Conflict Can Be Both Destructive and of Great Benefit to Organizations - Coursework Example

Conflict Can Be Both Destructive and of Great Benefit to Organizations Name: Institution: Conflict Can Be Both Destructive and of Great Benefit to Organizations Organizations as set-ups where diverse people interact inevitably experience different forms of conflicts whose ultimate impact on the organization depend on the way the management handle each conflict. Conflicts ensue due to differences in values, beliefs, skills, and attitudes among the interacting entities. Conflicts in an organization present opportunities for both positive and negative effects on the organizational operations. According to Rahim (2011), conflicts can have several benefits to an organization including improvement of the decision making process, creation of synergistic solutions to common problems in the organization, stimulate innovation, change and creativity among the workers, discovery of alternative solutions to issues facing an organization, and promote cohesiveness in work-teams. In addition, conflicts can create an avenue for clarification of individual roles and responsibilities in an organization with consequent positive implications on the performance and efficiency in the organization. On the other hand, conflicts can have adverse effects on an organization if poorly handle. Some of the negative implications that may result from conflict include possible communication breakdown between individuals and groups as well as between the management and staff, poor workplace relations, creation of distrust and suspicion among colleagues, poor job performance, and job stress and burnout culminating into overall dissatisfaction (Singh, 2008). Other possible negative effects of conflict in an organization include development of resistance to changes and new organizational initiatives, decline in organizational commitment and loyalty with eventual increase in turnover rates (Jeong, 2009). As such, this paper seeks to demonstrate that conflict can be both destructive and of great benefits to an organization. Since conflict is inevitable in organizations or any social environment, organizations should be able to manage conflicts in a way that translates into maximum benefit and minimum negative effects on the organization. Overview of Theories on Organizational Conflict Different organizational theorists have conceptualized organizational conflict in different ways. Classical organizational theorists such as Weber, 1929/1947, Taylor, 1911, Gulick & Urwick, 1937 and Fayol, 1916/1949, failed to acknowledge that conflict can have diverse implications on an organization but rather emphasized on the negative effects of conflict on the organizational functions (Rahim, 2011). Classical theorists emphasize on the need for organizations to create an environment free from conflicts because of the view that conflict can only have detrimental effects on the organization. The school of thought advanced by classical organizational theories thrives on the assumption that effectiveness in the various organizational functions is only possible in the absence of conflict. As such, such theorists advocate for the need for organizations to establish structures, rules and guidelines and an effective chain of command to alleviate conflict from organizations’ setting. Although classical theorists have strongly emphasized on the need for organizations to strive towards eliminating conflict from organizations, modern organizations have significantly disagreed with their view. Modern organizational theorist like Litterer and Whyte appreciate that conflict in organization is inevitable and as such, the management should focus on effective conflict resolution strategies (Rahim, 2011). Modern theorists believe that conflict in an organization should not be perceived as always detrimental to the organization but as a phenomenon that may translate into either positive or negative implication depending on how it is handled. As such, modern theorists have sought to discredit the perception of conflict in an organization as a weakness on the part of the organizational management created by classical theorists. The behavioralists’ philosophy at the center of modern theorists school of thought goes beyond appreciation of conflict as an inevitable phenomenon in organization to the extent of insinuating that organizations should encourage conflict (Rahim, 2011). Although the key weakness in their support for conflict in organization arises from the lack of recommendation on strategies for triggering or encouraging conflict in organization, behavioralists acknowledge that conflict can enhance organizational effectiveness. On the other hand, the interactionists theory conceptualizes conflict as an avenue for establishing collaboration and terms of interaction within the organization (Rahim, 2011). In line with this school of thought, conflict is viewed as a tool for initiating social change within an organization with consequent improvement in the quality of interaction. According to interactionists, conflict should be appreciated as a foundation for improved relationships in the organization rather than a threat to the desired relationship need for organizational effectiveness. Benefits Associated With Conflict in an Organization Although conflict is perceived as unpleasant in some organizations, proper management of conflict translates to great benefits to an organization. Growing interest from managers and organizations in effective conflict resolution and management clearly demonstrates the importance of effective management of conflict in organization to the benefit of the organization (Chen, 2011). Upon acknowledgement of conflict as an inevitable phenomenon within organizations, organizational management must devise effective ways of resolving and managing conflicts constructively to the benefit of the organizations. One of the benefits that organizations may accrue from conflict includes improved decision-making and better decisions. Conflicts arising from the decision making process when well managed translate into significant improvement not only in future processes but also the quality of decisions made. For example, conflict during the decision making process creates the ground for review of the decision making process for future organizational decisions. According to Rahim (2011) high-conflict decisions have been associated with high quality decisions. However, this is only achievable if the conflict between the differing groups or individuals is amicably resolved with possible recommendations on changes that ought to be adopted in future decision-making processes. The management or the decision making process administrators should be able to ensure that issues leading to the conflict are properly addressed and satisfaction of the involved persons or groups. Another important benefit associated with conflict in organization includes enhanced cohesiveness and improved relationship among the staff members. Interactionists believe that resolution of a conflict between individuals or groups result into improved relationship and cohesiveness needed for organizational effectiveness (Chen, 2011). Conflict provides individuals or groups with the opportunity to resolve their differences leading to enhanced cohesiveness. Occurrence and resolution of conflict play a critical role in addressing suspicion, avoidance, suppression of some of the persons affected a conflict and improvement in trust (DeChurch & Marks, 2001). Existence of such issues which can be unveiled during a conflict and resolved often affect the individual and group performance as well as threaten the quality of product or service. Conflict in an organization can also translate into great benefits such as innovation and discovery