UNIT 5

Conflicts and Conflict Management

5.1 Meaning and Nature of Conflict
 Whether a manager is working with teams or individuals, conflict inevitably occurs.
Whenever people work together, the potential for conflict exists. Conflict is disagreement
between two or more organizational members or teams.
 Conflict occurs because people do not always agree—on goals, issues, perceptions, and
the like—and because people inevitably compete.
Views of Conflict
What does a manager do when conflict arises? The answer depends on the manager’s views
and beliefs about conflict. As you can see in the below Figure, it shows three basic
philosophical approaches to conflict.
A. Traditional View: The manager who views conflict as unnecessary and harmful to an
organization fears conflict and eliminates all evidence of it. Such a manager holds the
traditional view of conflict. If conflict does occur, the manager perceives it as a personal
failure.
B. Behavioral View: The behaviorist recognizes that conflict frequently occurs because of
human nature, the need to allocate resources, and organizational life. A manager who
holds the behavioral view expects conflict. He or she believes that, on occasion, conflict
can produce positive results. In general, however, a manager with a behavioral view
believes that conflict is usually harmful. With this philosophical foundation, the
manager’s reaction to conflict is to resolve conflict or eliminate it as soon as it occurs.

Source: Source: Warren R. Plunkett, 2008, p485

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 C. Interactionist View: A more current philosophy, the interactionist view, holds that
conflict is not only inevitable but also necessary for organizational health. Furthermore,
this view maintains that conflict can be good or bad, depending on how it is managed. A
manager with an interactionist view attempts to harness conflict to maximize its positive
potential for organizational growth and to minimize its negative effects.
5.2. Sources of Conflict
Competition is but one of many sources of conflict. Others include differences in objectives,
values, attitudes, and perceptions; disagreements about role requirements, work activities, and
individual approaches; and breakdowns in communication.
A. Competition
Competition can take the form of two individuals trying to outperform each other. Competition
can also erupt over a struggle for limited resources. The manager of each work unit depends on
the allocation of money, personnel, equipment, materials, and physical facilities to accomplish
his or her objectives. Some managers inevitably receive fewer resources than others. This can
lead not only to a lack of cooperation but to open conflict as well.
B. Differences in Objectives
Individual employees’ objectives may differ from those of the organization. An individual may
aim to advance within an organization over a three-year period, whereas the organization may
have a tradition of seasoning an employee over a longer period. There may be conflict in this
situation.
C. Differences in Values, Attitudes, and Perceptions
The value systems and perceptions of each individual differ from those of others. These
differences can lead to conflict. For instance, an employee may place a high value on time with
family. A manager may request frequent overtime or late hours, not understanding the
employee’s need for family time. An obvious value-system conflict arises.
D. Disagreements about Role Requirements
When employees begin working in teams, their roles must change. Suppose, for example, that an
employee who has received numerous rewards for individual performance must now play the
unaccustomed role of team player. Conflict is likely to arise between the team and the individual.
E. Disagreements about Work Activities

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Conflict between individuals and groups can arise over the quantity of work assigned or the
relationship among the work units. In the first situation, the cause of conflict can be resentment
because one group or individual believes the work load is inequitable.
F. Disagreements about Individual Approaches
People exhibit diverse styles and approaches in dealing with others and with situations. One
person may be reflective, speaking little until ready and then speaking wisely. Another person
may be combative, often taking an argumentative approach, giving immediate responses with
little thought, and pressuring for agreement.
G. Breakdowns in Communication
Communication is seldom perfect, and imperfect communication may result in misperception
and misunderstanding. Sometimes a communication breakdown is inadvertent. Because the
receiver is not listening actively, the receiver might simply misunderstand the sender. The result
can be a disagreement about goals, roles, or intentions. Sometimes information is withheld
intentionally, for personal gain or to embarrass a colleague.
5.3. Conflict Management
A manager must recognize potential sources of conflict and be prepared to manage it. A viable
strategy for conflict management begins with an analysis of the conflict situation and then moves
to the development of strategy options.
Analysis of the Conflict Situation
By answering three key questions, managers can analyze a conflict situation.
1. Who is in conflict? The conflict may be between individuals, between individuals and teams,
or between departments.
2. What is the source of conflict? The conflict may arise from competition, personal differences,
or organizational roles. Answering this question requires trying to view each situation through
the eyes of the parties involved.
3. What is the level of conflict? The situation might be at a stage where the manager must deal
with it immediately; or the conflict may be at a moderate level of intensity. If the goals of the
work group are threatened or sabotage is occurring, the manager must take action immediately. If
individuals or groups are simply in disagreement, a less immediate response is required.
5.4. Conflict Stimulation
At times, a manager might wish to increase the level of conflict and competition in a work

