Introduction
Conflict is an unavoidable aspect of life. If there were no discord, thing would be predictable. However, conflict is very widespread in different areas and organizations are no exceptions to it. Organizations are competitive entities which deal with humans as employees. While minor issues persist in any setting, realization dawns only when things get out of hand. There arises the need to manage such conflict effectively.
An organization provides various opportunities for conflict. Since it cannot be wished away, there is a need to encounter it. The best method of doing so would be to find the underlying causes for the conflict. In this essay, the term ‘conflict’ is defined. This is followed by the fishbone model of causes of conflict before concluding the essay.
Definition of Conflict
Rahim (2010, p. 16) defines conflict as an interactive process manifested in incompatibility, disagreement or dissonance within or between social entities (i.e. individual, group, organization etc.). This definition brings out the following points. At the outset conflict is an interactive process. If there were a submissive person who succumbs to all sorts of demands and situations, there would only be compliance, but no conflict. Hence, there are two sides to the coin. The cause of the conflict and the person affected are two parties. When there is a reaction to the conflict, the cause need not change or get modified. It could be eliminated or it could become severe. According to Quick and Nelson (2013, pp. 23-25), factors including leadership, motivation, teamwork, and communication are highly important to avoid conflicts in organizations.
There could be incompatibility or mismatch in that expectations do not meet reality. There could be disagreement or dissonance if each party has a different opinion and sticks to it. The social entities in an organizational setting are individuals, group or the organization itself. The conflict could be within these entities for e.g. a dilemma in an employee or between these entities for e.g. between two group in an organization.
Causes of Conflict
Johnson and Keddy (2010, P. 5) give three ideas from which we can glean what leads to conflict viz. a tendency to participate in conflict, the tug of war between maturity and immaturity and the four worlds model of behavior according to which the natural, man-made and the physical worlds give impetus to the mental world. This paper will discuss below some of the common causes to conflicts.
Allocation
Conflict arises when the inputs in an organization are not evenly distributed. In some cases, the inputs in the form of resources may not be properly allocated. This could be in the form of instructions. If the employee does not get clear instructions about the work to be performed, he may end up solving a different task or performing the existing task to below expectations.
In some cases, the facilities given to two different entities to perform a similar work may be disproportionate to the advantage of one of them. The disadvantaged entity feels wronged and turns his ire on the privileged entity. Charges of favouritism are leveled on the management and there is a hue and cry. A partisan attitude even if unintentional should be corrected in time to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
In other cases, the input in the form of compensation could be a bone of contention. It is a common sight to find conflict arising when a pay hike given to an employee is seen as unjust by other employees. The conflict could be the result of not deciding other factors that play a role in the pay hike. The employee may be shouldering more responsibilities or may have genuinely worked to deserve the hike.
Inter-Personal Relations
The relationship between individuals on a personal note also plays a role in creating conflict. Each individual has his own beliefs, value systems, attitudes etc. These could clash with those of others in the organizational setting. A person could sometimes be set in the manner of approaching a concept. While this may be suitable to the specific individual, it may not be in line with the notions of others. Hence, there is conflict as other employees cannot get along with a particular employee.
An employee’s behavior is also a cause for concern. Often, there are employees who project a particular behavior but intend the opposite. A person may show a stern face to others but may otherwise be kind and sociable. It is the duty of others to understand this behavior and adjust as long as it does not harm them or the organization in any way. Similarly, the employee concerned may be made aware of his behavior since impressions can be lasting in case of meetings with clients or other business associates. Lack of sensitivity to race, gender, community issues also can lead to conflict and these should be handled delicately but firmly.
Framework
The organization can breed conflict by its own nature. There are different causes for it. A tall organization could experience conflict as there are many levels in the hierarchy and it takes time for ideas and concepts to move up or down the hierarchy. In case of a flat organization, one competes with colleagues of the same level under one particular head. At every level, this process of competition carries on. When many employees perform a similar type of work, each one competes for limited resources and this can lead to conflict.
