Common Causes of Conflict

Summary

This script explores the multifaceted nature of conflict, identifying common causes such as task disagreements, process conflicts due to role ambiguity, and interpersonal clashes stemming from personality differences. It highlights the impact of scarce resources, change, and values on conflict, emphasizing the importance of understanding these dynamics for effective organizational conflict management. The role of communication in exacerbating or mitigating conflicts is also underscored.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Conflict arises from disagreements stemming from perceived threats to interests, needs, or concerns.
• 🛠 Task conflict is a disagreement about tasks or goals and can be beneficial in the early stages of a project to increase innovation.
• 🌟 Moderate task conflict is productive if handled correctly, as it can generate more alternatives and innovation.
• 🔄 Process conflict involves disagreements about how to accomplish a task, who is responsible, and how tasks should be delegated.
• 🤝 Role ambiguity can lead to process conflict when work tasks are not clearly assigned, causing employees to compete for desirable assignments.
• 👥 Interpersonal differences, such as in motivations, assumptions, or personality, can trigger relationship conflict.
• 💥 Personality traits like dogmatism or power motivation can exacerbate relationship conflicts and lead to dysfunctional disputes.
• 💰 Conflicts of interest often arise from the availability and allocation of scarce resources, leading to competition and incompatibility of needs.
• 🛑 Change is a primary driver of conflict, with organizational and external changes increasing uncertainty and opportunities for conflict.
• 🌐 Values conflicts occur due to differences in beliefs about what is considered good, bad, fair, or unfair.
• 📢 Poor communication increases uncertainty and can lead to informational conflict, where there is a lack of or disagreement over relevant information.
• 🏢 Structural conflict is the result of organizational processes or features, which can manifest horizontally or vertically within the organization.

Q & A

What is the short definition of conflict according to the script?

Conflict is a disagreement that arises when two or more parties perceive a threat to their interests, needs, or concerns.

Why is a moderate amount of task conflict beneficial in the early stages of a project?

A moderate amount of task conflict is beneficial because it increases innovation and generates more alternatives from which to choose.

How can task conflict be productive if handled correctly?

Task conflict can be productive if it is managed in a way that leverages differing viewpoints to enhance creativity and problem-solving.

What is process conflict and how can it arise?

Process conflict reflects disagreement about how to accomplish a task, including who is responsible for what and how tasks should be delegated. It can arise due to role ambiguity or unclear task assignments.

How does relationship conflict differ from task conflict?

Relationship conflict is the result of incompatibility or differences between individuals and groups, often triggered by interpersonal differences such as personality traits, while task conflict is about disagreements on tasks or goals.

What personality traits can trigger relationship conflict?

Personality traits such as dogmatism or power motivation can trigger relationship conflict.

Why is the availability and allocation of scarce resources a major source of conflict in organizations?

Scarce resources can create conflicts of interest when individuals or groups believe they have to satisfy their own needs at the expense of others, leading to competition and disagreements.

How does change cause conflict in an organization?

Change, such as reorganization, downsizing, or changing business strategies, increases uncertainty and opportunities for resource conflicts, thus causing conflict.

What is values conflict and how can it arise?

Values conflict arises from perceived or actual incompatibilities in beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair. It can occur when people or groups have different values or a different understanding of the world.

How does poor communication increase the potential for conflict?

Poor communication increases uncertainty, which can lead to informational conflict. This occurs when people lack important information, are misinformed, misinterpret information, or disagree about what information is relevant.

What is structural conflict and how does it occur?

Structural conflict is the result of structural processes or features of the organization. It can be horizontal or vertical and arises from the way the organization is structured or how its processes are designed.

Why is understanding conflict critical to managing it in organizations?

Understanding conflict is critical because it allows for the identification of the root causes and the development of strategies to address and resolve conflicts effectively, thus maintaining organizational harmony and productivity.