ASSESSMENT OF CONFLICT MANAGMENT PRACTICE: THE CASE OF ARBA MINCH

UNIVERSITY

MASTERS THESIS

YARED TOLERA TASISA

SEPTEMBER 2016

ARBA MINCH, ETHIOPIA

ASSESSMENT OF CONFLICT MANAGMENT PRACTICE: THE CASE OF ARBA MINCH
UNIVERSITY

YARED TOLERA TASISA

A MASTERS THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT,
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS, SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
ARBA MINCH UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF ART IN BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION

Principal Advisor:GmechuNemera, PHD

Co advisor: Mr. AbiyuJiru, MA

SEPTEMBER 2016

ARBA MINCH, ETHIOPIA

 Arba Minch University

School of Graduate Studies

This is to certify that the thesis prepared by Yared Tolera Tasisa, entitled: assessment of conflict
management practice the case of Arba Minch University and submitted in partial fulfilment of
the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Business Administration in Management complies
with the regulations of the university and meets the accepted standard with respect to originality
and quality.

Signed by the Examining Committee:

Examiner Signature Date

Examiner Signature Date
Advisor Signature Date

Chair of Department or Graduate Program Coordinator

 DECLARATION

I declare that this study entitled “Assessment of Conflict Management Practice”; a case of Arba
Minch University is my own effort study. I have carried it indendently except for the guidance
and suggestions of the research supervisor. This study has not been submitted for any
Degree/Diploma in this University. It is offered here in partial fulfilment of the requirement for
the Degree of Masters of Business Administration (MBA).
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to forward my earnest gratitude to my advisor Doctor Gemechu Nemera and to my
co-advisor AbiyuJiru for their wholehearted exertion in bringing this thesis to reality. My
appreciation also goes to the staffs of AMU human resource directorate for their valuable
provision of the necessary data. My thanks also belong to those who provided me the necessary
materials moral for the accomplishment of the thesis (Especially KasechFantaye) and for all who
commented on my study and provided their assistance in the editorial work.
Contents
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................................................ 2-9
LIST OF GRAPHS.................................................................................................................................... 2-10
1.1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................. 2-13
1.2 BACK GROUND................................................................................................................................ 2-13
1.2.1 Back ground of the study................................................................................................... 2-13
1.1.2. Organizational back ground................................................................................................ 2-14
1.2. Statement of the problem............................................................................................................. 2-17
1.3 Objective of the study..................................................................................................................... 2-18
1.4. Significance of the study................................................................................................................ 2-19
1.5. Scope of the study.......................................................................................................................... 2-19
2 Literature Review.......................................................................................................................... 2-20
2.1. Conflict........................................................................................................................................... 2-20
2.2.1. Conflict defined........................................................................................................................... 2-20
2.2.2. The views on Conflict.................................................................................................................. 2-22
2.2.3. The types of Conflict................................................................................................................... 2-24
2.2.4. Orientations to Conflict: Constructive or Destructive.................................................................2-27
2.2.5. The Conflict process.................................................................................................................... 2-28
2.4. Conflict Resolution skills................................................................................................................. 2-33
2.4.1. Unhealthy and Healthy response to Conflict.............................................................................. 2-33
2.5 Choosing the best conflict management style................................................................................2-35
2.6 Structural approaches to conflict management..............................................................................2-36
2.7 Emphasizing super ordinate Goals.................................................................................................. 2-36
2.7.2 Reducing Differentiation.............................................................................................................. 2-36
2.7.3 Improving Communication and Understanding...........................................................................2-36
2.7.4 Reducing Task interdependence.................................................................................................. 2-36
2.7.5 Increasing Resources.................................................................................................................... 2-37
2.7.6 Clarifying Rules and Procedures...................................................................................................2-37
2.8 Stimulating Functional Conflict....................................................................................................... 2-37
2.9 empirical literatures........................................................................................................................ 2-39
CHAPTER THREE.................................................................................................................................... 2-41
3. Research Methodology..................................................................................................................... 2-41
3.1 Data sources..................................................................................................................................... 2-41

3.2 Data collection................................................................................................................................ 2-41

3.2.1. Primary sources........................................................................................................................... 2-41

3.2.2. Secondary sources...................................................................................................................... 2-41
3.3. Sampling design............................................................................................................................. 2-41
3.3.1. Sampling size determination....................................................................................................... 2-41
3.4 Research design............................................................................................................................... 2-43

3.5 Data analysis and presentation........................................................................................................2-43

3.6 Organization of the study................................................................................................................ 2-43

CHAPTER FOUR..................................................................................................................................... 2-44

4. DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION............................................................................................... 2-44
4.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 2-44

4.2 analysis and presentation of Data gathered from Non-Academic staff..........................................2-44

4.2.1 General bio data of respondents................................................................................................. 2-44

4.2.2 Existence of conflict and perception on conflict..........................................................................2-46
4.2.2.1 The Pearson correlation between perception on conflict and education level of the respondents.
.................................................................................................................................................................2 -49
4.2.3 Frequency of conflict in an organization and parties involved in it..............................................2-50
4.2.4 The way non-academic staff gets information about existence of conflict..................................2-51
4.2.5 Sources of conflict........................................................................................................................ 2-52
4.2.6 Conflict out comes....................................................................................................................... 2-53
4.2.7 Types of conflict........................................................................................................................... 2-54
4.2.8 Conflict management styles......................................................................................................... 2-55
4.2.9 Training on conflict management................................................................................................ 2-56
4.2.10 Conflict management practice of the organization....................................................................2-56
4.3 analysis and presentation of Data gathered from Academic staff..................................................2-57

4.3.1 General bio data of respondents................................................................................................. 2-57

4.3.2 Existence of conflict and perception on conflict..........................................................................2-58
4.3.2.1 The Pearson correlation between perception on conflict and education level of the respondents.
.................................................................................................................................................................2 -60
4.3.3 Frequency of conflict and parties involved in it in the organization............................................2-61
4.3.4. The way academic and non-academic staff members obtain information about an existence of
conflict.................................................................................................................................................. 2-62
4.3.5 Conflict sources............................................................................................................................ 2-63
4.3.6. Conflict out comes....................................................................................................................... 2-63
4.3.7. Conflict management style.......................................................................................................... 2-64
4.3.8 Training on issues related to conflict........................................................................................... 2-65
3.3.9 The institution’s conflict management practice...........................................................................2-65
4.4 comparisons between academic and non-academic staff...............................................................2-66

4.4.1 Frequency of conflict and parties get involved in it.....................................................................2-66

4.4.2 Comparison of frequency of conflict and parties involved in conflict..........................................2-66
4.4.3 Comparison of conflict management practice of the organization...............................................2-67
CHAPTER FIVE...............................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS..............................................................................2-68
5.1 Summary......................................................................................................................................... 2-68
5.2 Conclusions..................................................................................................................................... 2-69
5.3 Recommendations.......................................................................................................................... 2-70
REFERENCE............................................................................................................................................ 2-74
Appendixes
 LIST OF TABLES
TABLES PAGE

Table 4.4- The relationship b/n perceptionon conflict and education level
Table 4.5 - Frequency of conflict in the organization and parties involved in it
Table 4.6- The way administrative staff gets information about existence of conflict
Table 4.7- Conflict outcomes
Table 4.8- types of conflict
Table 4.9- Conflict management styles
Table 4.10 –Conflict management practice of the organization
Table 4.11 profile of respondents from Non-Academic staff
Table 4.12- Conflict existence (response from Academic staff)
Table 4.13- perception on conflict response from Academic staff
Table 4.14- The relationship b/n perception on conflict and education level
Table 4.15- Frequency of conflict and parties involved in it in the organization
Table 4.16-The way academic and non-academic staff members obtain information about an
existence of Conflict
Table 4.17- Conflict out comes
Table 4.18- Conflict management styles
Table 4.19- means score of Frequency of conflict and parties get involved in it
Table 4.20- mean comparison of frequency of conflict and parties involved
Tables 4.20- mean score for conflict management practice of the organization
 LIST OF GRAPHS

GRAPHS PAGE

Figure 1: The conflict process.....................................................................................................

Figure 2: Conflict handling intentions.........................................................................................
Abstract
Conflict is the situation in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or
negatively affected by another party which is in the same group, in another group, in the same
organization or in another organization. Accordingly, we can classify those conflicts in to:
intragroup conflict, intergroup conflict, intraorganizational conflict and interorganizational
conflict. There is also other type of conflict which happens within one self and between peoples
who came from different cultures, which are called intrapersonal conflict and cross cultural
conflict respectively.

The fact that individuals have different backgrounds, point of views, values, needs, personalities
and other additional realities prevailing in an organizational environment will make organization
a place where conflict is common. Regardless of the quality of a manger’s leadership or his or
her style of management and regardless of how well planned the organizational structure is,
conflicts will occasionally arise within an organization. These conflicts can be functional or
dysfunctional in nature. This study is conducted on Arba Minch University under a title of
“Assessment of Conflict Management Practice”. The major problems which initiate this research
are: the prevalence of conflict between several parties in the institution, problem on perception of
conflict and the unsatisfactoriness of the conflict management system of the institution. The
outcomes of all these problems made conflict an issue at Arba Minch University.

The major and specific objectives of the research are: Assessing the conflict management
practice of Arba Minch University, Assessing the major sources of conflict, Finding out the
conflict resolution mechanisms of the university, Assessing the attitudes that an employees of the
organization have towards conflict, Identifying the types of conflict which are commonly existed,
Measuring the success of the conflict resolution techniques in resolving the conflicts encountered
by the organization, Identifying the parties who are frequently involved in conflicting situation
and in conflict resolution.

The major limitations faced in conducting this research are: Some completely denied taking part
in this research and few others also did not give complete information because of the fear that
they have on this area and insufficiency of time that is provided to conduct this research.
Both primary and secondary sources of information are used in collecting the data.
Questionnaires are distributed to the institution’s academic, non academic staff members and the
information gathered is analyzed accordingly.

According to the analysis made, there is a wide range of conflict in the organization, a problem
of conflict perception is also observed, there is no enough special training and orientation
prepared to change this perception, interpersonal conflict is mainly arises in the institution. The
conflict management practice of the organization is found to be poor. To avoid the above
problems; the organization should prepare several occasions in which the employees can develop
the relationship between them, a special training and orientation program should be prepared in
order to create better grasping on conflict related issues. Additionally, several points are
forwarded as a recommendation to solve the problems observed.
 CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

“The word conflict brings to mind images such as antagonism, struggles between
parties, opposition processes and threats to cooperation. But not all conflicts
come in these forms. They come in form of needs to be met or desires to be
satisfied, disagreements to be settled and ideas to be shared that eventually lead
to change of attitudes, feelings and perceptions” (Deutsch, 1996:54)

1.2 BACK GROUND

1.2.1 Back ground of the study

One important task of management is to create an environment in which individuals and groups
of people can cooperate with one another to achieve their goals and the goals of the organization
as a whole. Yet one persistent problem in organizations is that individuals and work groups
compete for limited resources, power, status, etc. to the extent that their competition leads to
disruption (or even enhancement) of cooperative endeavours. These competitions (bad or good)
are generally referred to as conflicts.

Schramm-Nielsen (2002) defines a conflict as a state of serious disagreement and argument

about something perceived to be important by at least one of the parties involved. According to
Fajana (1995), conflict can be defined as a disagreement between two or more parties who
perceive that they have incompatible concerns. It exists whenever an action by one party is
perceived as preventing or interfering with the goals, needs or actions of another party. Conflict
can be regarded as a reality of management and organizational behaviour and can be related to
power and politics. Mullins (2005) sees conflict as behaviour intended to obstruct the
achievement of some other person’s goals. According to this author, conflict is based on the
incompatibility of goals and arises from opposing behaviours. It can be viewed at the individual,
group or organizational level.

Conflicts exist whenever an action by one party is perceived as preventing or interfering with the
goals, needs, or actions of another party. Conflict can arise over a multiple of organizational
experiences, such as incompatible goals, differences in the interpretation of facts, negative
feelings, differences of values and philosophies, or disputes over shared resources (Mullins,
2005). As people with different backgrounds, points of view, values, needs and personalities
interact; a variety of conflicts often develop. This situation holds true specifically in higher
educational institutions because of the fact that most of the people have different backgrounds
and personalities. There are several factors that contribute for the existence of conflict. These
factors are broadly classified in to three: communication factors, structural factors and personal
behaviour factors (Red Luthan, 1993).

According to David J. Cherrington(1989) conflicts are classified as either functional or

dysfunctional. Functional conflict is a confrontation between groups that enhances and benefits
the organization’s performance. Those conflicts which refer to a confrontation or interaction
between groups that harm the organization or hinder the achievement of organizational goals are
dysfunctional conflicts. To this end, the managers of the organization are supposed to avoid
those dysfunctional and motivate the functional ones.

In order to solve dysfunctional conflicts existed in an organization; Stephen Robbins, (1996)

listed the conflict management tools to be applied. These tools are commonly called “conflict
management styles” which incorporates; avoiding, collaborating, accommodating, competing
and compromising. In addition to these, negotiations and third party’s interventions are also used
as potential means of resolving conflicts (Robert A. Baron & Jerald Greenberg, 1990).

MulatuMebratu,(2011), even though the most of higher educational institution in Ethiopia counts
not much more than one decade and half, there are lots of conflicts which are observed between
these institutions and within the institutions. There are several reasons that can be sited as the
source of these conflicts. For instance; the infancy of the sector, the fact that most of the
institutions in the country share the same resources like instructors; the existence of parties who
have a deliberate intention to create a conflict between these institutions…etc can be sited as the
potential reasons (MultuMebratu, 2011). There are also several reasons that aggravate the
conflicts between parties within the institutions. To this end, this study will take in to
consideration only functional form of conflict, or constructive conflict, supports the goals of the
organization and improves its performancewithin the institution and conflict management in
Arba Minch University.

1.1.2. Organizational back ground

Arba Minch University (AMU) is one of the well-established universities found in the Southern
Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR). It is located at Arba Minch town, 500 km
south of Addis Ababa. The main campus of the university is situated at the eastern foot of
Gamomountain ranges and adjacent to the vast low land stretching towards Lake Abaya and
Lake Chamo which form part of the East African Rift Valley.

