Views of Organizational Conflict
Conflict occurs in many organizations. It is important to understand what conflict is and to identify the models that are represented in many criminal justice agencies. Associated Press reporter Jordan Michael Smith expressed in his article that there was significant failures that prevented the CIA, FBI and other criminal justice agencies and departments from gathering and pooling resources during the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers. This was due to organizational conflict, which fell directly under operational planning. (Smith, 2012) Organizational conflict can fall under, (1) The Traditional View; (2) the Human Relations View; (3) the Interactionist View of organization conflict.
Traditional View
The Traditional View states that conflict is dysfunctional, destructive and it is irrational. This often occurs when communication is poor or breaks down. It also encompasses the lack of trust and responsibility to others in time of need. The Traditional View highlighted itself in workplaces until the 1940’s and created a belief that all conflict was harmful and should be avoided at all cost. (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 447) It was discovered that the Traditional View offered a non-evasive philosophy to conflict when it was discovered that a certain amount of conflict in the workplace is not only inevitable but can improve objectivity. The Traditional View suggests that the impending organization is not structured to withstand the causes of conflict. A person who substantiates the Traditional View ignores the positive outcome that conflict can give but rather feels that increasing a central power in the organization and by isolating the conflicting individuals would best be ser...
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Since September 11, 2001, the criminal justice system has improved its methods to secure our nation from terrorist attacks. These improved methods can be summed into four kinds of categories and actions. The first key action the department of justice took was protecting America through investigation and criminal prosecution. The next changes were legal which were made to enhance the counter-terrorism efforts and help with investigation and prosecution. Then there are the structural changes to the operations of agencies to enhance counter-terrorism efforts....
Huan, L. & Yazdanifard, R. (2012). The Differences of Conflict Management Styles and Conflict Resolution in Workplaces. Business & Entrepreneurship Journal. 1(1), 141-155.
Conflict management is a strategized approach to understanding the complexity of conflict within any environment. Sources of conflict can derive from many avenues and include such things as scare resources to personal beliefs and work styles and lack of communication. Conflict is said to be inevitable and subjected to time and change. However, many organizations, including the federal department, have created functional methods through the use of historical theorist to become better aware of contribution and resolutions into conflict management. The criminal justice system within the United States have been subjected to many conflicts that hinder the progress of adaptability. What has been uncovered throughout decades of research is that human conflict is intertwined into the very fabric of our society, making it a formidable adversary.
(Tost, Gino & Larrick 2013) argues that “when a formal leader experiences a heightened subjective sense of power, he or she tends to dominate group discussions and interactions, which leads other team members to perceive that their views and perspectives are not valued”. This perceived imbalance definitely hampers any attempt at managing workplace conflict. When employees feel that they have no authority or empowerment they tend to be disengaged, and disengaged employees effect productivity. Low productivity can be considered a form of dissatisfaction and thus labelled a conflict that must be addressed by both employee and manager.
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It has been estimated in a study by the American Management Association that managers spend between 20% to as much as 50% of their times dealing with conflict among their employees (American Sentinel, 2012). When workplace conflicts are left unresolved they can lead to dissatisfaction, depression and other problems such as aggression and violence (Whitworth 2008). The negative, sometimes hostile, environment created by unresolved conflict has been recognized to be a hazard not only to staff, but also to patient care (The Joint Commission 2008).
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Before understanding how to deal with conflict, one must understand what conflict is. Conflict can be defined as, “any situation in which incompatible goals, cognitions, or emotions within or between individuals or groups lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction” (Learning Team Toolkit, 2004, pp 242-243). Does the idea of conflict always have to carry a negative connotation? The growth and development of society would be a great deal slower if people never challenged each other’s ideas. The Learning Team Toolkit discusses three different views of conflict: traditiona...
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Baillien et al. (2011) suggest that with non-participatory opportunities limited the violent group, damage rapport with others, and losses trustworthiness of their role in achieving organization plans. Therefore, having a clear understanding of conflict sources creates a sense of assertiveness. Individuals stand for their needs as they respect those of others. Thus a mutual rapport exists where a team is the major driving force for an organization. A win-to-win policy becomes an easy way to reestablish the conflict and best ways to solve
According to McShane and Von Glinow, conflict is “a process in which one party perceives that his or her interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party” (328). The Conflict Process Model begins with the different sources of conflict; these sources lead one or more parties to perceive that a conflict exists. These perceptions interact with emotions and manifest themselves in the behavior towards other parties. The arrows in the figure illustrate the series of conflict episodes that cycle into conflict escalation (McShane and Von Glinow 331-332).