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Home , Organization, Organizational conflict

XVII International Scientific Conference on Industrial Systems (IS'17) Novi Sad, Serbia, October 4. – 6. 2017. University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department for Industrial and Available online at http://www.iim.ftn.uns.ac.rs/is17

Organizational resolution

Bojana Jokanović (Assistant and PhD student, Department of and Engineering Management, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia, [email protected]) Ivana Tomić (PhD student, Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia, [email protected]) Ljubica Duđak (Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia, [email protected])

Abstract This paper represents an attempt to advance the understanding of organizational conflicts. The main purpose of this paper is to identify different types, major causes of conflict and the methods used to solve conflicts. Conflict is a disagreement. Conflicts develop in every workplace in today’s environment. It generally involves the clash of ideas, interests, or personalities. Wherever there is , there are conflicts and is inevitable but also a challenge for every manager. People have various personalities, ideas, attitudes, needs. Those differences sometimes leads to conflict. If conflict remain unaddressed, they can have a negative influence on productivity and organizational agility. is a necessary component of the workplace, and those in a position must be skilled in conflict resolution techniques. Key words: causes; conflict; conflict resolution;

1. INTRODUCTION empirical studies have not confirmed the view of theorists. Over time, have become less centralized and the workers were connected and Conflict represents an indivisible part of life. Each of us dependent on the work of each other. Since then, the possesses our own opinions, ideas and sets of beliefs. conflict in the workplace has become increasingly We have our own ways of looking at things and we act visible in organizations. As the organization became according to what we think is proper. Some people may more decentralized structured, workers become view conflict as a negative, unfavourable situation, dependent, and is responsibility for decision making which must be avoided. At the other hand, some people increase [1,2]. These changes contributed to the may see it as a fact, which must involve management. emergence of new types of conflicts that can arise Others think about conflict as an opportunity for between different groups of workers. The workforce is personal growth. Since conflicts arise at all levels of the also becoming more diverse. Among the employees in organization, in recent decades, their study has become organizations, more were women, foreigners, ethnic a subject of interest to many practitioners and theorists. minorities, people who come from different educational Because conflict is seemingly inevitable, evidently it is and cultural backgrounds. This has inevitably an imperativ for managers to be able to recognize the led to the emergence of different types of conflicts in the source of the conflict, to view it’s constructive as well as workplace in relation to the period in which the destructive potential, to learn how to manage conflict organization had largely homogeneous workforce [3,4]. and to apply conflict resolution technique in a practical way. 2. TYPES OF CONFLICT Until the ’90s of the 19th century, the literature viewed In the literature there are many definitions of conflict conflict as counterproductive phenomenon. Theorists and none of them unique. Generally, conflict represents have proposed that can be a perceived disagreement of interest between constructive, under certain circumstances. However, or groups. According to Coser [5] conflict is

IS'17 446 Jokanović et al. a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, fuel this type of conflict. Some of these factors power and resources in which the aims of the may include a rivalry in resources or the opponents are to neutralize, insure or eliminate the boundaries set by a group to others which rivals. Also, it is defined from communication establishes their own identity as a . perspective as an expressed struggle between at least There are two kinds of intragroup conflict [7]: two interdependent parties who perceive opposed task conflict and relationship conflict. Task , scarce rewards and interference from other conflict is a perception of divergence among parties in achieving their goals [6]. group members or individuals about the content On the basis of involvement, conflict can be classified of their decisions, and involves differences in into the following four types: viewpoints, ideas and opinions. Examples of task conflict are conflicts about the distribution  Interpersonal conflict represents a conflict of resources, about procedures or guidelines, between two individuals - colleagues, and about the interpretation of facts. employees and managers, or between the Relationship conflict is a perception of management and the (CEO). interpersonal incompatibility, and includes People are different from one another, there are annoyance and animosity among individuals. varied personalities which usually results to Examples of relationship conflict are incompatible choices and opinions. Obviously, disagreements about values, personal or family it is a natural case which can eventually help in norms, or about personal taste personal growth or developing relationships with others. When interpersonal conflict gets Intergroup conflict may occur between the too destructive, calling in a mediator would help various groups, and in particular between the so as to have it resolved. various departments and divisions (, marketing, ), between the syndicate and  Intrapersonal conflict occurs within an the management, or between the supplier who , it comes from the people supplied the same organization. For example. themselves. For example, intrapersonal or classic conflict between departments is famous personal conflict could occur when the misunderstanding between marketing and employee finds that he has to perform a task for finance departments - the first always need which he is not enough competent. He more money for advertising, and finance are becomes anxious, unsure of himself. The considered to be superfluous. Suppliers are experience takes place in the person’s mind. often in conflict with respect to products with Hence, it is a type of conflict that is quality. psychological involving the individual’s On the basis of results, within an organization, conflict thoughts, values, principles and emotions. can be:  Intragroup conflict happens among  Constructive or functional and individuals within a team. The  Destructive or dysfunctional. misunderstandings among these individuals lead to an intragroup conflict. It is arises from If conflicts are a threat to efficient operations, prevent interpersonal disagreements (e.g. team progress and success of the organization, then they are members have different personalities which destructive or dysfunctional. On the other hand, if may lead to tension) or differences in views and conflicts are contributing to the success and prosperity ideas (e.g. in a presentation, members of the of the organization, then we are talking about functional team might find the notions presented by the or structural conflict. one presiding to be erroneous due to their Functional conflict is conflict or tension within a group differences in opinion). Within a team, conflict that leads to positive results. Conflict is constructive can be helpful in coming up with decisions when it results in clarification of important problems and which will eventually allow them to reach their issues, results in solutions to problems, involves people objectives as a team. However, if the degree of in resolving issues important to them, causes authentic conflict disrupts harmony among the members, communication, helps release emotion, , and then some serious guidance from a different stress, builds cooperation among people through party will be needed for it to be settled. learning more about each other; joining in resolving the  Intergroup conflict takes place when a conflict, and helps individuals develop understanding misunderstanding arises among different and skills. within an organization. For instance, the sales Destructive conflict. The basic features are: the inability department of an organization can come in of groups whose members are in conflict to find a conflict with the customer support department. solution to the problem or to find solutions that are of This is due to the varied sets of goals and poorer quality, actors in the conflict are apathetic or interests of these different groups. In addition, increasingly aggressive and hostile towards each other, also contributes for intergroup the energy is located at conflict and not in solution, conflict to arise. There are other factors which making difficult to permorming work tasks. These

