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Causes and Outcomes of Conflict

There are many potential root causes of conflict at work. Well go over six of them here. Remember, anything that leads to a disagreement can be a cause of conflict. Although conflict is common to organizations, some organizations have more than others.

Causes of Conflict

Organizational Structure

Conflict tends to take different forms, depending on the organizational structure. For example, if a company uses a matrix structure as its organizational form, it will have decisional conflict built in, because the structure specifies that each employee report to two bosses. For example, the multinational power company with headquarters in Switzerland, ABB Ltd. is organized around the world in a matrix structure based on the dimensions of country and industry. This structure can lead to confusion as the companys 147,000 employees are divided across 100 countries into four global divisions, with each division focusing on different industries and products.

Limited Resources

Resources such as money, time, and equipment are often scarce. Competition among people or departments for limited resources is a frequent cause for conflict. For example, cutting-edge laptops and other devices are expensive resources that may be allocated to employees on a need-to-have basis in some companies. When a group of employees have access to such resources while others do not, conflict may arise among employees or between employees and management. While technical employees may feel that these devices are crucial to their productivity, employees with customer contact such as sales representatives may make the point that these devices are important for them to make a good impression to clients. Because important resources are often limited, this is one source of conflict many companies have to live with.

Task Interdependence

Another cause of conflict is task interdependence; that is, when accomplishment of your goal requires reliance on others to perform their tasks. For example, if youre tasked with creating advertising for your product, youre dependent on the creative team to design the words and layout, the photographer or videographer to create the visuals, the media buyer to purchase the advertising space, and so on. The completion of your goal (airing or publishing your ad) is dependent on others.

Incompatible Goals

Sometimes conflict arises when two parties think that their goals are mutually exclusive. Within an organization, incompatible goals often arise because of the different ways department managers are compensated. For example, a sales managers bonus may be tied to how many sales are made for the company. As a result, the individual might be tempted to offer customers freebies such as expedited delivery in order to make the sale. In contrast, a transportation managers compensation may be based on how much money the company saves on transit. In this case, the goal might be to eliminate expedited delivery because it adds expense. The two will butt heads until the company resolves the conflict by changing the compensation scheme. For example, if the company assigns the bonus based on profitability of a sale, not just the dollar amount, the cost of the expediting would be subtracted from the value of the sale. It might still make sense to expedite the order if the sale is large enough, in which case both parties would support it. On the other hand, if the expediting negates the value of the sale, neither party would be in favor of the added expense.

Personality Differences

Personality differences among coworkers are common. By understanding some fundamental differences among the way people think and act, we can better understand how others see the world. Knowing that these differences are natural and normal lets us anticipate and mitigate interpersonal conflictits often not about you but simply a different way of seeing and behaving. For example, Type A individuals have been found to have more conflicts with their coworkers than Type B individuals.

Communication Challenges

Sometimes conflict arises simply out of a small, unintentional communication problem, such as lost emails or dealing with people who dont return phone calls. Giving feedback is also a case in which the best intentions can quickly escalate into a conflict situation. When communicating, focusing on behavior and its effects rather than the person is one strategy that may prevent well-intentioned feedback from creating conflict.

In a corporate example, the Hershey Company was engaged in talks behind closed doors with Cadbury Schweppes about a possible merger. No information about this deal was shared with Hersheys major stakeholder, the Hershey Trust. When Robert Vowler, the CEO of the Hershey Trust at that time, discovered that talks were underway without anyone consulting the Trust, tensions between the major stakeholders began to rise. As Hershey continued to underperform, steps were taken in what is now called the Sunday night massacre, in which several board members were forced to resign and Richard Lenny, Hersheys then CEO, retired. This example shows how a lack of communication can lead to an escalation of conflict. Now, let's turn our attention to the outcomes of conflict.

Outcomes of Conflict

One of the most common outcomes of conflict is that it upsets parties in the short run. However, as we saw earlier, conflict can have both positive and negative outcomes. On the positive side, conflict can result in greater creativity or better decisions. For example, as a result of a disagreement over a policy, a manager may learn from an employee that newer technologies are available that may help solve problems in an unanticipated new way.

Positive outcomes include the following:

Consideration of a broader range of ideas, resulting in a better, stronger idea

Surfacing of assumptions that may be inaccurate

Increased participation and creativity

Clarification of individual views that build learning

On the other hand, conflict can be dysfunctional if it is excessive or involves personal attacks or underhanded tactics.

Examples of negative outcomes include the following:

Increased stress and anxiety among individuals, which decreases productivity and satisfaction

Feelings of being defeated and demeaned, which lowers individuals morale and may increase turnover

A climate of mistrust, which hinders the teamwork and cooperation necessary to get work done

Is Your Job at Risk for Workplace Violence?

You may be at increased risk for workplace violence if your job involves the following:

Dealing with People

Caring for others either emotionally or physically, such as at a nursing home or rehabilitation center. In fact, nurses have faced a 110% increase in workplace violence in the last 10 years.

Interacting with frustrated customers, such as with retail sales or restaurants.

Supervising others, such as being a manager or team leader.

Denying requests others make of you, such as with customer service or insurance claims.

Being in High-Risk Situations

Dealing with valuables or exchanging money, such as in banking or retail settings.

Handling weapons, such as in law enforcement or security guards.

Working with drugs, alcohol, or those under the influence of them, such as bartending or health care workers.

Working nights or weekends, such as gas station attendants or hotel front desk clerks.

Given these negative outcomes, how can conflict be managed so that it does not become dysfunctional or even dangerous? Well explore this in the next section.

Key Takeaway

Conflict has many causes, including organizational structures, limitations on resources, task interdependence, goal incompatibility, personality differences, and communication challenges. Outcomes of well-managed conflict include increased participation and creativity, while negatives of poorly managed conflict include increased stress and anxiety. Jobs that deal with people are at higher risk for conflict.

1- What are the most prevalent causes of conflict at work?

2- What are the common outcomes of workplace conflict?

3- Do you think workplace violence is a problem or not? Why do you think that is?

4- What outcomes have you observed from conflict for yourself? In other words, how do you feel or act after a conflict?