Conflict Meaning and Features
Conflict Meaning and Features: Conflict may be described in a variety of ways, including hostility, negative attitudes, antagonism, violence, competition, and misunderstanding. It’s also linked to circumstances in which two opposing factions have divergent or incompatible goals.
The following are a few conflict definitions:
“A basic definition of conflict is any tension that arises when one individual believes that his or her wants or aspirations have been or are about to be hindered or disappointed.” “The appearance of difference, difference of beliefs, difference of interests,” says Follett.
“The fight between irreconcilable or contending demands, desires, ideas, interests, or persons,” Chung and Megginson describe conflict. Conflict happens when people or organisations are confronted with objectives that neither party can achieve satisfactorily.”
“It may be characterised as a dispute between two or more persons or organisations, with each individual or group attempting to obtain acceptance of its opinion or aims over others,” according to David L. Austin.
Louis R. Pondy has provided a thorough description of conflict.
According to him, the word “conflict” is used in the literature in four different ways to describe:
(I) Conflictual behavior’s antecedent circumstances, such as resource shortages or policy disagreements.
(ii) Individuals’ emotional states, such as stress, tension, aggression, anxiety, and so on.
(iii) Individuals’ cognitive state, or their perception or knowledge of a conflictual situation.
(iv) A wide range of conflictual behaviours, from passive resistance to outright hostility.
As a result, we may argue that fighting, animosity, and dispute, all of which can be classified as conflict, are almost daily occurrences for people and organisations, if not necessarily visible. It’s a completely foreseeable societal phenomena that should be used for good.
Conflict Meaning and Features
The following characteristics define a situation of conflict:
- It occurs when two or more persons or organisations have opposing viewpoints.
It’s caused by varied perspectives on the same item or aim held by different people. While A believes that a course of action is appropriate, B does not. This leads to divergent viewpoints on the same issue.
It frequently occurs as a result of a lack of resources. When individuals compete for limited resources, they have differing perspectives on how to effectively use those resources to accomplish corporate objectives.
- Conflict Philosophy
From classical conflict philosophy through interactionist philosophy, the idea of conflict has developed over time. When it comes to how management sees conflict, there are three options.
These are the following:
- Taking the traditional route
Management, according to this viewpoint, sees disagreement as negative and harmful to the organization’s effectiveness. Anger and resentment are the intended outcomes of a disagreement. This causes chaos in the organisation and interferes with its smooth operation.
As a result, conflict was dysfunctional (bad). If there was a conflict between organisational and individual interests, it prioritised organisational interests since individual interests are seen as secondary to organisational interests (as advocated by Fayol). As a result, conflict is damaging since it fails to bring management and employees together.
As a result, management should build the company in such a way that everyone knows the policies and regulations. The authority-responsibility structure should be clearly established so that everyone understands their discretionary authority. If a disagreement does emerge, it will be resolved quickly as a result of this.
- Approach to human interactions
The behaviouralist approach to conflict is also known as this. Unlike the traditional approach, which believes that conflict in organisations should be avoided at all costs, the human relations approach believes that conflict is inescapable. Because of individual variances in thought and perception, it is unavoidable.
Because disagreement is unavoidable, it should be addressed amicably. As a result, conflict arises naturally in all organisations, but it should be addressed for the benefit of both the organisation and the people involved.
- Interactionist strategy
While the human relations perspective admits that conflict is unavoidable and hence acceptable, the interactionist approach views conflict in a wider sense. It encourages conflict in the workplace because disagreement fosters a diversity of viewpoints and values. This encourages new ideas and makes it simple to respond to changes in the environment.
Conflicts keep group members engaged in conversations and generate new ideas. As a result, conflict is encouraged since it improves organisational effectiveness.
Conflicts happen as a result of the following factors:
- Perceptional differences
Individual or group differences in views, beliefs, and attitudes toward the same issue lead to interpersonal or intergroup disputes. For example, one group of people may want that all workers use HP laptops in order to preserve uniformity, whilst another group may prefer that diverse brands of computers be promoted in order to retain uniqueness. Conflicts arise when people have opposing viewpoints.
- Overwhelming competition
Organizational resources (personnel, material, money, space, and so on) are limited, and each unit competes for the lion’s share. Conflict arises when units compete for the largest share of resources.
- Goals that are different
Conflict arises when people or organisations pursue different interests. To maximise earnings, the manufacturing department may wish to manufacture restricted kinds in huge quantities in order to reduce expenses. On the other side, the sales department may believe that supplying items in various sizes, colours, and models would improve sales and hence save expenses. Conflict arises as a result of the two groups’ differing agendas. It may potentially have an impact on product quality.
- Task interconnectedness
Interdependence among units may lead to conflict as labour is transmitted from one unit to the next. The output of the first unit becomes the input of the second. If the first unit fails to complete its task on time, the second unit will be forced to wait and remain inactive until the process is received. This may lead to inter-group strife.
Patterns of behaviour
Some individuals like debating and arguing. They have a propensity of relishing confrontation. It serves as a drive for them to up their game.
- Individual qualities
When group members’ work attitudes, age, education, temperament, and status levels vary, there is a significant risk of inter-group conflict.
- Relationships of duty with ill-defined authority
People do not grasp one other’s roles when authority and responsibility of individuals and organisations are not clearly defined. There is a lack of consistency in the workplace, and communication is distorted. Inter-group conflict arises as a result of this.