Session 17 - Organizational Conflict (Intro) - 17.nov.23pptx

Organizational Conflict (intro)
____________________________
Definition. Three views of conflict. Types of conflict. The process
What is my preferred style? Questionnaire completion
and reflection
What is conflict about?
???
Conflict is about...
Clash
Tension
Struggle
Incompatibility
Disagreement
in terms of actions, thoughts, opinions, feelings

Conflict
Definition
Conflict: a process that begins when one party perceives that another
party has (or is about to) negatively affect(ed) something the first party
cares about
Conflicts range from minor annoyances to overt forms of violence, due to:
§ Incompatibility of goals
§ Differences over interpretations of facts
§ Disagreements based on behavioral expectations
To avoid conflicts escalating to those major levels is necessary to
understand the causes underlying it. Let us first look at the main
ingredientes...
4
Conflict
Main ingredients
Conflict...
...is a perception: if no one is aware, then it is generally

agreed no conflict exists
...derives from any opposition or incompatibility
...presupposes any form of interaction
Is conflict good or bad?

Different theoretical perspectives
5
Transitions in conflict thought
3 schools/3 views
Traditional view (30s and 40s)
The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided
Human Relations View (50s and 60s)
The conflict is a natural consequence of groups and organizations
Interactionist View (70s)
The conflict is absolutely necessary for the group’s performance/efficacy

Traditional View of Conflict: a closer look
(Robbins, 2001)
• All conflict is bad

• Conflict is viewed negatively
• Conflict is used synonymously with such terms as violence,
destruction, and irrationality
• Conflict is harmful and has to be avoided
• Conflict is seen as a dysfunctional outcome resulting from poor
communication, a lack of openness and trust between people,
and the failure of managers to be responsive to the needs and
aspirations of their employees
Human Relations View of Conflict: a closer look
(Robbins, 2001)
§ Conflict is a natural occurrence in all groups and

organizations
§ Being inevitable, the human relations school advocates
its acceptance
§ HR proponents rationalized its existence: since it can’t be
eliminated, conflict may sometimes benefit a group’s
performance
Interactionist View of Conflict: a closer look
(Robbins, 2001)
• This school of though encourages conflict

• An harmonious, peaceful, tranquil, and cooperative group is prone
to becoming static, apathetic, and nonresponsive to the
company’s needs for change and innovation
• Interactionists encourage group leaders to maintain an ongoing
minimum level of conflict (enough to keep the group viable, self-
critical, and creative)
• But this school does not propose that all conflicts are good!!!!!
Type of conflicts
Aspects people usually disagree on at work
Examples?
Types of conflicts
§ Task conflict: conflict over content and goals of the work

§ Process conflict: conflict over how to get work done
§ Relationship conflict: conflict based on interpersonal
relationships
Caution: don’t let process and task conflict become

relationship conflict
Another classification
§ Intra-individual/Intra-personal conflict
§ Interpersonal conflict
§ Inter-group conflict
Intra-individual/Intra-personal Conflict
§ When an individual’s goals and vision differ from his/her company’s overall
vision
§ Intra-individual conflict arises from frustration, numerous roles that demand
equal attention but is almost possible to devote time and energy to both
§ The person might also experience intrapersonal conflict when he/she is
uncertain about what is expected or wanted
§ The feeling about being inadequate to perform a task can also lead to
perceived intrapersonal conflict
Interpersonal Conflict
§ Conflict at the inter-personal level: involves two or more individuals
and is the most common and recognized type of conflict
§ It usually arises from differences in personality, work-style, and
personal background as well as disagreement over the organizational
goals
§ Every individual has a personal alternative course of action that is
acceptable to him/her that might differ from the alternatives of
different individuals
§ Interpersonal conflict often arises because of competition. For
example, two managers could be competing for limited capital or
manpower resources
Inter-group Conflict
§ Inter-group conflict: is the discord that arises when the goals,

interests or values of different groups are incompatible and those
groups block or thwart another group’s attempts to achieve their
objective
§ Several antecedent conditions have been identified for explaining the
intergroup conflict, such as:
§ competition for resources (budget allocations)
§ jurisdictional ambiguity
§ status struggles
Conflict process
How conflicts develop?
STAGE I STAGE II STAGE III STAGE IV STAGE V

Potential Cognition Intentions Behaviour Outcomes
opposition and personalization
Perceived Conflict-handling Increased group

Antecedent conflict Intentions performance
conditions
Competing Open conflict
Communication Collaborating
Structure
Compromising
Personal variables
Avoiding Decreased group
Felt conflict
Accommodating perfomance
Stage 1
Potential Opposition or Incompatibility
§ Communication: differing words, connotations, jargon,

insufficient exchange of information, and noise in the
communication channel
§ Structure: size of the group, leadership styles, reward
systems
§ Individual variables: personality (disagreeableness,
neuroticism, etc.), emotions and values
Stage 2
Cognition and personalization
Perceived conflict: one or more of the parties must be aware

that antecedents conditions exist
Felt conflict: individuals become emotionally involved
Stage 3
(Conflict-handling) Intentions/strategies
Two dimensions:
- Cooperativeness: the degree to which one party attempts to
satisfy the other party’s concerns
- Assertiveness: the degree to which one party attempts to
satisfy his/her own intentions
Stage 3
Competing (assertive/uncooperative): a desire to satisfy one’s interests,
regardless of the impact on the other party to the conflict (gain victory through
force, skill, or domination)
Collaborating (assertive/cooperative): a situation in which the parties involved in
a conflict desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties (WIN-WIN – beneficial
solution to everyone)
Compromising (middle-ground style): a situation in which each party in a conflict
is willing to give up something; each party concedes something of value
Avoiding (unassertive/uncooperative): the desire to withdraw from or suppress a
conflict, sometimes pretending it does not exist
Accommodating (cooperative/unassertive): the willingness of one party in a
conflict to place the opponent’s interests above his or her own; an attempt to
adjust our views to play down differences between parties
What is my preferred conflict management style?

Answer the questionnaire and discover…
Which style is best?
Like much of organizational behavior:

- there is no one “right way” to deal with conflict
- it will depend on the situation
- however, according to extant research, the collaborative
style has the potential to be highly effective in many different
situations

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Organizational Conflict (intro)

in terms of actions, thoughts, opinions, feelings

...is a perception: if no one is aware, then it is generally

Is conflict good or bad?

 Traditional view (30s and 40s)

The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided

 Human Relations View (50s and 60s)

The conflict is a natural consequence of groups and organizations

 Interactionist View (70s)

The conflict is absolutely necessary for the group’s performance/efficacy

• All conflict is bad

§ Conflict is a natural occurrence in all groups and

• This school of though encourages conflict

Aspects people usually disagree on at work

§ Task conflict: conflict over content and goals of the work

Caution: don’t let process and task conflict become

§ Inter-group conflict: is the discord that arises when the goals,

STAGE I STAGE II STAGE III STAGE IV STAGE V

Perceived Conflict-handling Increased group

§ Communication: differing words, connotations, jargon,

Perceived conflict: one or more of the parties must be aware

What is my preferred conflict management style?

Like much of organizational behavior:

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Traditional view (30s and 40s)

Human Relations View (50s and 60s)

Interactionist View (70s)