Conflict Management And Organizational Conflict

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Conflict is an inevitable and common issue in our daily lives. Caused by disagreements in goals, motivations, communication problem or some other factors between two parties that can be real or perceived to exist, conflict is seen as a perceived incongruity of interests (Taylor, D.M and Moghaddam, F.M,1994). Mayer claims further that conflict is normal, natural, necessary and the problem is not the existence of conflict but how we handle it (Mayer B ,2000). Organizational conflict is common in the workplace because people always have divergent opinions on several subjects, interests, beliefs, objectives, and interests.

People manage their conflicts by using conflict management styles. Conflict management style is affected the way conflict is perceived and handled. These conflict management styles are confronting and are opposed to change, because of the importance a person gives to his goals and relationship with others have impact on these styles (Crawley & Graham, 2007). Five basic styles can also be categorized as behavioral patterns of a person. These styles are considered pioneer in the field of conflict management despite of the changes in working environments these styles

Instead of struggling to eliminate conflict, revealing the most appropriate conflict management style can enhance the success of employees and organizations.

Conflict cannot just simply be managed, but rather requires specific strategies and personal skills that can keep it moderate in organizations (Balay 2006). If the conflict does exist, however, then it is necessary to select a method of dealing with it as productively as possible from among the many options available (Brewer, et. al 2002, Owens & Valesky, 2007; Abbas, et. al.