How Conflict is Detrimental to Decision Making - Coursework Example

HOW CONFLICT IS DETRIMENTAL TO DECISION MAKING By Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor’s Name University Name City, State Date How Conflict is Detrimental to Decision Making Introduction Businesses in the recent past have found themselves operating in a tough environment where organizations try to formulate measures that will enable them to improve their performance and competitiveness. The term conflict has a wide array of definitions depending on the scope of the topic that is being addressed. In this case, it is regarded as a disagreement about interest or ideas. Also, conflicts in an organization may be termed as discord that occurs when goals, interests and values are not compatible with those of other individuals or groups whereby they tend to frustrate each other in an attempt to achieve their desired objectives. Working with other people in an organization or institution is not easy. Around the world, employees spend more than two hours of their time every week, approximately a day in a month dealing with conflicts in their workplaces. The conflicts may range from minor disagreements or simple quarrels that may later escalate into serious court battles. They may involve individuals, groups or even departments. Understanding the consequences of intragroup conflict is usually important for the overall performance of the group or the organization. In spite of the numerous number of researches that have been done, much is yet to be understood on how and when groups can benefit or be affected by constant disagreements by the members of a group. Views on Organizational conflict There are three different views on the transitions in conflict thought. The first is the traditional view. This approach assumed that all conflict was bad. It was viewed as a negative process and was often associated with violence, destruction, and irrational behavior to enhance its negative connotation. It was therefore regarded as harmful and was to be avoided as much as possible. The conflict was a dysfunctional outcome that resulted from poor communication, lack of trust and openness between two people and the failure of managers to respond to the needs and aspirations of their employees. This view offered a simple approach to look at those people who often caused conflicts. Since all kinds of conflicts were bad and had to be avoided, more attention was paid to the cause of the conflict to correct the malfunctions so as to improve group and organizational performance. The second type is the human relations view. It argues that conflict is a natural occurrence that occurs in all groups and organizations. Since it cannot be avoided, the conflict has to be accepted as it is part of our everyday life. Those who agreed with this view rationalized its existence. They were of the opinion that it could not be eliminated and there when times when it was beneficial to the performance of a group. It is important to note that unlike the traditional view, human relations view does not reject conflict as an outright negative thing. Moreover, it suggests that organizational conflicts within groups may even lead to a better group outcome and performance. The third is the interactionist view. While the human relations approach chose to accept conflict, the interactionist approach encouraged conflict on the ground that it was beneficial for a group. It argued that an organization or group without conflict was bound to become static, non-responsive, un-adaptable and non-flexible. The minimum level of conflict is perceived to be beneficial because it helps to maintain certain levels of creativity, self-evaluation and competition among individuals. It is important to note that the interactionist view does not claim that every type of conflict is beneficial, but only the functional and constructive can help a group while the dysfunctional conflicts should be avoided (Ongori 2009). Causes of conflict in an organization For one to effectively manage conflicts in a workplace, they require an understanding of the nature and sources of conflict in the nature and sources of conflict in the workplace. There are many sources of conflicts at a workplace. They include interpersonal, organizational, change related and other external factors. Interpersonal conflict is the most common type of conflict that occurs between workmates. It is often noticeable from the results of office politics, gossip, and rumors. It has been noted that when language and personality types of colleagues clash, major conflicts arise at the workplace. In places of work where there are strong ethno cultural and racial sources of conflicts in addition to gender conflicts. It may lead to charges of sexual harassment and cases of racial discrimination. People often bring issues outside of the workplace such as parental or marital issues to the place of work. If they are withdrawn from their co-workers, they may be misunderstood for being arrogant, and this creates tension between them and other people around them. Varying ideas of personal success is also a cause of conflict. This is because everyone may not share the strong drive towards a work-related achievement. Organizational conflicts that arise from issues relating to hierarchy and the inability to resolve conflicting interests are most common in the places of work. The tension between supervisors or managers and junior employees may arise as a result of power differences. The different types of supervision styles also result in conflicts of interest. It can also occur as a result of unfairness in the distribution of workloads, duties, allocation of resources, and varying views on accountability. Change in trends at workplaces is also a potential source of conflicts. A modernized workplace has a noticeable level of stress that relates to change in management and down-sizing. The change in technology often results in changes in work methodologies and may cause conflicts as a result of the difficulty in adapting. External factors such as economic pressures caused by the change in market, domestic and foreign competitions may lead to an emergence of conflicts in the workplaces. It may also be as a result of the differences between clients and suppliers leading to poor customer services and delivery of goods. Political pressures and demands from some special interest groups can be a major source of misunderstanding in public and non-profit workplaces. Changes in a government can