10.2 Understanding Conflict | organizational behavior (2023)

Let's take a closer look at these social issues like conflict to understand how it can derail businesses and individuals alike - and what to do to prevent such consequences from happening to you. In this chapter you will see that both conflict resolution and participating in effective negotiations are key to effective organizational behavior within organizations and in everyday life. Conflicts range from minor annoyances to outright violence. For example, in the United States alone, one million workers (18,000 people per week) are assaulted at work.One of the most important ways to avoid conflict escalating at these levels is to understand the causes of the conflict and develop methods for dealing with potential negative consequences. Negotiation is one of the most effective ways to reduce conflict and is also explored in detail in this chapter.

interpersonal conflictis among individuals such as colleagues, a manager and an employee, or CEOs and their employees. For example, in 2006 Airbus S.A.S. CEO Christian Streiff resigned over his conflict with the board of directors over issues such as the company's restructuring.The Airbus CEO's resignation reflects the company's deep structural problems.This example may reflect a well-known trend among CEOs. According to one estimate, 31.9% of CEOs quit their jobs because of conflicts with the board. CEOs of competing companies can also have public conflicts. In 1997, Michael Dell was asked what he would do about Apple Computer. "What would I do? I would shut it down and give the money back to shareholders." Ten years later, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs indicated that he clearly harbored resentments when he wrote in an email fired his employees back at Dell: "Team, it turns out Michael Dell wasn't perfect at predicting the future. Based on today's stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell." Conflicts often arise because of competition, as shown by the Dell/Apple example, or because of differences in personality or values.For example, one person's style may be to make decisions "with gut feeling" while another person may make decisions based on wants to make facts.These differences lead to conflicts when individuals reach different conclusions.Many companies le ides among interpersonal conflicts. To avoid conflict escalation, it is important to center conflicts around ideas and not individual differences.

conflicts between groupsis a conflict that takes place between different groups. Types of groups can include different departments or departments in a company, as well as employee unions and management, or competing companies that supply the same customers. Departments can fight over budget allocations; Unions and management can disagree over labor rules; Suppliers may conflict with each other over the quality of parts. Merging two groups can create friction between the groups - especially when there are scarce resources that need to be shared among the group. For example, Canadian Air and Air Canada pilots were embroiled in years of personal and legal conflicts on what has been called "the most difficult and hard-fought labor issue in an airline merger" when the two airlines' seniority lists were merged after the were merger. Seniority is a valuable and scarce resource for pilots because it helps determine who flies the newest and biggest aircraft, who gets the best routes, and who gets paid the most. In response to the loss of seniority, former Canadian Air pilots went on strike at shareholders' meetings, threatened to call in sick, and had ongoing conflicts with Air Canada pilots. The conflicts with pilots continue to this day. The history of past conflicts between organizations and employees makes new business challenging.