Managing Personal and Organizational Conflicts

Managing Personal and Organizational Conflicts

When there is a group of three or more people, conflicts are likely to occur. In fact, it is inevitable to avoid them. Therefore, those people who are part of a group should learn how to manage conflicts with the use of positive methods. This paper will conduct the analysis of four articles dealing with organizational conflicts and will present a common conclusion based on them.

Eric Feigenbaum, in his article “Organizational Conflict Theory”, states his view of organizational conflicts (Feigenbaum, 2008). He lists four types of conflicts that are likely to arise when people interact with one another on a daily basis and gives their short description. In his opinion, there are the following types of conflicts: interpersonal, role conflicts, “maturity” and inter-group conflicts.

He defines interpersonal conflict as inability of certain types of people to mix and have a steady relationship. He thinks if people were not forced to work together they would choose not to interact or would have a distant relationship and remain as acquaintances. The conflict between/among those people may require dismissing at least one of them to release tension.

Feigenbaum characterizes role conflict as having nothing to do with personalities but with roles they fulfill. People run into a conflict because of their duties and obligations while they could have a healthy friendship outside of their role responsibilities.

The he goes on to define another type – maturity conflict, which he characterizes as a clash between people’s scope of work or activities and their abilities and talents. It arises when some people are not able to realize their full potential or their talents are constrained by the limits of their duties and circumstances.

The last type discussed by the author is inter-group conflict. It is defined as somewhat the similar to role conflict, however, it arises when some people consider requests of other people as excessive or, just the opposite – they might think that the other party is unable to fulfill their obligations or meet their needs. That disparity leads to a conflict.

“Understanding and Managing Organizational Conflicts” by K.A. Fareed is another article, which is dedicated to this topic. The author makes the analysis of conflicts as based on their character and gives some tips for their resolution. He asserts that conflicts can be of constructive and destructive nature. 

Fareed gives his definition of conflicts as disagreement or clash between ideas, principles or people (Fareed, 2009). Conflicts arise when people’s opinions or perspectives do not match with goals or methods of their attaining. In his opinion, depending on the nature, conflicts may have good or bad effects.

Fareed believes that constructive conflict provide for interest, creativity, aspiration, at the same time brining satisfaction and accomplishment of the set goals. They are potentially useful since they promote healthy competition, allow expression of opinions and lead to problem solving. The author asserts that constructive conflicts produce positive results for groups of people and organizations.

At the same time, in Fareed’s opinion, destructive conflicts manifest in the winner-loser situations, when one party loses and the other wins. That leads to frustration and stress, which in turn, may result in poor performance or even sickness. In such case, conflicts do not promote co-operation, openness and lead to bad results in work or relationships.

The author gives several tips for dealing with conflicts. He insists that they are to be assessed for their nature and then resolved accordingly. He presents several methods such as discussions, persuasions, rewards and others.

In his article “Organizational Conflict – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”” its author presents an interesting idea of dividing conflicts into three categories and giving respective approached to their management (Organizational Conflict—The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, 2012).

There are three categories of conflicts as stated in the article: “good”, “bad” and “ugly”. “Good” conflicts are defined as those that can have productive force. They can stimulate people to contribute their ideas and productivity for development and increase of their knowledge and experience. The keys to group or organization success are adaptivity, responsiveness and creativity and not so much in structure or order. Therefore, it is assumed that conflicts are needed in order to provide feedback about the situation and present different opinions and create new ways of doing things. The task is not to eliminate the conflict but rather to manage it in order enhance relationships, achieve goals and perform tasks better.

The “bad” approach is defined as a quite common way to deal with conflicts on the basis of structure or authority. The author presents the traditional view of this approach expressed in creating structure, order or repressing any conflict that arises. To resolve conflict in the “bad” mode means to conduct restructuring, redefine relationships and responsibilities or increase discipline. That virtually eliminated any change or innovation and leads to wasting much time on measures that produce little results.

The “ugly” approach implies an attempt to eliminate or suppress conflict in cases where it is impossible to do so. It is true in situations when conflicts exist for a long time, people give up trying to resolve problems or show little or no interest. When situations like that arise, people tend to blame leaders or managers. The problem is further aggravated because of non-action, secrecy or enforcing law and order.

The fourth article “Take a Proactive Approach to Dealing With Conflict” written by Theresa Gale is dedicated to practical problem solving (Gale, 2012). The author gives three guidelines to deal with a conflict. She asserts that people who handle conflicts should know its definition and steps to manage it. Then she insists that people should assess their beliefs regarding conflicts and their resolution. Thirdly, she asserts that people should be trained to understand how to deal with conflicts, pay attention to communication, feedback and stay focused on the goal. The author stresses the importance of right communication, receiving and giving feedback and managing reactions.

 The analysis of the above articles allows making some common conclusions regarding managing personal and organizational conflicts. When dealing with them it is important to understand what type they belong to: interpersonal, role conflicts, “maturity” and inter-group conflicts. It is also important to define the character of the conflict to see if it is constructive or destructive. Approaches to their solving are vital. Implementing the “good” approach will allow using the right methods that will determine the future of the conflict. And, lastly, using practical guidelines will lead to making practical steps for managing a conflict.