Conflict Management in Organisations - Essay Example

Conflict Management Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………. 3 Conflict Management, the problem definition…………………4 What this paper is about………………………………………..5 Nature of Conflict in groups……………………………………6 Why do conflicts occur in groups? .............................................9 Conflict management in groups and role of leadership……………..11 Appendix…………………………………………………………….13 This is a paper on conflict management in organisations. While it covers some general aspects of conflict and its management, it mainly focuses on issues of management of conflict in groups and leadership issues, as these are of primary importance in today’s emerging organisations. Conflict management, the problem definition: Human conflict is an universal and omnipresent. In an organization when individuals or groups meet and work together, it will occur because individual perception of goals, perspectives, opinions, expectations and desires will very often differ. Conflict therefore will be a natural and inherent part of interactions. It is inevitable and unavoidable in a business process, especially when an organization faces change and responds to dynamic situations. Some definitions of conflict are as follows. “Conflict is awareness by the parties involved of discrepancies, incompatible wishes, or irreconcilable desires (Boulding as cited in Jehn and Mannix 2001)”. Conflict is the process that begins when an individual or group feels negatively affected by another person or group (Thomas 1992; Wall and Callister, as cited in Drew and Vliert p 1) A conflict can be prevented or avoided; it can be settled using authority of leadership in a coercive way or resolved through extensive dialogue in a non coercive manner; or conflict may be managed in a manner that outcome of it is constructive and not destructive. There are different levels at which conflict occur in organizations: within the individual (role conflict where, for example, the individual feels a clash between his role as an executive and parent); between two immediate individuals; between persons when they are working in a group or in teams; between different groups within organisations (out of rivalry arising out of variety of reasons like resource allocation, mergers); and finally between the organization and the society when there is a mismatch between organizational goals and societal goals (e.g. environment). Given this situation it is in the interest of organization to see that conflict does not harm or injure the organizational process in achieving its goals. With the individual differences, of people who comprise the organization, it will be a futile to think of developing a group which will be free of conflict with members completely aligned and harmonious. The issue would be as to how to manage conflict in an organization so that it actually benefits out of it. Experts see potential positive benefits to the organization when conflict is constructively managed, not avoided. It is even recommended that conflict is stimulated for better group performance. What this paper is about: In this paper the attempt is to understand the general nature of conflict how it arises and why and how it should be managed by organizations. In order to have some focus on this huge and highly researched topic, the paper confines itself only to issues relating to the topic of conflict and its management process in a group/teams and the role of group leadership in successfully managing conflict. Group effectiveness is one of the key determinants of success of an organization. Groups in organizations are very often formal (departments and divisions) but increasingly their working is seen to be informal, where there is a large delegation of responsibility and where the group is allowed to choose its process and task break ups. “The ability of groups to benefit from cognitive conflict (that is, differences in information, knowledge and opinions) can be a critical source of competitive advantage.”(Philips and Thomas-Hunt, p 37) Conflict management in groups therefore is a very crucial issue. Claus Langfred (p 181) says that new organizational forms with increase in individual and group autonomy and self management, will face many new challenges on conflict management in the future and they should focus on training of all involved in the group so that conflict management results in better group performance. Leadership plays an important role in shaping the team and guiding it to see that it does not allow conflict that arises within to go out of control, but is successfully managed and harnessed for the god of the team. This calls for managers of future developing and honing specific skills. Guttman (2005) views conflict management skill as a core competency for managers in the future. The remaining portion of this paper therefore dwells mainly on issues of conflict management in groups and the role of leadership in this. Nature of conflict in groups The first important aspect in conflict management is to recognize the fact that conflicts will occur at all levels in an organization. Conflict is a natural part of our interactions with others because no two individuals have exactly the same expectations and desires-. Interpersonal conflict or conflict of persons within a group requires interpersonal skills and behavioral tools to manage them, whereas conflict at intergroup levels or conflict with organizations external boundaries can be handled by management tools. To this extent individual and group conflict management is more difficult. Literature on group conflict classifies them into three types-relationship conflict (or affective conflict), task conflict and process conflict. This framework has been useful for researchers and managers to understand nature of conflict in groups and design groups and teams for enhanced performance. Relationship Conflict: Luthens (p. 409) explains this to occur primarily because of interpersonal incompatibilities. This conflict often arises between individual group members, out of personal differences (cultural, tradition social reasons), information deficiency (due to organizational defect in providing inconsistent information to different persons), role incompatibility (of goals between two persons in the same group e.g. sales person who will want large finished goods inventory and inventory manager who would want low levels of stock) and environmental stress (individual face when there is market recession, intensive competition or other external environmental factors). Again it is also often analyzed based on