Effect Of Conflict Management On Organizatonal Productivity (A Study Of Nahco)

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EFFECT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ON ORGANIZATONAL PRODUCTIVITY (A STUDY OF NAHCO)

 

INTRODUCTION

In the early 1900’s, conflict was seen as an indicator of poor organizational management which
needed to be avoided, in the mid 1950’s, it was accepted passively and perceived as normal
and expected; manager focused on resolving conflict, while in the 1970
’s, conflict was viewed
necessary as not good or bad but could be used to promote growth, in the 1990’s, managers
needed to confront and manage conflict appropriately (Algert and Watson, 2002).
Conflict has
historically been viewed as undesirable, somethin
g to be avoided (Esquivel
1997). The
Classical organization theorists believed that conflict produced inefficiency and was therefore
undesirable,
detrimental to the organization and should be eliminated or at least minimized to
the extent possible (dysfunc
tional conflict). Perceptions about conflict changed with the
emergence of social systems and open system theory. According to the social system theories,
conflict is one of the central forms of interaction. Conflict is normal and positive as well as
negat
ive. This view was supported by Emile Durkheim that conflict is normal and functional
because it brings about positive changes in an organization. Conflict, however, becomes
negative if it is not managed and allows reaching a dysfunctional stage.
Conflict
in an employment relationship has been an issue of continuing interest and
debate. Conflict is a common occurrence in organizational life. It occurs when a desire goal or
objective, the desire to obtain more in both economic (wages and benefit) and non
eco
nomic
(contract provisions and operation practices) areas. Labour union also expects to make these
gains via the bargaining process, the grievance and arbitration procedure and management
default. The organized private sector on the other hand, resists all
efforts of the union to restrict
management freedom to make decision necessary to run business profitably. Conflict in
organized private sector like banks is endemic and such various procedures have been
developed for the available amicable settlement of
these disputes. One of such procedures lies
in the institutionalization of grievance device like collective resolution of these conflicts
determine the success or otherwise of the organization. Organizational leaders need to manage
conflicts between indivi
duals in order to have a positive effect on organization.
Many of the studies on the impact of conflict
management
on organizational
performance were done outside Nigeria. These studies particularly focus on educational
institutions and manufacturing organ
izations. Research on conflict management and bank
organizational performance are very few. In Nigeria, most of the available studies about conflict
management such as Adebile and Ojo (2012),
Osisioma
,
Osisioma
and
Chukwuemeka
(2012),
Bankole and Lawal (20
12), Fatile and Adejuwon (2011), Ige, Adeyeye and Aina (2011), and
Obasan (2011) investigated causes of conflicts across various organizational settings and
suggested several measures or strategies for managing organizational conflict. These
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Emmanuel, Babatunde,
Nanle
&
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researches wer
e also theoretical studies whose findings were subjectively based on
researchers’ personal opinions. It is noted that the past studies did not give attention to the
impact of conflict management on organizational performance, as well as highlighting effect
ive
conflict management strategy that can stimulate better organization performance. It is perceived
that the strategies developed by management to
resolve or manage conflicts could increase
subordinates’ satisfaction and subordinates with high levels of s
atisfaction are more likely to be
committed to the organization, thereby, improving organizational performance. This study set
out to find out the impact of conflict management on effective and efficient service delivery and
performance in banking industry
in Nigeria. Given the fact that conflict is inevitable in
organizations
(a
normal part of organizational life
) and banks occupy a delicate position in the
economic equation of any country such that their (good or bad) performance invariably affects
the ec
onomy of the country (Wilson 2006),
it is important to research into how banks manage
their conflicts.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The concept of Conflict
Conflict is endemic to all social life; it is an inevitable part of living because it is related to
situations of scarce resources, division of functions, power relations and role
differentiation
(Azamosa, 2004). Because of its ubiquity and pervasive natur
e, the concept has acquired a
multitude of meanings and connotations presenting us with nothing short of a semantic jungle.
With the absence of a comprehensive definition of
conflict, various definitions have been offered
by many
researchers from multiple
disciplines. Some of these
have originated from disciplines
such as psychology,
behavioral sciences, sociology, communication and
anthropology.
Several
researchers such as Thomas
(1976); Wall and Callister (1995); Vecchio (2000) and
Rahim
(2001) described
conflict as a process. For instance, Thomas
(1976) defined conflict as “the
process which begins
when one party perceives that the other is frustrated, or is
about to
frustrate, some concern of his.” Wall and
Callister (1995) viewed conflict as “a process
in which
one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.”
Vecchio (2000) described conflict as “the process that results when one person (or a group of
people) perceives that another person or group is frus
trating, or about to frustrate an important
concern.” Rahim (2001) looked at conflict as “an interactive process manifested in
incompatibility, disagreement or dissonance within or between social entities (that is individual,
group, organization, etc.).” J
ambrek and Penić, (2008) conceive conflict as a process of social
interaction and a social situation, where interests and activities of participants (individuals or
groups) actually, or apparently, confront, block and disable the realization of one party’s
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objectives. Drawing upon Donohue and Kolt (1992), conflict is defined as “a situation in which
