VOTO SALVADO DEL DOCTOR DR ROBERTO BHRUNIS LEMARIE EN EL CASO SIGNADO CON EL N.º 0002-08-EP

The collaborative approach involves the position of high assertiveness and high cooperativeness in terms of personal goals and the goals of others respectively. Hence the style can only be used when the parties to a conflict are ready to consider it as problem- solving situation.

Albanese (1998) observes that a problem-solving approach requires the following conditions.

1. There is an attempt to depersonalize the conflict in the sense that the parties to the conflict channel their energies to solving the problem rather than defeating each other.

2. The goals, opinions, attitudes, and feelings of all parties to the conflict are seen as legitimate and acceptable concerns, and all the parties are seen as plying a constructive role.

3. The parties realize that a conflict issue can make a constructive contribution to the quality of human relationship[s if the issue is worked through in a supportive and trusting climate in which opinions, information, and differences are freely aired and openly shared.

The collaborative style to conflict management, based on the above requirements is not an easy approach because of the fact people who engage in conflict may be greatly emotionally involved. Hence it may be difficult for the parties involved to treat the conflict as a problem-solving situation;; which is simply asking the parties for a complete rethinking of all elements of the conflict situation.

The general view is that the collaborative style should be used to manage conflict when:

1. The source of the conflict is rooted in semantic misunderstandings because the style may allow doubts and misconceptions to surface;

2. The issues involved are very important to both parties, thus warranting the time and effort required in using it;

3. The issues in conflict cannot be compromise;

4. They have implications for long-term benefits to all parties involved in conflict;

5. The parties involved are mutually dependent, where the use of creative resources by the parties involved is important. The collaborative style should be used in managing conflict with a lot of caution due to the following reasons:

8. The conflict issue may not be important enough to justify the time and effort required;

9. The parties involved may lack the necessary problem-solving skills;

10. The conditions of support, trust, and open sharing of information may be absent;

11. The parties involved may lack power parity, thus making candid and creative interaction difficult; and

12. The conflict issue may be such that neither party can cooperate with the other, for instance, a conflict arising out of differences in values that are “non-negotiable”.

Hence the collaborative style to conflict management is not always appropriate because it is not the “one best way” to resolve and manage conflict. The style can only be used when all the parties share appropriate cooperative values such as openness, trust, sharing, and mutual respect and support for each other.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The foregoing analysis has enabled you to appreciate the fact that organizational conflict is a series of stages, which involve latent conflict, perceived conflict, felt conflict, manifest conflict, conflict resolution, and conflict aftermath, a process called conflict episode; a gradual escalation of conflict through the series of stages. From the preceding study unit, you observe that organizational conflict cannot be avoided or wished away by the management of any organization. Therefore, it is imperative that you should understand the nature of the available strategies through which organizational conflict can be managed and resolved by the management.

5.0 SUMMARY

This study unit has been used to discuss

Meaning and nature of organizational conflict

Types, Levels and Causes of Conflict

Variables that Aggravate Organizational conflict Conflict Episode and Conflict Management

In the next study unit, you will be taken through organizational change and development.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Enumerate and discuss the various strategies through which organizational conflict can be managed and resolved.

Answers to Self Assessment Exercise

1. Organizational conflict refers to a perceived condition that exists between parties in which one or more of the parties perceives goal incompatibility and some opportunity for interfering with the goal attainment of others.

2. Conflict has many causes, including the following:

i. Different objectives:- more particularly the case where people seek to realize opposing objectives, but, at the same time, need one another

ii. Limited resources:- arises because managers typically want high level of performance from workers whereas workers want to get more out of them; resulting to competition between the parties for scarce resources.

iii. Structural imbalance:- arises when a perception exists that some people have too much money and power, whereas others have none at all.

iv. Communication or information-related causes include lack of communication, availability of information, an interruption in the flow of information, language differences, and problems with the media.

Others include historical factors, ideological differences, low levels of trust, cultural differences, a flawed collective bargaining system, differences in education levels, and uncertainty and ambiguity.

3. The conflict episode goes through a series of stages such as:

i. Latent Conflict:- provides the necessary antecedent conditions for conflict in

organizations such as competition for resources, role conflict, competition for positions, and divergence in members’ goals.

ii. Perceived Conflict:- the conflict about which organization members are aware such as misunderstanding or lack of understanding.

iii. Felt Conflict:- a situation whereby A is aware that B and A are in serious disagreement over some policy, but it may not make A tense or anxious.

iv. Manifest Conflict:- takes the nature of overt behaviour, including sabotage, open aggression, apathy, withdrawal, and minimal job performance. This situation can occur when a subordinate is in conflict with is superior officer.

v. Conflict Resolution:- this can range from approaches that essentially avoid facing up to the conflict to approaches that confront the conflict in an attempt to resolve it so that all the parties achieve their goals.

vi. Conflict Aftermath:- this represents the conditions that result from the resolution of conflict, which can lead to an improved relationship between organizational participants if genuinely resolved.

7.0 REFERENCES

Akubuiro, N. H. (2003) Industrial Relations and Labour Laws, Shomolu, Lagos: PMA Printers, A Division of PMA Group.

Albanese, R. (1998) Managing: Toward Accountability for Performance, New York:

Richard D. Irwin Inc.

Blake, R.R. and J. S. Mouton (1984) Solving Costly Organizational Conflicts, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bendix, S. (2001) The Basis of Labour Relations, Kennyn: Juta

Bendix, S and Jacobs F. (1991) Industrial Relations and organizational Dynamics: Cases and Text, Kennyn: Juta.

Sternberg, R. J. and L. J. Soriano (1984) “Styles of Conflict Resolution,” JOURNAL OF Personality and Social Psychology, July 1984.

Swanepoel et al (2002) Labour Relations Management: Micro, Pretoria: University of South Africa.

Thomas, K. W. (1977) “Towards Multidimensional Values in Teaching: The Example of Conflict Behaviors,” Academy of Management Review, July 1997.

FURTHER READING

Robbins, S. P. (1989) Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies, and Applications, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., A Division of Simon and Schuster.

UNIT 14 ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT