Managing Organizational Conflict

Conflict in business and personal relationships is inevitable--much of the success of companies depends on how well they respond to it. Developing rapport, collaboration and cooperation hinges on positive conflict management strategies that stimulate innovation and growth where companies can look for solutions to common issues and needs. Conflict management can address dysfunctional outcomes that result in job stress, less effective communication and a climate of distrust, where working relationships are damaged and job performance reduced. Organizations must minimize and resolve internal and external conflicts to remain vibrant and profitable. Drawing on examples from a wide range of corporate experiences, this volume provides role-playing scenarios, checklists, tables and research studies to help employees, managers and owners better comprehend the dynamics of conflict in every interaction.

Monograph on the occupational sociology of social conflict in the enterprise, with emphasis on human relations strategies for management of such conflict - includes references.

Conflict in business and personal relationships is inevitable--much of the success of companies depends on how well they respond to it. Developing rapport, collaboration and cooperation hinges on positive conflict management strategies that stimulate innovation and growth where companies can look for solutions to common issues and needs. Conflict management can address dysfunctional outcomes that result in job stress, less effective communication and a climate of distrust, where working relationships are damaged and job performance reduced. Organizations must minimize and resolve internal and external conflicts to remain vibrant and profitable. Drawing on examples from a wide range of corporate experiences, this volume provides role-playing scenarios, checklists, tables and research studies to help employees, managers and owners better comprehend the dynamics of conflict in every interaction.

After much debate by business professionals, organizational conflict is now considered normal and legitimate; it may even be a positive indicator of effective organizational management. Within certain limits, conflict can be essential to productivity. This book contributes to the investigation of organizational conflict by analyzing its origins, forms, benefits, and consequences. Conflict has benefits: it may lead to solutions to problems, creativity, and innovation. In contrast, little or no conflict in organizations may lead to stagnation, poor decisions, and ineffectiveness. Managing Conflict in Organizations is a vigorous analysis of the rational application of conflict theory in organizations. Conflict is inevitable among humans. It is a natural outcome of human interaction that begins when two or more social entities engage one another while striving to attain their own objectives. Relationships among people or organizations become incompatible or inconsistent when two or more of them desire a similar resource that is in short supply; when they do not share behavioral preferences regarding their joint action; or when they have different attitudes, values, beliefs, and skills. This book examines these root causes of organizational conflict and offers constructive perspectives on its consequences.

Exploring the role of conflict in organisations, this book helps managers, employees, and organisations come to grips with all types of conflict. Conflict is discussed as a likely result of human interaction, and the key purpose of this program is to assist people in effectively and productively managing and taking advantage of these inevitable conflict situations. A self-contained training curriculum around which an entire organisational conflict management program can be built, this book is designed for use as a guide to harnessing and taking advantage of the enormous energy associated with conflict, and is loaded with activities designed to reinforce and build on the understandings developed and to provide plenty of opportunity to practice what has been learned. Activities can be used to facilitate formal training with individuals, in work groups, or for personal use.

Challenging the common belief that conflict in groups and organizations should be prevented or resolved to maintain or enhance performance, Using Conflict in Organizations offers an alternative perspective by presenting the increasing knowledge on how conflict can enhance individual achievement, the quality of group decision-making and productivity in organizations. Part One provides a general framework which links conflict management to performance and shows how this relationship can be understood. The second and third parts develop and illustrate this framework in a series of thematic chapters. Part Two focuses on performance following intragroup conflict, covering topical areas such as dissent, groupthink a

This volume in SIOP's Organizational Frontiers Series is a state-of-the-art overview of contemporary conflict research which aims to place conflict research and theory squarely within the realm of industrial and organizational psychology. This volume brings together and integrates classic and contemporary insight in conflict origins, conflict processes, and conflict consequences. In addition, it stimulates modeling conflict at work at relevant levels of analyses: the interpersonal and group, and the organizational. It is appropriate for scholars and practitioners in the areas of industrial-organizational psychology, human resource management, organizational behavior, applied psychology, and social psychology.