The spectacular features of the twin Rift Valley lakes, Abaya and Chamo, impart a picturesque
view to the University as it is viewed from the main campus hills. The Lakes are
essential components of the area in view of socio-economic value and ecological diversity. Its
two new campuses are named after these two lakes while the third new campus is named after
one of the wonderful national parks of the country - NechSar. The gifted land of the South
offers a huge opportunity to the University to venture into new territories of education,
research and development.

Ethiopia is endowed with a vast potential of water resources. However, lack of efficient
management and utilization of the resource has increased susceptibility and vulnerability
to drought and a consequent famine and disaster. Thus Arba MinchWater Technology
Institute was established in 1986 with the general objectives of promoting the
advancement of water resource development and environmental protection so as to address
water related problems that the country often faces.

Upon establishment, the institute had the mission of providing short term and long-term training,
conducting research and rendering consultancy services in the water sector. Three departments:
Hydraulic Engineering, Irrigation Engineering, and Sanitary Engineering were organized to serve
the function. The institute started its academic activity by admitting 181 students in two degree,
two advanced diploma and two diploma programs.

A major restructuring was made in 1997 when three B.Sc. degree programs (Civil, Electrical
and Mechanical Engineering) were added. The institute was under the administration of the
Water Resource Commission until 1993, and then administered by the Ministry of
Education. The institute, following the recent restructuring of the university, is now named
Arba Minch Technology Institute combining the former Engineering Faculty and Water
Technology Institute.

Currently, the University comprises of five colleges and the institute. The Colleges are: College
of Natural Sciences, College of Agriculture, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, College
of Social Science and Humanities and College of Business and Economics. In addition the
university has a School of Graduate Studies. The school, which was launched in the 2002/03
academic year, is now running 40 programs.

The alumni have proven to be competent professionals in their respective areas, and are
actively participating in the socio-economic development of the country. Furthermore, many of
the former graduates are working in higher education institutions and other firms around
the world. A number of comprehensive researches, particularly focusing on the socio-
economic problems of the area where the university is situated are being undertaken. In
the course of time, to strengthen the capacity of academic staff in order to deliver quality
education in the various programs, the university has been employing expatriate teachers from
different foreign nations like India, Philippines, Italy, Germany and England.

Similarly, it has spurred the economic growth of the region by churning out innumerable
professionals; wedded to nation’s secular fabric, it fosters unprejudiced religious environment,
thereby contributing in the overall development of the nation. Comprehensive researches,
particularly focusing on the socio-economic problems of the area where the university is situated
are being undertaken. Despite all these challenges, the university is able to maintain its leading
role in educating and training professionals ranging from short term demand driven courses to
full-fledged degree programs.

AMU’s Institute of Technology and six colleges are situated across sprawling five campuses i.e.
Main Campus, Abaya, Chamo, Kulfo and NechSar. The respective colleges came into being as
mentioned. In 2003, College of Business & Economics was established; College of Social
Science & Humanities in 2008-9 and both are situated at Chamo Campus.

College of Natural Sciences at Abaya Campus was set up in 2004. College of Agriculture and
College of Medicine & Health Sciences were established in 2007 & 2008 respectively; are
situated at NechSar Campus. Recently College of Agriculture has shifted to new Kulfo Campus.
Distance and Continuing Education Coordination office came into being in the year 1997 which
got the status of full-fledged college in 2013 is situated at Main Campus; since then it is offering
equal opportunities to those who can’t afford to go for regular education (AMU corporate
communication, 2015).
1.2. Statement of the problem
According to Deutsch (1996), conflict is a necessary and useful part of organizational life. It is
inevitable and an integral part of the process of change. Indeed, it is an aid to cooperation, not an
obstacle. There are two sides to conflict, one is destructive and unhealthy and the other has a
problem-solving base where those involved are willing to sublimate personality differences, to
listen to others’ views and to be open and candid to each other, to be supportive and helpful
whereas the former defeats cooperation.

Albert (2005) averred that there are productive and destructive conflicts. According to him, “A
conflict is said to be positive when it is constructively discussed by the parties and amicable
terms for settlement reached”. Constructively managed conflict induces a positive performance
while poorly managed conflict heats up the environment to bring about ‘dislocation of the entire
group and polarization, reduced productivity on job performance, psychological and physical
injury, emotional distress and inability to sleep, interference with problem activities, escalation
of differences into antagonistic position and malice and increased hostility. Through conflict
management a cooperative atmosphere is created for promoting opportunities and movement
directed towards non-violent, reconciliation or basic clashing interest.
Because of their large number of employees and different employee’s status, most universities
and similar higher education institutes all over the country encounter different types of conflict
which has negative outcomes due to improper management of conflict situations
(Getachew2013). With this regard, Arba Minch University also encountered several conflicts
since its early establishment which are existed between different parties in the institution.
According to the university human resource training manual (2014, even though the university
conflicts resolution mechanisms has been improving, the organization is still confronting with
conflicts which has negative outcome and dysfunctional in nature rather than functional
outcomes.

Conflicts are often observed between the academic staff members with the rest of the
institution’s administrative staffs like personnel and finance department heads. The non-
academic staff members of the organization are also faced several conflicts in between
themselves and with administrative and academic staff members of the organization because of
existence of several sources of conflict and a wide range of conflict of interest between these
parties (Getachew2013).

Because of the fact that, if the organization fails to apply an appropriate style or mechanism of
conflict management to solve the conflicts, the employees of an organization will be less
committed to their responsibilities, there will be also an increasing rate of turnover, low level of
worker’s job satisfaction. This in turn creates some gap in quality service provision and the
overall effectiveness of the organization (Mulatu2011).

To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, conflict and conflict management is not studied in
Arba Minch University in organized and systematic way. Hence, it is essential to assess conflict
and the way conflict is management in Higher education institutions in general and Arbaminch
University in particular.
Research questions
This study has following research questions to address.
1. What are the major sources of conflict in AMU?
2. What are the conflict resolution mechanisms in the organization?
3. What attitude do employees have towards conflict?
4. What are the types of conflict which are commonly exist?
5. Which conflict resolution techniques were used and is been using?
6. What are the likely outcomes frequently observed?

1.3 Objective of the study

1.3.1 General objective

Assessing the conflict management practice of Arba Minch University was the general objective
of the study.
1.3.2 Specific objective
In addition to the above general objective, the study has the following specific objectives:
 Assess the major sources of conflict
 Find out the conflict resolution mechanisms of the university
 Assess the attitudes that an employees of the organization have towards conflict
 Identify the types of conflict which are commonly existed
 Measure the success of the conflict resolution techniques in resolving the conflicts
encountered by the organization
  Identify the parties who are frequently involved in conflicting situation and in conflict
resolution

1.4. Significance of the study

This research is believed to have the following significances for parties who have direct or
indirect interest on it;
 It enables the researcher to acquire basic experiences regarding several issues on areas of
conflict management and related aspects
 The output from the research can help the organization to take some remedial actions or
corrective measures on the problems identified in the research
 The tentative solutions provided by the researcher, can also enable the organization to
solve the conflicts in the organization.
 This research can serve as potential reference for those individuals who want to conduct
further studies on the same or related areas.

1.5. Scope of the study

This research was conducted on Arba Minch University, which is one of the higher educational
institutions in Ethiopia, with specific area of conflict management. This study was focused on the
conflicts that the organization’s permanent employees face. To this end, the required information
was gathered only from the workers of the organization (not from other parties like students, and
other customers in the community) for manageability of the study. Moreover, since the study will
give a due attention on the conflict management aspect, it is believed that, information from
permanent employees of the organization is valuable in view of the fact that they are participated
in conflict management. This study is also confined itself in the area of conflict management
only. So, several organizational matters beyond this area were not incorporated for sake of
specificity.
 CHAPTER TWO

2 Literature Review
This chapter reviews the earlier studies concerning the conflict and conflict management
practices.
2.1. Conflict
2.2.1. Conflict defined
Conflict theory is very important for any manager. It is rooted primarily in the fields of business,
sociology, and psychology, but not in communication or education. It is complicated to define
conflict as it is difficult to come to a consensus concerning the definition of this term (Borisoff&
Victor, 1998).
The easiest way to understand the term “conflict” is to divide theories of conflict in functional,
situational, and interactive. The followers of functional approach think that a conflict serves a
social function and those who view a conflict as situational, suggest that conflict as an expression
under certain situations. The third theory views conflict as interactive. Functionalists usually ask
the question: “Why is there conflict? What purpose does it serve?”, while situationalists ask:
“When do we have conflict? Under what circumstances does it occur?” Interactionists’ questions
are: “How is there conflict? What methods and mechanisms are used to express it?”
One of the representatives of the functionalist school was Georg Simmel, the German
sociologist. In 1955 he defined conflict as “designed to resolve divergent dualisms; it is a way of
achieving some kind of unity, even if it will be through the annihilation of one of the conflicting
parties”. According to Simmel, conflict served as a social purpose and reconciliation came even
with the total destruction of one party. Conflict socializes members into a group and reduces the
tension between group members. Furthermore, Simmel determines three possible ways to end a
conflict. Firstly, conflict may end with a victory of one party over another; secondly, the conflict
can be resolved through compromise and thirdly, through conciliation. However, not all conflicts
may be ended as discussed. For instance, those conflicts that are characterized by high level of
emotions involved cannot be resolved by compromising. Simmel made a huge contribution in the
study of conflict resolution as he clearly determined a positive social function for conflict.
In 1967 Coser, an American sociologist and author of the Functions of Social Conflict gave a
following definition to the conflict: “The clash of values and interests, the tension between that is
and what some groups feel ought to be”.

According to Coser, conflict served the function of pushing society and was leading to new
institutions, technology, economic systems. The most important contribution that Coser brought
to the study of conflict resolution was determination of the functional and dysfunctional roles of
conflict.

In 1984 representative of situationalist school, Bercovitch defined conflict as “situation which

generates incompatible goals or values among different parties”. For Bercovitch, conflict
depends on the situation. Conflict arises because of different conditions such as the influence of a
person and external factors.

If speaking about the interactive view, Folger defined conflict as “the interaction of
interdependent people who perceive incompatible goals and interference from each other in
achieving those goals.” This approach introduces two important concepts: Interdependence and
Perception. Interdependence is connected to such situations where one party’s future actions
depend on another party’s actions. Another concept was mentioned by Tillett in 1991: “Conflict
does not only come about when values or needs are actually, objectively incompatible, or when
conflict is manifested in action; it exists when one of the parties perceives it to exist”. Folger also
sees conflict as coming from interdependent people (Tidwell, 1998).

By taking a look at the variety of definitions of conflict we can see such a picture:
In 1979 Cross, Names and Beck define conflict as “differences between and among individuals”.
The differences are created by the conflict, for example values, goals, motives resources and
ideas. In 1985 Hocker and Wilmont defined a conflict as “an expressed struggle between at least
two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce rewards, and interference
from the other party in achieving their goals” (Borisoff& Victor, 1998).

In 2005 Thomas defines a conflict as a “disagreement in opinions between people or groups, due
to differences in attitudes, beliefs, values or needs. In the business world, differences in such
characteristics as work experience, personality, peer group, environment, and situation, all lead
to differences in personal attitudes, beliefs, values or needs.”
From the above definitions it is obvious that there is no just one practical definition of conflict.
Each person has an individual way of thinking and behaves differently from others in similar
situations. It can be concluded that conflict can affect everyone to varying extent (Leung, 2010).
As there are many definitions of conflict, there are also different views about it.

2.2.2. The views on Conflict

It is argued that definitions of conflict vary so much because attitudes toward conflict vary
widely as well. When Hocker and Wilmot (1985) conducted a survey in order to identify which
associations people have with the word “conflict”, the following responses were given:
destruction, anger, disagreement, hostility, war, anxiety, tension, alienation, violence,
competition, threat, heartache, pain, and hopelessness. Obviously, people viewed conflict as
negative force. Until the early 1960s, even scientists portrayed conflict as an undesirable process
that has to be avoided (Simons, 1972). For instance, Hocker and Wilmot (1985) offered a list of
negative assumptions about conflict that are widely held:
1. Harmony is normal and conflict is abnormal.
2. Conflicts and disagreements are the same phenomena.
3. Conflict is pathological.
4. Conflict should be reduced or avoided, never escalated.
5. Conflict can be the result of clashes of personality.
6. Emotions are different from genuine conflict.
On the other hand, some researchers argue that conflict can be seen as positive. Deetz and
Stevenson (1986) introduced three assumptions that indicate that conflict can be positive:
1. Conflict is natural.
2. Conflict is good and necessary.
3. Most conflicts are based on real differences.
Conflict is viewed as natural due to life’s uncertainty. Conflict is good and necessary because
conflict can stimulate innovative thinking when it is managed in the right way. Lacking conflict,
thoughts and actions are performed because they are habitual. Conflict allows an examination of
the necessity of these thoughts and actions. The third assumption points out that people find it
easier to live with unresolved misunderstanding than facing the fact that fundamental differences
do exist, they demand recognition and appropriate management (Deetz& Stevenson, 1986).
In 1977 another pair of researchers expressed the view that conflict is positive. Corwin and
Edelfelt (1977) believe that conflict is acceptable due to the following factors: Firstly, conflict is
“inherent in the fact that authority is problematic” and secondly, “conflict is promoted by
inconsistent goals, success criteria, and heterogeneity of the clientele”. These researchers argue
that conflict “can improve organizations by forcing change and compromise. It challenges
assumptions and creates discomfort with existing practices” (Fleetwood, 1987). Conflicts are an
integral part of a human’s life in all aspects. One can’t avoid conflicts in families, at work or
even when watching the news on television. Historically, the following views on conflict are
identified:

- Traditional view (1930-1940): One school of thought says that conflict must be avoided and
that it reflects malefaction within the group. Conflict is viewed negatively and is associated with
violence and destruction. Conflict is a result of poor communication and, a lack of trust between
people. Conflict can be eliminated or resolved only at high levels of management. According to
this view on conflict, all conflicts should be avoided, thus there is a need to pay attention to the
causes of conflict and to correct them in order to improve group and organizational performance
(P. Robbins, 2005).

