Prohibition Era Conflict: Al Capone vs George Morgan

Conflict Identification and Resolution

The St. Valentine Day Massacre is the epitome of organizational conflict, competing teams, fighting for profits and territories. Baack, (2012) defines conflict saying “To some, conflict represents a negative force, accompanied by words such as “destructive,"

"violent," or "angry."”(p.7.3). This paper will describe the conflict between Al Capone and his rival George “Bugs” Morgan in the era of prohibition, we will discuss and identify the reasons for conflict and the level of conflict along with how to successfully address them in a team environment. Then we will show the possible outcomes that could reasonably occur with support for each outcome.

The 1929 St. Valentine Day Massacre is a well-known City

of Chicago result of an organizational conflict between Al Capone ‘s “Southside Gang” and the “Northside Gang” of Bugs Moran. “Operating in Chicago, Illinois, in the so-called “prohibition era”, the activities of Al Capone and his gang allegedly spread from manufacturing and selling (then illegal) beer and alcohol through racketeering to operating gambling houses and houses of prostitution.” (Kacaljak, 2015). On the other side was “George 'Bugs' Moran, an Irish gangster known more for muscle than brain power, who had no intention of submitting to 'them Sicilians' “(Cavendish, 2009). Our text states Baack (2012) Open conflicts appear as showdowns, confrontations,
and other outward signs.

Often an open conflict results from an ongoing escalation of the issue.

(p.7.3). The biggest problem for Bugs Morgan was that The South Side Gang was running prostitution and his Catholic upbringing did allow for that type of business.

We learned from our text Baack (2012) That there are 4 levels of conflict Intrapersonal, or intrapsychic, conflict this is when ideas, thoughts values and emotions can conflict with one another. (p.7.3) This would be a part of Bugs Morgan’s’ issue with Al Capone and his gang running the prostitution. Baack (2012) Then there is the interpersonal conflict that takes place between two individuals, personality conflicts often result in workplace incivility. (p7.3) This is more toward two individuals not getting along. Baack (2012) Intragroup conflict is about inside the group, dealing with goals, methods of operation and leaders. (p.7.3)” “When conflicts are

not
properly managed and resolved, the end results can be poor decisions and ineffective group functioning” (Bazerman & Neale, 1992). This brings us to the Intergroup Conflict Baack (2012) this comes between various groups, such as between departments within a company, or between factions such as ethnic groups or female and male employees.(p.7.3) This is definitely the level for a Chicago gang wars of the era, fighting because of power and territory because of the homeland you come from either you were Irish from the north or Italians from the south, and sometimes that was just enough difference to start these shootings in the streets. Baack (2012) All four of these types of conflict need some type of intervention by management, In a case of the intrapersonal, a counselor or advisor may assist. These other three Interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup can be resolved in a variety of ways.
Our text states Baack (2012), that there is five conflict resolution steps the first being to identify the parties involved, then identify the issues, Identify the positions of the parties, Find the bargaining zone, then make a decision. To run through these conflict resolutions for Chicago in the 1920’s, Identifying the parties involved, Northside gang headed up by George “Bugs” Moran and Southside gang headed up by Al Capone, Identify the issues ‘Capone, who was cheered to the echo by crowds at sporting events, drove about in an armored car and was an exceptionally generous tipper. He was intent on taking control of Chicago and was on his way to becoming the most famous criminal of his time.” (Cavendish, 2009). And George 'Bugs' Moran, an Irish gangster known more for muscle than brain power, who had no intention of submitting to 'them Sicilians' (Cavendish, 2009). The issue was greed and ethnic backgrounds. The positions of both parties are well known today, even back when this rivalry was going on, the public knew the two heads of these rival gangs did not get along. Find the bargaining zone is not going to be easy, in this conflict and it did not happen between these two leaders, the speculation could be that these two could have a master map and draw lines defining the territory they each controlled, and keep a truce for anything outside of those defined areas. As Far as Al Capone wanting to take over all of Chicago back then, the prospectus would be to keep him at the table as long as possible to negotiate, his desires were realized after the 1929 Feb 14 St. Valentine’s day Massacre “Moran managed to keep control of his territory' For a while, but the North Side gang never recovered, the massacre concentrated the federal authorities' attention on Capone. He was convicted of income tax evasion in 1931 and sentenced to prison for 11 years. (Cavendish, 2009) For seven years Al Capone ran the biggest organized crime gang the city of Chicago has ever seen. His desires would have negated any bargaining zone, but if that could have been seen as a possibility then the conflict between the rival gangs could have been reduced to a civil meeting with a conclusion of maps and mutual respect among the members involved. Our text states “The goal of any conflict resolution should be to reach a functional settlement.” (Baack, 2012) So a defined map and mutual respect could reasonably occur from this type of conflict resolution. Another possibility would be the Merger of the two rival gangs to become the super power of Chicago. This is not unheard of and has long been a sought after position in the continued Al Capone spin off calling itself “The outfit” (Cavendish, 2009).

The conviction of Al Capone was for tax evasion not for any of the other alleged crimes that all of Chicago knew he was responsible.

The Prosecutors of the time were lauded by the papers and at the same time publicly ridiculed for not getting a conviction for the most heinous crimes. “When a prosecutor gets a conviction, usually by inducing a guilty plea, for an unrelated lesser crime than the one that motivated the investigation, the signals are muddied” (Richman, 2005). The Chicago era of prohibition was unique, and at no other time has history shown that illegal income could be used as a reason to charge someone for failure to pay taxes, so even if your income was made through criminal means the Federal Government still wants its cut of your

income.
As a finishing touch, “The costs of Capone’s years of extravagant living caught up with him behind bars, where he suffered from dementia related to late-stage syphilis. By the time he was released, his physician concluded that he had the mental capacity of a 12-year-old.” (Latson, 2014) he died in 1947. “Moran died in prison ten years later.” (Cavendish, 2009).
In this paper we described the conflict between Al Capone and his rival George “Bugs” Morgan in the era of prohibition, “The relationships between them were uneasy and there were shifting alliances, disputes over territory and attempts to take complete control by ambitious leaders” (Cavendish, 2009), we discussed and identified the reasons for this conflict and the level of conflict along with how to successfully address them in a team environment. Then we showed the possible outcomes that could reasonably occur with support for each outcome.