of alternative solutions to problems facing an organization. Conflict emerging the process of developing new products may trigger innovation as individuals attempt to bypass challenges encountered by individuals or groups. However, for innovation and alternative solutions to be realized, organizations must be able to constructively address such conflict (Jeong, 2009). Another important benefit that could be realized from conflict in an organization revolves around positive change in the organizational functions. Conflict form a strong foundation for change initiation and implementation especially change intended to address organizational issues leading to the conflict. Organization an exploit the presence of a conflict to initiate organizational change including structural change, behavioral change and code of conduct to prevent future conflicts. Stakeholders and people affected a given conflict would fully support organizational changes aimed resolving issues contributing to the conflict and as such organizations can have easy time implementing conflict related changes (Chen, 2011). In addition, conflicts can create an avenue for clarification of individual roles and responsibilities in an organization with consequent positive implications on the performance and efficiency in the organization. In many cases, conflicts in the place of work emanate from lack of clear allocation or understanding of roles and responsibilities (Jeong, 2009). In this case, organizational conflict related to role and responsibility between individuals or groups may provide an organization with a great opportunity to discover and resolve such problems translating to enhanced organizational efficiency. Destructive Effects of Conflict Despite the criticism leveled against classical organizational theorists for conceptualizing conflict as bad for organizations, modern theorists must appreciate that conflict may have destructive effects on organizational functions. Conflict within an organization can create an environment for suspicion and lack of trust among the staff members with consequent negative implications on the quality of interaction and relationship (Rahim, 2011). A working environment characterized by suspicion and mistrust results into poor collaboration and inefficiency in tasks requiring teamwork. In addition, suspicious and mistrust may result into sabotage reactions from conflicting persons or groups with consequent negative implications on the organization. In circumstances where conflicts result into suspicion and mistrust the organization emerges as the most likely biggest losers (Ohbuchi & Suzuki, 2003). On the other hand, conflict hinders effective communication within an organization especially between conflict individuals or groups. The negative implication of conflict on communication translates into consequent negative effects on the effectiveness of the organization. Issues such as mistrust and suspicion associated with conflict present significant threat to effective communication as a requirement for the success of every organization (Rahim, 2011). For instance, it would be impossible to expect individuals or groups involved in a conflict to share information that could have major implication on the organization if not effectively shared. For effective communication to be realized, individuals or groups in organization must trust one another and co-exist without suspicion but this cannot co-exist with unresolved conflicts (Dijkstra, Beersma & Evers, 2011). Conflict within an organization can have adverse effects on the welfare of staff members in different ways. Conflict may result into burnouts, work related stress, and job dissatisfactions. It is the desire of every worker to wake up and go to a place of work where they are happy and feel appreciated. Conflicts can result into lack of motivation and overall dissatisfaction leading to adverse effects on organizational effectiveness and performance (Golembiewski, 2000). Stress and burnouts attributed to conflicts within the workplace significantly affects individual or group performance with negative effects on the organizational level performance. Other possible negative effects of conflict in an organization include development of resistance to changes and new organizational initiatives, decline in organizational commitment and loyalty with eventual increase in turnover rates. Conflict especially between the management and other staff members may trigger resistance to organizational change initiated in the organization (Kets de Vries, 2005). Conflict between groups or individuals can jeopardize a change implementation process that requires significant collaboration and cooperation among all the stakeholders. Conflict also affects individuals’ loyalty and commitment to an organization which later result into increased turnover rates as employees seek for better working environments. Summary and Conclusion Indeed conflict can have both destructive and of great benefit to an organization. The different of effects of conflict on organizations can be attributed to the manner in which different organizations handle conflicts. In contrast to the views of classical organizational theorists, managers must appreciate that conflict can benefit organizations in different ways including improvement of the decision making process, creation of synergistic solutions to common problems in the organization, stimulate innovation, change and creativity among the workers, discovery of alternative solutions to issues facing an organization, and promote cohesiveness in work-teams. Conflict provides individuals or groups with the opportunity to resolve their differences leading to enhanced cohesiveness. Occurrence and resolution of conflict play a critical role in addressing suspicion, avoidance, suppression of some of the persons affected a conflict and improvement in trust. On the other hand, Conflict within an organization can create an environment for suspicion and lack of trust among the staff members with consequent negative implications on the quality of interaction and relationship. A working environment characterized by suspicion and mistrust results into poor collaboration and inefficiency in tasks requiring teamwork. Other destructive effects of conflict on an organization include communication breakdown between individuals and groups as well as between the management and staff, poor workplace relations, creation of distrust and suspicion among colleagues, poor job performance, and job stress and burnout culminating into overall dissatisfaction. The negative implication of conflict on communication translates into consequent negative effects on the effectiveness of the organization. Issues such as mistrust and suspicion associated with conflict present significant threat to effective communication as a requirement for the success of every organization. As such, organizations should focus on establishing effective conflict resolution mechanisms to ensure constructive resolution of conflict to maximize benefits and minimize the negative effects rather than focusing on prevention and elimination of conflicts. References Chen, Z. (2011). The interactive effects of relationship conflict, reward, and reputation on knowledge sharing. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal. 39(10), 1387-1394. Cowan, D. (2003). Taking charge of organizational conflict: A guide to managing anger and confrontation. London: Personhood Press. De Dreu, C., Dierendonck, D & Dijkstra, M. (2004). Conflict at work and individual well-being. International Journal of Conflict Management, 15(1), 6-26. DeChurch, L & Marks, M. (2001). 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London: Transaction Publishers. Singh, B. (2008). Managing conflict and negotiation. New Delhi: Excel Books India. Read More