Transcript Organizational Conflict

Facilitator and Course Coordinator
Vinayshil Gautam PhD , FRAS (London)
(Founder director IIM K; Leader consulting team IIM S)
A AI Sager Chair Professor and first head,
Management department, IITD
Chairman DKIF
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Agenda
• Overview of Organizational
Interdependence
• Interdependence between various
Organizations.
• Organizational Conflict and its Management
• Improving Interdependency
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An Overview
 Organization as network of
interdependent relationships
 Focus can be on
 Underlying Structure
 People who relate
 Contribution of relationships
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A Systems Approach
 Webster defines a system as a "regularly
interacting or interdependent group of items
forming a unified whole," which "is in, or tends
to be in, equilibrium"
 System consists of interdependent elements
 System theory assumes that organizations
and their subsystems pursue certain goals.
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Typical System
In a System having n elements, we have n(n-1)
relationships to be examined besides the n
elements.
Source : http://faculty.pnc.edu/arw as on 3/11/2005
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Element
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Types Of Interdependence
J.D.Thompson
POOLED
Goals
SEQUENTIAL
RECIPROCAL
Goals
Goals
Source : http://faculty.pnc.edu/arw as on 3/11/2005
Goals
-
Element
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Inputs and Outputs in Organizational
Systems
Human Inputs
Technological
Inputs
Organizational
Inputs
Activities
Organizational
Situation
Interaction between
individuals
Sentiments or
attitudes
Social Inputs
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Organization Relationship: Its Politics
• Organizational politics comes into being when
favorites are isolated and groups are allowed to
strengthen their identities.
• Politics arises from competition for power and
influence.
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Interdependency – The Competitive
Strength of Large Organizations
Organizations compete in different ways:
• Direct competition
– When organizations interact directly, and
compete for same ‘space’.
• Diffuse competition
– Organizations reduce one another’s viability
by depleting a limited common supply of
resources. (Hannan & Freeman, 1989).
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Interdependence as a Business
Reality
• Organizations need to sustain relationships
with other groups to survive in the highly
competitive business environment.
• Interdependent organizations need to
cooperate and trust each other and make
sure customers don’t lose faith in them.
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Interdependence in Supply Chain
Management
• Today’s best practices in supply-chain
management all center on one basic concept:
interdependence.
-- Brad Berger, Publisher of Global Logistics &
Supply Chain Strategies.
• All must cooperate and collaborate to provide
maximum customer satisfaction and to achieve
optimal performance for the supply chain as a
whole.
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Interdependence in Supply Chain
Management contd.
• Each participant in an extended supply
chain has its core competencies.
• Supply chain management concerns
relations within a network of
organizations.
For example
• Contract manufacturing provides
specialized knowledge and assets while
gaining flexibility and releasing investment
capital.
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Interdependence in Supply Chain
Management contd.
• Or the outsourcing of distribution to a
logistics service provider extends the
supply chain to the customer.
• A supply chain thus becomes a group of
specialized organizations, linked and
managed for a common purpose.
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Interdependence in Supply Chain
Management
An Example:
• Benetton, the Italian clothing company,
pioneered the network organization by creating
outsourcing and subcontracting relationships
both with its suppliers and its franchised retail
shops.
• The labour-intensive production of garment
assembly, finishing and ironing was shifted to
small companies.
• While the company retained the capitalintensive and core operations: design,
weaving, cutting, dyeing and quality control.
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Vendor Relationships
The attributes of outsourcer-vendor relationship
include
• Commitment by both parties
• Cooperation in all phases
• A cultural compatibility must exist
• A respectful interdependence
• Flexibility in the terms and conditions of the
contract
• Trust in each other
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Vendor Relationships
The administration of the contract between
the customer and the outsourcer requires
• Communication channels.
• Conflict resolution.
• Coordinating priorities and projects.
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Vendor Relationships
Source: ISRC Notes – April 2000 “Negotiating and Managing Vendor Relationships”
--Tim Goles and Jim Crompton
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Organizational Conflict
“the result of incompatible potential
relationships. The process begins when
one party perceives that another party
has impeded, or will frustrate, one or
more of its concerns.”
Gordon (1991)
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Functional Conflict- toward goals
• Enhances and benefits the
organization’s performance. Without it….
– there would be little commitment to change
– most groups likely would become stagnant
• Functional conflict can:
– lead to increased awareness of problems that
need to be addressed
– result in broader and more productive
searches for solutions
– generally facilitate positive change,
adaptation, and innovation
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Dysfunctional Conflict
• Any confrontation or interaction between
groups that harms the organization or
hinders the achievement of organizational
goals
• Management must seek to eliminate
dysfunctional conflict
Dysfunctional Conflict inhibits
achievement of organizational goals!
