Group Conflict

Question 1

Group conflict 1

Answer 1

Levels and causes of group conflict (Riggio, 2009)

1. Types of conflict that can occur in organisational contexts:
   A. Intra-group conflict
   > When people within the same group are in conflict.
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   B. Inter-group conflict
   > Conflict between two groups within the same organisation.
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   C. Inter-individual conflict
   > Conflict between two or more individuals within a group.
2. All forms of conflict can interfere with the achievement of a goal, and all organisations will attempt to keep conflicts to a minimum.
3. Although there can be numerous causes of conflict within a group, Reggio suggested that these may be divided into 2 broad categories:
   A. Organisational factors
   > Conflict over status or salary, or disgareements over how to achieve a goal.
   > A lack of resoures or space may also create conflict.
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   B. Interpersonal factors
   > Personality clashes between two people or that they do not work well together for some reason.
   > If the interpersonal conflict is between leaders of different groups, then this can produce increased conflict very easily.

Question 2

Group conflict 2

Answer 2

Positive and negative effects of conflict (Pruitt and Rubin, 2003)

1. Some of the positive effects of conflict have been identified by Pruitt and Rubin.
   > They suggest that it is conflict which produces change and this may be particularly true of small organisations where change can be more easily implemented than in large organisations.
   > The resolution of conflict may strengthen group unity and commitment to organisational goals or to groups within the organisation (remember that the ‘storming’ phase of group formation was a necessary stage).
   > Conflict helps ensure that decisions are fully considered and explored and may prevent ‘risky’ decision making such as groupthink, and may also produce creative and innovative suggestions.
   > Conflict can take the form of healthy competition such as sales staff competing for the highest sales of the month or the year and this can have positive effects on total revenue.
2. However, management should be cautious about using competition as a means of increasing motivation as there are several possible negative effects that need to be considered.
   > Conflict can distract workers from their jobs, reducing overall productivity and can waste time, resources and money.
   > Goals can become distorted as people become more focussed on the conflict than on their jobs.
   > Conflict can have significant effects on the physical and psychological health of the people involved, increasing absenteeism and turnover and reducing staff satisfaction.
   > If people feel that the conflict includes any behaviours that could be described as bullying or harassment, this would need to be referred to the Human Resources department and if made public, could have extremely negative effects on the public perception of the company.

Question 3

Group conflict 3

Answer 3

Managing group conflict (Thomas, 1976)

1. Thomas suggest 5 strategies that can be used to manage group conflict:
   A. Competition
   > Individuals may persist in conflict until someone wins and someone loses.
   > At this point, the conflict is over.
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   B. Accommodation
   > One individual will need to make a sacrifice in order to reduce the conflict.
   > This can be extremely effective in reducing conflict and preventing further damage to the relationship.
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   C. Compromise
   > Each group or individual under conflict must make some compromise and give up something to reduce the conflict.
   > This will be effective only if both sides lose comparable things.
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   D. Collaboration
   > The group has to work together to overcome the conflict.
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   E. Avoidance
   > Suppressing the conflict or withdrawing from the conflict completely.
   > This does not resolve the conflict which is still there and has not been addressed.
   > This can be effective in creating a cooling-off period.
2. Another way to address conflict is to create a superordinate goal.
   > A goal that both groups and individuals have to work together to achieve.
   > This is similar to collaboration, although the group is working towards something other than overcoming the conflict.

Question 4

Evaluation

Answer 4

1. The management of conflict is obviously extremely important for all organisations.
2. Situational explanations
   > Riggio offers a starting point in identifying that conflict may have individual or situational causes.
   > Situational causes will be something to do with the organisation; the working conditions, salary levels, expectations and so on.
   > Being able to identify the causes may help in identifying a solution.
3. Individual explanations
   > Conflict may not be situational.
   > It may simply be between two individuals and obviously very different strategies will be needed to manage this.
4. Application in everyday life
   > It is useful to recognise that conflict can be positive and organisations need to recognise the potential outcomes from allowing some conflict to continue.
   > Disagreement is not conflict and one problem for organisations may be to establish the level of conflict that ensures good decision making (all aspects of the argument have been considered) and reduces the chances of groupthink while at the same time does not lead to the breakdown of good working relationships.
5. Application of strategies
   > Having a range of strategies for managing conflict is obviously important for all organisations.
   > When is it appropriate to allow the individuals concerned to continue to fight until one of them wins and when it is appropriate to step in and offer some sort of compromise solution?
   > Strategies based on collaboration or the pursuit of a superordinate goal have their roots in the social psychology of prejudice and discrimination and the application of this understanding to the workplace is invaluable.