IS'17 447 Jokanović et al. conflicts should be, in any case, solved and eliminated, or they should be translated into constructive. Pondy [8] considers that the conflict is a negative outcome of the organization system, which leads to performance degradation . Similarly, Mitroff and Emshoff [9] argue that conflicts inhibit the search for in the decision making process. Blake and Mouton [10] propose a process model of conflict resolution. Confirming previous point of view of the and organizational conflict, Rapoport [11] describes the conflict as irrational clash motivated by interpersonal aggression. Also, the opinion of scholars about the negative nature of the conflict, confirmed some empirical studies. Wall and Nolan [12] have studied the conflict between 375 students in work oriented groups and proved that satisfaction was significantly lower in the high-conflict Figure 1. Conflict Life Cycle [17] groups compared to the low-conflict group. Similarly, Pelled [13] argues that the conflict within teams reduces The negotiation process has four steps such as productivity. Gladstein's [14] study about sales teams establish the issues and set the agenda, opening also that intragroup conflict in teams leads to decrease moves, raise the negotiation, and work out an in the level of performance and satisfaction in the agreement [16]. Conflicts bring out emotions and workplace. emotions play critical role in conflict. More recent empirical studies have begun to focus on Conflict management is not necessarily conflict the positive aspects of organizational conflict. Conflict is resolution. Preferably, stimulation of conflict is often constructive, if employees perceive that the overall favorable to an organization, and in some cases even benefits outweigh the total costs. In order to compare necessary for its growth or survival. benefits and costs brought by the conflict, it is The most common causes of conflict in organizations necessary to do complex analysis. A recent study are: provides evidence of the positive impact of conflict  Disagreement in different types of personalities resolution and management, at the long-term  Conflicting values systems psychological development and health. Menon,  unclear work assignments Bharadwaj and Howell [15] carry out the research and  limited resources give the first system access in terms of the antecedents and consequences of both types of conflicts in  inadequate communication intraorganisational relationships. These authors believe  interdependent work duties that dysfunctional conflict in the decision-making  unrealistic / confusing rules and norms process has a negative impact on the quality strategy  pending / repressed previous clashes and market performance, while constructive conflict Conflict resolution comprises two separate segments: improving both the quality of the strategy and conflict prevention and conflict resolution. performance. Characteristics of organizational design such as the degree of formalization of links between the The definition of “conflict prevention” itself is not agreed different organizational departments and units, low upon among researchers. The different definitions barriers in communication and team spirit, leading to indeed differ according to the aim of prevention, from improvements in product performance, by improving reducing violence to resolving the incompatibility, the functional conflict. On the other hand, centralization and time perspective (using a short- or long-term view) and high communication barriers reduce the performance of the means. Conflict prevention includes a series of new products, increasing dysfunctional conflict. measures in the organization so that destructive conflicts do not occur. 3. CONFLICT RESOLUTION Preventing conflict is not the same as avoiding conflict. Managers must know in which stage the conflict is, in Preventing conflict means behaving and communicating order to resolve it. Conflict life cycle describes the in a way that averts needless conflicts. dynamic nature of nature of conflict, including various Since each conflict situation is unique and dynamic, it is conflict stages. As shown in Figure 1, the four stages of difficult to recommend the best conflict resolution conflict are: antecedent cognitions, cognition and approach personalization, behaviour and outcome (increased or descreased of team performance) [16]. Some of factors that affect on choice of approach are [18]:  Position of the involved participants  Type and importance of conflict

