Power & Conflict In Organisations - Week 6

Definition of conflict

Conflict is more than a simple disagreement. Conflict is a situation in which people perceive a threat (physical, emotional, power, status etc) to their wellbeing. Conflict is normal in organisations because it provides opportunity for growth through improved understanding but conflict is often seen to be a negative experience. Within the definition of conflict the following needs to be taken into account:

Disagreement – Happens when there are some differences in the positions of the parties involved in the conflict. However, the actual disagreement compared to the perceived disagreement may be very different from each other. Conflict is often accompanied by misunderstandings that make the perceived disagreement worse.

Parties Involved – The people involved in the conflict tend to respond on the basis of their perceptions of the situation rather than an objective view of it. Therefore people portray their perceptions and reactions through their values, cultural beliefs, information, experience, etc. Conflict responses are filled with ideas and feelings that can be very strong and are guides to how we see possible solutions.

Perceived Threat – People tend to respond to the perceived threat instead of the true threat that is facing them. While the perception may not become reality, people’s behaviours, feelings and responses are modified by the sense of threat they confront.

Needs, Interest or Concerns – These can be narrowly defined but workplace conflicts are more complex as they involve relationships with emotional components. Conflicts contain substantive, procedural and psychological factors which have to be negotiated so that conflict can be resolved.

There are many views and theories on workplace conflict:

• Unitarist view – assumes that everyone in the organisation has the same interest, therefore people are prepared to accept the goals of management without question. This view assumes that the causes of conflict is because of communication failure (Johnson 2005).

• Pluralist view – assumes organisations are made up of many groups with separate interests so conflict is inevitable. Conflict will usually occur between unions and management but can also happen between different departments. This view suggests that within organisations compromise and negotiations are necessary. The role of management is to keep a balance between different departments.

• Radical view – assumes the workplace to be an area of conflict between management and workers. Management are seen as controllers and workers are seen as being exploited. The radical view is that conflict cannot be solved through techniques such as good communication.

Group conflict I have been part of

I have been part of a football team where there has been conflict within the group which has not allowed the team to achieve its purpose of winning a football tournament. One of the players in our squad would not play as part of the team and tried to keep possession of the ball. The other team members felt he was letting everybody down by doing this and not playing properly allowing everyone the opportunity to play well. We tried to communicate with him but this had little impact on him and we did not win the tournament because he was not prepared to listen.

Different sources of power:

Power is the capacity that one person has to influence the behaviour of another into doing something they would not otherwise do. However the misuse of power can also create conflict. The different sources of power are:

•Coercive Power - This involves forcing someone to do something that they do not want to do. The main goal of coercion is compliance. (French & Raven-1959). This type of power can lead to problems because it involves abuse. This type of leader will rely on the use of threats and tell someone they will be fired or demoted if they do not do what they have been told to do. An example of this type of leadership power is Adolf Hitler who forced people to carry out his demands.

•Reward Power – This is based on the idea that as a society we are more prone to do things and to do them well when we are getting something out of it.(Molm 1988) focus on the idea of reward power. This involves offering raises promotions and simply compliments. The problem with this type of power is that if rewards are given too frequently, they need to be bigger each time otherwise the impact on staff to get things done can be reduced. Most big companies offer some sort of rewards to employees as a way to get the best out of that employee. These rewards can be in the form of shares, discounts and bonuses.

•Expert Power – This type of power involves the ability to pass on knowledge and expertise to someone else (French & Raven 1959). Leaders who possess this type of power are able to carry out various tasks and other employees will trust and respect this type of leader. An example of this type of leader is Baraka Obama United States of America President who is respected by many people.

•Legitimate Power – This type of power involves the ability to make another person feel obligated (Hinkin & Schriesheim 1989). Legitimate power is based on one’s role therefore people are obeying the person holding this power based on their title rather than the person as a leader. An example of this is Queen Elizabeth II.

•Referent Power – This type of power involves the ability to obtain another person’s acceptance or personal approval (Hinkin & Schriesheim 1989). A person with this type of power generally makes people around them feel good and therefore has a lot of influence. Celebrities have this type of power in society and an example of this is Cheryl Cole who is liked by the public and is seen as a good role model (Raven 1988).

Strategies used by organisations to overcome conflict at work involve

Human resource management policies and procedures such as equal pay and opportunitites etc.

Ensure good communications, consultations and involvement in decision making.

Clarify goals and objectives and ensure everyone is clear as to what is expected of them in their job.

Ensure that employees have the chance to air their grievances by having grievance policy and procedures in place.

Ensure that there is a disciplinary procedure which everyone is aware of.

Conflict situation witnessed recently

There has been a recent conflict situation involving British Airways cabin crew who have carried out strike action because of changes management have suggested. The management view is that changes are necessary because of the recession but some members of staff have decided to protest about these changes. The strategy used to try and resolve the conflict was that the cabin crew went on strike. This was affective to some degree as the airline was not able to maintain a full service during the strike losing the company about £100 million. The other strategies that could have been used would be communication and consultation so that staff are aware of the long term problems that face the company.

Conclusion

In conclusion there will always be conflict within the workplace. If the companies are able to avoid conflict by treating their employees fairly there will be less conflict and this will make the business successful.

Reference list:

Managing Conflict [online]. Available from: http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/kyw/brochures/manageconflict.html [Accessed 10 March 2010].

Conflict [online]. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict [Accessed 15 March 2010].

French and Raven's Five Bases of Power [online]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_&_Raven's_Five_bases_of_Power [Accessed 23 March 2010].

Conflict Management [online]. Available from: http://www.etu.org.za/toolbox/docs/building/conflict.html [Accessed 25 March 2010].