interdependent people express (manifest or latent) differences in satisfying their individual
needs or interests and they experience interference from each othe
r in accomplishing these
goals” (Rose et al., 2006).
Deutsch (1973) as cited in Adebile and Ojo (2012) opined that conflict exists whenever
incompatible activities occur. An action which is incompatible with another action prevents,
obstructs, interferes w
ith, injures, or in some way makes it less likely or less effective.
Rahim,
(2002) noted that
o
rganizational conflict occurs, as actors engage in activities that are
incompatible with those of colleagues within their network, members of other
organizations
, or
unaffiliated individuals who utilize the services or products of
the organization. Rahim (1992)
and Antonioni, (1999) identified conflict as an interactive process manifested in incompatibility,
disagreement or dissonance within or between social enti
ties. Conflict can occur between
individual, groups,
organizations, and even nations (Rahim and Bonoma, 1979; Rahim, 1983,
1986). As human being interacts in
organizations, differing values and situations create tension.
Conflict is thereby viewed as a sit
uation in which two
or more individuals operating within a unit
appear to be incompatible.
Domenici & Littlejohn (2001) believed that
c
onflict is conceptually
dependent on major components such as expressed struggle, interdependence, perceived
incompatibil
ity of goals, perceived scarce rewards, and interference. In light of those major
components, conflict is defined as an expressed struggle between two or more interdependent
parties perceiving incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from oth
ers in
achieving their goals (Hocker & Wilmot, 2001).
Organizational conflict appears in a variety of forms and has varying causes. These can
generally be separated into several categories. Kilmann (2008) identifies three sources of
conflict. These are str
uctural conflict (conflict arising out of the need to manage the
interdependence between different organizational sub
units); role conflict (conflict arising from
sets of prescribed behaviour) and resources conflict (conflict stemming from interest groups
competing for organizational resources). Also, Tjosvold and Sun (2002) identify three sources of
organizational conflict and indicates that an understanding of the source of a conflict improves
the probability of effective conflict management. The main fac
tors which serve as sources of
conflict are identified as communicational (conflicts arising from misunderstandings etc.),
structural (conflicts related to organizational roles), and personal (conflicts stemming from
individual differences).
In the same pa
rlance,
March and Simon (1969) are the thinkers who
analytically
examined the sources of conflict in
organizations (Eren, 2003):
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Emmanuel, Babatunde,
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1.) Change is the factor that most often leads to conflict.
Change is unsettling, sometimes
threatening. Of course,
it is
inevitable and often highly desirable.
2.) A second factor which might cause institutional
conflict is conflicting goals and objectives as
well as
opposing values and priorities. Often, if the interested
parties earnestly desire to resolve
such kinds of co
nflict;
improved, honest and good
faith communication can be
very helpful.
3.) A third source of conflict is limited resources. Limited
resources can practically mean
anything: Not enough
security, lack of space, outdated equipment, and most
often, lack of
money (Burnside, 2008).
Conflict Management
Conflict management involves implementing strategies to limit the negative aspects of conflict
and to increase the positive aspects of conflict at a level equal to or higher than where the
conflict is taking pl
ace, the aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and group
outcomes (effectiveness or performance in organizational setting) (Rahim, 2002). It is not
concerned with eliminating all conflict or avoiding conflict. Conflict management, as a concept,
has been conventionally associated with conflict containment and settlement. Conflict
management is the practice of identifying and handling conflict in a sensible, fair, and efficient
manner, it requires such skills as effective communicating, problem so
lving, and negotiating with
a focus on interests (Gordon, 2004).
There are various styles that can be used to manage conflicts in organizations. Among
the early writers, Follett suggested three main ways to handle conflict: domination, compromise
and integ
ration. Moreover, she also found other such as avoidance and suppression. Blake and
Mouton (1964) were the first management thinkers to present the conceptualization of the five
conflict styles into an avoiding, obliging, dominating, compromising and integ
rating (Rose et al.,
2006). Visinki (1995) cited in Saduna (2012) suggested that one of the five methods of coping
with conflict is competition. The competition approach to conflict resolution is an attempt at
complete victory (Saduna, 2012). It is a win/l
ose approach, a “winner takes all” position. Usually,
the focus is on winning the conflict at all costs, rather than seeking the most appropriate solution
for everyone concerned. The second method of coping with conflict is accommodation, which is
the oppo
site of competition. It is a lose/win approach. The third method is avoidance, where
both sides in the conflict withdraw. It is referred to as the lose/lose outcome in managing conflict
because neither side is able even to deal with the issue, much less ma
nage or resolve it. The
fourth one is collaboration, which is usually considered the best method to cope with conflict. It
is called a win/win approach. It does not require either side to give up a valued position. Rather,
both sides honestly seek new and
common higher grounds. This kind of problem
solving
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requires an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect, the surfacing of hidden agendas, and a
genuine willingness on both sides to resolve the conflict. The fifth method is compromise
conflict
resolution. It
involves negotiation and a high degree of flexibility. It is referred to as the win/lose
win/lose position since both parties in the conflict will get some of what they want, while at the
same time giving up something in the process (Burnside, 2008).

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