6.1 Types of Organizational Conflict 6.2 The Process of Organizational Conflict 6.3 Different views about Conflict 6.

4 The Impact of Organizational Conflict 6.5 The Sources of Organizational Conflict 6.6 The Role of Conflict in Todays Organizations 6.7 Modes of Managing Conflict Why is there no conflict at this meeting? Somethings wrong when theres no conflict.

Organizational Conflict

UNIT-6

-M. Eisner To be a manager is to work through a world of glass, your every gesture magnified, fragility everywhere around. -Walter Kiechel The seed of Conflict is usually a mirror incident .. That is not dealt with openly. -Laura Beauvais Meaning of Conflict *The term conflict has wide connotations. It may be regarded as the confusion in ones mind, as the disagreement or hostility between individuals or groups in the organization. In a wider perspective, it may mean rivalry or competition among the individuals or rival groups. March and Simon has used the term conflict in the sense of a breakdown in the standard mechanism of decision-making. Stephen P. Robbins defines it as A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affects something that the first party cares about. Pondy, L. R. has used the term conflict in four ways: *Antecedent conditions of conflicting behaviour, such as scarcity of resources or policy differences; *Affective states of individuals involved, such as stress, tension, hostility, anxiety etc.; *Cognitive states of individuals, such as their perception or awareness of conflicting situation; and *Conflicting behaviour ranging from passive resistance to over aggression. *Thus, the term conflict is a dynamic process. Sometimes, it may start from differences of opinions and it may lead to open aggression also; while on the other hand, it may not develop hostile relationship at all and the issue may be resolved in the first stage. Different views about Conflict *Traditional View of Conflict - The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided. *Human Relations View of Conflict - The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group. *Integrationist View of Conflict - The belief that conflict is not only a positive

force in a group but that it is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively. Organizational Conflicts *Term organizational conflict is very wide. It includes the following: *Intra-organizational Conflicts: Such conflicts are always within the organization. They may be either at individual level or group level. *Intra-individual conflict *Inter-individual conflict *Intra-group conflict *Inter-group conflict *Inter-organizational Conflicts: Such conflicts take place among various organizations such as perusing similar objectives, conflicts between head office and a branch office of a big business organization etc. Process of Conflict The Process of Organizational Conflict *The Conflict Process can be seen as comprising five stages: potential opposition or incompatibility; cognition and personalization; intentions; behaviour; and outcomes. *Stage1 Potential Opposition or Incompatibility *The first step in the conflict process is the presence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise. Usually they are *Communication *Structure *Personal Variables *Stage2 Cognition and Personalization *Perceived Conflict - Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise. *Felt Conflict - Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness, frustration, or hostility. *Stage3 - Intentions *Decisions to act in a given way in a conflict episode. *Competing - A desire to satisfy ones interests, regardless of the impact on the other party to the conflict. *Collaborating - A situation in which the parties to a conflict each desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties. *Avoiding - The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict. *Accommodating - The willingness of one party in a conflicts interests above his or her own. *Compromising - A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing to give up something.

Stage4 Behaviour

3 This stage includes the statements, actions and reactions made by the conflicting parties. *Stage5 Outcomes *Functional Increased group performance *Dys-functional Decreased group performance Types of Organizational Conflict *Functional Conflict - Conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance. *Dysfunctional Conflict - Conflict that hinders group performance. *Task Conflict - Conflicts over content and goals of the work. *Relationship Conflict - Conflict based on interpersonal relationships. *Process Conflict - Conflict over how work gets done. Types of Organizational Conflict *Inter-organizational Conflicts: Such conflicts are always within the organization. They may be either at individual level or group level. *Intra-organizational Conflicts: Such conflicts take place among various organizations such as perusing similar objectives, conflicts between head office and a branch office of a big business organization etc.
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