- The Human Relations view or Contemporary view (1940-1970): Conflict is a natural

occurrence in all groups. The human relations school accepts conflict. They believe that conflict
may benefit a group’s performance (P. Robbins, 2005). Conflict is unavoidable as people
have/.different attitudes toward daily issues. Disputes happen from time to time and it is not wise
to put too much effort into avoiding or preventing the conflict. There is no need to resolve every
conflict. People should not pay attention to minor conflicts or unimportant issues, rather focusing
on the development of other more critical aspects of their daily activities. Concentrating only on
large or critical conflicts allows people to resolve the conflict in a better and more effective way
(Leung, 2010).

- The Interactionist View: The Interactionist School encourages conflict as it could lead to
changes and innovations. Conflict is absolutely necessary for the group to perform effectively,
but not all conflicts are good. Interactionist School has identified several types of conflict:

The interactionists interpret conflict in a totally different way from traditionalists and people
with a contemporary view. According to interactionists, conflict can be identified as either
dysfunctional or functional. Conflict is a part of people’s lives and a natural phenomenon in all
organizations. A low level of conflict will not be harmful for daily operations but will help to
create smooth functioning by better understanding of the existing issues. Conflict at the desired
level can inspire creativity when handling the issue and resolving conflict. Thus conflict can be
positive in work environments, but whenever a critical or major conflict occurs, it should be
resolved as the undesired level of conflict can be harmful and dysfunctional for the company
(Leung, 2010).

Using discussed earlier views on conflict, the actions of the manager can be decided by
comparing the actual level of conflict (a) and desired levels of conflict (d). When referring to the
traditional view, the desired level of conflict is always zero. If (a) = 0 it means do nothing, but if
(a) > 0 it should be resolved. The contemporary and interactionist views differ in a desired level
of conflict; it could be equal to or above zero in the contemporary view and is always above zero
in the interactionist view. If the desired level of conflict is above zero, then there are three
possible options depending on whether (a) > (d) or (a) < (d).

2.2.3. The types of Conflict

Working in an organization means to be involved in a conflict, as people working together have
various personalities and different views on life. Consequently, they can’t avoid conflicts in the
workplace. During the past 25 years, organizations have changed, so did their attitude to conflict
management. Companies try to adopt a strategic approach to managing organizational conflicts
(Aula&Siira, 2010). Generally, there are four types of organizational conflict:
1) Interpersonal conflict - conflict that can take an interpersonal form. The sources of this
conflict may be personal dislikes or personality differences (Gareth & Jennifer, 2008). A
California State University Sacramento report notes that people respond in different ways
to disagreements, with personal feelings, attitudes and goals contributing to the conflict.
The manager usually wants his employees to settle their differences without his personal
intervention, but sometimes he needs to step in (Green, 2012). In 2010 a survey was
conducted among 174 of the US managers. The purpose was to find the reason which
makes them most uncomfortable in the workplace.
Usually personality conflicts begin from insignificant irritations. Kinicki and Kreitner (2008) are
taking an illustrative example:
“When Adam Weissman arrives at his public relations job he starts his working day not by
grabbing a cup of coffee with his co-workers, but instead the account executive with DBA Public
Relations always goes to his office and turns on his iPod to listen to music through the speakers.
To his mind the music helps him to be more focused. Weissman doesn’t mind that he could
irritate other people with his behavior. His colleagues admitted that it is annoying when
Weissman drums on his desk or sings along. In such a way, Interpersonal Conflict was born
between Weissman and his colleagues”.

The scenarios like these are very common in workplaces. The incivility of people can end in
violence creating an interpersonal conflict (Kinicki&Kreitner, 2008).
2) Intragroup conflict - is the conflict within an internal group, team or department. This
type of conflict involves more than one person within a group (Gareth & Jennifer, 2008).
The harmony within departments of the company is essential. It helps to maintain
productivity and workplace morale, among other things. When two or more people do not
get along together, that personal conflict can affect everyone around them. Intragroup
conflict may be connected with ethnic, religious or gender prejudice, and also various
personality differences. Depending on how strong the conflict is, a manager may need
outside help to resolve the issues. At this stage, it could be useful for a manager to have a
trusted or otherwise objective third party who has experience in conflict management and
settling disputes.

3) Intergroup conflict - is the conflict between different groups, teams and departments.
Battles between accounting and operations teams or between frontline workers and online
customer service agents can be a big problem, especially if customers are involved. One
group of employees can unite against other group. Such conflicts can arise from the
differences in status and contradicting goals of the groups. Intergroup conflict usually
leads to miscommunication or even to no communication, affecting an organization’s
ability to function. The manager can try to resolve the problem through problem solving
tactics or following an internal dispute resolution process. Sometimes a facilitator can be
useful to help discuss issues of conflict and related concerns. Such types of conflicts
 should be solved quickly as if problem continues it can destroy the organization (Green,
2012).

Conflict between different groups or teams can become a threat to organizational competiveness.
For example, when Michel Volkema became CEO of Herman Miller in the middle of 1990s, the
company’s divisions were fighting over budgets. The employees were focused on their struggle
against each other instead of paying more attention to the customers. Volkema has managed this
conflict by emphasizing collaboration and redirecting everyone’s attention to clients. If the
manager understands the mechanics of Intergroup Conflict he is better equipped to face the
challenge.

One of the main seeds of Intergroup Conflict can be cohesiveness - a “we feeling”. A certain
amount of it can make a smooth-running team, but too much of it could be harmful. The study of
in-groups has revealed such changes connected with increased group cohesiveness:

- Members of in-groups view themselves as unique individuals but they stereotype members
of other groups as “all alike”.

- In-group members see themselves positively, as people with high moral standards, as
opposite to viewing members of other groups negatively, as immoral people.

- Outsiders are viewed as a threat to the group.

- In-group members exaggerate differences between their group and other groups.

In-group thinking is inseparable part of organizational life, which is why it guarantees a conflict.
Managers cannot eliminate in-group thinking, but they shouldn’t ignore it (Kinicki&Kreitner,
2008).

Inter-organizational conflict - is the conflict between different organizations (Jones & George,
2008). There are three types of inter-organizational conflict: substantive conflict, emotional
conflict and cultural conflict.

• Substantive conflict appears when a basic disagreement arises between the two
organizations at a fundamental level. As an example here conflict between Ethical
Treatment of Animals organization and an organization that carries on
experiments on laboratory animals.
 • Emotional conflict takes place when people from different organizations react on
an emotional level – out of fear, jealousy, envy or stubbornness.
• Cultural conflict is based on cultural needs and desires. These conflicts are often
the result of misunderstanding and stereotyping.

Inter-organizational conflict most often can be resolved through mediation and acknowledging
cultural differences (Morgan, 2012). Several possible ways exist for resolving each type of
conflict. A manager needs to identify the orientation of the conflict he/she is dealing with have
before coming up with a resolution strategy

2.2.4. Orientations to Conflict: Constructive or Destructive

For many decades, managers had been taught to view conflict only as a negative force.
Nowadays two different orientations to conflict have evolved: functional and dysfunctional.

Functional form of conflict, or constructive conflict, supports the goals of the organization and
improves its performance. Functional conflict may actually encourage greater work effort and
help task performance One of the main benefits of constructive conflict it is that it gives its
members a chance to identify the problems and see the opportunities. Also it can inspire to new
ideas, learning, and growth among individuals. When individuals engage in constructive conflict,
they can learn more about themselves and others. In addition, it can help to improve relationships
among members, because when two sides work on resolving a disagreement together, they feel
that they have mutually accomplished something. Such orientation to conflict can mostly be
found in US in interpersonal communication texts (Kinicki&Kreitner, 2008).

In 1992 David Augsburger, an American Anabaptist author, introduced four assumptions

aligning with functional orientation:
1. Conflict is a normal, useful process.
2. All issues are subject to change through negotiation.
3. Direct confrontation and conciliation are valued.
4. Conflict is a necessary renegotiation of an implied contract – a redistribution of opportunity,
release of tension, and renewal of relationships.

The first assumption means that although conflict is a complicated process, it can strengthen
relationships. If the conflict is managed correctly, it will lead to stronger, healthier and more
satisfying relationship. In this case conflict also increases cohesiveness of groups. With reference
to the second and third assumptions the main idea is to recognize conflict as soon as possible and
work through it in a productive way (Martin & Nakayama, 2007).

Referring to dysfunctional conflict, it is believed to be destructive. Such form of conflict usually

hinders organizational performance and leads to decreased productivity. This conflict orientation
is characterized by competing individual interests overriding the business’s overall interests.
Managers withhold information from one another. Employees sabotage others’ work, either
intentionally or through subtle, conflict-motivated disinterest in teamwork (Kinicki&Kreitner,
2008).

The differences between these two types of conflict are not in their sources but in the manner in
which each of them is expressed. In constructive conflict, each party resists attacking the other.
Instead, both sides take part in thoughtful discussion. They listen to each other’s point of view,
and try to find mutually beneficial solutions. By contrast, in dysfunctional conflict both parties
are involved in confrontation which doesn’t lead to any beneficial solution (Whetten& Cameron ,
2012).

2.2.5. The Conflict process

Conflict is a process in which one party suggests that its interests are being opposed by another
party. As a rule people see only the observable part of conflict – angry words, actions of
opposition. But this is only a small part of conflict process (McShane&Glinow, 2008).

The conflict process consists of five stages: Potential opposition or Incompatibility; Cognition
and personalization; Intentions; Behaviour; Outcome. The process is illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The conflict process (Robbins, 2005)

Stage I: Potential opposition or incompatibility: this stage includes conditions that can create
opportunities for conflict to arise. The causes, or sources, of conflict have been divided into three
categories:
1. Communications
2. Structure
3. Personal Variables
1. Communication. The term communication consists of different words connotations and
jargon. Insufficient exchange of information and noise in communication channel can be the
reasons for conflict. Thus, either too much or too little communication can be the foundation for
conflict.
2. Structure. The term structure includes such variables as size, degree of specialization in the
tasks assigned to group members, jurisdictional clarity, member-goal compatibility, leadership
styles, reward systems and the degree of dependence between groups. Most of all specialization
and size stimulate conflict. If a group is large, there isgreater possibility that activities will be
more specialized, thus there are more chances that could lead to conflict. In addition, a high
turnover and young members can formulate the basis for a new conflict.
3. Personal Variables. Personal variables include an individual value system that each person
has. Certain personality types, such as authoritarian and dogmatic, can create a conflict. There is
also another variable in the study of social conflict - difference in value systems. Value
differences can explain diverse issues such as prejudice disagreements over one’s contribution to
the group and rewards one deserves.
Stage II: Cognition and personalization. In this step conflict issues should be defined. Parties
decide what the conflict is about and emotions play a major role in creating perceptions.
Stage III: Intentions. Intentions mean decisions to act in a given way. Intentions can be described as
intervening between people’s perception and emotions and their overt behavior.

With the help of two dimensions - cooperativeness (the degree of willingness of one party to satisfy
the other party’s interests and assertiveness (the degree to which one party wants to satisfy its own
interests) five conflict handling intentions were identified. They are illustrated in Figure 2:
Figure 2: Conflict handling intentions (Robbins, 2005)

1) Competing (assertive and uncooperative): When one person wants to satisfy his or her own
interests despite of the impact on the other parties involved in the conflict, this person is
competing.
2) Collaborating (assertive and cooperative).The situation in which the parties of the conflict
desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all the parties. In collaborating the parties try to solve the
problem by clarifying differences rather than by accommodating various points of view. For
instance, a win-win solution when both parties can reach their goals.

3) Avoiding (unassertive and uncooperative). Occurs when the person learns about a conflict
but decides to withdraw from conflict process. An example can be ignoring a conflict and
avoiding people with whom a person disagrees.
4) Accommodating (unassertive and cooperative). In order to maintain relationship one party
is ready to place another party’s interests above its own interests.
5) Compromising (midrange on both assertiveness and cooperativeness). The situation when
each party is willing to give up something. In this case there is no winner or loser. Parties accept
the solution where interests of both of them are satisfied.
Intentions define each party’s purpose. Some people want to win, some want to find a mutually
beneficial solution. People choose intension according to their attitude to the situation.
Stage IV: Behaviour. In this step a conflict becomes visible, thus people usually tend to focus on
this stage. During this phase conflicting parties make statements, actions and reactions. These
conflict behaviours are applied by the parties to implement their intentions. There may be some
miscalculations or an unskilled enactment at this point, which is why overt behaviors may differ
from original intentions. The stage IV is a dynamic process of interaction. Figure 4 illustrates a
way of visualizing conflict behaviour. All conflicts are found along this continuum. The lowest
level of continuum represents conflicts with highly controlled forms of intention that have
indirect character. Then conflict moves upward along the continuum until they become highly
destructive. As a rule, functional conflicts can be identified on the lower range of the continuum
Stage V: Outcomes. Each conflict has its consequences. There are two kinds of outcomes:
functional and dysfunctional. Functional outcomes result in an improvement in the group’s
performance, dysfunctional usually hinder group performance. Conflict is constructive when its
influence is positive. It improves and simulates creativity and innovations, encourages interest
and curiosity, thus it improves the quality of decisions and the effectiveness of a group.
Functional conflict is very helpful for groupthink as it challenges the status quo and therefore can
influence on the creation of new ideas.
Conflict is dysfunctional when uncontrolled opposition eventually leads to the destruction of the
group. This type of conflict can reduce group effectiveness. Bad communication and lack of
group cohesiveness are among the most undesirable consequences of dysfunctional conflict.
For instance, New York’s well known law firm “Shea& Gould” was closed because its 80
partners couldn’t get along. As one of the legal consultants familiar with this situation said: “This
was a firm that had basic and principled differences among partners that were basically
irreconcilable”.During the final meeting with the firm’s partners the same consultant pointed:
“You don’t have an economic problem. You have a personality problem. You hate each
other.”This example illustrates how dysfunctional conflict can destroy an organization (Robbins,
2005).
It is important to identify the nature of the conflict as it will help in the resolution of the current
conflict and can prevent the appearance of similar conflicts again.
2.4. Conflict Resolution skills
2.4.1. Unhealthy and Healthy response to Conflict
Conflict is an inseparable part of healthy relationships. It is impossible for two people to agree
on everything at all times. Thus, it is important to learn how to deal with conflict rather than
avoiding it.
When conflict is not managed, it can be harmful for a relationship. But if it is handled in a
respectful and positive way, conflict can be an opportunity for growth and development of the
organization. Conflict is a situation where one or both parties perceive a threat. Conflicts
continue to spoil an organization when they are ignored. Conflicts follow employees until they
face and resolve them. People respond to conflicts based on their perceptions of the situation,
and often they don’t have the objective review of the facts. Perceptions depend on a person’s life
experience, culture, values, and beliefs.

