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Conflict Theory
June 4, 2012 by Dr. Jon Warner
According to organizational
conflict theory, there are varieties of conflicts within an organization. Departments have conflicts with one another,
senior managements have power struggles and teams / organizations even have conflict
with other teams / organizations.
Interpersonal Conflicts
Many individuals are simply “not on the same page” or do
not get on with one another. It may be a
matter of style or approach or it can be even because they don’t like the look
of one another. Managers will usually
have to take on the roles of both mediators and counselors to help diffuse the
situation and find resolution, or make a difficult choice to transfer or remove
someone based on inability to function in a team.
Role Conflict
Some conflicts between individuals are caused by
circumstances related to their roles and/or tasks they are expected to perform. Much arises from overlapping responsibilities
or status issues. It may even be because
of different reporting lines.
Inter-group Conflict
Inter-group conflict typically occurs because the goals
of whole teams are not completely clear or there is duplication or overlap of
functions causing disputation. If the
inter-group conflict persists, it may even become part of the company “climate”
and be potentially very destructive to the organization and everyone involved.
Approaches to Conflict Resolution
Organizations have a
fairly limited set of choices when it comes to resolving conflict that is avoidance,
smoothing, confrontation and compromise.
Another area that needs careful consideration when seeking to resolve
conflict is to determine when the symptoms are more overt or covert. Overt
symptoms of conflict are more obvious of course and may include complaints,
arguments, industrial action, reaction to an employee being disciplined or
dismissed etc. Covert symptoms may include general employee discomfort, tension,
rumors, sabotage, absenteeism, or non-cooperation.
The symptoms of
conflict are of course quite different from the sources or reasons for
conflict. Sources of conflict can be
categorized in a number of ways including:
- ideological: different values or political and cultural beliefs
· social: different personalities and styles,
for example conflict between a loud and outgoing person and a quiet, more
introverted person
· structural: different levels of legal power and
status, for example conflict about the lack of power and status afforded to
minority groups
· resources: different access to income, goods and
services, for example conflict about rates of pay received by different
categories of employees
· objectives: different needs as expressed by goals, for
example conflict between a supervisor and a worker about the timing of a
vacation or leave
Some conflict
situations may be attributable to a number of sources. By to identifying the sources of conflict, the
true nature of the conflict can be understood.
It is critical to identify which kinds of conflict we are dealing with.
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