Conflict in Organizations

Dr. Len Elovitz

Chapter 10 in Owens & Valesky

What is Conflict?• Two essential concepts in any conflict

– Divergent views and – Incompatibility of those views

Is Conflict Bad?

What is the bureaucratic view?

• In classical bureaucratic organizations, conflict is something to be suppressed and avoided.

– Organizations should be smooth running, harmonious and ordered.

– Use of control and structure to manage conflict.

What is the human relations view

• Human relations views see conflict as a failure to develop appropriate norms for groups.

– Seeks to achieve harmony through happy, congenial work groups.

What is the human resources view

• Conflict is inevitable, endemic and often legitimate.

• Chester Barnard described negotiating, stress, and conflict as normal social patterns in organizations.

• Finite resources lead to competition.• Participatory management will result in

conflicts • Leaders need to manage conflict.

Can Lead To Hostility• Two Types of Hostility

– Non-Malevolent– Malevolent

• Non-malevolent behavior may worsen the position of others, but is done to support one’s views.

• Malevolent hostility may give rise to nefarious attacks, that may:– Focus on people (not issues).– Use hateful and emotional language and terms.– Use dogmatic statements.– Be intransigent even in light of new information.

• The key to determining the type of hostility is the motivation of the hostile party.

– Do they want to work within the system or to destroy it?

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Effects of Organizational Conflict

• Hostile conflict can result in:– Psychological withdrawal--alienation, apathy, and

indifference.– Physical withdrawal—absence, tardiness, and turnover.

• Conflict can create a downward spiral in organizational health • Effective conflict management can lead to improved

organizational health

• The impact of conflict on the organization and the behavior of role incumbents largely depends on the way the organization handles it.

Ineffective Response to Conflict

Effective Response to Conflict

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The Criterion: Organizational Performance

• The central issue to leaders is to insure the impact of conflict does not negatively affect performance of the organization as a system.

• Leaders should assess organizational culture and the interaction-influence system.

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The Criterion: Organizational Performance (continued)

• Participative management assumes that many people have good ideas and quality information.

• Divergent views can assist individuals in confronting previously unknown or ignored information.

• Dealing with problems can result in improved cohesiveness, clarified relationships and better problem-solving procedures.

• Whereas, pent-up conflict may explode, followed by long periods of frustration.

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The Dynamics of Organizational Conflict

• Louis Pondy identified three primary causes of latent conflict:– Competition for scarce resources.– Autonomy or “Protecting One’s Turf”.– Goal divergence (and how to accomplish the goal).

• These are naturally-occurring events in schools, and therefore conflict should be expected, planned for and managed.

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 15

A Process View of Conflict

• Kenneth Thomas identified four parts of conflict that occur in a sequence of episodes:– Frustration—caused by someone’s action (denial of a

request, disagreement, insult).– Conceptualization—defining issues and seeking

alternative responses (Highly subjective).– Behavior—dictated by one’s desire to satisfy the other’s

concerns resulting in cooperation (or not), and by one’s desire to satisfy his/her own concerns resulting in assertiveness (or not).

• Interaction of the parties follows.– Outcome—if negative, can have long-term effects on

relationships and the organization.

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A Structural View of Conflict

• This approach sees conflict in terms of conditions that influence behavior.

– Rules and procedures – often clarify positions on issues and give direction on how to proceed

– Personality predispositions – Role and Role conflict

– Social norms of the organization – Culture (how we do things around here)

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An Open-Systems View of Conflict

• As open systems, schools interact with their environments. • Outside mandates and pressures can cause sudden change and

subsequent conflict, e.g., NCLB.

• Griffin and Rostetter hypothesized that depending on availability of resources, opportunities to avoid coercion, and rewards for compliance, people will behave with one of the following: resistance, escape, compliance, passive resistance.

• Coercion can lead to conflict-hostility-resistance syndrome within organizations.

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 18

Approaches to Organizational Conflict

• Win-Lose Orientation—parties do not see compromise as possible.

• Two consequences– Between parties: hostility rises, hope for solution

fades, as does search for solution.– Within parties involved: members close ranks, and

members are expected to keep the party line. Creative solutions are effectively snuffed out.

• The losing individual or group may reject the leaders and have powerful long-lasting negative emotional reactions.

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 19

A Contingency Approach to Conflict

• This approach requires a solution based on diagnosis of the situation:– Is there conflict: do the parties have goals that are

incompatible?– If it is a miscommunication instead of conflict, parties may

benefit from communication skills training.• If a conflict does exist, then select a method of

dealing with it productively from options available.

• In general, a win-win in which both parties win something tends to be the most productive.

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 20

A Contingency Approach to Conflict (continued)

• Collaboration—mutual problem solving.– Parties must have:

• Skills for communicating and working in groups effectively.

• Attitudes that support a climate of trust to work through problems.

– Using effective problem-solving strategies.– Sometimes use of a third-party consultant is helpful.

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A Contingency Approach to Conflict (continued)

• Bargaining– Search for compromises that has some elements of

collaborative problem solving.– This is not collaborative, and does not necessarily lead to

win-win.– Neither party wins and neither party loses.

• Example may be when parties take a conflict to supervisor for resolution.

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A Contingency Approach to Conflict (continued)

• Avoidance—it’s useful when:– It is not likely that latent conflict can be resolved.– Issues are not so important as to require time and

resources to work them out. – Effectively a “cease-fire”.

• Power Struggle—classic win-lose situation.

Handling Conflict

• Case studies

• Pgs. 276-277 in 10th edition

• Pgs. 356-57 in 9th edition

Styles of Dealing With Conflict

• Muscle – Just do it

• Reconciliation – Agree to disagree

• Harmony – Find the middle ground

• Retreat – Avoidance

• Collaboration – Reach consensus