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Abstract:
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Successful management is dependent heavily on the manager’s ability to handle conflict
effectively. The workforce has been increasingly becoming diversified vis-à-vis the gender,
culture and ethnicity. The present work environment has in itself contributed to sowing seeds of
conflict with greater diversity, hostility, complexity and newer business competencies in the
work context.The classic study of Mintzberg’s Managerial roles approach (1973) also says that a
manager has to spend sufficient time and energy in solving conflict as he has to take roles as a
negotiator, and dispute handler. An understanding of the conflict and role that it plays in
influencing employee behavior constructively or destructively is immense. Therefore conflict
when left unmanaged can lead to diminished cohesiveness amongst employees, productivity and
reduced organizational fitness. To manage conflict effective conflict resolution strategies that
have constructive outcomes is called for. Conflict resolution style theorists opine that
collaborative or integrative style, where there is high concern for task and people is considered to
give positive individual and organizational outcomes, while the withdrawing /avoidance style
and forcing / dominating style are considered to be ineffective in managing conflict. Though
managers have typical preferences in the styles followed it need not necessarily be the typical
response as it depends on the context, power relationships, emotions etc. The adoption of conflict
styles of managers however is dependent on variables like gender orientation, cultural values,
personality orientation, underlying relationships – public/private.
The paper attempts to draw the importance of managing conflicts at workplace positively and the
need for effective conflict resolution strategies. The conflict style adopted and the variables that
affect the adoption of each style are discussed and possible interventions at the workplace are
suggested |