Amanda Garcia

 Conflict Resolution Methods in Organization is Rooted in Organizational Culture [Name] [Course] [Professor] [University Affiliation] [Date] Conflict Resolution Methods in Organization is Rooted in Organizational Culture Conflict resolution in business organizations is important as productivity has been found to be affected by the relationship of workers with each other. An interview with an executive of a big real estate developer, whose interests are spread over a wide spectrum of real estate developments, was done in order to test the hypothesis that the methods of conflict resolution organizations use are based on the culture of the organization. It has been said that it is inevitable for conflicts not to occur in organizations. Different studies have yielded a variety of opinions on what conflict is, whether it is good or bad, how it is classified, and how it could be managed. Kudonoo, Schroeder, and Boysen-Rotelli (2012) cited Hatch and Cunliffe defined conflict as a state or condition that favors one group over others and occurs when the activities of one group are perceived as interfering with the outcomes or efforts of other groups. Different schools of thought had been offered that provided their own solutions to conflict. There is the traditional view that sees conflict as negative; the human relations view of conflict, and more recently the interactionist view has emerged (Shelton & Darling, 2004). There is also the modernist theory of conflict which holds that both too little and too much conflict result in poor performance, whereas performance is optimized by an intermediate level of conflict (Kudonoo, Schroeder, & Boysen-Rotelli, 2012). Although numerous studies on organizational culture and management of conflict in organizations exist, few, if there is any at all, has been focused on the effects of organizational culture on the conflict level, and management methods used by organizations. Thus, it is the aim of this study to analyze the existing material on conflict management and see correlations made to organizational culture. In addition, an interview of an executive in a big real estate development corporation was conducted to assess actual problems, organizational culture, and resolution methods employed in the real world right now. From the definition of conflict that had been mentioned earlier, it can be gleaned that a lot of the conflict in work places has to do with perception of what is happening. Perception, as a basis, of judgment can be faulty as people in an organization come from diverse backgrounds with different personalities, attitude, temperament, and values. Thus, Shelton and Darling (2004) believe that this diversity of culture brought into the organization cause tension and result into conflict. The traditional view of conflict sees it as a negative thing that comes from malfunctioning individuals or organizations (Shelton & Darling, 2004). This view holds that even moderate levels of conflict have a negative effect on workplace relationships and sap energy from productive activities (Kudonoo, Schroeder, & Boysen-Rotelli, 2012). By the 1950s, the human relations view of conflict began to replace the traditional view. From this perspective, conflict is seen as a natural phenomenon in groups and organizations (Shelton & Darling, 2004) because it cannot be separated in which human relations are concerned in organizations. Hence, the solution is proposed to manage it. By contrast, the interactionist view holds that a harmonious, peaceful, tranquil, cooperative group is prone to becoming unresponsive to needs for change and innovation (Shelton & Darling, 2004). Researchers consider this kind of conflict as constructive (Kudonoo, Schroeder, & Boysen-Rotelli, 2012). However conflict is seen, the one thing that everyone agrees on is that it has to be managed. Huang (2009) in Kudonoo, Schroeder, and Boysen-Rotelli (2012) stated that conflict is neither good (functional) nor bad (dysfunctional) depending on how it came about, how it is perceived and how it is managed – potentially promoting or inhibiting high performance. They also discuss that the modernist theory of conflict proposes that both too little and too much conflict result in poor performance, whereas performance is optimized by an intermediate level of conflict (Kudonoo, Schroeder, & Boysen-Rotelli, 2012). Johnson and Indvik (2002) showed that conflict may be divided into five different categories: conflict over personalities, conflict over goals, conflict over goals, conflict over values, conflict over circumstances, and conflict over facts. By contrast, Kudonoo, Schroeder, and Boysen-Rotelli (2012) categorized conflict into either task conflict or relationship conflict. Task conflict represents disagreements about the content of the tasks being performed, including differences in viewpoints, ideas, and opinions (Kudonoo, Schroeder, & Boysen-Rotelli, 2012). Kudonoo, Schroeder, and Boysen-Rotelli (2012) stated that relationship conflict is differentiated from task conflict by its focus on people, rather than issues, as the source of conflict. This differentiation may very well be more all-encompassing than what is