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 Time pressure and Compromising looks for an expedient and mutually  Relative importance on goals against acceptable solution which partially satisfies both parties. relationship Avoiding or ignoring - also known as withdrawing. This There are three possible outcomes of conflict situations, is when a person does not pursue her/his own concerns which are or those of the opponent. He/she does not address the  "one gains, the other loses" (win - lost solution) conflict, sidesteps, postpones or simply withdraws.  "Both lost" (lost - lost solution) There are different ways of avoiding conflict such as  "Both received" (win - win solution) denial, flight, suspension, and relinquishment [16]. Devils Advocacy (DA) is one technique used to resolve Conflict situations are an important aspect of the conflicts in group decision making in workplace. A conflict is a situation when the interests, needs, goals or values of involved parties interfere with This style of resolving conflicts usually apply managers one another. A conflict is a common phenomenon in the of low level of self-confidence and cooperativeness. workplace. Different stakeholders may have different Only in the case of low-intensity conflict, this way of priorities; conflicts may involve team members, resolving the conflict may be applicable. departments, projects, organization and client, boss and Smoothing - Also known as accommodating. Smoothing subordinate, organization needs vs. personal needs. is accommodating the concerns of other people first of Often, a conflict is a result of perception. Conflict is not all, rather than one's own concerns. This style is a necessarily a bad thing. Often, a conflict presents combination of cooperation and lack of confidence of opportunities for improvement. Therefore, it is important managers and executives It does’t give a sufficient level to understand and apply various conflict resolution of influence on the way and the effects of conflict techniques. resolution. On the other hand, allows a high degree of In the literature, the most frequently mentioned ways of integration manager in the team. resolving conflicts are the following: [19,20] Debate - is a precondition for solving the conflict. The Threats and coercion - The methods used by the party main problem with this method of conflict resolution is to the conflict which thinks it is stronger. This is not an that the two rival parties have a negative emotional efficient way to solve conflicts because it often charge, and it often happens that neither side is escalates and intensifies the conflict situation. Even it prepared to enter into the discussion. Discussion as a bring a solution, it is temporary, because the party that way of resolving the conflict can be successful only if is forced to discounts can not be permanently satisfied one party understands the position and interests of the with the decision. This way of solving conflicts usually other party and impartial evaluate arguments validity. applied group leader or team, who prefer non- Introduction judges - the most efficient way of solving cooperation and competition. In the process of resolving the case of a destructive conflict. The judge is not conflicts, they use formal authority, threat and power affected by the conflict, can impartially and objectively – also known as problem confronting or examine the cause of the conflict. There are no problem solving. Collaboration involves an attempt to negative emotional charge towards the judge. The work with the other person to find a win-win solution to judge has a duty to assess and communicate the the problem in hand - the one that most satisfies the benefits of both proposals. concerns of both parties. The win-win approach sees People use avoiding and compromising more frequently conflict resolution as an opportunity to come to a than any other conflict resolution technique; followed by mutually beneficial result. It includes identifying the confronting, accommodating and smoothing. underlying concerns of the opponents and finding an alternative which meets each party's concerns. Similar to the previous, Thomas and Kilmann [21] have Collaboration involves a high degree of understanding developed a popular framework that include five styles for the parties that are in conflict. The success of this of handling conflict: competing, collaborating, avoiding, style depends on numerous abilities of the participants accommodating, and compromising, which is shown in of the conflict, and is based on openness and trust Figure 2. between all the parties in resolving the conflict. Collaboration and cooperation is a style, a desirable, since it gives the best effects. Compromise - a way of solving the conflict, which is a product of equal influence of managerscooperation and confidence. The essence of the compromise is the fact that both sides gain something and lose something. Compromise often fails and does not represent the optimal solution to the conflict. Strong side in the conflict difficult to agree to a compromise.

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Figure 2. Two- dimensional conflict handling model [22]

can help to avoid unnecessary conflict and deal with 4. CONCLUSION inevitable conflict in an effective and professional way. Developing a conflict resolution process can reduce The workforce of the 21st century is dealing with rapid staff and save your business time, money and changes and increased competition across industries. unnecessary damage. Such changes place stress on management and It is important to knowing how to see conflict and when workers, increasing the possibility for workplace conflict to seize the opportunity within the conflict before and deviant behaviors at work. healthy tension turns into overly disruptive chaos. Conflict is an inevitable component of human activity. Organizations are faced with external and internal sources of conflict. Within organizations, conflict may vary from small daily divergence at the work to large union clashes. Unproductive conflict strategies can result in high stress, high turnover rates, that can lastly the overall health of the organization [23,24]. As the workforce becomes increasingly diversified, it becomes more and more important for managers to understand the conflict resolution attitudes, regardless the source of conflict is external or internal. There is no single conflict resolution technique that can be applied to all types of conflict. Managers must find the suitable technique for any conflict wich arises within organization. Effective conflict management, however, requires that styles of handling conflict be defined and measured and that those styles most conducive to positive outcomes be supported and encouraged. Conflict is a major cause of staff turnover and costs within an organization. Good management practices

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