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Intergroup Organizational Conflict
• Interdependencies and shared resources:
– competition for scarce resources
– Personalities, hiding of information and ‘office politics’
may come into play
• Intergroup differences in goals, values or
perceptions:
– Different departments have different objectives
• Authority imbalances:
– one department has to accept instructions from another
• Ambiguity:
– when responsibilities are not clearly defined.
– when there is ambiguity regarding where to assign the
credit or blame
Dessler (1998)
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Relationship Between Intergroup Conflict
and Organizational Performance
Level of Probable
Organization
Intergroup Impact on
Characterized By
Conflict Organization
Situation I
Low
or
none
Situation II
Optimal
Situation
III
High
Slow adaptation to environment
Dysfunctional Few changes
Little stimulation of ideas
Apathy
Stagnation
Functional Positive movement toward goals
Innovation and change
Search for problem solutions
Creativity and quick adaptation
to environmental changes
Dysfunctional
Disruption
Interference with activities
Coordination difficulties
Chaos
Level of
Organizational
Performance
Low
High
Low
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Conflict Management Techniques
• Problem Solving: willing to invest time and
effort
• Superordinate goals: Creating a shared goal
• Expansion of Resources: create a win-win
solution.
• Avoidance: temporary expedient to buy more
time
• Smoothing: Playing down differences while
emphasizing common interests
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Conflict Management Techniques contd.
• Compromise: Each party gives up something of
value
• Authoritative Command: Management uses its
formal authority to resolve the conflict
• Altering the human variable: Using behavioral
change techniques such as human relations
training
• Altering structural variables: Changing the
formal organization structure
Robbins, 1974
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Negotiation
• is an intrinsic part of conflict management.
• involves two elements.
– Purposeful persuasion: attempts to
persuade the other by factual information
and analysis to accept their case.
– Constructive compromise: realization
that the possibility for complete
acceptance is extremely low.
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Negotiation contd.
• is a form of bargaining.
– Distributive bargaining is used when
the conflict relates to limited resources,
the situation is win-lose.
– Integrative bargaining is the preferred
type as it necessitates openness of
information and creates a feeling of
trust, win-win situation is possible here.
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Improving Interdependence
•
•
•
•
•
Division of Work
Co-ordination
Communication
Reducing group conflict
Group Team Interventions
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Division of Work
Organization- a goal oriented association
Complexity of tasks
Knowledge and skill
Efficiency
Effective division of work among
participant
Interdependency between goals and subgoals
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Co-ordination
• Coordination is the integration and harmonious
adjustment of individual work efforts towards
the accomplishment of a larger goal.
• The need for coordination arises from the
existence of dependencies.
Dependency
• Shared resources
Priority basis
• Simultaneous constraints
synchronization
Example of
Coordination process
First come first serve,
Scheduling,
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Mechanisms for Coordination
[Mintzberg’s Coordination Mechanisms]
•
•
•
•
•
Mutual Adjustment
Direct supervision
Standardization of work processes
Standardization of work output
Standardization of worker skills
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Fitting coordinating mechanisms
to tasks
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The Management Process and
Communication
Manager
(planning, org, dir, controlling )
• Forward Communication
• (Downward or horizontal
• flow of plans,
expectations)
Feedback
(upward flow of results,
expectations)
Subordinate performance
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Improving communication
•
•
•
•
Trust
Listening
Feedback
Non-Verbal
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Group Interventions
• Role Analysis Techniques
• Partnering
• Team Building
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References
• Robbins, S.P., 1998, Organisational Behaviour, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
• Robbins, S.P., 1974, Managing Organizational Conflict:
A Non-traditional Approach, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
• Gordon, J. R., 1991, A diagnostic approach to
organizational behaviour, 3rd Edition, Mass: Allyn and
Bacon.
• http://cimru.nuigalway.ie/david/pdf/SE/U7.pdf, 31st
October 2005, 11:00 am. Organizational Development :
Interventions for Organization Improvement, French &
Bell Jr., Pearson,2004
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References
• Organizations in Action : Social Science Bases of
Administrative Theory, J.D. Thompson,McGrawHills,1967
• The Design of Organizations – Pradip N Khandwalla,
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc., 1977
• Organizational Behavior – Concept and Applications.
IIIrd edition, Jerry L Gray & Fedrick A Starke.
Charles E Merrill Publishing Company, 1984.
• SM730: Organization Management
Prof Vinayshil Gautam, DMS IIT Delhi.
• Communication in organization; Owen, Zimmerman &
Page, West Publishers
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Thank You
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