SBenegaL

Category: Organizational Behavior

  • Conflict in the context of global organizations

    In the last byte, we looked at some of the structure issues that could give raise to conflicts. In today’s byte, we look at how conflict is influenced by the increasing globalization.

    Many Multi-National companies employ people from different ethnic and cultural groups. This gives rise to vast differences amongst individuals and increases the potential for conflict.
     
    Individualism means that people believe that their individual interests take priority over society’s interest. Collectivism on the other hand that people put the good of group first. Given the cultural contexts, individualism/collectivism could lead to have a lot of influence conflict in managerial context.
     
    Power Distance across cultures is another source of conflict in the era of globalization. The source of conflicts in case of power distance would result from the way one respect people in higher levels of power.
     
    How people perceive the uncertainty and how they attempt to avoid uncertainty is another source of conflict in the scenario of globalization. Some cultures handle uncertainty better than others.
     
    Time orientation is another dimension that could lead to conflicts when working with people across different cultures. Chinese are generally having a long term orientation, while the US and Russian countries have a short term orientation.
    We next look at the various forms of organizational conflicts.

  • Structural sources of organizational conflict

    In the last byte, we began our discussion about the sources of conflict. We listed the structural sources of organizational conflict in the last byte; we shall discuss these in a bit more detail here.
    • SPECIALIZATION – When jobs are highly specialized, employees become experts at certain tasks.  Highly specialized jobs could lead to conflict as people would be little aware of the tasks that other’s perform.
    • INTERDEPENDENCE – Sometimes work requires groups or individuals to depend on one another to accomplish a certain goal.  This dependency is not an issue as long as the process works smoothly, however it could soon turn into a blame game when there is a problem.
    • COMMON RESOURCES – Sharing common resources by multiple people could be another source of conflicts. This escalates in case the resource is scare.
    • GOAL DIFFERENCES – When multiple groups work towards maximizing a specific group objective, the lack of understanding of other’s objective is the common source of this.
    • AUTHORITY RELATIONSHIPS – A supervisor-subordinate relationship is another source of conflicts as one has authority over another. Through greater emphasis on team approach, empowerment etc the potential for such conflict reduces.
    • STATUS INCONSISTENCIES – Resentment amongst people due to strong status differences (between management and non management say) is a source of conflicts.
    • JURISDICTIONAL AMBIGUITIES – Unclear lines of responsibilities within an organization is the source of such conflicts.

  • Conflict – Structural & Personal Causes

    In the last byte, we discussed about the how managers could identify between functional and dysfunctional conflicts. In today’s byte, we begin our discussion on the cause of conflict.

    The sources of conflict could be classified into 2 categories:
    1. Structural – these stem from the nature of the organization and the way work is organized
    2. Personal – these arise from the differences amongst individuals

    Following diagram is a quick summary of some of the causes of organizational conflicts –
     

  • Identifying functional and dysfunctional conflict

    In the last byte, we looked at the issue of dysfunctional conflicts, and built a case for the need to be able to identify between functional and dysfunctional conflict.

    Distinguishing between conflicts and being able to diagnose it as good or bad isn’t an easy task. The context of the conflict and the parties involved are key considerations for a manager in being able to diagnose the situation.
     
    Some of the key questions that could help the manager diagnose the type of conflict could be:
    1. Are the parties approaching the conflict from a hostile standpoint?
    2. Is the outcome likely to be a negative one for the organization?
    3. Do the potential losses of the parties exceed any potential gains?
    4. Is energy being diverted from goal accomplishment?
    If the answers to a majority of the questions listed above is “yes” then the conflict is probably dysfunctional.
     
    Once the type of the conflict is diagnosed, the manager could either work to resolve it (in case of dysfunctional conflicts) or stimulate it (in the case functional ones).
     
    We next explore the causes of conflict in organizations.

  • Dysfunctional dimension of Conflicts

    In the last byte, we looked at the functional dimension of conflicts. In today’s byte, we look at the dysfunctional dimension of conflicts.

    Dysfunctional conflict as we mentioned is an unhealthy, destructive disagreement between two or more people. The issue with such a conflict is that it takes way the focus away from the work to be done and places the focus on the conflict itself and the parties involved.

    Such excessive conflict drains energy that could be used more productively. The key aspect is identifying a dysfunctional conflict is that its origin is often emotional or behavioral. Disagreement that involves personalized anger and resentment directed at specific individuals rather than specific ideas are dysfunctional!

