FREE ESSAY ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Organizational Behavior
But we cannot avoid conflict, conflict with society, other individuals and with oneself.
Conflicts may be sources of defeat, lost life and a limitation of our potentiality, but
they may also lead to a greater depth of living and the birth of more far-reaching
unites, which flourish in the tensions that engender them.
-Karl Jaspers
The amount of entropy in corporate America has increased substantially because of two
basic reasons. The first involves the immigration of a large and continuous population of
ethnic, migrant workers from different corners of the world. These knowledge workers are
products of varying, and at times diametrically opposing environments that in turn,
affect their perceptions and subsequently the formulation of their opinions and beliefs.
This may be illustrated in a comparison between two coworkers; a wealthy Swede and a
lower-middle class Pakistani (first world and LDC comparison) working on the same project
simultaneously. Their perspectives on several issues will vary, as their upbringing is
mirror opposite.
The second reason may be attributed to the era of globalization, which has created a
favorable environment for mergers and acquisitions. The acquisition of smaller companies
by a large firm creates large amounts of conflict within the organization, as the
acquired company becomes a mere sub culture within the larger firm. A collection of these
sub cultures causes cross-cultural conflicts between employees as each employee has their
own fixed mindset. However, they now have to adopt a new set of (conflicting) goals, work
in a different environment under a separate management team. The resultant conflict is
harmful to the existing organizational environment, and unless rectified, produces a
self-destruct climate that does not support the long-term goals of the corporation.
As corporate America enters the next millennium, it is faced with the increasingly
difficult task of integrating these varying opinions, climates and management styles to
produce an environment that supports the company's long term's goals. This process of
integration is better understood by studying the science of conflict management. 
A Conflict is a process that encompasses all kinds of antagonistic interactions (passive
resistance to overt aggression) among people, designed to inhibit the attainment of goals
of another party that has dissimilar and incompatible objectives. 
Conflict management involves resolving these negative processes through communication and
compromise. It is the art of persuading two antagonistic parties to come to a workable
solution on a debatable subject to attain a common goal. 
This paper performs an acute dissection of organizational conflict. It emphasizes that a
certain amount of conflict is necessary for corporations to constantly innovate and
survive in a turbulent environment. Particular attention is devoted to organizational
metamorphoses in mergers and in trade negotiations between the U.S and Pacific-rim
countries, as they both present cases of differing organizational cultures and
ideologies.
PERSPECTIVES IN CONFLICT ANALYSIS
Conflicts can be analyzed from five different perspectives, beginning from the individual
level, up to the organizational level. It starts at the individual level (Intra-indvidual
conflicts) where individuals are confronted with moral dilemmas or 'deadly quarrels' . 
The next level involves conflicts between individuals (Inter-individual conflicts) that
occur because of communication gaps and differences in opinion. Individual-group
conflicts are ones where individuals find themselves sparring with groups. This may occur
when an individual breaks a norm. They usually occur with newer employees who are not
familiar with the norms of the organization. A rung above this level of conflict involves
conflict between groups, which include conflicts between all aggregations of people,
regardless of size. It encompasses conflicts across departments of a firm as well as
conflicts between different firms. Inter group conflicts are most commonly found in
acquired companies where cultural differences exist between old and new employees. The
best way to resolve these conflicts involves setting up work teams within the troubled
zones, whereby grievances are openly aired and defensive routines (not discussing the
undiscussability of the undiscussable) are avoided.
While studying an acquisition between Compaq and Tandem computers, I proposed that the
establishment of work groups across all levels of the organizations consisting of Compaq
and Tandem employees would be the most effective way of diffusing tension and
subsequently reducing conflict between employees. Communication in small groups enable
peers to interact with each other, increasing their understanding of each other which in
turn increases interpersonal coordination.
SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Conflicts usually spring from the following sources within an organization.
1. Limited Resources: Basic economics state that all resources are finite, and this
promotes conflict among individuals and groups.
2. Interdependent Work activities- Differences in opinion regarding the usage of these
scarce resources result in conflict as people have differences in perspective.
3. Communication problems- inadequate channels of communication between opposing parties
result in the escalation of conflict.
4. Environment of the organization- this is applicable to the creation of an
organizational climate in a corporation that has recently acquired other firms. Cultural
differences coupled with poor communication between managers create conflict between all
employees. Frequent changes in a firm's environment, or the amount of turbulence in the
environment often promotes conflict among members. An example is the change in importance
from hardware to software in the computer industry, and the subsequent actions IBM had to
take in the early 1980s.
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Conflict is good! Stimulating conflict can provide several benefits to the organization.
They provide the organization a means to introduce radical change. Management can
drastically change the existing power structure and attitudes. 
