Organizational Conflict
Presentation
-By
Shagun Lidhoo
Kanksha Raina
Pooja Mokashi
Richa

Definition
 Disagreement between individuals or groups
within an organization, that may have an impact on
the overall functioning of the organization.
 E.G. :- Workers advocate for higher pay and the
business owner or management wants pay levels
to remain the same.
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Nature of Conflict
 Conflict arises out of mutually exclusive goals
 Conflict is different from Competition
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Types of Conflict
Organizational conflict can be classified into two
distinct categories : -
 Internal
 External
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Internal Conflict
 Internal conflict is personal to the person
involved. This type of conflict takes place within
the person.
 It can surface when a person’s values or morals
are tested or otherwise compromised.
 Internal conflict can greatly impact the person’s
performance level.
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External Conflict
 External conflict is observed in outside forces that
cause struggle for the person, such as an
unhappy customer or an unruly supplier.
 External conflict can also be caused when the
management style of the business owner does
not set well with the employees of the
organization.
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Outcomes - Positive
 In a different view, organizational conflict represents
an opportunity for productive change.
The use of effective communication lies at the heart
of this view.
 The simple act of acknowledging and seeking
solutions to organizational conflicts can defuse them
and draw employees into a stronger relationship with
the business.
 It can also encourage an adaptable organization that
copes efficiently with the rapid changes faced by
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Outcomes - Negative
 Conflicts cause stress, which reduces worker
satisfaction.
 This diminished satisfaction can lead to
increases in absenteeism and turnover.
 Conflict can also diminish trust in supervisors
and fellow employees, which can slow or stop
progress on projects.
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Causes for Conflicts
Managerial Expectations
 It is the job of an employee to meet the
expectations of his manager, but if those
expectations are misunderstood, conflict can
arise.
 Managers need to spend time clearly
communicating their goals to employees and then
confirming those goals in writing.
 A manager should also encourage his/her
employees to ask questions about their goals,
and hold regular meetings to discuss the goals
and how best to reach them.
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Causes for Conflicts
Breakdown in Communication
 If a department requires information from another
department in order to do its job, and the second
department does not respond to the request for
information, a conflict can arise.
 Some interdepartmental disagreements might
trigger a nonresponsive attitude that can quickly
become an internal conflict.
 When people or departments are late in
responding to information requests, or they are
withholding information on purpose, it is best to
address the situation immediately with a personal
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Causes for Conflicts
Misunderstanding the Information
 One person may misunderstand information, and
that can trigger a series of conflicts.
 In order to deal with this kind of situation, it is best
to have the person admit her misunderstanding
and work with the affected parties to remedy the
situation.
 For example, if the production manager
misunderstands the product manufacturing goals,
then the sales manager may not have enough
product to sell.
 Taking responsibility for a mistake can quickly
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Causes for Conflicts
Lack of Accountability
 Organizational conflict might arise from
frustration. One source of frustration is a lack of
accountability.
 If something has gone wrong, and no one is
willing to take responsibility for the problem, this
lack of accountability can start to permeate
throughout the entire company until the issue is
resolved.
 One way to combat a lack of accountability is to
have anyone who comes into contact with a
document sign his name to it and include the
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Ways to handle Conflicts
 Conflict is inevitable in small businesses. Conflict
can arise
from a variety of sources, and between supervisors
and
subordinates, between co-workers, and between
employees and
customers.
 Managers and organizations can choose to see
conflict as inherently negative, acting to suppress it
at every
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Ways to handle Conflicts
Positive Perspective
 Accept conflict as a natural growth process and
influence your company culture to view
constructive conflict positively.
 Conflict can be an asset to your small business if
it is handled properly. It can help your
organization to learn from its mistakes and
identify areas of needed improvement.
 Innovation can be inspired from creative solutions
to internal or external conflicts, and new ways of
thinking can emerge.
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Ways to handle Conflicts
Grievance Procedure
 Create a formal grievance procedure for all
employees.
 Let employees at all levels of your organization
know that their voices will always be heard, and
respond promptly and reasonably to employees
issues.
 This can prevent bad feelings from festering and
growing into resentment and bitterness. Conflict
is best handled quickly and openly.
 If your company culture is sufficiently friendly
toward constructive conflict, your staff should see
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Ways to handle Conflicts
Get to the Cause
 Focus on deep-rooted causes rather than
superficial effects when assessing conflicts.
 Parties to a conflict often claim to have issues
with the behavior of co-workers or the outcome of
company policies and work procedures, but these
issues are likely being caused by something
deeper.
 Attempting to resolve the conflict by addressing
surface issues will rarely create meaningful
change or lasting solutions.
 Look deeper to address the reasons that
incidents occur.
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Ways to handle Conflicts
 As an example, if a supervisor finds himself
constantly in
conflict with a loyal employee due to falling
productivity levels,
the supervisor may naturally want to address the
employees’
behavior head-on.
 Upon closer analysis, however, the supervisor
may realize
that the employee has been increasingly
dissatisfied with his job
ever since last year’s disappointing performance
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Ways to handle Conflicts
Equal Voices
 Give all parties of a conflict an equal voice,
regardless of their position, length of service or
political influence.
 Conflict participants can become defensive if they
feel they are being marginalized or are going
through a process leading to a predetermined
outcome.
 It can be tempting to take the word of managers
over front-line employees, or to take the word of a
loyal employee over a new employee, but
remember that your most trusted associates are
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Ways to handle Conflicts
Resolution Participation
 Involve all parties, if possible, when drafting
conflict resolutions.
 The theory of Management By Objectives (MBO)
states that employees are generally more
committed to goals that they have helped to
create.
 The same holds true for conflict resolutions.
There is more than one side to every conflict, and
all sides should benefit from conflict resolution.
 Seek resolutions that will prevent the conflict from
occurring again, rather than simply delaying a
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Conflict Resolution
The ideal method for resolving problems and
making difficult
decisions involves two steps, a magic formula that
is guaranteed
to work. In fact, it’s never failed when applied
correctly. Here it
is:
 Define the problem
 Decide how to solve it
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Conflict Resolution
Step 1: Defining the problem: Exchange “I”
messages”
 Verbalize other person’s position if he cannot do
so himself
 Actively listen as feelings come
 Take time
 It may be necessary to send more accurate “I
messages” if motivation lags.
 Be sure the other person understands your
commitment to finding a solution acceptable to
both.
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Conflict Resolution
Step 2: Generating possible solutions
(brainstorming)
 Think divergently
 Ask the other person to suggest solutions first
 Avoid all evaluation for now
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Conflict Resolution
Step 3: Evaluating the various solutions
 Honestly and reality are now important
 Actively listen and genuinely consider the other
person’s
preferences
 One solution to make sure you both understand
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Conflict Resolution
Step 4: Deciding on a mutually acceptable
solution
 Be careful not to push your solution
 When close to agreement, state the tentative
Solution to make sure you both understands
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Conflict Resolution
Step 5: Implementing the solution
 Decide who will do what and when
 Trust the other person to do his part rather than
talk about failure contingencies
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Conflict Resolution
Step 6: Evaluating the solution
 All decisions are open to modification or repeal,
but not unilaterally
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11/13/2013
Organizational Conflict Presentation
THANK YOU!