Organisational Behavior Assignment

Course: QQI Business Studies

Year: 2
Semester: 1
Module Title: Organisational Behavior
Student: Vanessa Viana
Stud No: 2167224






Contents:
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3
The importance of managing conflicts ............................................................... 3
Conflict in todays society ................................................................................. 4
The Nature of conflicts in organisations ............................................................ 4
Definition of conflict .......................................................................................... 5

Types of conflict in a organisation ................................................................. 6

General perception of conflicts ...................................................................... 6
Management perception of conflicts in a organisation .................................. 7

Positive versus negative conflict ........................................................................ 7

Benefits of functional conflicts .................................................................. 7

Explaining dysfunctional conflict .................................................................. 8

Drawbacks of dysfunctional conflicts ........................................................ 8

The importance of managing dysfunctional conflicts .................................... 8

Conflict handling styles...................................................................................... 8

Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 9

Introduction
Conflict is part of life. In all of the structured social groups, human beings
faced and present differences. The globalization gave prominence to the mix of
different cultures, values, beliefs, religions, age and gender of employees in the
business organisations and the importance to learn how to deal with these differences
and also, the importance of manager the conflicts that are most of the time provoked
by the individual and personal differences of people in a work environment. In this
paper, it is going to be approached and discussed the concepts of conflicts, the
differences between dysfunctional and functional conflicts, what it can bring to the
business organization, benefits of conflicts and management in relation to
organizational behavior.

The importance of managing conflicts

Why do we need to talk about conflict?

Conflict is a fundamental force governing all aspects of life. Conflict

specialists see the phenomenon as occurring both in various contexts (e.g. personal,
domestic, organizational, communal, national and international). Within an
organization, conflicts can occur between individuals, groups and departments; they
can arise from the exercise of power and politics; emanate from particular leadership
styles and decision-making processes; or arise from structural and cultural changes.
(Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010 p.661)
Conflicts are part of all society and its environments. In a business
organization conflicts can be constructive or destructive, either ways, it is extremely
necessary to learn how to manage a conflict and how to take advantages of it. This is
a challenge and a concern for the business administrators. According to Kreitner and
kinicki (2010) people have failed in managing their conflicts and as consequence,
they are having problems to respond positively to changes, they have difficult to
manage interpersonal, organizational and global conflicts. As an example in
nowadays, the high divorce rates shows the struggle that people have to deal with
daily divergences.
 Conflict in todays society
Living things are apt to collide in the competition for space and resources,
but humans are more complicated. We have long memories, complex emotions, and
nurture grudges, so we can fight about things that happened a long time ago; we can
also fight about abstract ideas and beliefs.
(The Nature Of Conflict, 2006)
Through the history, it has been showed that conflicts are part of society. The
desire for power, incompatible beliefs, cultural differences, generated war and many
lost for the humanity. Still in nowadays social issues as at racial equality, gender
inequality and LGBTQ ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) rights are
challenges that must be faced but, instead, it has been rising conflicts ongoing for
decades. The difficult that the society has to understand and accept differences create
conflicts and most of the time those conflicts are ignored and neglected, which limits
the social development.

The Nature of conflicts in organisations

The elements of conflict are past time, future time, wounds, desires,
mind and matter. Wounds exist in the past; desires exist in the future. A
conflict may be played out on the twin planes of mind and matter.
(The Nature Of Conflict, 2006)

According to Kehoe (2013), conflicts are social processes that involve two or
more person or party. It is part of the organisational behavior. According to
Buchanan and Huczynski (1991), some of the sources of conflict, in relation to
business organisations are; The employment relationship, Resource allocation, Role
ambiguity, Interdependence, and Differentiation.