the dynamics of interactions between two persons on how they assert or cooperate with each other in conflict situations, when each ones needs and goals appear incompatible. A typical conflict situation will arise when one members need to achieve his goals is in clash with goal achievement of another. An individual’s behavior in such situations can be described as one out of combination of assertiveness (how he tries to achieve his goals) and cooperativeness (how he tries to help the other achieve his goals). This is illustrated in the table below. Assertive/Un-cooperative Work to get your way, rather than clarifying and addressing the issue Assertive/ Cooperative Collaborating: Focus on working together Between assertive/cooperative Compromising: Mutual give-and-take Unassertive/ Uncooperative Avoidance: Pretend it is not there or ignore it. Unassertive/Cooperative Accommodation: Give in to others, sometimes to the extent that you sacrifice your own goals, values This is often used in training people in conflict management, to explain to individual members how they react to conflict situations, what are the options available for them to respond to them, what is the possible outcome out of each behavior and what his style of reaction is. If this type of conflict is not managed, individuals may start behaving in a way that is very detrimental to the organization. Typical behavior would be withdrawal, reduction in commitment to group tasks by acting overtly (arguing endlessly, disrupting), or covertly (breaking team norms). Simon and Peterson (2000) explain how this type of conflict affects group. First it reduces the groups capability to process information as they are too busy trying to spend time and energy resolving conflict, secondly it affects their cognitive ability because of the stress and anxiety it induces in the members, thirdly, it makes group members antagonistic and escalates conflict. Substantial literature has indicated that relationship conflict is detrimental to decision quality and makes individuals to become less receptive to new ideas. The entire team will waste efforts and time in resolving these conflicts, rather than spending their time and energy on the tasks. Team efficiency, cohesiveness and effectiveness will suffer. Usually this type of conflict in a group is considered highly dysfunctional (Behfar, Thompson p. 8), especially in teams where there is high degree of interdependence among members. Task Conflict occurs when there are differences in ideas, views, and opinions among members on how the group task should be completed. These are cognitive group tasks like group decision making or problem solving. This conflict basically occurs out of disagreement among group members regarding the task of the group. This may be because different group members will have different analysis of information available or interpret it differently, or bring in his domain knowledge emphasis, (an accounts person emphasizing accounts perspective only). The effect of task conflict on group performance is generally believed to be positively related to group effectiveness especially when the task of the group is non-routine task. However in teams engaged in routine tasks, “Conflict about the task is a hindrance in groups performing routine tasks because it interferes with efficient processing.” (Ratzburg, 1999) Process conflict is about deciding the ways and means how the team will carry out its tasks. “It is defined as an awareness of controversies about aspects of how task accomplishment will proceed.” (Behfar, Thompson p. 8), Issues like allocation of work (who will do what and how), delegation, decision making process to be adopted, duties and duty of members are the source of this type of conflict. Heterogeneous groups will find it more difficult to define how to proceed with their task than homogenous groups. In short relationship conflicts is about interpersonal difficulties, Task conflict is about difference in perspectives by the group on the task content and process conflict is related to issues of co-ordination of task. Task conflict is usually associated with effective decisions, and relationship conflict is associated with poor decisions i.e. Task conflict is functional while relationship conflict is dysfunctional. Why do conflicts occur in groups? Literature identifies several reasons for conflict in groups which are discussed here: Team composition: When members from various backgrounds with differences in demographic characteristics (age, gender), differences in functional background (engineers, accountants) social and cultural aspects are assembled in a group, conflict can arise. They will have different perspectives, values and have difficulty in communicating. A heterogeneous group will have greater potential of generating task conflict. However if it is managed well, its outcome will be functional and beneficial to group performance. Selecting the right person for the right task in a group is also important. For instance a person with an eye for detail to work as overall coordinator, or a person who is a stickler for adherence to schedules as planner will go a long way in successful functioning of team. Lack of alignment of goals and values of team members is another reason for conflict to arise in teams. A researcher in a group for instance may be more interested in spending time on doing an open ended research whereas the team task may require focused and result oriented research. Team design is another important variable. Degree of autonomy given to the team, management control over the team, team composition, team compensation and goal clarity are important aspects that can have important bearing on conflict. Conflict in a team, which has characteristics like high interdependence among members, performing non-routine task and high goal clarity, is more likely to be functional. Team design should be clear on compensation, whether it is going to be on individual performance or team performance. If the entire rewards and compensation is based on individual performance then individuals within team may compete for resources of the group or indulge in behavior such as withholding information. On the other hand if the rewards is based on group output it may give raise to people who take it easy and become slackers, piggybacking on other team members without contributing their share. “Clearly defining what team member is responsible for and what they will receive for contributing to the team helps uncertainty, perceptions of unfairness and competition over resources, all of which are associated with dysfunctional