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Summary 1.7 Problem 6
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1.7 Problem 3
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Problem 6 – McKennaConflict:
- A process that materializes when an individual or group is frustrating the attempts of the
former to attain a goal.
- It involves incompatible differences between parties that result in opposition, often finding
expression in antagonism and the violation of rules and procedures.
- How people perceive conflict depend on their orientation which is called conflict frame: the
lens through which you view the conflict situation.
- A person with a relationship orientation would stress interpersonal aspects.
- A person with task orientation would emphasize the material aspects (money etc.)
- Some play up feelings as opposed to action or behavior at the scene of conflict.
- A person with cooperative perspective would emphasize the importance of all parties
benefiting.
- A party with a ‘win’ orientation would emphasize gaining ground even in the expense of
the other party.
Classified conflict in 2 types (Thompson & Harrison):
- ‘C’ (cognitive) relates to the concrete issues that can be dealt with more at the
intellectual level
- ‘A’ (affective) relates to subjective mater to be found more in the emotional domain
- Success in teams would be more towards cognitive conflict.
Conflict has been interpreted differently at different times (unitary, pluralist and interactionist
perspectives). The one supported now is interactionist perspective: described as functional or
constructive conflict, it facilitates the attainment of the group’s goals and improves performance.
- Functional conflict is low to moderate levels of subtle and controlled opposition.
- Lead to an arousal of motivation
- Improves the quality of decisions
- Stimulates creativity and innovation
- Encourages interest and curiosity
- Provides a medium to release tension
- Fosters self-evaluation and change
- Helps prevent groupthink
- Conflict may be more functional in groups that adopt new approaches to tackle problems
rather than groups performing highly programmed activities in mass productions.
- People making difficult decisions are bound to have differences of opinion that will
eventually lead to acceptable conflict and promote better decisions.
- Management might profitable stimulate conflict by:
o Appointing managers receptive to change
o Encouraging competition related to performance (should be properly managed)
o Restructuring the work unit, rotate staff among jobs and alter lines of
communication
o Adopting the devil’s advocate role in group discussions to create alternatives
o Training people to be more skilled at identifying potential problems
, Dysfunctional or destructive conflict:
- Produces uncontrolled opposition and discontent
- Hinders communication
- Undermines cohesiveness
- Elevates in-fighting members to a position higher than the achievement of group goals.
- It eventually has an adverse effect on group effectiveness.
- In its extreme form, conflict has the potential to disrupt the group’s functioning and
threaten the group’s survival.
- It could also lead to work place violence.
The line separating between functional and dysfunctional conflict is not clear.
Types of conflicts:
Individual conflict:
- Individuals experience frustration when their path to achieve a personal goal is blocked.
- Sometimes the conflict expresses itself as sabotage if the employee feels alienated by
organizational conditions. If circumstances to express dissatisfaction doesn’t exist, conflict
may take the form of damaging tools or equipment at work.
- Individuals have numerous roles both at work and home. When the expected behavior in
one work role affects another work role, role conflict results. E.g. ‘person in the middle’ a
first line supervisor who is expected by management to be part of his team while the works
feel like he should represent them and act as a link to management.
- Role conflict can also happen if there is a clash between demands of roles and individual’s
beliefs and values.
- Another role conflict might be between the need for professional autonomy and the
demands of bureaucratic organization.
Group conflict:
- 2 types:
Institutionalized conflict: happens when the marketing and production groups compete for
advantage during the budget process when resources are divided.
- Particular groups are busy with their own interests and a gain for one group is a loss for the
other. This is referred as lateral conflict.
- When lateral conflict is intense and long lasting, people from different departments are
suspicious of each other and uncooperative. Senior managers should intervene as 3rd
parties to assist the resolution in this case. This type of mediation is referred as workplace
mediation.
- The hierarchical arrangement of occupational groups could also cause conflict. This is often
due to concern with different set of priorities.
Emergent conflict: seen as two social forces colliding. E.g. formal organization calls for greater
productive effort which the informal organization resists.
- This conflict starts growing when the subordinates are convinced their expertise is exceeds
their supervisor.
- When staff specialists rely on the influence of senior managerships (who they have a
special relationship with) to impose recommendations for action on subordinate line
managers, rather than convincing the line managers.
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