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situation. The circumstances in which a manager might wish to stimulate conflict are these:
• When team members exhibit and accept minimal performance
• When people appear to be afraid to do anything other than the norm
• When team members passively accept events or behavior that should motivate action
Stephen Robbins reported that managers can choose among five strategies to stimulate conflict:
1. Bring in an outsider. A person from outside the organization or team— someone who
does not have the same background, attitudes, or values— may serve to establish the
desired characteristics
2. Change the rules. In some instances, a manager may choose to either involve people who
are not ordinarily included or exclude those who are usually involved. This alteration
stimulates the work environment. For example, a manager who is attempting to open up
the environment may ask an informal leader to attend management-only meetings as a
full participant. The result may be that both workers and manager gain new knowledge
and change their actions.
3. Change the organization. Another approach is to realign work groups and departments. A
change in reporting relationships and the composition of work teams can allow
individuals to have new experiences with people and perceptions. When a company
names a new CEO, either from inside or outside the company, one of the first actions the
new CEO often takes to stimulate the environment is to realign work groups.
4. Change managers. Inserting a manager into a work group that can benefit from his or her
style of leadership can be an appropriate response. The practice of rotating managers of
work teams on a regular schedule can also stimulate groups.
5. Encourage competition. Managers can encourage competition between groups or
individuals by offering bonuses, travel, time off, or certificates of merit to employees
who perform best.
5.5. Analysis of the Conflict Situation
Violent conflict is about politics, power, contestation between actors and the (re)shaping of
institutions for the benefit of some (and at the expense of others). People and groups do not
randomly fight each other, even if stark inequalities or other grievances prevail in a society, they
need to be mobilized. An understanding of these processes of mobilization is critical to
understanding violent conflict.

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The literature widely uses the same concepts to describe conflicts – actors, causes, dynamics,
triggers and scenarios. Within the policy and practitioner literature, there is general consensus on
how to use and understand these terms, as explained in the many toolkits and manuals. Some
criticize the words used in the toolkits as being technocratic, and thereby disguising the political
nature of these problems (e.g. Mac Ginty, 2013) – such as the idea of structural causes. The box
below summarizes the main guiding questions for conflict analysis and examples of their
practical application.

Guiding questions for conflict analysis

a. Profile: What is the context that shapes conflict?

 Is there a history of conflict? (E.g. when? How many people killed and displaced? Who is
targeted? Methods of violence? Where?)

 What political, economic, social and environmental institutions and structures have
shaped conflict? (e.g. elections, reform processes, economic growth, inequality,
employment, social groups and composition, demographics and resource exploitation)

b. Actors: Who are the actors that influence conflict?

 Who are the main actors? (e.g. the military, leaders and commanders of non-state armed
groups, criminal groups)

 What are their interests, concerns, goals, hopes, fears, strategies, positions, preferences,
worldviews, expectations and motivations? (e.g. autonomy, inequality between groups
(‘horizontal inequality’), political power, ethno-nationalist, reparations)

 What power do they have, how do they exert power, what resources or support do they
have, are they vulnerable? (e.g. local legitimacy through provision of security, power
over corrupt justice institutions, weapons and capacity to damage infrastructure)

 What are their incentives and disincentives for conflict and peace? (e.g. benefiting or
losing from the war economy, prestige, retribution for historic grievances)

 What capacities do they have to affect the context?