The employment relationship: The differences between employer

and employee interest. The employer requires improvement in profit,
more productivity, reduction in costs, effective and efficiency,
positive results and positive changes, while the employee is looking
 for security, more opportunities and the recognition of their
productivity.
Resource allocation: Resources are fundamental to the development
of products, sectors and human resources in general. That can rise
conflicts between people as individual conflicts, between
groups/departments as an inter-group conflict or inside a
group/department as an intra-group conflict.
Role ambiguity: Conflicts can be created by the unfamiliarity of
employees about their roles and duties in the business organisation.
Interdependence: In some cases in business organisations,
individuals tend to rely on each other to achieve tasks. In that case,
the quality and efficiency of the production can be affected and that
can generate conflicts in the work environment.
Differentiation: The differentiation between people or groups can
lead the involved people to create their own norms, values, and
practices which can go against the organisational policy and It may
create barriers between co-workers.

Definition of conflict
Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being
opposed or negatively affected by another party.
(Kreitner and Kinicki, 2010, p373)

Conflicts can be defined as functional and dysfunctional. Functional conflicts

are natural, expected and positives. It contributes to the innovation and productivity of
the business organisation. Dysfunctional conflicts are unnatural, unexpected and
extremely negatives. Human resource energy is wasted and used in inappropriate
directions
 Types of conflict in an organisation

There are four types of conflicts that can be recognized in the contemporary
time. They are the interpersonal conflict, inter-group conflict, employee conflict and
inter-organisational conflict.

Interpersonal Conflict: That occurs between two or more co-workers.

This type of conflict is usually raised by differences between
individual personality and their beliefs.
Inter-group Conflict: This occurs between two or more
groups/departments. This type of conflict can be raised by divergences
of resources allocation, differentiation or/ and interdependence.
Employee Relations: That type of conflict has two general forms of
presentation, they are the unorganised individual conflict and the
organised collective conflict. The unorganised individual conflict
refers to random acts such as absenteeism. The organised collective
conflict refers to systematic acts such as strikes.
Inter-organisational Conflict: This occurs between organisations, as
a result of competition such as market share.

General perception of conflicts

Some of the factors that create a general perception about conflicts and
influence the responses of people in a conflicting situation are life experiences,
knowledge, gender, sexuality, culture, race and ethnicity. In relation to life
experiences, people tend to analyse and judge conflicting situations and its
consequences based on previous experiences and because of that, the improvement on
problem-solved results is quite low. Knowledge provides people responding at
conflicts situations with more confidence and reliability that they can deal with the
dilemma. That may interfere with a creation and consideration of alternative
solutions. Gender and sexuality can make the individual respond to the conflict
situation based on socialisation patterns. Culture, race, and ethnicity tend to make the
individual respond to conflict situations based on their personal beliefs. That can
induce to intolerance.
 Management perception of conflicts in an organisation

Kehoe (2013) stated that are four different perspectives on conflicts in relation
to managerial view. They are the Unitarist perspective, Pluralist perspective,
Interactionist perspective and Radical perspective. The unitarist perspective affirms
that conflicts are unnatural phenomena, the management needs to be the source of
authority and the organization needs to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the
workforce. The pluralist perspective affirms that conflicts are natural, that allow an
open style of management and it involves a high level of participation by employees.
The interactionist perspective view conflicts as inevitable and as a necessary force
and as consequence it creates a dynamic environment. The radical perspective is
based on the Marxist theory and it affirms that conflicts are a result of capitalism.

Positive versus negative conflict

Conflicts can be diagnosed by who they effect and whether or not they are
malevolent or benevolent .
(Reis)
Normally, conflicts are seen as a negative aspect of the organisational
behavior but that is not necessarily the truth. Conflicts can be positive and necessary
for the growth of the business organisation.

Benefits of functional conflicts

Conflict happens when two or more contradictory perspectives havent been

agreed on, but its not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, when handled well, conflict
forces us to be creative problem-solvers, to avoid mistakes, and to learn how to
benefit from our differences, all while challenging us to broaden our skills.
(Sloboda, 2010).

Functional conflicts are constructive and cooperative. They are extremely

necessary for the organisations. That classification of conflict supports organisation
goals and push the human resources towards a better performance. The functional
conflict promotes constant changes and helps the embracement and adaptation of
those changes, which provide learning outcomes to the employees and develop staff
and organisation. It also creates stronger relationships. Functional conflicts have as a
result a win-win situation.