have a great impact in the public and non-profit organization. Funding levels for institutions dependent on funds from the government can have a dramatic change, impacting on how the workers will be treated in such institutions. Effects of conflicts Occasional conflicts are difficult to prevent in a normal working environment. They cannot all be eliminated at once. They can have positive outcomes but can also undermine the organization's efforts in meeting their long-term goals. A manager should understand the negative effects of conflicts in his or her working environment for them to teach their employees the skills of conflict resolution. The cost of conflict is always hidden most of the time; that is to mean that it is not readily apparent. At the same time, costs incurred are very detrimental to individuals, groups and organizations. A conflict is usually more serious than a simple disagreement. It can cause divisions within ranks in an organization. A conflict is rarely resolved by itself. The longer it persists, the higher is the chance that it could escalate into a bigger problem within the ranks. The problem could further be escalated when the parties involved cannot find a solution on their own. The downside effect is that may cause more unanticipated division as the other employees take sides and this will further escalate the situation. Conflicts have a negative impact on the development of an organization. Much of the time is wasted in solving problems at the workplace instead of improving on productivity. When employees have feuds within themselves, it affects communication in a workplace. It also creates suspicion and distrust. There are usually rampant cases of misuse of business material, property, and funds when conflicting parties engage in ‘war’. Frequent wrangles and emotional confrontation reduces the workers’ productivity. It also results in public embarrassments and taints the organization's image. Such an environment does not only scare away customers and clients but also investors tend to shun such places. Unhealthy competitions where employees strive to outdo each other regardless of how they achieve it may occur as conflicting employees try to prove that they are the best. The spirit of teamwork can suffer as the employees refuse to assist each other for fear of being outdone. In such a case they tend to work out ways in which to bring their colleagues down. The common results from such behavior are sabotage and hostility towards each other. Conflicts can also result in damaged reputation for those involved. In other instances, it may lead to a damaged psychological and emotional well-being of conflicting persons. Increased cases of accidents and injuries may also arise from conflicts. Some people may resort to fights as a way of solving their personal differences and in the process inflict injuries on their opponents. Conflicts produce a stressful work environment that can easily distract employees leading to increased unintentional errors that are costly to the organization. The mental state of workers in such an environment is usually affected by the constant stress that they are subjected to. Interpersonal differences between managers and junior employees may lead to victimization. Workers are subjected to unfair punishments; an occurrence aimed at intimidating them because of their different opinions. Some managers tend to employ poor decision-making mechanisms when handling their employees. In some instances, more experienced employees are unfairly dismissed from work. Most of them choose to present their cases in courts resulting in ugly court battles that create more hatred and worsens the situation. The company’s image is destroyed, and it is likely to incur more losses and mistrust from their clients. Resolution of conflicts Conflicts are an important part of the human nature. It is not only studied for theoretical purpose but also to be applied in organization practices. Analyzing conflicts, its impacts and resolutions is an important role in private, public and political organizations. The major causes of organizational conflicts are the lack of resources, poor communication, differences in employees’ personalities and increased competition. All these finally lead to increased imposition of negative effects on the work performance of an organization such as poor business operation, poor communication and interaction among employees, decreased productivity and wastage of organizational resources (Mughal & Khan 2013). It is important that the organization management ensures efficient management strategies are employed to address conflicting situations and maintain sanity in the organization by strengthening relationships among their employees. This will ensure that not a single employee is isolated but are confident to participate in decision making. Though pessimistic, conflict still has the capability to enhance the innovativeness of an organization that aims to improve its performance. When conflicts are properly managed in an institution, they lead to the successful attainment of the organizations goals and objectives. Managers need to adopt diversified but appropriate strategies to combat and manage conflicts as they occur to prevent them from escalating to levels that they become unmanageable. They should also liaise with their employees in issues of conflicts so as to promote different views. They can boost their employees’ morale by motivating staff and units or departments through rewards for their outstanding performance. Proper communication procedures need to be adopted in places of work as a measure aimed at resolving conflicts. For example, when arguments and quarrels occur among individuals, it should be reported to the management who in turn take statements from conflicting parties, and the issue can be resolved amicably. The management can also organize seminars and workshops on how to manage organizational conflicts with the aim of training their employees with time. This, in turn, will empower both employers and employees as they learn about conflict and its impact on their work performance. Group interactions and activities should also be incorporated as a way of assuring that the extent of functionality is consistent with the conflicts. References Ongori Henry, 2009. Organisational Conflict and its Effects on Organisational Performance. Research Journal of Business Management, 3: 16-24. URL: http://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=rjbm.2009.16.24 Read More