 Who could be considered spoilers? What divides people? Who exercises leadership and
how? (e.g. economic beneficiaries of conflict, criminal groups, opposition leader)

 What could be considered capacities for peace? Are there groups calling for non-
violence? What connects people across conflict lines? How do people cooperate? Who
exercises leadership for peace and how? (e.g. civil society, religious authorities, local
justice mechanisms)

 What are the relationships between actors, what are the trends, what is the strategic
balance between actors (who is ‘winning’)? (e.g. conflictual, cooperative or business
relationships)

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 c. Causes: What causes conflict?

 What are the structural causes of conflict? (e.g. unequal land distribution, political
exclusion, poor governance, impunity, lack of state authority)

 What are the proximate causes of conflict? (e.g. arms proliferation, illicit criminal
networks, emergence of self-defense non-state armed actors, overspill of conflict from a
neighboring country, natural resource discoveries)

d. Dynamics: What are the current conflict dynamics/trends?

 What are the current conflict trends? What are the recent changes in behavior? (e.g.
conflict acts have increased but the number of deaths has decreased; political violence
has intensified around local elections; defense spending has increased; paramilitaries
have started running in local elections)

 Which factors of the conflict profile, actors and causes reinforce or undermine each
other? Which factors balance or mitigate others? (e.g. horizontal economic and political
inequalities can increase the risk of conflict; uncertainty about succession of the
president strengthens party factionalism; cash for disarmament, demobilization and
reintegration fuels small arms proliferation)

 What triggers conflict? (e.g. elections, economic and environmental shocks, economic
crash, an assassination, coup, food price increases, a corruption scandal)

 What scenarios can be developed? (e.g. best-case scenario: a peace agreement is signed
quickly and the conflict parties implement a ceasefire; worst-case scenario: local
politicians mobilize along ethnic lines in the run-up to elections and political violence
and riots increase where groups meet)

5.5. Conflict Resolution

When the situation requires action, what options are available? A manager can consider seven
possibilities: avoidance, smoothing, compromise, collaboration, confrontation, appeals to
superordinate objectives, and decisions by a third party.
A. Avoidance
Sometimes avoidance is the best solution. The manager can withdraw or ignore the conflict,
letting the participants resolve it themselves. Avoidance is best when the conflict is trivial. The
manager should use it simply because he or she does not want to deal with the problem. Letting
the parties disagree may be the best course if disagreement results in no consequences.
B. Smoothing
When using the option called smoothing, a manager diplomatically acknowledges conflict but

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downplays its importance. If there are no real issues to resolve, the approach may succeed in
calming the parties. If there are real issues, however, this option will not work.
C. Compromise
With compromise, each party is required to give up something in order to get something. Each
party moves to find a middle ground. Compromise can be effective when the parties in conflict
are about equal in power, when major values are not involved, when a temporary solution to a
complex issue is desirable, or if time pressures force a quick resolution.
D. Collaboration
In attempting collaboration, the manager promotes mutual problem solving by both parties. Each
party seeks to satisfy his or her interests by openly discussing the issues, understanding
differences, and developing a full range of alternatives. From this, the outcome sought is
consensus—mutual agreement—about the best alternative.
E. Confrontation
If confrontation is used, the conflicting parties are forced to verbalize their positions and
disagreements. Although this approach can produce stress, it can also be effective. The goal is to
identify a reason to favor one solution or another and thus resolve the conflict. Many times,
however, confrontation ends in hurt feelings and no resolution.
F. Appeals to Superordinate Objectives
Sometimes a manager can identify superordinate objectives that will allow the disputing parties
to rise above their conflict. A superordinate objective is a goal that overshadows each party’s
individual interest. As an example, suppose individual work groups are vying for budget
allocations in the face of an organizational downturn. If the two parties agree that the reductions
are in the best interest of the organization, each will move beyond the conflict.
G. Decisions by a Third Party
At times, the manager may turn to a third party and ask him or her to resolve a conflict. The third
party can be another supervisor, an upper-level manager, or someone from the human resource
department. If the conflict is between two subordinates, the manager might be the third party.
Perhaps of all the conflict strategy options, collaboration, an appeal to superordinate objectives,
and decisions by a third party are the most difficult to visualize.