ORGANIZATION CONFLICT

Organization Conflict

Organization Conflict

Introduction

Many of the decisions that leaders and managers are required to make in an organization revolve around the ethics of management. Organizational justice refers to the fair, just, and ethical treatment of individuals within an organization. Failure to deal effectively with issues of fairness, trust, respect, and ethics can often lead to conflict and organizational dysfunction. While conflict is something that will never be eliminated, and can often be constructive, it is critical for organizations to attend to the perceived fairness of these conflicts. No matter the outcome of conflict, be it constructive or adverse, there are emotional costs. These emotional costs remain long after the battle is over. Win or lose, these emotional scars endure; employees can become trapped in their own anger long after the event, focusing only on the promotion “lost,” the salary increase “lost,” or the award “lost.” Therefore, careful attention to elements of justice that increase an individual's perceived sense of fairness should not be overlooked.

Organisations are widely acknowledged to be the site of a good deal of conflict and contestation. Abundant evidence for conflict of various kinds from absenteeism to zenophobia has been turned up in the course of social science research over the last hundred years. Research has noted wide variation in the kind as well the intensity of conflict in organisations. It can vary from dissent (expressed failure to agree about ideas) to out and out violence and destructiveness (such as sabotage, riot, arson) as suggested by Figure one. The existence of some sort of rudimentary political system in the workplace in the interstices of the formal organisation, through which conflict is represented and expressed, has been observed in so many organisations it may well be universal.

Traditional View of Organizational Conflict

To the "traditional" organizational thinker, conflict implies that the organization is not designed or structured correctly or adequately. Common remedies are to further elaborate job descriptions, authorities, and responsibilities; increase the use of central power (discipline); separate conflicting members; etc.

This view of organizations and conflict causes problems. Unfortunately, most of us, consciously or unconsciously, value some of the characteristics of this "orderly" environment. Problems arise when we do not realize that this way of looking at organizations and conflict only fits organizations that work in routine ways where innovation and change are virtually eliminated. Almost all government organizations work in a very disorderly context-one characterized by constant change and a need for frequent adaptation. Trying to "structure away" conflict and disagreement in a dynamic environment requires tremendous amounts of energy and also suppresses any positive outcomes that may arise from disagreement, such as improved decision making and innovation.

Human Relations View of Organization Conflict

If you allow each individual to tell their story to you, you risk polarizing their positions. The person in conflict has a vested interest in making himself or herself “right” if you place yourself in the position of judge and jury. The sole goal of the employee, in this situation, is to convince you of the merits of ...