Explaining dysfunctional conflict

Dysfunctional conflicts can be defined as a form of conflict that goes against

organization goals and interferes with the organisational performance and
development. Most of the dysfunctional conflicts are destructive, unhealthy and they
are originating from behavioral and/or emotional origins.

Drawbacks of dysfunctional conflicts

Dysfunctional conflicts increase the levels of tension in a workgroup. In some

cases that can result in hostility, differentiation and that may difficult the management
of the group. Dysfunctional conflicts can also promote the increase of the rate of
employees turning over. That type of conflict brings dissatisfaction and decrease
cooperation among members of the work group and the business organisation, which
affect the productivity of the group, resulting in a negative impact in all sectors of the
organisation. Dysfunctional conflicts can rise a distrust atmosphere among human
resource and organisation. It has, as a result a win-loose situation.

The importance of managing dysfunctional conflicts

Dysfunctional conflicts, in general, promote distraction from organisational

goals. Therefore they need to be well managing in favor to the health of the business.
The fail of management in relation to handling negative conflicts can weaken. It is
important that managers be able to interfere in dysfunctional conflicts at an earlier
stage to avoid unnecessary lost for the organistion at a later stage.

Conflict handling styles

According to Ruble and Thomas (1976), there are five alternative approaches
to managing conflicts. They are; Competition, Avoidance, Compromise,
Accommodation and Collaboration.

Competition: Assertive and uncooperative behavior. It tends to

overwhelm the opposite party. It usually creates a win-lose situation.
 Avoidance: Unassertive and uncooperative behavior. It tends to
postpone an issue. There is no cooperation with the other party. It
usually creates a win-lose situation.
Compromise: Assertive and cooperative behavior. The objective is to
find an acceptable solution for the dilemma that accommodates both
parties. There are no winners or losers.
Accommodation: Unassertive and cooperative behavior. The
individual tends to neglect its own aims to satisfy the other party. It
creates a win-lose situation.
Collaboration: Assertive and cooperative. The objective is that both
parts work together toward a solution that fully satisfies all the parties.
It creates a win-win situation.

Conclusion
Conflicts are an aspect of the organisational behavior that results from
different perceptions of two or more individuals. That can result in discomfort,
confrontation, and hostility among the workforce, that also create an uncomfortable
work environment. In the other hand, conflicts are not necessarily negatives.
Functional conflicts are extremely important to the growth of the business
organization. There are different factors that can influence in a creation of a conflict
between individuals, groups, and organisations in a business. Some of those are
personal differences, disagreement in relation to resource allocation, unfamiliarity
with roles and duties, interdependence and differentiation.

There are five styles of conflict handling and also, different types of conflicts.
In regards to business organisations, managers must be aware of which type of
conflict they are confronting and handling it in the early stage to avoid further
unnecessary problems, the waste of time and human resources. Conflict management
helps the business organisation creating new developments and appropriate solutions
for new threats and opportunities.
Recerences:
Buchanan, David A., and Andrzej A. Huczynski. Organizational Behaviour. 7th ed.
Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2010. Print.

Freund, Lena, and Lena Freund. "What Is Dysfunctional Conflict? | Ehow". eHow.
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"Functional Vs. Dysfunctional Conflict In Organizations: Differences And Mediation

- Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.Com". Study.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.

Kehoe, Michele. Make That Grade. Organisational Behaviour. 2nd ed. Dublin: Gill
& Macmillan, 2013. Print.

Kreitner, Robert, and Angelo Kinicki. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010. Print.

"Perceptions Of Conflict". Ohrd.wisc.edu. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.

Reis, Rick. "1113 Diagnosing The Type And Nature Of Conflict In Organizations".
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Singh, KJ. "What Is Dysfunctional Conflict? | Total MBA Guide". Mbaofficial.com.

N.p., 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.

Sloboda, Rick. "When Creative Conflict Is A Good Thing". Six Revisions. N.p., 2010.
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"The Nature Of Conflict". Mediate.com. N.p., 2006. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.

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