set forth by Johnson and Indvik, as ultimately, conflict is ideally judged and resolved according to its merits on the professional level. The methods used in resolving conflict may be classified either as functional or dysfunctional. Resolution methods are functional when they bring a vigorous challenge of ideas, beliefs, and assumptions (Kudonoo, Schroeder, & Boysen-Rotelli, 2012). Such a situation, even if contains some elements of conflict, brings about change for the better into the organization as it encourages the filtering of available ideas, beliefs, and assumptions. In addition, functional conflict is said to encourage self-evaluation and change as it challenges the status quo. As a result, everyone strives to improve oneself, with the organization benefiting from such personal improvements in the individuals within the organization. Conversely, dysfunctional conflicts inhibit the smooth running of the organization and negatively affect their performance. Relationship conflicts, when met with hostility by any of the persons involved presents a challenge to the maintenance of smooth functioning of individuals as they do their tasks in the organization. This happens because relationship conflicts focus on people, which may make them defensive. Of the numerous methods of conflict resolution, the author has chosen to focus on the following: confronting/collaborating, withdrawing/avoiding, forcing/competitive, smoothing, and compromising. Surprisingly, it is the confronting/collaborating method that is said to have the highest level of win/win orientation, information sharing, openness, and clarification of issues (Salami, 2010). The smoothing strategy has the highest level of cooperation result, but it also has the biggest probability of engendering counterproductive behaviour as it encourages people to refrain from voicing out differences and issues (Salami, 2010). This hinders resolution of issues that may become bigger and counterproductive in the future. Organizations employ different strategies to resolve conflict within the organization. Across industries and companies, the resolutions to conflict vary and no one system for conflict resolution is followed. This has prompted the author to put forth the hypothesis that the conflict resolution strategy or method that will be used by an organization has a lot to do with its organizational culture. Threlfall, Yearn, and Haslett (2003) observed that the assumptions of the owner of a company is fundamental to the culture of the organization. Method Interviews were conducted with a few personnel of a big real estate development company. The interviewees were selected based on their function in the organization and availability. There was a representative from the human resources group and the sales division. The objectives of the interview are: First, to find out the kinds of conflict that happen in the organization; second, to find out where in the organization conflicts normally happen; third, to understand how the company deals with conflict; fourth, and to analyze from background literature and the interviews how culture plays a role in the method of conflict resolution used by the organization. The interviews were done simultaneously, with a representative from the human resources group and the sales division. This allowed a free-flowing discussion, and allowed the author to see non-verbal reactions or communication that may be exhibited by either of the interviewees. Having the representative of the human resources group and the sales division in one room, being interviewed on the same topic together allows glimpses of whether they agree or disagree on the topic at hand. The author took notes of the discussion, along with one other person so that the answers could be taken into account properly. Only the main points of the answers were included in the index report on the interviews, as these were deemed the highlights of the interview. RESULTS Company Background The interviewees are both from a real estate development corporation that has a very paternalistic culture. Due to the nature of the corporation business, the organization has a lot of sales personnel who come and go, based on their sales performance. Those who do not hit the target within a quarter lose the financial support from the company. Due to the difficulty of mobility without financial support from the company, only those who have other sources of financial support or income are able to continue with the company after three months of not hitting the sales quota. Thus, many of the sales personnel of the company leave the company after three months. Competition for sales performance is quite stiff not just within the company, but in the industry as well. Thus, there is a high level of stress for those who are in the business of selling real estate and are taken in by the developer as part of its sales force. This pressure to perform has driven a lot of sales people to use various tactics and strategies in selling. Some have maintained their values while in their sales job, while others have resorted to unscrupulous deeds. Company Culture and Conflict The interview with the human resources group