Conflicts lead to strong emotions. If a person is not comfortable with his emotions, can’t manage
them in a stressful situation, he will not be able to resolve conflict successfully.

Conflicts are an opportunity for growth of the organization. Managing disagreements in the right
way can build trust in relationships. On the other hand, conflict may be seen as a threat even
when it is not. Because of early life experience a person may view conflict in relationships as
demoralizing, humiliating, dangerous, and something to fear. In this case a person can feel a loss
control and powerless. When a person in a conflict situation is threatened, it is necessary to deal
with the problem at hand in a healthy way.

Successful conflict resolution depends on the ability to regulate stress and emotions. During
conflict strong emotions appear which can hurt feelings. When conflict is handled in an
unhealthy way, it can be the cause of irreparable rifts, resentments, and break-ups. When a
person deals with a conflict in a healthy way, it increases the understanding among people,
builds trust, and strengthens relationships. If a person doesn’t control his or her feelings or is so
stressed that he or she cannot understand the real needs, it will be hard to communicate with
others. An example can be a couple which often argues about minor differences rather than
realizing that there might be a deeper problem between them.

It is believed that the ability to resolve conflicts successfully depends on the ability to:
- Manage stress quickly by staying calm. In this way a person can properly read and interpret
verbal and nonverbal communication.

- Control emotions and behavior. When a person can control the emotions, it is simpler to
communicate the needs without threatening, frightening, or punishing others.

- Pay attention to the feelings and words of other people.

- Be aware of and respectful of differences by avoiding disrespectful words. In this way
problems can be resolved faster (Segal, & Smith, 2011).

Conflict resolution skills:

1. Quick stress relief. Stress is an individual’s adaptive response to a situation which is
challenging or threatening for a person. The researcher Hans Selye found out that people have a
fairly consistent psychological response to stressful situations. This response was called “general
adaptation syndrome”. It provides an autonomic defence system which helps to cope with
environmental demands.
2. Emotional awareness. Emotional awareness is very useful for understanding yourself and
others. If a person doesn’t know how he feels and why he feels in a certain way, he will not have
effective and productive communication. Many people can ignore such strong emotions like
anger, sadness or fear. But the ability to deal with conflict depends on being in touch with these
feelings. If people are afraid of strong emotions or if they try to find solutions that are strictly
rational, their opportunity to face and resolve differences will be lost. It can be concluded that
emotional awareness is the ability to manage all feelings appropriately which contributes to
resolve a conflict.
Emotional awareness helps to:
- Understand what really bothers other people.
- Understand yourself, what really bothers you.
- Have motivation until the conflict is resolved.
- Communicate clearly and effectively.
- Have influence on others.
- Assessing one’s ability to recognize and manage emotions.
3. Nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication plays a big role in conflict resolution,
as during conflict process the most important information is exchanged in a nonverbal way. The
elements of nonverbal communication are emotionally-driven facial expressions, posture,
gesture, pace, tone and intensity of voice.

2.5 Choosing the best conflict management style

The collaborative style is usually recognized as the preferred approach to conflict resolution. For
example, the collaborative conflict management style results in better joint venture performance.
The parties discuss concerns more quickly and openly, seek their partners opinions, and explain
their course of action more fully than when a non-collaborative style is used. However, this style
works only under certain conditions. Specifically, it is best when the parties do not have
perfectly opposing interests and when they have enough trust and openness to share information.
Collaborating is usually desirable because organizational conflicts are rarely win-losesituations.
There is usually some opportunity for mutual gain if the parties search for creative solutions.
You might think that avoiding is an ineffective conflict management strategy, but it may be the
best approach when the issue is trivial or as a temporary tactic to cool down heated disputes.
However, conflict avoidance should not be a long-term solution because it increases the other
party’s frustration.

The competing style of conflict resolution is usually inappropriate because organizational

relationships rarely involve complete opposition. However, competing may be necessary when
you know you are correct and the dispute requires a quick solution. For example, you might use
the competing style when you believe the other party’s position is unethical or when it otherwise
violates your fundamental values. The competing style may also be necessary when the other
party would take advantage of more cooperative strategies.

The accommodating style may be appropriate when the other party has substantially more power
or the issue is not as important to you as to the other party. On the other hand, Accommodating
behaviors may give the other side unrealistically high expectations, thereby motivating that party
to seek more from you in the future. In the long run, accommodating may produce more conflict
rather than resolve it.

The compromising style may be best when there is little hope for mutual gain through problem
solving, both parties have equal power, and both are under time pressure to settle their
differences. However, compromise is rarely a final solution and may cause the parties to
overlook options for mutual gain.
2.6 Structural approaches to conflict management
Conflict management styles refer to how we approach the other party in a conflict situation. But
conflict management also involves altering the underlying structural causes of potential conflict.
Although this section discusses ways to reduce conflict, we should keep in mind that conflict
management sometimes calls for increasing conflict, mainly by reversing the strategies described
over the next few pages.

2.7 Emphasizing super ordinate Goals

Super ordinate goals are common objectives held by conflicting parties that are more important
than the departmental or individual goals on which the conflict is based. By increasing
commitment to corporate wide goals, employees place less emphasis on and therefore feel less
conflict with co-workers regarding competing individual or departmental-level goals. Super
ordinate goals also potentially reduce the problem of differentiation because they establish a
common frame of reference. Heterogeneous team members still perceive different ways to
achieve corporate objectives, but super ordinate goals ensure they mutually understand and agree
on the objectives themselves.

2.7.2 Reducing Differentiation

Another way to minimize dysfunctional conflict is to reduce the differences that produce the
conflict in the first place.

2.7.3 Improving Communication and Understanding

Communication is critical to effective conflict management. Communication can range from
casual gatherings among employees who rarely meet otherwise to formal processes where
differences are identified and discussed. Multinational peacekeeping forces work together more
effectively when troops eat and socialize together. Given increased opportunity, ability, and
motivation to share information, employees develop less extreme perceptions of each other than
if they rely on stereotypes and emotions. Direct communication provides a better understanding
of the other person’s or department’s work environment and resource limitations. Ongoing
communication is particularly important where the need for functional specialization makes it
difficult to reduce differentiation.

2.7.4 Reducing Task interdependence

Conflict increases with the level of interdependence, so minimizing dysfunctional conflict might
involve reducing the level of interdependence between the parties. If cost-effective, this strategy
might occur by dividing the shared resource so that each party has exclusive use of part of it.
Sequentially or reciprocally interdependent jobs might be combined so that they form a pooled
interdependence. For example, rather than having one employee serves customers and another
operate the cash register, each employee could handle both customer actives alone. Buffers also
help reduce task interdependence inventory between people who perform sequential tasks. We
also find human buffers in organizations-people who intervene between highly interdependent
people or work units.

2.7.5 Increasing Resources

An obvious way to reduce conflict due to resource scarcity is to increase the amount of resources
available. Corporate decision makers might dismiss this solution quickly because of the costs
involved. However, they need to compare these costs carefully with the costs of dysfunctional
conflict arising out of resource scarcity.

2.7.6 Clarifying Rules and Procedures

Some conflicts arise from ambiguous decision rules regarding the allocation of scarce resources.
Consequently, these conflicts can be minimized by establishing rules and procedures. Rules
clarify the distribution of resources, such as when students can use thelaser printer or for how
long they can borrow library books. Rules establish changes to the terms of interdependence,
such as an employee’s hours of work or a supplier’s fulfillment of an order. In most cases, the
parties affected by these rules are involved in the process of deciding these terms of
interdependence. Because it redefines the terms of interdependence, the strategy of clarifying
rules is part of the larger process of negotiation.
2.8 Stimulating Functional Conflict
Sometimes committees and decision-making groups become so bogged down in details and
procedures that nothing substantive is accomplished. Carefully monitored functional conflict can
help get the creative juices flowing once again. Mangers basically have two options. They can
fan the fires of naturally occurring conflict-but this approach can be unreliable and slow.
Alternatively, managers can resort to programmed conflict. Experts in the field define
programmed conflict as “conflict that raises different opinions regardless of the personal feelings
of the managers. The trick is to get contributors to either defend or criticize ideas based on
relevant facts rather than on the basis of personal preference or political interests. This requires
disciplined role playing. Two programmed conflict techniques with proven track records are
devil’s advocacy and the dialectic method. Let us explore these two ways of simulating
functional conflict.
Devil’s Advocacy:-This technique gets its name from a traditional practice within the Roman
Catholic Church. When someone’s name came before the College of Cardinals for elevation to
sainthood, it was absolutely essential to ensure that he or she had a spotless record.
Consequently, one individual was assigned the role of devil’s advocate to uncover and air all
possible objections to the person’s canonization. In accordance with this practice, devil’s
advocacy in today’s organizations involves assigning someone the role of critic.
This approach to programmed conflict is intended to generate critical thinking and reality testing.
It is a good idea to rotate the job of devil’s advocate so no one person or group develops a strictly
negative reputation. Moreover, periodic devil’s advocacy role-playing is good training for
developing analytical and communication skills.
The Dialectic Method:-Like devil’s advocacy, the dialectic method is time honoured practice.
This particular approach to programmed conflict traces back to the dialectic school of philosophy
in ancient Greece. Plato and his followers attempted to synthesize truths by exploring opposite
positions (called thesis and antithesis). Court systems in the United States and elsewhere rely on
directly opposing points of view for determining guilt or innocence. Accordingly, today’s
dialectic method calls for managers to foster a structured debate of opposing viewpoints prior to
making a decision.
A major drawback of the dialectic method is that “winning the debate” may overshadow the
issue at hand. Also, the dialectic method requires more skill training than does devil’s advocacy.
Regarding the comparative effectiveness of these two approaches to stimulating functional
conflict, however, a laboratory study ended in a tie. Compared with groups that strived to reach a
consensus, decision-making groups using either devil’s advocacy or the dialectic method yield
equally higher quality decisions. But, in more recent laboratory study, groups using devil’s
advocacy produced more potential solutions and made better recommendations for a case
problem than did groups using the dialectic method. In light of this mixed evidence, managers
have some latitude in using either devil’s Advocacy or dialectic method for pumping creative life
back into stalled deliberations. Personal preference and the role players’ experience may well be
the deciding factors in choosing one approach over the other. The important thing is to actively
stimulate functional conflict when necessary (such as when the risk of blind conformity or
groupthink is high).

2.9 empirical literatures

Wilmot and Hocker (2001, p. 41) state that conflict is “an expressed struggle between at least
two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources and interference
from others in achieving their goals” and conflict management styles refer to “patterned
responses, or clusters of behavior, that people use in conflict” through diverse communication
tactics (Wilmot &Hocker, 2001, p. 130). At the individual level, conflict begins “when one party
perceives that the other has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that
he or she cares about" (Thomas, 1992, p. 653). At the cultural level, conflicts occur between
members of different cultures, and members of the same culture who feel that cultural rules or
norms are being violated (Wilmot &Hocker, 2001, p. 66). Although the definitions of conflict are
different from one researcher to another and are dependent on situational variables, conflict can
be generally defined as the interaction of interdependent people who perceive opposition of
goals, aims and values, and who see the other party as potentially interfering with the realization
of these goals (Putnam & Poole, 1987).

Most of higher education institutes of all over the country, Because of their large number of
employees and different employee’s status, encounter different types of conflict which has
negative outcomes due to improper management of conflict situations (Getachew2013). With
this regard, Arba Minch University also encountered several conflicts since its early
establishment which are existed between different parties in the institution. According to the
university human resource training manual (2014, even though the university conflicts resolution
mechanisms has been improving, the organization is still confronting with conflicts which has
negative outcome and dysfunctional in nature rather than functional outcomes.

Researchers have noted numerous studies of conflict bringing positive results (Amason, 1996;
Amason&Schweiger, 1997; Rahim, 2011; Simons & Peterson, 2000); however, other studies
have demonstrated the opposite results (De Dreu&Weingart, 2003; Jehn, 1995; Jehn&Mannix,
2001; Tepper, Moss, & Duffy, 2011). Contributing to the conflicting research results is the
absence of productive conflict management skills impact upon the outcomes of conflict.
Specifically, conflict itself cannot bring useful functions or harmful outcomes to organizations,
instead the conflict outcomes depend on the employee's personal awareness and
acknowledgment of the value of conflict and conflict management skills (Rahim, 2011).
Essentially, conflict has no direct relationship to positive or negative outcomes. The positive
results of conflict result from the use of appropriate conflict management skills and the negative
results of conflict come from the use of inappropriate conflict management skills
(Barki&Hartwick, 2001). Research indicates that high performance employees know how to
manage conflict so that conflict makes a positive contribution, while less effective employees
avoid conflict or allow it to produce negative consequences that in turn produce poor work
performance (Amason, Thompson, Hochwarter, & Harrison, 1995; Desivilya, Somech,
&Lidgoster, 2010; Lester, Parnell, &Carraher, 2010; Zhang, Cao, &Tjosvold, 2011).

According to Getachew2013, most of Ethiopian higher education institutions have poor conflict
management practice and this is also true for government organizations.
 CHAPTER THREE
3. Research Methodology
In this chapter the research methodology was discussed and justified. The research methodology
states guidelines as to how the needed information should be gathered and processed.

3.1 Data sources

In order to get all the necessary data on the area under which the research is conducted, both the
primary and secondary sources of data were used.
3.2 Data collection

3.2.1. Primary sources

Datafrom primary source were collected by using questionnaire through survey method.

3.2.2. Secondary sources

Several Books, Internet sources and materials which are prepared by an organization like
organizational manuals, broachers and annual reports were used to collect necessary information.
3.3. Sampling design
According to Arba Minch University human resource directorate report in 2015, there are
4250permanent and temporary (contract) employees including both non-academic and academic
staff members. From total employees, 3708(87.24%) are permanent employees who have at least
one year working experience in the organization, which the researcher believes that they can
provide the relevant information about the issue under study. Simple random sampling was used.

