Using Conflict In Organizations

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 text is unique in looking at the positive effects of conflict in groups and organizations. The book is able to provide a general theoretical framework and a sharp focus on thematic issues.

Conflict is a persistent fact of organizational life. Much of it, however, rarely becomes public and instead is expressed `behind the scenes' in such forms as avoidance, toleration, gossip and vengence. This book takes examples from a number of organizational settings and makes the case that far from being an occasional occurrence, conflict is embedded in their very fabric. The authors go on to illustrate the frequency of conflict, show how conflicts are actually handled and suggest that these conflicts can be better managed for organizational effectiveness.

An important contribution to the literature of organizational behavior and communication, this volume explores the strategies and issues involved in conflict management. The contributors represent a variety of academic disciplines and their treatment of the subject is both comprehensive and multidisciplinary in nature. Taking as their focus the premise that certain types and levels of conflict can have positive consequences, the authors present an in-depth look at the techniques available to manage conflict within organizations and groups, between individuals, and among nations. The volume is divided into five major sections, each addressing a particular aspect of conflict management. In Part One, the contributors look at organization conflict, examining issues such as interpersonal conflict on the job, the nature of destructive criticism, and different styles of handling conflict. The second section addresses the critical relationship between communication and conflict with separate chapters devoted to communications theory, divorce mediation, the role of argumentation in bargaining, and bargaining strategies. Subsequent sections discuss negotiation and mediation, while the final section provides an integrated perspective on conflict management theory and practice. Each section begins an introductory essay that sets the following papers in context, making this an ideal set of readings for courses in organizational behavior, resources management, and communications.

This book presents the most recent theoretical insights and practical intervention methods to (re)build trust between management and organized employees in organizations. Offering a multidisciplinary perspective on trust and conflict management in organizations, the book draws from diverse fields such as organizational psychology, business, law, industrial relations and sociology. It examines the often encountered breaches of trust between management and organized workers, and the resulting destructive social conflicts, social actions, strikes or dramatic business decisions. Its focus is on trust and conflict management at the organizational level in an industrial relations context: that of employee representatives and management. The book introduces a new theoretical approach: the Tree of Trust, designed to analyse and mediate the interconnected levels of trust and distrust in industrial relations. It presents case studies and practical recommendations to build trust and constructive conflict management in the organizations, and illustrates these by means of experiences from different countries around the globe.

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.

"Resolving Personal and Organizational Conflicts and Disputes offers specific methods for assisting disputing parties to communicate their problems without sinking into the twin traps of demonization and victimization. In addition, the authors show how to encourage people and organizations in conflict to identify new ways of sustaining supportive relationships and transforming anger into awareness, dialogue, and reconciliation."--BOOK JACKET.

New ways of managing conflict are important features of work & employment in organizations. World's leading scholars examine range of innovative alternative dispute resolution practices, drawing on international research, scholarship, covering case studies of major exemplars & developments in different parts of global economy. Aust & NZ content.