and the sales division personnel has revealed that the company is very paternalistic in nature despite its huge business size. It was started by the patriarch of the family-owners, and the children are all grown and are part of the company. There is a high degree of family orientation with all the family members of the owners working in the organization. Conflict is present in inter-department relations in the organization. But these are mostly task conflicts. These task conflicts are mainly due to the fact that the processes followed in the company are not in writing. Hence, there results some confusion at times on what steps to follow. In the interview, there was no mention by the interviewees that the lack of policies and procedures documentation will be solved, nor was there any mention of how it will be solved. The root of inter-departmental conflict over tasks may well be due to role ambiguity. This could potentially have deeper and bigger problems since role ambiguity has been shown to result in a lack of commitment to the organization (Michaels, Dubinsky, Kotabe, & Lim, 1996). Conflict in the organization is not tightly managed. Sides are heard and this allows opportunities to transform to take place (Shelton & Darling, 2004). From this, one can see that the culture of hearing a person out has led the company to adopt the transformation model, which paves the way for promotion of a culture of having healthy conflict (Kudonoo, Schroeder, & Boysen-Rotelli, 2012). Hearing out the people in the company, especially those involved in a conflict, shows an open-door policy which further shows that the company observes a transparent environment for conflict. The very act of discussing the conflict with the people involved is important, it makes them feel they are important and their inputs are valuable. People feel a lot more creative when they see themselves working on a problem with colleagues than when they think they are resolving conflicts with adversaries (Landau & Landau, 2001). Such creativity that results from the discussion allows the involved parties to come up with creative ways of solving problems, which could very well lead the organization to adopt more development-oriented policies and procedures. From the foregoing discussion, it may be seen that while the organization has very strong paternalistic orientation, it also has developed strong interpersonal skills to resolve conflict. Recall that conflict in the sales division are dealt with on a case to case basis, and the conflicts are not elevated to the human resources group anymore. These are dealt with on the sales division level. This shows that there are strong interpersonal skills in the sales heads of the corporation. In addition, this shows a proactive stance in the organization. Organizational culture, while it starts with the assumptions of the owners, trickle down to its lowest levels. From the interview, one can see that the owners are proactive; they have fostered a culture that allows for conflict to be managed on a healthy level since discussion of conflict is not just allowed, but managed very well. From the discussions that have ensued in the sales division, it is clear that creative solutions have been seen on how to manage a group of people who are driven to achieve. Managing the sales people means managing the stressful environment that the competition in the industry and within the company is being done by the people in the organization. In summary, conflict is something that cannot be avoided. While it is normally seen as a negative thing, more progressive views of conflict hold that it allows a group to produce creative decisions when handled well. This is true for the case of the real estate company studied to test the hypothesis set forth by the author. Though the company is large, and its people have a high level of stress especially in the sales department, the company has given room to discussions whenever conflict arose. Such discussions are not even brought to the human resources level, but done on the sales division level only. This shows that the heads of the sales division have been equipped to deal with discussions that allow for creative solutions to come forth. Such use of discussions and openness is consistent with a culture that is very family-oriented. One may wonder how role ambiguity that has been seen in other organizations by researchers is not present in the organization despite the admission of the interviewees that there is no documentation of policies and procedures within the organization. Despite the conflicts that have ensued over the confusion of procedures to follow, it has been shown that there are very strong interpersonal skills in the organization. As may be seen in families, there are no documentation on how grievances are resolved. Such procedure as who to go to in the family in case one has a problem is instinctively known by every family member. This is what is being seen in the organization studied – no documentation of procedures, yet the company has grown so big. Despite the conflicts that have ensued, the paternalistic culture fostered in the company has yielded strong interpersonal skills where the employees do not feel alienated. References Johnson, P.R. & Indvik, J. (2002). Dousing the Flames: Reducing Workplace Aggression Through Conflict Management. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communication and Conflict, 6(1-2), 49. Kidonoo, E., Schroeder, K., & Boysen-Rotelli, S. (2012). An Olympic Transformation: Creating an Organizational Culture that Promotes Healthy Conflict. Organization Development Journal, 30(2), 51+. Landau, S., Landau, B., & Landau, D. (2001). From Conflict to Creativity: How Resolving Workplace Disagreements Can Inspire Innovation and Productivity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Michaels, R. E., Dubinsky, A. J., Kotabe, M. & Lim, Chae Un, (1996). The Effects of organizational formalization on organizational commitment and work alienation in US, Japanese, Korean industrial salesforces. European Journal of Marketing,30 (7), 8-24. Shelton, C. D. & Darling, J.R., (2004). Exploring New Frontiers in Conflict Management. Organizational Development Journal, 22(3), 22. Salami, S., (2010). Conflict Resolution Strategies and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Moderating Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 38(1), 75. Threlfall, M., Yearn, D., & Haslett, T. (2003). An Investigation Into the Link Between Culture and Strategy Using Soft Systems Methodology and Group Analysis. Australia: Monash University Appendix Interview HYPOTHESIS: The conflict resolution method that will be used in an organization is rooted in its culture. How is conflict seen in your organization? Is it seen as constructive or destructive in general? (HR) Conflict, although it happens a lot in our organization is not seen in a good light. The corporation has a very paternalistic culture. Thus, most of the people who have been there for a long time know that it will do well for them to go along with what the patriarch wants to do. Of course dissensions happen, even on the top management level. Disagreements are seen as good for the organization, as it shows us where correction is needed. However, disagreements need not become conflict at all. When it does escalate into conflict, it is handled based on the merits of the issues involved. How does management deal with conflict in your organization? (hr)Having a paternalistic culture means we deal with conflict the way it is dealt with in a family. All the people involved, as much as possible, are asked why the conflict happened. To diffuse the tension, the people involved are taken to one-on-one discussions with management. In this manner, they feel free to voice out what they want to say, which may not happen if they are faced with the person they are in conflict with, especially if the person they are in conflict with has a higher position than they do. (SALES) we normally deal with personality differences, so a lot of patience is required. As much as possible, we hear out complaints and grievances. But we do it away from clients. Clients do not see the conflict at all. That is what we maintain. What are the normal kinds of conflict encountered in your organization? In what areas/departments does the conflict normally occur? (HR)The normal sources of conflict are the sales division and the support departments like accounting and sales administration department. Conflict within a department seldom happens except in the sales division. (SALES)This concentration of intra-department conflict in the sales division is mainly due to the high levels of competitiveness amongst the sales personnel. In terms of the nature of conflict, conflicts inter-department are normally because of things that must be done at work. These are the conflicts that normally escalate, as everyone has a responsibility to protect both the company and the clients at the same time. For intra-department conflict in the sales division, most of these are personal in nature, and not functional. What do you think is the root for the kind/s of conflict you see in your organization? (HR)The functional conflicts may be due to the fact that we do not have written operating procedures. The procedures for tasks are passed on by each staff verbally. This means there could be mistakes in the step-by-step procedure that may be followed by a person in the organization since he is just relying on what was verbally told him. (SALES) As for the personal conflict in the sales division, a lot of it has to do with personality type, temperament, and the pressure of meeting their quota. Are there established structures or policies or system in dealing with conflict amongst workers? (HR) As for the functional conflicts, there are established systems, although these are not in writing. There are procedures followed in accomplishing tasks and these are observed by everyone in the company. Inter-department transactions happen in an orderly fashion because there is a procedure followed by the departments. These are not dependent on personalities involved, so I guess, yes, there is a structure to what we do. If there is any conflict, then we go through the procedure and see where the breakdown happened. As for the personal conflicts, we deal with it on a case to case basis.