3.3.1. Sampling size determination

For populations that are large, Yamane (1967:886) provides a simplified formula to calculate
sample sizes. This formula used to calculate the sample size.

Yamane (1967:886)
Where n is the sample size, N is the population size, and e is the level of precision. When this
formula is applied to the above data with ±5% Precision Level (sampling error) where
Confidence Level Is 95%, the sample size will be 362.

The sample size allocation for each campus or proportional allocation was calculated using the
formula as shown below.

ni = n * Nc

NT
Where:-
ni - sample size for each campus
n – Optimal sample size
Nc – Total population of each campus
Nt – Total population of the study area

Table3.1 Total population of each campus and their respective sample proportion matrix
Campuses Total academic Total non- Sample size Sample size Total
for non-
employees academic for academic
academic
employees staff staff
Chamo campus 198 279 19 27 46

Abaya campus 184 310 18 30 48

Kulfo campus 73 152 7 15 22

Nech-sar campus 126 212 12 21 33

Main campus 437 1737 43 170 213

Total 1018 2690 99 263 362

Source- Arba Minch university human resource directorate 2015

Based on the above matrix table, the researcher distributed 362 questioners for each category
with 98% estimated response rate.
3.4 Research design
The most applicable method was used to analyze responses from participants - Descriptive
research. Descriptive design is a fact-finding procedure. It includes analysis and interpretation of
data. Descriptive design is useful to describe answers to questions of who, what, where, and how
(Burns, Alvin, & Bush, 2009).

3.5 Data analysis and presentation

Onceall relevant data collected, it wasanalyzed by using statistical package for social science
software version 20(SPSS) and the result will be presented by using analytical tools like;
tabulations and descriptions that make it graspable.
3.6 Organization of the study
This research report will have four major chapters. The first chapter will be an introductory
chapter which consists of Back ground of the study, back ground of the organization, statement
of the problem, objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study, limitation of
the study, the research methodology and organization of the study. The review of the related
literature will be given in the second chapter. The Analysis and presentation of the data collected
from respondents will constitute the third chapter. The last chapter will be the summary,
conclusion and recommendation. Other supplementary parts of the research report will be given
before and after these four chapters.
 CHAPTER FOUR
4. DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
4.1 Introduction
As it was already mentioned in the research methodology part, questionnaire was used as a
Primary data collection method. It wasdistributed to the respondents by categorizing them in to
two. The first type of the questionnaire is distributed to Non-Academic staff and the second type
of questionnaire wasdistributed to Academic staff. Out of 263 questionnaires distributed to Non-
Academic staff of the organization, only 260 of them are returned back and out of 99
questionnaires distributed to Academic staff, 95 of them are retuned back. So In this chapter the
information gathered from the respondents is analyzed.

4.2 analysis and presentation of Data gathered from Non-Academic staff.

4.2.1 General bio data of respondents.
The first part of the questionnaire solicited the respondents about their general bio data.
Accordingly the response of the respondents is depicted on the table 4.1, below.
Table 4.1 profile of respondents from Non-Academic staff
Variables Category Number Percentage (%)
Gender Male 185 71.2
Female 75 28.8
Age 21-25 29 11.2
26-30 49 18.8
31-40 109 41.9
above 40 73 28.1
Marital Status Married 178 68.5
Single 82 31.5
Educational Diploma 68 26.2
Status BA/ BSC 151 58.1
MA/MSC 39 15.0
PhD 2 .8
Occupation non-academic 260 100.0
Academic - -
Occupational 1 year 32 12.3
experience 2 years 69 26.5
more than 2 years 159 61.2
Source- survey 2016
According to the table 4.1 above 185(71.2%) of the respondents are males and 75(28.8%) of the
respondents are females. From this data, we can easily observe as most of the organization’s
administrative staff members are males.

Out of the total respondents, 29(11.2%) of them are lies between an age of 21-25, 49(18.8%), of
them are between an age of 26-30, 109(41.9%) of them are lies between 31-40 years and the rest
73(28.07%) of the respondents are aged above 40. From this reality we can cascade the
conclusion that most of the respondents are aged above 26. As it can be easily understandable,
most of the time organizations prefer to take in to consideration the maturity level of the given
individual in addition to his/her knowledge and potential to provide some status. To this end,
individuals whose age is above 26 are better to solve problems faced by the organizations
systematically. With this regard, the organization’s Non-Academic staff combination is
somehow promising.

As far as their educational status is concerned, (depicted in the above table), 68(26.2%) of the
respondents are diploma holders, 151(58.1%) of them are BA (BSC) holders, 39(15%) of the
respondents are MA (MSC) holders and the rest2 (0.8%) of them is PhD holder.

It is definite that the educational status of the given individual has a great thing to do with the
efficiency and effectiveness of what he/she performs. So the fact that Most of the non-academic
staff of the organization holds good academic status can contribute a lot towards the
effectiveness of the organization.

With regard to respondent’s marital status, 82(31.5%) of them are single and 178(68.5%) of
them are married.

The number of years of experience of an individual can contribute a lot towards the way he/she
thinks, the method he/she performs his/her duty and the like. To this end, it is believed that the
more an individual stays on administrative portion, the more he/she can acquire an experience of
how to deal with several problems in an organization which intern leads to minimization of
conflict management problems. With this regard the data collected from the respondents
resembles that 32(12.3%) of them have an experience of 1 year, 69(26.5%) of them have an
experience of 1-2 years, and the rest 159(61.2%) of the respondents accumulated an experience
of more than 2 years.
 As it is shown on the above table most of the Non-Academic staff of the organization have
limited years of experience in an organization. This may create some gap in an organization with
respect to managing and controlling organizational resources consistently

4.2.2 Existence of conflict and perception on conflict

As it is already said in the introductory part and literature review part of this paper now days,
conflict becomes an inevitable aspect of organizations. So it is not doubtful for every
organization and almost every individual in an organization to get involved in conflict with
people around him/her. With this regard, the respondents are asked as to whether they have ever
encountered conflict with people in their work place. Accordingly, 159(61.2%) of them respond
as they encountered conflict with people with which they worked. The rest 101(38.%) of the
respondents respond as if they are not ever get in to conflict with people. This figure shows that
most of the Administrative staff in an organization are get in to conflict with one or another
party.

The next question solicited was the frequency in which they get into conflict with people in their
work place 11(4.2%) of them replied very often, 24(9.2%) of the respondents said often and the
rest 225(86.5%) of them said respond as the conflict arises rarely. From this data we can
conclude that most of the respondents get in to conflict with people in their work place rarely.
But this does not mean that they are free of conflict. It is solely a comparative explanation for
existence and frequency of conflict. The information and additional issues are depicted on table
4.2 below.
Table 4.2 existence of conflict (response of Non-Academic staff)
Have you ever How often is the conflict With whom do you get in conflict?
encountered conflict
with people?
yes no total Very often rarely total ads Stu Manage ACS total
often ment
body

Numb
159 101 260 11 24 225 260 59 32 135 34 260
er
% 61.2 38.8 100 4.3 9.2 86.5 100 22.7 12.3 51.9 13.1 100
Source- survey 2016
Key
Ads- Administrative
staff Acs- Academic
staff
Stu- students

As it is shown on the above table, 59(22.7%) of the respondents who encountered conflict with
people in work place are get in to conflict with Administrative staff members of the organization,
32(12.3%) of them are get in to conflict with students of the institution, 135(51.9 %) of them are
felt in to conflict with management body, and the rest 34(13.1%) of them are with Academic
Staff of the organization. From this given information it can be said that there is greater tendency
of conflict between Non-Academic staff and management body of the organization because of
different reasons that they can mention. Whatever is the case, every individual in an organization
is supposed to give a due attention for those frequent four les of conflict.

According to the findingsof Mulatu (2007), the existence of conflict in the organization shows
generally, conflict exists in the organization rarely with few employees encounter conflict. The
findings of the researcher shows that , even though the frequency of existence is rare, more than
60% of employees encounters conflict with different parties in the organization.

The proceeding questions are solicited in an intention of knowing the perceptions of the
respondents on conflict. From general reality point of view, it can be said that “even though
people look towards the same thing, they may interpreter it differently” because of difference in
perception that they have. To this end, every individual is expected to examine his/her perception
towards conflict so that he/she can be get benefits from functional conflicts and protect
himself/herself herself from being a victim of dysfunctional conflicts.

With this regard, the respondents are asked several questions which are intended to know their
perceptions towards conflict. The following table 4.3 reveals the information collected from the
respondents.
Table 4.3- perception on conflict (response of non-academic staff).
No Questions Number Percentage

yes no total Yes No total

1 Do you think all conflicts harm the organization? 109 151 260 41.9 58.1 100
2 Have you ever tried to create conflict among 8 252 260 3.1 96.9 100
people?
3 Do you think absence of conflict shows 83 177 260 31.9 68.1 100
effectiveness of the organization
Source- survey 2016

As we already said earlier, most of recent literatures on conflict states that all the conflicts
encountered by the given organization may not hamper the organization’s overall efficiency and
effectiveness, rather there are conflicts which enable the organization to attain and exceed the
earlier set objectives. In any case, the extent to which the organization can be benefited from
helpful conflicts is by large determined by how the parties in the given organization perceive it.
To this end, the above table 4.3 shows that 109 (41.9%) of the respondents perceives as if all the
conflicts in an organization harm the organization’s effectiveness and the rest 151(58.1%) of
them replied that all conflicts may not harm the organizational efficiency and effectiveness. This
data clearly shows that there is a problem on perception conflict.

The other question which were solicited to know the respondents perception towards conflict is
whether or not the respondents have ever tried to create conflict among people accordingly,
252(96.9%) of the respondents respond as if they never induce conflict among people and the
rest 8(3.1%) individual respond as something was done by the person to induce conflict among
people. As it is said above, individuals (especially persons who hold and perform administrative
tasks in an organization are required to differentiate between harmful and useful conflicts in an
organization. Then they should have to induce these usable conflicts to happen and they are also
required to avoid those harmful conflicts but, this is not holds true in most this organization’s
Non-Academic staff case.

The last question asked to know the perception of respondents on conflict is whether they think
as absence of conflict shows organizational effectiveness. Accordingly 83(31.9%) of them
replied that yes, absence of conflict shows effectiveness of an organization and the rest
177(68.1%) respond as the absence of conflict may not reveal an organizational effectiveness.
From this data again we can conclude that there is a perception problem on conflict on anon-
Academic staff of the institution.

Devore and Peck (1993) provided a guideline for assessing resultant correlation coefficients as
follows: coefficients less than 0.5 represent a weak relationship, coefficients greater than 0.5, but
less than 0.8, represent a moderate relationship and coefficients greater than 0.8 represent a
strong relationship. Moreover, Pearson correlation coefficient is a technique used to measure the
degree of association between two variables which may have any value between -1.0 and 1.0.
The correlation coefficient is represented by r. If the value of r is 1.0, there is perfect positive
linear (straight-line) relationship. If the value of r is -1.0, there is perfect negative linear
relationship or perfect inverse relationship. The strength of association will be stronger as the
value of correlation approaches one while it will be weaker as the value of association
approaches zero.

Table shows that, the correlation coefficients for the relationship between existence and
perception of conflict and education level are linear and positive ranging from very low to
medium (moderate) correlation coefficients.

From the table 4.4, a weak positive, though statistically significant relationship was found
between education level and trying to create conflict with workers (r=0.245, P<0.05). On the
other hand, moderate, statistically significant relationship was found between education level and
peoples who think that all conflicts harm the organization (r=0.681, p>0.5<0.8) and between
education level and people who feel their organization is effective as long as their organization is
not faced conflict (r=0.752, p>0.5<0.8).

4.2.3 Conflict in an organization and parties involved in it

The essence of this information is to identify how often a conflict is encountered at
organizational level, (not at individual level, which is discussed above). It is obvious that the
frequency in which a conflict exists in an organization shows the extent to which the
organization is capable of taking remedial actions (corrective measures) to correct the conflicting
situations, if they lead to in efficiency. With this regard 58(22.3%) of the respondents replied that
the conflict is exists in an organization very frequently, 126(48.5%) of them respond as it
happens frequently and the rest 76(29.2%) respond as it happens not frequently (rarely). This
data reveals that the existence of conflict in an organization is mostly frequent.

The next question asked the respondents about the parties which are frequently get in to conflict
in the organization. Accordingly, 26(10%) of them replied that the conflict is frequent between
Academic staff and academic staff, 117 (45%) of them said between academic staff and students,
101(38.8%) of them respond between academic staff and administrative staff and the rest
16(6.2%) replied between Academic staff and non-academic staff. This information is revealed
on the following table 4.5 precisely.
Table 4.5 - Frequency of conflict in the organization and parties involved in it.
How frequent is conflict in the Which parties are frequently get involved in
organization? conflict
Very freque Not Total Acs with Acs with Acs Acs with Total
frequent nt frequent Acs students with NACS
Ads
Number 58 126 76 260 26 117 101 16 260
% 22.3 48.5 29.2 100 10 45.0 38.8 6.2 100
Source- survey 2016
Key
Ads- Administrative staff
Acs- Academic staff
NAcs- Non Academic staff

According to the findings of M.mebratu 2007 shows academic staffs and administration staffs
get into conflict more frequently than any other staffs of the organization. The researcher finding
shows that academic staffs and their students get into conflict more frequently.

4.2.4 The way non-academic staff gets information about existence of

conflict
There are several ways through which the given individual can get on information regarding
existence of conflict. The first way is through hearsay. This is the method in which the given
individual gets information through several chains of message which may be expected or not.
This method of transmitting information is highly susceptible to distortion of the message i.e.,
the massage transmitted via this line may miss its original nature and content. Additionally the
individual who provide us information may not have full confidence in providing the whole
information to us appropriately. The second way of getting information about existence of
conflict is from friends and colleagues. As we all know, our friends and collageous are our
potential sources of several types of information, including information regarding existence of
conflict. The third method of obtaining information about existence of conflict in the
organization is through formal report. The given individual can also get the necessary
information about conflict existence from several formal reports presented to him/her. The fourth
potential source of information about existence of conflict is from the parties felt in conflict
themselves. Several times, the parties get in to conflict by themselves may provide the
information to the party that they think as providing them a solution or sharing their mental
stress. With this regard 83(31.9%) of the respondents respond that they get an information
through hearsay, 68(26.2%) of them replied that they get an information from friends and
collageous, 75(28%) of them get through formal report and the rest 34(13.1%) get from parties
felt in conflict. This information is depicted on the following table 4.6.