While it is argued that conflict increases hostility between group members, external
pressures and threats tend to make the unit more close knit. 
Intergroup conflicts raise the extent to which members identify with their own group and
increase feelings of solidarity, while, at the same time, internal differences and
irritations dissolve. 
Additionally, Conflicts improve group and organizational effectiveness by encouraging
innovation through diversity of opinion and through the creation of a '...more
constructive level of tension' . Low-tension levels signify insufficient motivation
within the group. The introduction of a conflict activates people's gray matter and this
is beneficial for the organization. 
Recent studies show that the 'right amount' of conflict maximizes organizational
performance (See Appendix A). Although conflict does not facilitate efficiency in
decision making, it prevents groupthink. Differences in opinion prevent wayward decision
making as they provide a natural system of checks and balances for the group. America's
intervention in the Vietnam War is the perfect illustration of the negative effects that
the lack of conflict has on the eventual decision. Recorded below are transcripts of four
successive American presidents regarding the importance of America's intervention into
the Vietnam War. 
EISENHOWER, August 4, 1953: 
...So when the United States votes $400 million to help that war, we're not voting for a
giveaway program. We're voting for the cheapest way that we can prevent the occurrence of
something that would be of the most terrible significance to the United States of
America, our security! 
KENNEDY, September 2, 1963: 
...If we withdrew from Vietnam, the Communists would control Vietnam. Pretty soon
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaya would go. 
JOHNSON, August 2, 1965: 
...If this little nation goes down the drain and can't maintain her independence, ask
yourself, what's going to happen to all the other little nations? 
NIXON, March 22, 1971: 
...If the United States now were to throw in the towel and come home and the Communists
took over South Vietnam, then all over Southeast Asia, all over the Pacific, in the
Mideast, in Europe, in the world, the United States would suffer a blow. And peace --
because we are the great peacekeeping nation in the world today, because of our power --
would suffer a blow from which it might not recover. 
Their unanimous agreement over the importance of America's participation in the war was
not questioned at any cost. That negligence on America's part would create a domino
effect in south East Asia had become the underlying assumption that was never questioned.
The lack of dialogue on a topic of such magnitude points to the fact that groupthink
arises from a lack of conflict. It was this lack of conflict and diversity of opinion
that lead to a faulty foreign policy decision and a subsequent escalation of commitment
by President Lyndon B Johnson. In a sample study to prove the effectiveness of conflict
in work groups, 
...Groups were formed to solve a problem. As in the typical experiment, there were
experimental and control groups. The experimental group had a "planted" member who job it
was to challenge the majority view; the control groups had no such member. In all cases,
the experimental groups came up with better solutions to the problem than did the control
groups. 
However, excess conflict has a diametrically opposite impact on organizational
performance (See Appendix A). It hinders team development, promotes aggression, causes
indifference and has negative consequences on team spirit. Consider the National
Democratic Alliance, India's ruling party that comprised of 15 coalition members. After
being elected into government in early 1998, it was toppled over within a year due to a
terrific amount of friction between the coalition members. The coalition parliamentarians
could not agree on a single issue and this complete lack of coordination lead to the
downfall of the government and subsequently to fresh elections.
Conflict is inevitable since people from different cultures have to produce results while
coordinating with each other in turbulent environments. The creation of mega corporations
through mergers and acquisitions has increased the importance of conflict management. It
can be studied under two broad approaches; Conflict Stimulation and Conflict resolution.
Conflict Stimulation is the process whereby conflict is encouraged within work groups.
Listed below are effective strategies for promoting conflict stimulation.
-  Openly stating the importance of tranquil, harmonious conflict. For example,
departments run by individuals who discourage their subordinates should be replaced by
those who encourage conflict. This involves adopting Argyris' Model II Behaviour; fewer
defensive routines and more dialogue, less discussion.
-  Outsiders such as consultants and people from different organizations can be brought
in to question practices and beliefs within the organization. They are particularly
useful because they don't have any biases or preconceived notions about the
organization.
-  Organization restructuring is another possibility. This results in the development of
new relationships among people from different departments and is a sure fire way of
preventing groupthink
-  Management can implement programs that are specifically designed to increase conflict
and competition. Examples of such programs may be seen in awarding car salesman prizes
for the maximum cars sold their way. This leads them to innovate and innovation is a
factor that can lead to positive conflict.
This is an effective way of solving conflicts as it encompasses the structural alteration
aspect of the corporation as well as obtaining a macro perspective of the organization.
Conflict Resolution involves resolving conflicts through varied techniques such as
Forcing- this is the quickest form of conflict resolution, thought it does not provide an
effective long-term solution. It may be understood further in an employer telling two
arguing subordinates to keep quiet.