    People with a dysfunctional behavior could generally be found to act before they think and they often rely on threats, deception, and verbal abuse to communicate.
     
    In dysfunctional conflict, the losses to both the parties may exceed any potential benefit from the conflict. This emphasizes the interest in being able to diagnose such conflict early; we shall deal about this in the next byte.

  • Dysfunctional and Functional Conflict

    In the last byte, we looked at the positive and negative consequences of conflict. In today’s byte, we discuss about functional and dysfunctional conflict.

    We claimed looking at the consequences that functional conflict should be encouraged and dysfunctional conflict has to be discouraged. The challenge really is distinguishing between dysfunctional and functional conflict.

    • Functional Conflict – is a healthy, constructive disagreement between two or more people
    • Dysfunctional Conflict – is an unhealthy, destructive disagreement between two or more people.
    Functional conflicts can produce new ideas, learning and growth among individuals. By developing a constructive conflict, individuals develop a better awareness of themselves and others.
     
    The awareness doesn’t just limit itself to individuals, it could help teams develop an improved working relationship – by working through disagreement two parties feel they have accomplished something together.
     
    Functional conflicts can lead to innovation and positive change for the organization too – i.e. functional conflicts tend to encourage creativity among individuals, this positive form of conflict can translate into increased productivity.

  • Conflict – Consequences

    In the last byte, we began our discussion on conflicts. We also mentioned that not all conflicts are bad! Following is a summary of the consequences of conflict:

    Given the consequences of conflict detailed about, the key to conflict management is really to stimulate functional behavior and resolve dysfunctional behavior. We shall discuss these in greater detail in the next byte.

  • Conflict and Negotiation

    In the last byte, we looked at a few guidelines for leadership. In today’s byte, we begin our discussion on conflict and negotiation.

    To have a common understanding before we begin our discussion, we shall have to define conflict. Here is our definition as per the reference book:
     
    “Conflict is any situation in which incompatible goals, attitudes, emotions or behaviors lead to disagreement or opposition between two or more parties.”
     
    The business market place with its increasing competition and globalization magnifies the differences amongst people given their personalities, values, attitudes, perceptions, languages, cultures and nationalities. Thus, today’s organizations face a greater potential for conflict than ever before.
     
    Given the increasing diversity in business workforces, we have a unique scenario where we also have an ever increasing potential for compatibility and conflict!
     
    It is important to note: Not all conflicts are bad! Some types of conflicts encourage new solutions to problems and enhance creativity in the organization. We shall discuss about this dimension in the next byte.

  • Guidelines for Leadership

    In the last byte, we looked at the cultural differences that a leader would need to keep in mind. In today’s byte, we look at some guidelines for leadership. 

    Leadership plays a very influential role in organizational behavior and achieving organizational effectiveness. Following are 5 useful guidelines for leadership:
    • No two leaders are the same – leaders and organizations should appreciate the unique attributes, predispositions, and talents of each leader. There is value in this diversity.
    • There is no single best style of leadership – there are organizational preferences in terms of style. The choice of leaders who challenge the organizational culture, when necessary, without destroying it.
    • Participative, Considerate leader behavior demonstrate a concern for people appear to enhance the health and well-being of followers in the work environment. This doesn’t imply, however, the leader cannot ignore the team’s work tasks
    • Different leadership situations call for different leadership talents and behaviors. This may result in different individuals taking the leader role, depending on the specific situation in which the team finds itself.
    • Good leaders are generally good followers too. Although there are distinctions between their social roles, the attributes and behaviors of leaders and followers may not be as distinct as is sometimes thought of.

  • Leadership – Cultural Differences

    In the last byte, we looked at dynamic followers. Today we look at the aspect of cultural differences in leadership.

    We have discussed about situational leadership where in leadership is influenced by the situational context in which the leadership act is shown. Extending this, we could say – we would need to consider the cultural influences in leadership scenario. Culture is definitely an important situational variable when exercising influence and authority. Leaders who think could groom themselves into being global leadership would need to be flexible enough to alter their approaches when crossing national boundaries and working with people in foreign cultures.
     
    Here is a small illustration of how the culture influences: Leadership in the American context where the American workers follow traditional Protestant work values. In China the influence is from three perspectives – Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism; these are harmonized to create work values such as trust, hierarchy, loyalty and network.
     
    To be effective, leaders must understand other cultures and be sensitive to the minor diversities and not assume homogeneity to be existent.