Table 4.6- The way administrative staff gets information about existence of conflict

No Ways of getting an information Number Percentage

1 Through hearsay 83 31.9
2 From friends and colleagues 68 26.2
3 Through formal report 75 28.
4 From parties felt in conflict 34 13.1
Total 260 100
Source- survey 2016
4.2.5 Sources of conflict
The sources of conflict in an organization are broadly classified in to three. The first one is
personal factors which include emotions of the individual, values and ethics of the person,
attitudes and perceptions, skills and responsibility diversity of the person jealousy and the like.
To this end, all of the respondents (260 or 100% of them) replied that all of those factors are the
personal sources of conflict in the organization.

The second group of source of conflict in an organization is structural factors. The typical
factors under this are Goal differences, status inconsistencies, scarcity of resources,
interdependence, unclear job boundary and relationship among authorities. To this end, all of the
respondents replied again as if all of these structural factors mentioned above are source of
conflict in an organization. Specially, interdependence (relationship between several works and
work units) in an organization and unclear job boundary (absence of demarcation between the
responsibilities that each party in an organization is supposed to assume) are the two most
prominent sources for most of the conflicts happen in the organization.

The third source of conflict in Arba Minch University is a communication factors. The major
communication factors brings conflict in an organization includes: distorted message (a message
which missed its original nature and content because of length of communication channel and
parties involved in the channel), Information overload (sending a lot of information at once
which creates difficulty to grasp and catch all the sent message), Emotional state, lack of
communications kill, use of Jargon (technical words which are only related to some fields),
information late delivery, error in perception and empathy (recognizing all individuals to be
communicated as if he have equal understanding ability with the sender and the rest of
receivers). With this regard also, all of the solicited respondents replied as if all of these
communication factors are the sources conflict in the organization. In addition to the
aforementioned three major sources of conflict, several other factors can also cited as sources of
conflict in an organization. These are: penalties, policies and procedures, reward system, cultural
differences, less obedience, performance appraisal system and result and assignment of task. All
of these factors are recognized by 260(100%) of the respondents as a possible sources of conflict
in an organization. Specially, penalties, reward system and problems on policies and procedures
are the upper most three reasons that are resulting in conflict in the organization.
4.2.6 Conflict outcomes
The outcomes of any conflict can be functional or dysfunctional. A given conflict outcome is
functional if it results in some useful or beneficial outcomes for the organization. The conflict is
dysfunctional if it brings some harmful out comes which may hampers the overall organizational
efficiency and effectiveness. Essentially, conflict has no direct relationship to positive or
negative outcomes. The positive results of conflict result from the use of appropriate conflict
management skills and the negative results of conflict come from the use of inappropriate
conflict management skills (Barki&Hartwick, 2001).

To this end, the respondents are solicited about the outcomes of conflicts that are encountered by
the organization accordingly, 164(63.1%) of them said that the conflict’s outcome was
functional, 96(36.9%) of them replied as it was dysfunctional. This information is depicted on
the table 4.7 below.
Table 4.7- Conflict outcomes
No What are the outcomes of conflict encountered by Number Percentage
the organization?
1 Functional 164 63.1
2 Dysfunctional 96 36.9
Total 260 100
Source- survey 2016
According to the finding of Mebratu, (2007) shows that more than from the non-academic staffs
of the organization 50% of conflict outcome were dysfunctional. The researcher finding shows
that only 36.9 % of conflict outcome is dysfunctional.

The next question asked the respondents about the possible functional outcomes of the conflict.
Actually, there are large numbers of functional outcomes of conflict. The typical ones are
promotion of organizational vitality, motivation of change, increased commitment, and it can
leads to new ideas and innovation. Accordingly, all (260 or 100%) of the respondents replied as
all of these can be cited as a functional outcomes of conflict in the organization.

The other question requested the respondents to identify dysfunctional outcomes of conflict.
Basically, the dysfunctional outcomes of conflict incorporate Employee turnover, customer
dissatisfaction, distorted group cooperation, increased job dissatisfaction, resource wastage,
diversion of energy form work, creation of negative climate and it also results in inefficiency.
Accordingly almost all of the respondents replied as if all of these can be taken as potential
dysfunctional conflict out comes in an organization. Specially, employee turnover and increased
job dissatisfaction becomes the major head ache of the organization.
4.2.7 Types of conflict
Working in an organization means to be involved in a conflict, as people working together have
various personalities and different views on life. Consequently, they can’t avoid conflicts in the
workplace. During the past 25 years, organizations have changed, so did their attitude to conflict
management. Companies try to adopt a strategic approach to managing organizational conflicts
(Aula&Siira, 2010). Generally, there are four types of organizational conflict:-Interpersonal
conflict, Intra-group conflict,Intergroup conflict and Inter-organizational conflict.

Table 4.8- types of conflict

Frequency Percent
Interpersonal 76 80.0
Intergroup 19 20.0
Total 95 100.0

Source- survey 2016

According to the above table 4.8, the types of conflict which are observed Arba Minch
University are interpersonal conflict and intergroup conflict.
Weider-Hatfield and Hatfield (1995) studied a relationship between conflict management styles,
levels of conflict, two general reactions to work Gob satisfaction and perception of equity), and
four types of individual outcomes (system outcomes, job outcomes, performance outcomes, and
interpersonal outcomes) among supervisors and subordinates in the United States. Two analyses
were conducted in this study and it was shown that there was a strong relationship between
integrating styles and the six organizational outcomes. In addition, high-integrating subordinates
experienced less intrapersonal, intragroup and intergroup conflicts than low-dominating
subordinates.

4.2.8 Conflict management styles.

Majority of organizational behaviourists and psychologists recognized the fact that conflict
management is a difficult task to perform. Actually this reality pertains to several reasons like
difference in personality, cultural differences between parties involved in conflict, lack of
conflict management skill, difference in status between all the parties. Accordingly, the
respondents are asked about whether they think as if conflict management is difficult task or not.
Accordingly all of the respondents replied that it is difficult task because of all the reasons
mentioned above.

The proceeding question requested the respondents to identify the best conflict management style
for them out of the alternatives provided. Accordingly, 42(16.2%) of them replied that Avoiding
(ignoring) is best, 60(23.1%) selected negotiation, 60(23.1%) selected integration (coordination)
42(16.2%) selects compromising, 25(9.6%) third party intervention and the rest 10(3.8%)
selected obliging (smoothing). This information is depicted clearly on Table 4.9 below.
Table 4.9- Conflict management styles

No Which conflict management style Number Percentage

do you think is best?
1 Avoiding (ignoring) 42 16.2
2 Negotiation 60 23.1
3 Integrating (cooperating) 60 23.1
4 Compromising 42 16.2
5 Third party intervention 25 9.6
6 Dominating (forcing) 21 8.1
7 Obliging (smoothing) 10 3.8
Total 260 100
Source- survey 2016
4.2.9 Training on conflict management
In order to equip their workers with the required necessary skill, it is a must for every
organization to prepare special training programs. Specifically organizations are required to
provide special training for their worker on areas of conflict management to enable an
individuals’ to develop a skill of managing conflicts arise in an organization between several
parties and to enable them to grasp the essence of conflict appropriately. With this regard, the
respondents were asked whether they ever got any chance to participate on a training which is
prepared on area of conflict management, accordingly 47 (18.1%) of them replied as they get the
chance to participate and the rest 213(81.9%) of them replied as they didn’t get a chance to
participate on such trainings. From this data we can easily observe that the organization is poor
at coordinating and preparing trainings on conflict management areas, even though the area is
too sensitive and necessary.

The next question solicits those individuals who got the chance to participate on training
prepared on areas of conflict management about how they find the training. Accordingly (13%)
of them said it is poor, (82%) of them said it is good and only the rest (5%) rate as the training
that they took was very good. So this again brings us to the conclusion that the trainings ever
given also lack quality.

The last question the respondents requested in this part is whether or not they applied what they
learnt on training. Accordingly 47 of them (all of them) replied they did not apply it.

4.2.10 Conflict management practice of the organization

The respondents are asked about the conflict management practice of the organization.
Accordingly, 26(10%) of them replied it is very good, the same number 26(10%) of them said it
is good, 34(13.1%) of them respond it is fair and the rest 174(66.9%) of them said it is poor
.From this we can say that majority of the respondents feel as the management practice of the
organization is poor. This information is depicted clearly on Table 4.10 below.

Table 4.10 –Conflict management practice of the organization

 How do you evaluate the conflict management practice of the organization
Frequency Percent
Very good 26 10.0
Good 26 10.0
fair 34 13.1
poor 174 66.9
Total 260 100.0
Source- survey 2016

4.3 analysis and presentation of Data gathered from Academic staff.

4.3.1 General bio data of respondents.
The first part of the questionnaire solicited the respondents about their general bio data.
Accordingly the response of the respondents is depicted on the table 4.11, below.
Table 4.11 profile of respondents from Non-Academic staff
Variables Category Number Percentage (%)
Gender Male 52 54.7
Female 43 45.3
Age 21-25 22 23.2
26-30 30 31.6
31-40 40 42.1
above 40 3 3.2
Educational Diploma - -
Status BA/ BSC 17 17.9
MA/MSC 75 78.9
PhD 3 3.2
Occupation non-academic - -
Academic 95 100
Occupational 1 year - -
experience 1-2 years 17 17.9
more than 2 years 78 82.1
Marital status Married 68 71.6
Single 27 28.4
Source- survey 2016
According to the table above 52(54.7%) of the respondents are males and 43(45.3%) of the
respondents are females. From this data, we can easily observe that there is no that much
significant gender difference in academic staff of the organization.
Out of the total respondents, 22(23.2%) of them are lies between an age of 21-25, 30(31.6%) of
them are lies between an age of 26-30, 40(42.1%) of them are lies between 31-40 years and the
rest 3(3.2%) of the respondents are aged above 40. Like non-academic analysis part, here also we
can cascade the conclusion that most of the respondents are aged above 26. As it can be easily
understandable, most of the time organizations prefer to take in to consideration the maturity
level of the given individual in addition to his/her knowledge and potential to provide some
status. To this end, individuals whose age is above 26 are better to solve problems faced by the
organizations systematically. With this regard, the organization’s Academic staff combination is
somehow promising.

As far as their educational status is concerned, (depicted in the above table), 17(17.9%) of them
are BA (BSC) holders, 75(7.9%) of the respondents are MA (MSC) holders and the rest 3 (3.2%)
of them is PhD holders.

It is definite that the educational status of the given individual has a great thing to do with the
efficiency and effectiveness of what he/she performs. So the fact that Most of the academic staff
of the organization holds good academic status can contribute a lot towards the effectiveness of
the organization.

With regard to respondent’s marital status, 27(28.4%) of them are single and 68(71.6%) of them
are married.

The number of years of experience of an individual can contribute a lot towards the way he/she
thinks, the method he/she performs his/her duty and the like. To this end, it is believed that the
more an individual stays on administrative portion, the more he/she can acquire an experience of
how to deal with several problems in an organization which intern leads to minimization of
conflict management problems. With this regard the data collected from the respondents
resembles that 17(17.9%) of them have an experience of 1-2 years, and the rest 78(82.1%) of the
respondents accumulated an experience of more than 2 years.

As it is shown on the above table most of the Academic staff of the organization have relatively
better years of experience in an organization.

4.3.2 Existence of conflict and perception on conflict.

 In this part information regarding the existence of conflict is solicited through the following three
major questions depicted on table-4.12 below.

Table 4.12- Conflict existence (response from Academic staff)

Have you ever How often is the conflict With whom do you get in conflict?
encountered conflict
with people?
yes no total Very often rarely total ads stu Managem ACS total
often ent body
Number 67 28 95 7 21 67 95 25 25 35 10 95
% 70.5 29.5 100 7.4 22.1 70.5 100 26.3 26.3 36.8 10.5 100
Source- survey 2016
Key
Ads- Administrative staff
Acs- Academic staff
NAcs- Non Academic staff

From the information given on the above table, 67 (70.5%) of the respondents replied as they
have encountered conflict with people in work place and 28(29.5%) of them respond as they did
not faced conflict with people in work place.

Regarding the frequency of conflict, 7(7.4%) of them respond as they very often get in to
conflict, 21(22.1%) of them respond as they often get in to conflict and the rest 67 (70.5%)
respond as they rarely get in to conflict.

With regard to the party with whom they get in to conflict, 25(26.3%) of them respond as they
get in to conflict with Administrative staff of the organization, 25(26.3%) of them replied as they
get in to conflict with students, 10(10.5%) of them said that they get in to conflict with academic
staffs and the rest 35 (36.8%) said that they get in to conflict with management body of the
organization. From this information we can conclude that academic staffs are highly got in to
conflict with management body of the organization, with students and with Administrative staff
of the organization.
The next questions intended to know the perception of the respondents on conflict. The data
obtained from respondents is shown on table 4.13 below.

Table 4.13- perception on conflict response from Academic staff

No Questions number Percentage

yes no total yes no total

1 Do you think all conflicts harm the organization? 16 79 95 16.8 83.2 100
2 Have you ever tried to create conflict among 15 80 95 15.7 84.3 100
people?
3 Do you think absence of conflict shows 10 85 95 10.5 89.5 100
effectiveness of the organization
Source- survey 2016
According to the information given on the above table, 16 (16.8%) of the respondents think as all
the conflicts harm the organization, 79 (83.2%) of them replied that all conflicts are not harming
the organization. The figure shows the fact that still there is a conflict perception problem in
academic staff.

For the question which says “have you ever tried to create conflict among people, 15 (15.7%) of
the respondents replied as they induced conflict among people. The rest 80(84.3%) of the
respondents responds as they did not ever induced conflict among people. This can also be
regarded as one indicator that there is still perception problem of respondents on conflict in some
amount.

