before.

As a manager, you fire a person who only knowsthe secret formula for the organizations most

successful product.


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Lose-win. It is a situation in which one person isdefeated while the other person is victorious.

Win-lose situation. It is a reverse situation. I winand you lose.

Win-win outcome. It is a situation in which bothparties to conflict perceive tat they are in abetter position than they were before theconflict began. This is the preferred outcome totry to achieve in ongoing relationships such as

with suppliers, customers, and employees.


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Win-win outcome. It is a situation in whichboth parties to conflict perceive tat they arein a better position than they were before theconflict began. This is the preferred outcometo try to achieve in ongoing relationships such

as with suppliers, customers, and employees.

views of conflict

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