conflict.” (Behfar, Thompson p. 8) Clarity of goals for the team followed by role clarity of members is another important variable. If the goal or task is not clearly defined for the team, the team may spend endless time in debating on what they should do. This may give raise to unnecessary interpersonal conflict. Individual members may then follow goals of their own perception. This they may do out of best intentions, but when it proves to be wrong and they fail to deliver to the expectations of the group, they are liable to be punished or pulled up. This will confuse them, cause resentment and de-motivate them. “As task difficulty increases and resource scarcity increases, goal clarity becomes very important in reducing stress, anxiety and dysfunctional conflict.” (Behfar and Thompson, p 8) People with very aggressive personalities are considered disruptive in a group; or for that matter, persons who are extremely passive can also cause the same effect. Finally the process in which various decisions are taken in a group will also be a potential conflict generation point. The decision making in the group may follow different methods; it could be consensus based approach or it could be an autocratic process, with the group leader using his authority. This will determine the level of frustration or satisfaction group members will have and their level of contribution to the task. Conflict management in groups and role of leadership: Given the understanding that conflict in modern organisations is unavoidable, leadership plays an important role in seeing how to “transform negative energy of conflict to productive relationships and positive business results” (Guttman 2005) It is believed that conflict avoidance in organisations may have undesirable consequences especially conflict associated with task, such as reduced innovation and groupthink. On the contrary stimulating conflict has desirable consequences such as better quality of decision making. (Carsten de Dreu, p 20). A key leadership task is to create a climate where conflict is managed not avoided or suppressed. Mediation and training are the two tools that would have to be used by the leader. (Bagshaw 1999) Another quality of leadership in a group is one of creating an atmosphere of trust and sharing within the group. In such cases each member will more easily accept statements of disagreement from others at face value rather than trying to attribute ulterior motives to it. Everyone will voice their views without fear of being misunderstood. Simons and Peterson (2000) conclude that trust is a key to gaining the benefits of task conflict without suffering the costs of relationship conflict. Managers and leaders pay special attention to formation of teams and groups in selecting its members and defining clearly and unambiguously the tasks of the team, its output, deadlines and the resources that will be made available to the team. A leader will strike a balance between autonomous needs of team and control. He will make sure that tasks and roles are clearly assigned within team members and rewards, remunerations are clearly understood by its members. He will enforce a decision making process that is appropriate to the task. For e.g. in a situation of completing a task with tight deadlines a protracted decision making process by consensus may be inappropriate. Or in a situation where a problem requires examination from multi disciplinary angle decision making, without reconciling all members concerns, may lead to wrong solutions. Conflict management through negotiation, mediation and resolving disagreements will be the skills he will have. He will ensure a feedback system by which he will ensure members doubts and misgivings are heard and addressed without being swept under the carpet. People with this competence will be able to handle difficult people and tense situations with diplomacy and tact, spot potential conflict bring disagreements into open and help deescalate, encourage debate and open discussion and orchestrate win- win situation. Conclusion: The topic of conflict management is a vast one and highly researched. In an age where competitive advantage is to be gained through innovation team and group management is very important. Stimulating conflict and managing these productively enhances organization effectiveness. For this to happen, team leadership is very crucial. Managing conflict successfully and not avoiding and suppressing it are the required leadership roles in the future.   Appendix Bagshaw M. Conflict management and mediation: Key leadership skills for the millennium, Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 30, Number 6, 1998, pp. 206, /www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/037/1998/00000030/00000006/art00002, accessed 1 Dec 08 Behfar, Kristin J and Thompson, Conflict within and between organizational groups: Functional, dysfunctional and quasifunctional perspectives, in Ed Kristin J. Behfar & Leigh L. Thompson, Conflict in Organizational Groups, Kellog School of Management 2007 Carsten de Dreu, Conflict management and Performance, Edited by Carsten de Dreu and Evart Van de Vliert Using Conflict in Organizations Published by SAGE, 1997 http://books.google.co.in/books?id=OzDFwuWH5BMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=conflict+management+leadership&lr=#PPA3,M1, accessed 1 Dec.08 Guttman, Howard M., Conflict Management as Core Management skill, Training Nov. 2005, www.guttmandev.com/237201.pdf accessed 1 Dec 2008 Jehn, Karen A and Mannix, Elizabeth, A Longitudinal study of intragroup conflict and group, In Press - Academy of Management Journal, http://www.aom.pace.edu/amj/April2001/jehn.pdf, accessed 2, December 08 Langfred Claus, Conflict and Autonomy in Teams, in Ed Kristin J. Behfar & Leigh L. Thompson, Conflict in Organizational Groups, Kellog School of Management 2007 Luthens, Fred Organizational Behavior, 2002, Mcgraw Hill Irwin Philips, Kathy W. and Thomas-Hunt Melissa C, Garnering benefits of Conflict: The role of diversity and status distance in groups, in Ed Kristin J. Behfar & Leigh L. Thompson, Conflict in Organizational Groups, Kellog School of Management 2007 Ratzburg , Wilf h, Intragroup Conflict, OB notes, http:// www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/html, accessed 2 Dec 08 Simons L. Tony and Peterson, Randall S, Task Conflict and Relationship Conflict in Top Management Teams: The Pivotal Role of Intragroup Trust Journal of Applied Psychology, simons_peterson_pdf.2000, Vol. 85, No. 1, 102-111 www.sfu.ca/~jga16/web4/simons_peterson_2000.pdf accessed 3 December 08 Read More