Respondents are also requested whether they think as absence of conflict shows effectiveness of
the organization. Accordingly 10(10.5%) of them replied as absence of conflict shows normality
and effectiveness of the organization. The rest 85(89.5%) of the respondents answered that
absence of conflict in an organization may not reveal effectiveness of the organization. This
information can also be taken as a witness for the presence of problem on conflict perception.
4.3.2.1 The relationship between perception on conflict and education
level of the respondents
As it is discussed in the literature part of this study, it is definite that the educational status of the
given individual has a great thing to do with the efficiency and effectiveness of what he/she
performs. Since education status is important factor for organizational effectiveness and
efficiency, it is important to see the relationship of education level of employees with the
employees perception on conflict in the organization.

Table 4.14- The relationship b/n perception on conflict and education level
educational level

Pearson Correlation .723**

Conflicts harmfulness Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 260
Pearson Correlation .416**
Creating conflict among workers Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 260
Pearson Correlation .844**
If your institution is not faced conflict yet, do you feel that
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
the institution is effective
N 260

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Table shows that, the correlation coefficients for the relationship between existence and
perception of conflict and education level are linear and positive ranging from very low to
medium (moderate) correlation coefficients.

From the table 4.4, a high positive, though statistically significant relationship was found
between education level and people who feel their organization is effective as long as their
organization is not faced conflict (r=0.844, p>0.5<1). A week positive, though statistically
significant relationship was found between education level with trying to create conflict among
workers (r=0.416, p<0.5) and the relation is moderate between education level and thinking that
all conflict will harm the organization (r=0.723, p>0.5<0.8).

4.3.3 Conflict and parties involved in it in the organization

Respondents are solicited an information regarding the frequency of conflict in the organization.
Accordingly 11(11.6%) the respondents replied as it is very frequent, 36(37.9%) of them respond
as it is frequent and the rest 48(50.5%) of the respondents answered that conflict is not frequent
in the organization. This information is precisely given on the table 4.15 below.
Table 4.15- Frequency of conflict and parties involved in it in the organization
How frequent is conflict in the Which parties are frequently get
organization? involved in conflict
Very frequent Not Total Acs Acs Acs Ads Total
frequent frequent with with with with
Acs students Ads NACS
Number 11 36 48 95 10 42 43 - 95
% 11.6 37.9 50.5 100 10.5 44.2 45.3 - 100
Source- survey 2016
Key
Ads- Administrative staff
Acs- Academic staff
NAcs- Non Academic staff
Regarding the parties get in to conflict 10(10.5%) of the respondents respond as the conflict is
between academic staffs of the organization, 42(44.2%) of the respondents respond as the
conflict is exists between academic staff and students, 43(45.3%) of the respondent replied as the
conflict is frequent between academic staff an administrative staff of the organization,

4.3.4. The way academic and non-academic staff members obtain

information about an existence of conflict
The respondents are asked about the way they get information about the existence of conflict.
Accordingly, the following information depicted on table 14.16 is obtained.
Table 4.16-The way academic and non-academic staff members obtain information about an existence of
Conflict
No Ways of getting an information Number Percentage
1 Through hearsay 45 47.4
2 From friends and collageous 16 16.8
3 Through formal report 14 14.7
4 From parties felt in conflict 20 21.1
Total 95 100
Source- survey 2016
According to the information given above 45(47.4%) of the respondents respond as they get an
information regarding existence of conflict through hearsay, 16(16.8%) of respondents replied
that they get an information from friends and collageous, 14(14.7%) respond as they get through
formal report, 20(21.1%) answered as they get an information from parties felt in conflict. From
this information, we can conclude that most of the individuals get information about existence of
conflict though informal way, which is more exposed to message distortion.

4.3.5 Conflict sources

As we said earlier, there are three major categories of sources of conflict these are personal
factors, structural factors and communication factors. There are also additional sources of
conflict out of the above three categories. Regarding the respondents reply, all of the respondents
(95 or 100% of them) recognized all of the aforementioned sources of conflict as sources of
conflict in an organization. Those sources of conflict are clearly defined in our previous part, i.e.
analysis and presentation of data gathered from administrative staff members. So no detail
explanation is given here to avoid redundancy.

4.3.6. Conflict out comes

Schmidt (1974) conducts a study on group of executives and came out with the following
positive and negative outcomes of conflict. Positive outcomes of conflict are: Better ideas are
produced, people were forced to search for new approvals, long standing problems surfaced were
dealt with, people were forced to clarify their view, the tension stimulated interest and creativity,
and that people had a chance to test their capacities. Negative outcomes of conflict include:
Some people felt defeated, distance between people increased, a climate of suspicion and distrust
developed, people and departments that needed to corporate looked after only their own narrow
interests, persistence-active or passive developed were team work was needed, and that some
people left because of the turmoil

In this part the respondents are solicited about an out comes of conflicts in the organization.
Accordingly 21(22.1%) of the respondents said it is functional, 74(77.9%) said the outcome is
dysfunctional. This information is clearly shown on table 4.17 below.
Table 4.17- Conflict out comes
No What are the outcomes of conflict Number Percentage
encountered by the organization?
1 Functional 21 22.1
2 Dysfunctional 74 77.9
Total 95 100
Source- survey 2016
Additionally, the respondents are requested to identify the possible types of functional and
dysfunctional outcomes of conflicts in the organization. Accordingly all of the respondents
respond as all of what is listed down in the previous part are the possible functional and
dysfunction out comes in the organization. Again the detail explanation is escaped to avoid
redundancy.

4.3.7. Conflict management style

All the respondents recognized the difficulty of conflict management because of the reasons
stated in the previous part. Additionally, the respondents are requested about the conflict
management style that they recognize as the best one. Their response is presented on table 4.18
below.

Table 4.18- Conflict management styles

No Which conflict management style Number Percentage
do you think is best?
1 Avoiding (ignoring) 3 3.2
2 Negotiation 24 25.3
3 Integrating (cooperating) 33 34.7
4 Compromising 12 12.6
5 Third party intervention 9 9.5
6 Dominating (forcing) - -
7 Obliging (smoothing) 14 14.7
Total 95 100
Source- survey 2016
Rahim and Bonoma (1979) differentiated the styles of handling interpersonal conflict along two
basic dimensions. The first dimension pertains to the degree to which an individual attempts to
satisfy his or her own concern, while the second dimension pertains to the attempt to satisfy the
concern of others. Combining these two dimensions results in seven styles of handling
interpersonal conflicts: integrating, negotiation, obliging, dominating, avoiding, compromising
and intervention. The dominating, obliging, and compromising styles were being practiced by
US executives in handling conflict with their supervisors. They explained this difference by the
distinct culture both regions have. Arab Middle Easterners exhibit a high value on privacy and
incline to avoid conflict while US executives nurture on individualism dimension.

According to the information given above 3(3.2%) of the respondents replied as avoiding
(ignoring) is the best style, 24(25.3%) of them replied as Negotiation is the best, 33(34.7%)
replied as integrating (coordinating) is best, 12(12.6%) respond as compromising is the best
style, 9(9.5%) respond as third party intervention is best and the rest 14(14.7%) respond as
obliging (smoothing) is the best style.

4.3.8 Training on issues related to conflict

The respondents are requested whether they are provided with training on issues related to
conflict. Accordingly, all of the respondents replied as no training is given to them on the issue.
This information shows that the institution is really overlooking area.

3.3.9 The institution’s conflict management practice

When conflict is not managed, it can be harmful for a relationship. But if it is handled in a
respectful and positive way, conflict can be an opportunity for growth and development of the
organization. Conflict is a situation where one or both parties perceive a threat. Conflicts
continue to spoil an organization when they are ignored. Conflicts follow employees until they
face and resolve them. People respond to conflicts based on their perceptions of the situation,
and often they don’t have the objective review of the facts. Perceptions depend on a person’s life
experience, culture, values, and beliefs.

The respondents are requested about the conflict management practice of the institution.
Accordingly, 15(25%) of them replied as it is good, 9(15%) of the respondents replied as it is fair
and the rest 34(60%) of the respondents replied as it is poor. This data shows that the
organizations conflict management method is too problematic.
4.4 comparisons between academic and non-academic staff
4.4.1 Frequency of conflict and parties get involved in it

This part explains the descriptive statistics calculated on the basis of the variables included in the
perception on conflict. The measures of central tendency and dispersion for the variable listed in
the questioner results obtained from the sample respondents are shown in table 4.19 below.

Table 4.19- means score of Frequency of conflict and parties get involved in it
occupation of employee Mean N
non-academic 2.0692 260
academic 2.3895 95
Total 2.1549 355

Table 4.19shows the mean scoresfor frequency of conflict and parties mostly involved in it
are2.3895 and 2.0692 for academic and non-academic staff of AMU respectively. This clearly
shows that the academic staffs of AMU are more frequently involved in conflict with different
parties of the institution than non-academic staffs of the institution.
4.4.2 Comparison of frequency of conflict and parties involved in
conflict.

Regarding the frequency of conflict and the parties involved in conflict situation, the mean score
for non-academic staff of the organization is the lowest (6.3615) and the mean score for
academic staff of the organization is the highest (6.9895). This indicates that the academic staffs
are frequently involved in conflict with different parties (administrative staff, students,
management bodies and academic staffs) of the organization than non-academic staffs. Table
4.20 below clearly shows the mean score of both academic and non-academic staff for all
questions raised in this part respectively.

Table 4.20- mean comparison of frequency of conflict and parties involved.

occupation of employee frequency of conflict in parties frequently get into
the organization conflict in the organization
non- Mean 2.0692 4.2923
academic N 260 260
Mean 2.3895 4.6000
academic
N 95 95
4.4.3 Comparison of conflict management practice of the organization.
As it said before, one important task of management of the given organization is to create an
environment in which individuals and groups of people can cooperate with one another to
achieve their goals and the goals of the organization as a whole. Yet one persistent problem in
organizations is that individuals and work groups compete for limited resources, power, status,
etc. to the extent that their competition leads to disruption (or even enhancement) of cooperative
endeavour. These competitions (bad or good) are generally referred to as conflicts. Regarding
this the management should use wise and best ways to manage all conflicts occurred in the
organization. The following table 4.20 clearly depicts the mean score for how academic and no-
academic staffs rate conflict management practice of the organization.

Tables 4.20- mean score for conflict management practice of the organization.
occupation of employee Mean N Std. Deviation

non-academic 4.3692 260 1.01828

academic 4.3474 95 .86009

Total 4.3634 355 .97732

As shown above, the mean scores for both academic and non-academic staff are (4.3692) and
(4.3474) respectively. This indicates non-academic staffs of the organization rates the conflict
management practice of the organization slightly in favour than the academic staff.

There are no that much research papers or articles which are conducted about conflict
management practice and related issues. Among those few conducted research; none of them
used correlation analysis between variables and measure of central tendency. Almost all papers
conducted only by using frequency analysis. Therefore, the researcher is unable to compare and
to write further discussions under each analysis of the study.
 CHAPTER FIVE

5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary

The term conflict has many meanings and has been used to refer to events ranging from the inner
turmoil produced by competing needs or desires (inner conflict) to open violence between entire
societies (warfare). Conflict refers primarily to instances in which units or individuals within an
organization work against rather than with one another. More formally, according to one widely
accepted definition,conflict is a process in which one party perceives that another party has taken
some action which will exert negative effects on its major interests, or is about to take such
action. In other words, the key elements in conflict seem to include: opposing interests between
individuals or groups, recognition of such opposition, the belief by each side that the other will
thwart (or has already thwarted) these interests, actions that actually produce such thwarting

It is entirely appropriate to say there has been “Conflict” over the role of conflict in groups and
organizations. One school of thought has argued that conflict must be avoided, that it indicates a
malfunctioning within the group. We call this the traditional view. Another school of thought,
the human relations view, argues that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group
and that it need not be evil, but rather has the potential to be a positive force in determining
group performance. The third, and most recent, perspective proposes that conflict can be a
positive force in a group but explicitly argues that some conflict is absolutely necessary for a
group to perform effectively. We label this third school the interactions approach. Let’s take a
closer look at each of these views.

The conflict process begins with the sources of conflict (which are broadly classified in to
personal factors, communication factors and structural factors). The second step is manifest
conflict. The next step is conflict escalation cycle and the last and the fourth one is conflict
outcomes (which can be functional or dysfunctional)

Based on the parties involved in it, conflict can be classified in to: intrapersonal conflict and
interpersonal conflicts (which in turn classified in to intergroup, intragroup, inter-organizational,
intra-organizational and cross cultural conflicts)
The conflict management styles used in avoiding dysfunctional conflicts are: dominating
(forcing), obliging (smoothing), integrating, avoiding and compromising but, the effectiveness of
these styles can be determined by situations. Negotiation and third party intervention are also
used as alternative methods of conflict management.

Recent literatures on conflict management state that functional conflicts should have to be
induced in organizations for better attainment of their objectives. Two programmed conflict
inducing techniques with proven track records are devil’s advocacy and the dialectic method.

This paper is conducted under a title of “Assessment of Conflict Management Practice “in Arba
Minch University. The information required for the study is collected by applying both primary
and secondary data sources. 362 questionnaires are prepared and distributed to academic and non-
academic staff of the university. The data gathered from these sources is analysed and presented
accordingly. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are also forwarded based on what is
concluded.

5.2 Conclusions
Based on the already analysed data in the previous part, the following conclusions are drawn.

 Most of the institution’s non-academic staff members lie between the age of 31-40
whereas most of the academic and staff member’s age is between 26-40.

 Large part the institution’s staff members have better educational status.

 The years of experience of, most of the institution’s staff members (of all types) are more
than 2 years.
 At both individual and organizational level, most of the employees get in to conflict with
several parties because of several reasons.

 Conflict is frequent between administrative and academic staff, between academic and
management body and between academic staff and students of the institution because of a
wide range of conflict of interest.

 There is a problem on perception of conflict i.e.; most of the individuals recognize all
conflicts as harming the organization. Most of the individuals have not yet tried to
 induce conflict among individuals and most of the individuals relate absence of conflict
in the organization with the organizational effectiveness.

 From conflict sources in the organization, work independence, unclear job boundaries,
emotions, distorted messages, information’s late delivery, penalties, reward system and
policy and procedural problems are the major ones.

 Most of conflicts in the organization have dysfunctional outcomes.

 Increased rate of Turnover and job dissatisfaction are the two clearly and frequently
observed dysfunctional conflict out comes in the organization.

 The organization has prepared few special training program on conflict management
related issues.

