more individuals. CAUSE OF CONFLICT Management Styles Competition for Scarce Resources Lack of Communication Clash of Personalities Conflict of Duties MANAGEMENT STYLES Depending on the type of leadership style that is practiced at a organization, conflict may arise between workers and management. COMPETITION FOR SCARCE RESOURCES In most cases, there is a time when the business suffers from lack of resources. During this time the employees will have to compete for these resource in order to get the job done, resulting in a development of conflict within the organization. LACK OF COMMUNICATION Communication is the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.
Communication should be clear. Managers
should ensure that information is communicated properly as miscommunication may occur thus resulting in conflict between manager and employees. Employees should also ensure that they communicate with each other effectively, misunderstood information can cause conflict. CLASH OF PERSONALITIES
We all are different individuals, so there are
times when our personalities, values and attitudes vary.
Due to clash of personalities, arguments and
disagreements may arise between employees in decision making. CONFLICT OF DUTIES In organizations, responsibilities boundaries may not be clearly defined. Where workers are not given a clear job description, there might be overlapped duties causing confusion and conflict. STRATEGIES TO MANAGE CONFLICT Avoidance Smoothing Compromise Collaboration Confrontation AVOIDANCE This is where both parties avoid anything that may start a conflict. SMOOTHING
This is where the manager seeks to
emphasize the areas of agreement but downplay the areas of disagreement.
The use of this method will see one party
sacrificing his/her interests or rights in order to please the other party. COMPROMISE A COMPROMISE is where each party agrees to give up something. In this situation there will be no clear winner/loser but the willingness of both parties to accept the solution. COLLABORATION With this method, manager seeks to meek the needs and concerns of each party. This leads to a win-win situation where both parties leave the conflict feeling satisfied. CONFRONTATION Parties meet face to face to resolve the conflict.