CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Conflict among employees in an organization is not simply inevitable; rather it is the nature of complex organizations (Putnam & Krone, 2006). However, if managed properly, it can have a positive impact on employee satisfaction and performance (Dana, 2000). Research indicates that management executives are spending twice as much time settling employees’ disputes than they did a decade ago (Accountemps, 2006). If conflicts are managed properly by applying the best course of action, the organization can increase it’s performance in terms of utilizing the scarce resources and achieving the organizational objectives. (Awan & Anjum 2015). Conversely, unmanaged conflict negatively impacts both employee satisfaction and performance. Timely management of conflict has the potential of improving employee satisfaction and job performance (Awan & Anjum 2015). Management should therefore resolve conflicts so that organizational efficieincy can be increased (Song, 2000).
In the organization context, efficiency is the ability to carry out the job well (Armstrong, 2006). According to Lebans & Euske (2006), efficiency is a set of financial and nonfinancial indicators which offer information on the degree of achievement of objectives and results. Armstrong (2006) states that conflict management is the ability of an organization to identify the sources of conflict and put strategic measures in place to minimize or control conflict. According to Petkovic (2008), conflict management involves acquiring skills related to conflict resolution, establishing structures of conflict models, putting strategic measures as well as approaches in place. The models of conflict management are instruments used to assess the appropriate action required in a conflict situation. These include Blake and Mouton model, Thomas Kilman model and Holton model, (Newell, 2008) Approaches to conflict management, focus on the principle that conflicts cannot necessarily be resolved but can be managed using appropriate actions such as accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, compromise and confrontation (Brigs, 2007) strategies to conflict management are a futuristic detailed approach that looks into achieving long term wins for the parties involved in conflict. Strategies include negotiation, collective bargaining, mediation, third party intervention, brainstorming and communication (Petkovic, 2008).This study focused on the strategies of conflict management specifically negotiation, third party intervention and communication, studies show that the strategy of negotiation, third party and communication have worked in organizations globally for instance Canada, USA, Nigeria in Africa.
Negotiation is the most common strategy of solving conflicts and it is successful when the interests of the opposite sides are partly common and partly different (Shalley et al., 2004). Negotiation is a process by which compromise or agreement is reached while avoiding argument and dispute. (Verma, 2006) Since the essence of negotiation involves the ability to move beyond existing ideas and create alternatives, it can help an organization come up with a good performance plan by setting objectives that will in turn drive organizational efficiency (LeBaron, 2003).
The other strategy in conflict management is third-party intervention whereby management hires an external consultant to solve the problem. A third party is defined as an actor that helps the conflict parties resolve the conflict or regulate the level of violence (Pruitt & Kim 2004). The consultant can be a mediator, whose task is to give instruction to sides in conflict on how to solve the problem, or an arbitrator (Petkovic, 2008). Managers adopt the third party strategy when all their attempts to solve conflicts have failed. Since they are responsible for the performance of the organization, they involve a third party before the conflict escalates to the point where organization performance is affected (Shelton & Darling, 2004). Many disputes such as industrial disputes affect organization performance since there is delay in operations, disruption of services, absenteeism, unrest and sometimes wanton destruction of property (Thompson, 2005). An organization may therefore involve a third party consultant when key performance indicators such as sales, return on investment and profit margins have reduced due to poor conflict management (Posthuma, 2011). A third party often requires good communication skills to be able to understand and moderate the conflict (Brett, 2001). Furthermore when all attempts of negotiation fail, a third party helps to resolve the dispute through communication (Hofstede, 2013)
The third strategy adopted by organizations to manage conflict is Communication. Communication is a process that contains expressing, listening and understanding (Banerji and Dayal, 2005). According to Brigs (2007), communication is a strategy to conflict management and is fundamental to organization productivity. Communication strategy has been used to resolve conflicts in many organizations by breaking down the resistance among workers (Riel, 2001). Managers and researchers have long agreed that communication processes are a major factor in performance (Riel, 2001). Organizations that increased their performance over time had a good communication strategy in place whereas those that decreased in performance over time were more particularistic and focused on solutions to address negative reactions to conflict rather than expertise in managing conflict though communication (Weingart, 2007).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
There has been a growing interest in conflict management in recent years. First, research has stimulated interest in strategies and approaches to handling conflict which in the past may have involved litigation through the courts, Second, there is increased legalization of the workplace, particularly in the areas of occupational health and safety, discrimination, and harassment, Third, there has been heightened interest in the need for organizations to move to high performance work systems (Awan & Anjum 2015). Traditional workplace practices and systems with their hierarchical structures, tight divisions of labor, narrowly defined jobs, detailed rules, limit employee involvement, and managerial decision making, authority, and control are no longer adequate since they foster conflict (Dreu, 2006). The high-efficiency workplace emphasizes conflict management as a cornerstone of the effective high-performance workplace.
Due to frequent organizational conflict, performance in most organizations has taken a comparatively nosedive sequence (Babin & Boles, 2000). The frequent agitation by workers for improved working conditions and other interests have led to a down toll which eventually affects organizations performance (Babin & Boles, 2000).
Many of the unmanaged conflicts were characterized by teacher’s strikes characterized by violence and wanton destruction of property. This had a trickledown effect on the institutional academic performance. This study aimed at filling the gap that existed in the literature by establishing the impact of conflict resolution and management on organizational efficiency.
1.3 Research Questions
The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of conflict resolution and management on organizational efficiency. The specific objectives are to:
1. To what extent is negotiation as a conflict management strategy influences efficiency among employees of Olabisi Onabanjo University?
2. To what extent is third party intervention as a conflict management strategy influence efficiency among employees of Olabisi Onabanjo University?
3. To what extent is communication as a conflict management strategy influence efficiency among employees of Olabisi Onabanjo University?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of conflict resolution and management on organizational efficiency. The specific objectives are:
1. To ascertain the extent to which negotiation as a conflict management strategy influences efficiency among employees of Olabisi Onabanjo University.
2. To establish the extent to which third party intervention as a conflict management strategy influences efficiency among employees of Olabisi Onabanjo University.
3. To determine the extent to which communication as a conflict management strategy influence efficiency of employees of Olabisi Onabanjo University.