 The conflict management practice of the organization is generally poor.

5.3 Recommendations
Based on the information concluded above, the following recommendations are forwarded:

 The organization should use an advantage of having youngsters as academic staff

members since they are in productive age but, great emphasis is required to be given on
how to protect and manage conflicts happen between them since people in this age are
more sensitive and reactive to conflict.

 The institution should have to keep it up in hiring and retaining those highly educated
professionals to increase its service quality, which in turn can boost the institution’s
reputation and good will.

 The organization should create some special programs in which its employees develop a
harmonies relationship among themselves. These programs are like special trips, get
together, recreational tours

 The institution should also appreciate a social relationship among workers and the heads
of the institution are supposed to play a figure head role by appearing on special
occasions for the employees like, marriage, death
 In order to minimize the frequent conflicts between the University’s academic and
administrative staff and between the academic staff members and students of the
institution, the following recommendations are helpful:

 The organization is required to put individuals who have the required skill of
leading/directing in its administrative post

 There must be clear and reasonable procedure that the administrative staffs of the
institution should have to follow in dealing with employees.

 Standardized rules and regulations that govern the student of the institution should
be communicated to the students appropriately.

 The institution is also supposed to prepare several programs to orient students

about their rights and obligations.

 Inducing functional conflicts is advantageous for the institution to be effective. So the

institution’s administrative officials are specially required to create such kinds of
conflicts among workers to come up with increased productivity.

 An absence of conflict in an organization cannot be an indicator for effectiveness of the

organization necessarily. So the individuals in the organizations (especially non-academic
staffs) should stop to think as if the institution is effective because there is no conflict.
Rather they are supposed to analyse the reason why the institution is dormant and take
the necessary remedial action.

 There must be clearly set job boundary for all units and individuals operating in the
organization in order to avoid a conflict results from presence of unclear job boundary.

 There should be clear demarcation for those works which are performed interdependently
and there should be rules and regulations for setting disputes which arise from work
interdependence.

 Managers in an organization should have to equip themselves with a mechanism to settle

emotional expressions and feelings and an appropriate remedy should be taken
accordingly.
 Every individual in an organization should refrain from transmitting distorted message
and the organization should also set formal communication channel through which
original information reaches each individual without distortion.

 All the necessary information should be disseminated to the employees timely to avoid a
conflict arise because of information’s late delivery.

 The organization should have to refrain itself from penalizing its employees as much as
possible unless the problem created in Sevier. The procedures to penalize mistaken
workers are also supposed to be communicated in advance to all of the workers in the
organization.

 The reward and promotion system of the organization requires great improvement. There
should be clear cut procedures for promoting individuals in an organization. The reward
provided is also supposed to have both internal and external equity.

 The policies and procedures of the organization should have to be communicated to

everybody as an orientation.

 The organization should have to examine the reason why most of the conflicts are
dysfunctional and corrective measures should have to be taken.

 In order to reduce employee turnover and dissatisfaction, the organization should have to
develop several incentive schemes and every individual should get fair treatment. As it’s
mentioned earlier, internal and external equality should have to be kept to avoid those
problems. Furthermore, conflicts happen between several parties in the organization
should get timely solution before they result in turn over and dissatisfaction.

 The organizations should have to prepare a special training program for its employees in
order to provide basic information about conflict and how to manage it.

 The management of the organization should have to strive hard in order to improve its
conflict management efficiency by implementing the conflict management styles suitable
for solving the conflicts encountered timely.
 Literatures on conflict management states that gender have no impact on it. So everybody
is supposed to get involved in conflict management without any gender demarcation for
the organization’s best.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Callahan, Fleenor&knodson, Understanding Organizational Behavior- Management

View point, Charles. E. Merrill pub co. USA, 1986.

Dannis W. Organ and W. Clay Hammer, Organizational Behavior, B business

Publication Inc., USA, 1989

David J. Cherrington, Organizational Behavior, Allyn and Bacon Inc., USA, 1989

Davis and Newton, Human Behavior at Work, Organizational behavior, McGraw-Hill,

USA, 1990

Debra L.Nelson, James Cambell Quick, Organizational Behavior, West p.l.c., USA, 1997.Fred
Luthans, Organizational Behavior, McGraw-Hill, USA, 19993

JitsChandan, Organizational Behavior, Vikas Pub. Co., India, Delhi, 1995

Judith R.Gordon, Organizational Behavior, 2nd edition, Allyn and Bacon Inc., USA,
1987
Randolph & Blackburn, Managing Organizational Behavior, Richard D.Irwin, inc., USA,
1989
Rashid & Archer, Organizational Behavior, Methuen publication, Canada, 1963
Richard Rettinger, Organizational Behavior, Macmillan Press, Great Britain,. 1996
Robert Kreitner and Angelo Kinicki, Organizational Behavior, 5th ed. McGraw Hill
Higher Education, USA, 2001
Robert A. Baron & Jerald Greenberg, Behavior in Organizations- Understanding &
Managing the Human side of work, 3rd Ed,Allyn & Bacon, USA, 1990.

Stephen Robbins, Organization Behavior, 7th Ed, prentice Hall Inc, USA, 1996

Steven L. Mcshane and Mary Ann Von Glinov, Organizational Behavior, 2nd edition,

McGraw-Hill Higher Education, USA, 2003.

Stuart M. Klein and R. Richard Rihi, Understanding Organizational Behavior,

Wadstwortrh Inc., USA, 1998

Aula, P., &Siira, K. (2010).Organizational Communication and Conflict Management

Systems.Nordicom Review 31(1), 125-141.
Badler, Howard (2008, September). Conflict management in the workplace.Training
news.Retrieved March 27, 2012, from
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/186/28530.html
Borisoff, D., & Victor, D. A. (1998).Conflict Management: A Communication Skills Approach.
Needham Heights: Allyn&Bacon ,AViacom Company.

Burns, Alvin C., & Bush, Ronald F. (2009). Marketing Research.New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Brett, J. M. (2007). Negotiating Globally:How to Negotiate Deals,Resolve Disputes, and Make

Decisions.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Brown, Samuel T. (2012). Conflict Management in Projects.Global Knowledge

Course.Retrieved April 18, 2012, from
http://www.globalknowledge.com/training/generic.asp?pageid=1644&country=United+Stat
es

Corby, Susan (2003, June). Public Sector Disputes and Third Party Intervention.Research paper
prepared for ACAS Company, London. Available from

Discrimination in the workplace. (2012, February 25). Retrieved February 25, 2012, form
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/DiscriminationAt
Work/DG_10026557

Eyjolfsdottir, H. M., & Smith, P. B. (1997).Icelandic Business and Management

Culture.International at studies of Management and Organization, 26(3), 61-72. Available
from http://www.javvo.com/courses/Lerche_Charles/CCM/course/lessons/08-
examples/Iceland.pdf

Fleetwood, Karen L. (1987). The Conflict Management Styles and Strategies of Educational
Managers.Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Delaware, Newark.

Fontaine, Paul. (2011).Just As Many Foreigners Coming to Iceland as Leaving.Reykjavik:The

Reykjavik Gpapevine. Available from http://www.grapevine.is/Home/ReadArticle/Just-As-
Many-Foreigners-Coming-To-Iceland-As-Leaving
Green, Charles (2012). Examples of Four Types of Conflict.Human Resources. Retrieved
February 25, 2012, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-4-types-conflict-
1207.html

Guirdham, M. (1999).Communicating across Cultures.London: Macmillan Press LTD.

Icepharma (2012).Information about Icepharma.Retrieved February 25, 2012, from

http://www.icepharma.is/English/About-Icepharma

Jeffrey, & Pinto, K. (1998).Project Management Handbook. San Francisco: Lyons Falls Turin
Books.

Jones, Gareth R., George, Jennifer M. (2008).Contemporary Management. New York: McGraw-
Hill Companies.

Kinicki, A., &Kreitner, R. (2008).Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best
Practices. New York: The McGraw - Hill Companies.

Leung, Yu Fai (2009).Conflict Management and Emotional Intelligence.Unpublishedthesis for

degree of Doctor of Business Administration, Southern Cross University, Lismore.

Managing Conflict in the Workplace.(2012). People Communicating.Retrieved April 20, 2012,

from http://www.people-communicating.com/conflict-in-the-workplace.html

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2007).Intercultural Communication in Contexts.New York:

McGraw-Hill.

Morgan, Richard (2012).What is Interorganizational Culture. Human Resources.Retrieved

February 25, 2012, from http://www.ehow.com/facts_6038557_interorganizational-
conflict_.html

McShane, S. L., &Glinow, Von M. A. (2008).Organisational Benavior.New York: McGlaw-Hill

Companies.

Mersino, A. C. (2007). Emotional Intelegence for project managers.New York: AMACOM.

Miner, J. B. (1969).Personnel Psychology.The United States of America: The Macmillan

Company.
MulatuMebratu (2007), assessment of conflict management practice, Addis Ababa University,
unpublished

Comment [G6]: I don’t think it is real

Reiknistofabankanna.(2012). RB, the Icelandic Banks Data Centre.Retrieved February 25, 2012,
from http://rb.is/english/
Robbins, S. P. (1996). Organizational Behavior: Concepts. Controversies,Applications.New
Jersey: PrienticeHall , Inc., A Simon & Schuster Company.
Rostrup, H. R. (2010). Cultural factors behind the different business cultures of Iceland and
Norway, a comparison. Reykjavik: Haskoli Islands.
Appendixes
Appendix 1
ARBA MINCH UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT
Questionnaire
The purpose of this study is to assess the conflict management practices of Arba Minch
University. This questionnaire is meant to secure relevant data to the study which is believed to
come up with valuable recommendations for problems observed (if any). Therefore, your
genuine support in responding to the raised questions has paramount importance for the
attainment of the study’s objectives. Furthermore, the secrecy of all the information that you will
provide is confidential. Hence, I earnestly request you to fill the questionnaire carefully. Thank
you in advance for your cooperation.

General instruction

There is no need to write your name. Close- ended questions are answered by placing a tick (√)
mark with in the box. Selecting more than one item in case of close ended questions is possible.

If there is inconvenience and any issue which needs clarification regarding the questioner, you
can contact me via the following address.

Phone no. 0910101447

E-mail [email protected]

Arba Minch

I. Respondent’s profile

1. Sex Male Female

2. Age

15-20 26-30 Above 40

 21-25 31-40

3. Educational level

Below Grade 12 BA/ BSC

12th Grade complete MA/MSC

Certificate from technical and vocational institution PhD

Diploma

Other (please specify)

4. Occupation

Academic staff Non-academic staff

Any other

5. What is your experience in your current occupation in the organization (please specify in
terms of years or months)

1 Years 2 year more than 2 year

6. Marital status

Single married Divorced Widowed

Others (please specify)

II. Existence of conflict and perception on conflict

7. Have you ever encountered conflict with people in your work place?

Yes No

8. If the answer for question number 7 is yes how often is it?

Very often rarely

Often other (please specify)

9. With whom do you get in to conflict?

Administrative staff Academic staff

Students Management body

Others (please specify)

10. Do you think all the conflicts harm the organization?

Yes No

11. Have you ever tried to create conflict among workers?

Yes No

12. If your institution is not faced conflict yet, do you feel that the institution is effective?

No Yes

III. Frequency of conflict and parties get involved in it

13. How frequent is conflict in your organization?

Very frequent Frequent Not Frequent

Others (please specify

14. Which parties in your organization are frequently get in to conflict?

Academic staff with academic staff Academic staff with non-academic staff

Academic staff with students’ Academic staff with Administrative staff

Non-academic staff with students Non-academic with non-academic

Administrative with Administrative staff

IV. The way if obtaining information about existence of conflict

15. How do you get the information about the existence of conflict?

Through hearsay from friends and collageous

Through formal report from the parties felt in conflict

 Others (please specify)

V. Sources of conflict

The sources of conflict in an organization can be broadly classified in to three: personal factors,
structural factors and communication factors.

16. Which of the following personal factors can be a source of conflict in your organization?

Emotions attitudes skill & responsibility diversity

Values & Ethics Personalities Jealousy

Others (please specify)

17. Which of the following structural factors can be source of conflict in your institution?

Goal differences status inconsistencies Scarcity of resources

Interdependence Unclear job boundary

Relationship among the authorities

Others (please specify)

18. Which of the following communication factors can be source of conflict in your institution?

Distorted message Information overload

Emotional state Lack of communication skill

Use of Jargon (technical terms) information’s late delivery

Errors in perceptions empathy

Others (please specify)

19. Are there any other sources of conflict to mention out of what said above?

Penalties Policies & procedures

Reward system Cultural differences

Gender differences Less obedience

Performance appraisal System & result Assignment of task

Others (please specify)

VI Conflict outcomes

20. What are out comes of the conflicts encountered by your organization?

Functional Dysfunctional

21. If the outcomes are functional which of the following are the consequences?

It promoted organizational vitality It increased efficiency

It motivated change It increased commitment

It leads to new ideas & innovations

Others (please specify)

22. Which of the following dysfunctional outcomes of conflict happen in your institution?

Employee turnover customer dissatisfactory

Distorted group cooperation Increased job dissatisfaction

Resource wastage Diversion of energy from work

Creates negative climate In efficiency

Others (please specify)

V. Types of Conflict and conflict management styles.

23. Which of the following types of conflict frequently occurs in your organization?

Interpersonal Intragroup Intergroup

24. Do you think that conflict management is a difficult task?

No Yes

25. If your answer for question above is yes why?

Because of difference in personality

Because of cultural differences between the parties involved in conflict

Because of lack of skill in conflict management

Because of difference in status between all the parties

Other (please specify)

26. Which of the following conflict management system do you think is better?

Avoiding (ignoring) Integrating (cooperating) Compromising

Negotiation Obliging (smoothing) 3rd party intervention

Dominating (forcing)

Other (please specify)

VII. Information regarding training on conflict

27 Have you ever taken any special training on conflict related issues?

Yes No

28. If your answer for question number 26 is yes, how did you find it?

Excellent fair Good

Very good poor useful waste

29. Have you applied what you learnt on the training regarding conflict management styles?

Yes No

VIII. The conflict management practice of the organization

30. How do you evaluate the conflict management practice of the organization?

Excellent Good poor

Very good fair

Thank you!