The organizational ethos also can result in conflict if an employee is not aligned with the company’s goals. The pace of the organization may not be conducive to the employee in some cases. Similarly, nepotism is a common factor for conflict. Nepotism could be inbuilt in traditional or family owned businesses. The organization may favour particular employees as they are in agreement with the management. This can cause uneasiness among others who take things personally.
Variation
Change is the only thing constant in life. It is human nature to resist change as one does not want to leave one’s own comfort zone. Change may be acceptable to some and not to others. Those who cannot tolerate change have to make way. However, change can be managed to reduce its impact on people. However, different employees react to different change situations differently. An employee can also react differently to the pace of change to be handled.
If the pace of change is too fast to handle, the employee can undergo a situation where he does not feel self-worth as he cannot cope up with it. However, if the pace of change is slow, the change can be easily incorporated into the employee’s activities. Sometimes, the employee may be preoccupied with other activities and does not have the time to undergo a change in a specific area. This can also lead to conflict.
It would be better to leave the management of change to the employee himself. Change need not be a constant strong current of air. It can have slack periods also. The employee would be the best person to manage change according to his terms. This gives him a sense of control rather than to fall victim to the change or make unreasonable demands on himself to implement the change.
Executive
Conflict at the organization level has more to do with the entire firm or company as a whole from the viewpoint of the owners. However, management is an aspect that is dynamic and exits independent of the ownership even though it has to be subservient to it. The management has a wide scope of power to exercise, in the purview of which conflict can arise. Conflict arises because a particular job assigned to an employee may not be to his liking. Similarly, the time allocated may not be sufficient for accomplishing a task when the management is of the opposite opinion.
Promotions and pay hikes are human resource issues over which employee regularly lock horns with the management. Performance Appraisals hold the key for the above two issues. Appraisals should be conveyed to the employees before taking up promotion and pay hike issues as they can only be justified in the context of the employee’s appraisal. Another major area of conflict is when the personal aspirations of the employees do not match those of the management regarding him. This could be in terms of training and career growth as envisioned by the employee.
Miscellaneous
Economic, political and legal causes also lead to conflict. The general economic conditions can lead to conflict. Recession is one of the foremost examples of this. In recession, employees are laid off and the burden of work increases. Compensation may also be slashed and perks may become non-existent. There is conflict over this uncertainty.
The political conditions can also lead to conflict. If there is a regime change in the country, it could be to the disadvantage of the organization. This could make the company extract more work from the employees to compensate for the hardships suffered. This brings in conflict for the employee.
Changes in laws may bring conflict to employees. An employee may be debarred from doing a particular activity which had been hitherto performed unhindered. This could mean loss of opportunities to the employee. Similarly, an employee may represent his organization over a legal issue. However, the employee may be forced to associate himself with the issue for a considerable amount of time in the event of relinquishing his post due to the nature of the dispute in question.
All these factors point the significance of assessing various situations that directly and indirectly influence the work environment in an organization. There should be a comprehensive strategy to address all areas of possible emotional barriers (Quick & Nelson, 2013). In the growing context of globalization, organizations are exceedingly multicultural, and hence require effective HR strategies. Effective communication and knowledge sharing is the key to organizational success today. This is possible only if there is proper mechanism to align all segments and individuals involved in the business process.
Conclusion
However, the appearance of conflict does not imply that firefighting measures should be resorted to. Instead, it should be seen as a favourable and integral part of an organisation’s activities. Training is required so that constructive criticism can be acceptable to all employees. When disagreement is seen positively, conflict becomes creative (Kakabadse, Bank, Vinnicombe, p.164). In such a case, conflict no longer remains a problem, but becomes the very solution that is required to set things right. Hence, conflict should be welcomed with open arms, given the assurance that it can be sorted out amicably.
References
Andrew, K., John, B &, Susan, V. (2004). Working in Organizations. Gower Publishing Ltd.
Johnson, C & Keddy, J. (2010). Managing Conflict at Work: Understanding and Resolving Conflict for Productive Working Relationships. Kogan Page Publishers.
Rahim A. M. (2010). Managing Conflict in Organizations. Transaction Publishers.
Quick, J. C & Nelson, D. L. (2013). Principles of Organizational Behavior: Realities and Challenges. South-Western Cengage Learning.
