Sources of Conflict: Guidelines for a Healthy Organizational Environment
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
=== Definitions === | === Definitions === | ||
| − | "An interactive process manifested in incompatibility, disagreement or dissonance within or between social entities". | + | Conflict and its management are very broad concepts, and it is very hard to define them in a unique way by including all their shades of meaning. One of the most interesting and useful for the scope of this article is provided by (Rahim A., 2002): |
| − | With | + | |
| + | ''"An interactive process manifested in incompatibility, disagreement or dissonance within or between social entities"''. | ||
| + | |||
| + | With "Social Entity" it is meant to describe an individual, or a multitude, that is capable of social interaction with others, while interactive process means the act of communicating or exchanging every type of information. Every social entity has its own set of values and needs that, at a given stimulus, generate emotions, fuel its decision making processes and drive its actions. The literature, from ancient Greek philosophers to nowadays, is full of attempt to define a set of values and needs that uniquely describe a social entity. Two of the most famous examples are the Schwartz' Ten Basic Human Values, and the Maslow's Basic Needs Theory. | ||
| + | |||
=== Space & Time Dimensions === | === Space & Time Dimensions === | ||
Revision as of 17:40, 20 February 2022
Contents |
Abstract
"a serious disagreement or argument typically a protracted one" - conflict "lack of consensus or approval" - disagreement "An interactive process manifested in incompatibility, disagreement or dissonance within or between social entities."
With this bold statement, (Rahim, 2002) provides a broad definition of conflict between humans. Conflicts and controversies are part of our daily life. It might happen that we end up being passive actors in a discussion, or we might be the active root cause of someone's bad day. They are per definition social interactions so this makes them unavoidable as a person crosses someone else's life, or has to deal with his/her own values and believes, in extreme cases. Conflicts occur in every possible scenario; on organizational level, for example, one of the many different roles of Project Managers is to mediate conflicts that occur in teams and try to extract the best possible outcome out of them. Conflict Management is a key aspect in ensuring a healthy environment for company members and its stakeholders.
The scope of this article is to provide a deep analysis of conflicts in organizations. The main focus is put on their dimensions, with regard to their occurrence through time and space, their root causes and perspectives. The article will continue by presenting different available tools and activities (e.g. Thomas-Kilmann Instrument) that allow the management to control and extract a competitive advantage from conflicts. The key role played by Emotional Intelligence and, in particular, by Self Awareness will be highlighted and discussed, with specific regard to its ability to prevent disagreement between individuals to quickly escalate into dangerous conflicts for the company. The final objective is to create a set of actionable best practices to guide future leaders and practitioners into Conflict Management.
Definitions & Dimensions
Before moving to the sources of conflict on organizational level, an overview of the literature and the key definitions is required. The objective is to briefly define what a conflict and its measurable characteristics are through the scientific contribution of the past. Moreover, the basis for conflict management theory will be set by narrowing down the general knowledge to match the more restricted organizational environment.
Definitions
Conflict and its management are very broad concepts, and it is very hard to define them in a unique way by including all their shades of meaning. One of the most interesting and useful for the scope of this article is provided by (Rahim A., 2002):
"An interactive process manifested in incompatibility, disagreement or dissonance within or between social entities".
With "Social Entity" it is meant to describe an individual, or a multitude, that is capable of social interaction with others, while interactive process means the act of communicating or exchanging every type of information. Every social entity has its own set of values and needs that, at a given stimulus, generate emotions, fuel its decision making processes and drive its actions. The literature, from ancient Greek philosophers to nowadays, is full of attempt to define a set of values and needs that uniquely describe a social entity. Two of the most famous examples are the Schwartz' Ten Basic Human Values, and the Maslow's Basic Needs Theory.
Space & Time Dimensions
space dimension. Where they occur? not physical places but are they internal/external? do they afflict individuals or groups? When do they occur? Do they evolve? are they negative or positive? can they be managed? or they should be avoided?
Perspectives
Root Causes
State of the art Theories on the sources of conflict.
Emotional Intelligence
Self Awareness
Self Management
Active Listening
Conflict Management
TKI
Advantages & Limitations
Annotated bibliography
Rahim, M.A. (2002), Toward a theory of managing organizational conflict, International Journal of Conflict Management, 13(3): 206-235.
References
Cite error: <ref> tag defined in <references> has group attribute "" which does not appear in prior text.