Smoothing- it involves using tact by the peacemaker. It can be an effective strategy in
most cases. However, it does create an impression of favoritism, which has negative
consequences in the long term. Consider the following situation
The same two arguing employees, X and Y, approach their boss for his opinion on the
problem. Their employer chooses X's argument over Y. This naturally leads Y to believe
that their employer is biased towards X.
Majority rule- although voting is an important element of democracy; votes usually lead
to suppression of important facts. Once again, the losing party feels that it has been
cheated and this leads to cooperation problems in the future.
Compromise- this is probably the most widely used technique that provides all parties
some sort of benefit. It is most widely seen in labor union conflicts with management.
However, a major disadvantage of this system occurs when both/either of the two parties
exaggerate their demands in anticipation that they will get more than what they
realistically hope for by inflating the initial demand.
Consensus- This requires conflicting parties to work together to find the best solution
to their problem. This is the most useful tool thought it often is the most tedious.
Voting and horse-trading should not be allowed, while equal airtime for all and a certain
level of unanimity must be reached.
Confrontation- this involves opposing parties to come face to face and discuss their
needs, wants and demands. Its disadvantage lies in parties not stating the central issue
and instead skirting around the target problem. This is often seen in husband-wife
arguments.
Integration- this technique requires the conflicting parties to collaborate in order to
resolve the conflict at hand. Both parties must possess the attitude that although in
conflict, a workable arrangement can be reached through compromise.
(A model for conflict resolution is listed in Appendix B)
CASE STUDY
The following case study provides an insight into the dynamics of conflict in
international trade. The difficulties arise due to powerful lobby groups and vested
interests. Successful cross-cultural trade provides a perfect illustration of the
dynamics of conflict management and the following example is an instance where this
succeeded.
The Otis Elevator Company's entry into the Chinese market is a prime example of how
conflicts can be resolved through integration, compromise and positive confrontation. The
Otis Elevator Company wanted to gain access and participate in the Chinese market It
would use the cheap, skilled labor to its advantage to have a competitive advantage over
its competitors. China's primary objectives behind allowing the Otis Elevator Company
into its market were to acquire advanced technology, earn valuable foreign exchange and
gain management expertise. During negotiations, three major hurdles were encountered. 
The first hurdle involved China's demand to produce advanced products to substitute for
imports and save valuable Chinese's foreign exchange. Otis on the other hand wanted to
initially transfer their more primitive technology since they could meet the demands of
the market. Over a period of time, the latest technology could be transferred as they
gained experience in the technology. Through compromise, the Chinese drew up a technology
transfer schedule that entailed the transfer of the latest technology over a period of
time. Otis compromised on the second Chinese demand- shared management. The contract
specified that Otis' assent would be necessary for major management decisions within the
firm. This reflected Otis' willingness to integrate their needs with the Chinese demands.
The most difficult issue related to foreign exchange. The Chinese currency, the renminbi
(RMB) is non-convertible and the government seldom converted foreign business earnings
into foreign exchange. After much bargaining, Otis and the Chinese government agreed to a
solution whereby Otis was not required to buy a fixed amount of products and the Chinese
government did not have to guarantee conversion of RMB earnings.
This is an excellent example of how conflicts can be successfully navigated and resolved
through mutual compromise to produce a symbiotically beneficial agreement. Had their not
been conflict between the two parties, it would have been a case of pure exploitation by
one party against another. Through conflict management, they innovated to constitute a
fresh agreement that would suit both their needs along with turbulence in the
environment.
I would like to conclude by reiterating the importance of constructive conflict and its
management in this day and age. Conflicts are beneficial if they are harmonious and
tranquil. They promote intellectual dialogue and prevent groupthink. In an age where
mergers become more common by the day, conflict management holds the key to saving
millions of dollars by increasing interdepartmental coordination by reducing friction
between employees. Conflicts should be used as opportunities to refine behavioural
patterns and constantly innovate in a changing world.
We find comfort among those who agree with us. Growth among those who don't.
-Frank. Clark
My sentiments precisely.
Bibliography
Gray, S. Organizational Behaviour: Concepts and Applications. Charles E Merrill
Publishing Co., 1980.
Jandt, F & Pedersen, P. Constructive conflict management: Asia Pacific Cases, Sage
Publications, 1996.
James Schellenberg, The Science of Conflict. Oxford University Press, 1982.
Robbins, S. Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, Applications. Prentice
Hall. 1997.
Thomas, K. Dimensions of Conflict Management. Rand McNally, 1976.
VIETNAM: A Television History Roots of a War (1945-1953)Transcript
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/101ts.html