Understanding Organizational Conflict: Key Sources and Solutions

Organizational conflict

Organizational conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in organizations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those individuals and groups affected. There are disputes over how revenues should be divided, how the work should be done, and how long and hard people should work. There are jurisdictional disagreements among individuals, departments, and between unions and management.

There are subtler forms of conflict involving rivalries, jealousies, personality clashes, role definitions, and struggles for power and favour. There is also conflict within individuals — between competing needs and demands — to which individuals respond in different ways. Conflict sometimes has a destructive effect on the individuals and groups involved. At other times, however, conflict can increase the capacity of those affected to deal with problems, and therefore it can be used as a motivating force toward innovation and change. Conflict is encountered in two general forms. Personal conflict refers to an individual's inner workings and personality problems.

Sources of conflict 

We can establish three basic sources as semantic, role, and values.

1. Semantic sources are those stemming from some failure in communication. We use semantics to point out a major source of conflict as the failure of two individuals to share fully the meaning of a communicative attempt.
2. Role sources are those that rise out of the varying perceptions of people about the expected behaviours of themselves and others. Many of these come from the status and position levels in organizations. Others come from the structures and processes devised by management to organize work, channel effort, and coordinate activity.
3. Value sources have their foundations in the individualistic value sets of people. These value sets readily contribute to differences between people because they are different. They cause each of us at times to respond or behave in an unexpected manner because we are behaving as dictated by a value set not fully shared by our associates; hence, a sense on their part of a difference between us.

Effects of conflict : Conflict has both positive and negative effects. It can be positive when it encourages creativity, new looks at old conditions, the clarification of points of view, and the development of human capabilities to handle interpersonal differences. Conflict can be negative when it creates resistance to change, establishes turmoil in organization or interpersonal relations, fosters distrust, builds a feeling of defeat, or widens the chasm of misunderstanding.

Types of Organizational Conflict

1. Interpersonal Conflict - Interpersonal conflict is the conflict between individuals of the organization.
2. Intragroup Conflict - Intragroup conflict is the conflict within an internal group, team or department. These are conflicts that typically involve more than one person within a group.
3. Intergroup Conflict - Intergroup conflict is the conflict between different groups, teams and departments. When different groups are pitted against each other, this is an example of an intergroup conflict.
4. Interorganizational Conflict - Interorganizational conflict is the conflict that arises across different organizations. When different businesses are competing against one another, this is an example of interorganizational conflict.
5. Sources of Conflict - Jones and George say sources of conflict are different goals and deadlines, two or more managers that claim authority, group members being dependent on another group member who is not working up to par, different standards or reward systems, scarce resources and status differences.

Some principal causes of conflict identified

1. Communication failure – Misunderstanding due to unclear, incomplete, or incorrect information.
2. Personality conflict – Clashes arising from different attitudes, behaviors, or temperaments.
3. Value differences – Conflict caused by differing beliefs, ethics, or priorities.
4. Goal differences – Disagreement when individuals or groups pursue different objectives.
5. Methodological differences – Conflict over different ways of doing the same task.
6. Substandard performance – Tension created when expected work standards are not met.
7. Lack of cooperation – Problems arising from unwillingness to work together.
8. Differences regarding authority – Conflict over power, control, or decision-making rights.
9. Differences regarding responsibility – Disputes about duties, roles, or accountability.
10. Competition over resources – Conflict due to limited availability of money, time, or tools.
11. Non-compliance with rules – Issues caused by ignoring organizational policies or norms.

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Sandeep Ghatuary

Finance & Accounting blogger simplifying complex topics.

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