Power and Conflict

Conflict is present where there is an incompatibility of goals arising from the opposing behaviours at the individual, group or organisation level. Conflict is behaviour intended to obstruct the achievement of some other person goals.

The objectives of any organisation should be designed to ensure that they are meet, the needs of both the company and the individual. If these are not met conflict may occur. Causes or sources of organisational conflict can be many and varied. The most common causes are the following:
· scarcity of resources (finance, equipment, facilities, etc)
· different attitudes, values or perceptions
· disagreements about needs, goals, priorities and interests
· poor communication
· poor or inadequate organisational structure
· lack of teamwork
· lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities
The only time I have been in group in which conflict occurred and we were not able to achieve its purpose was for an event we had to hold to raise money and as there were 6 of us in the group it was very hard to make sure everyone happy, had their say, No one was left out, this was one of the most difficulties task as everyone had different personalities and at times there were personality clashes which made decisions harder for everyone, as it took a lot of time to decide on things, there were a few arguments in which people were unhappy and unsatisfied. We also had times where someone wanted to take on the leadership and do everything, which was a massive down fall, as others were unhappy, there were Feelings of defensiveness some actions and comments are taken personally, Arrival and departure times are not sharp, there was disagreements over trivial matters and someone people felt left out from the whole thing. The strategies that were used to deal with the conflict were the following:

ü Maximize people's strengths and minimize their weaknesses in a strategic manner to optimize team functioning.
ü Realize you will not change personalities or styles people bring to the team, but you can work with them creatively.
ü Try to deal with the underlying reasons for conflict; use active listening skills.
ü Be aware of what team members are doing outside of work. If a team member goes to an extreme, there may be problems outside of work that are causing the conflict.
ü Focus on the positive side of each person's differences. Each person brings a different strength to the table.
ü Redesign the job or role to maximize group effectiveness
ü Give everyone an equal job and make sure they are satisfied and have their say


The different ‘sources of power’ that there are, are the following:

Daniel Katz (1965), created a typology that distinguishes three main sources of conflict: economic, value, and power.
1. Economic conflict involves competing motives to attain scarce resources. Each party wants to get the most that it can, and the behavior and emotions of each party are directed toward maximizing its gain. Union and management conflict often has as one of its sources the incompatible goals of how to slice up the“economic pie”.
2. Value conflict involves incompatibility in ways of life, ideologies – the preferences, principles and practices that people believe in. International conflict (e.g., the Cold War) often has a strong value component, wherein each side asserts the rightness and superiority of its way of life and its political-economic system.
3. Power conflict occurs when each party wishes to maintain or maximize the amount of influence that it exerts in the relationship and the social setting. It is impossible for one party to be stronger without the other being weaker, at least in terms of direct influence over each other. Thus, a power struggle ensues which usually ends in a victory and defeat, or in a “stand-off” with a continuing state of tension. Power conflicts can occur between individuals, between groups or between nations, whenever one or both parties choose to take a power approach to the relationship. Power also enters into all conflict since the parties are attempting to control each other.

Strategies in which organisations can use to overcome conflict at work are:

As a manager there are a number of actions that you can take to increase motivation and reduce conflict, these include:
· Designing jobs and organizational objectives with the needs if the people that you manage in mind
· Consulting those that you manage regularly to gauge their views and to identify their development needs
· Creating channels of communication such as suggestion boxes enabling the people that you manage to communicate with you
· Keeping the people you manage in the picture about targets and changes in the organization
· Give more decision making powers to those who work for you
· Give a lot of praise where it is due and recognize efforts and achievement
Conclusion

I have come to a conclusion that conlict between individual are that people have differing styles of communication, ambitions, political or religious views and different cultural backgrounds. In this diverse society, the possibility of these differences leading to conflict between individuals is always there, and we must be alert to preventing and resolving situations where conflict arises. And conflict within a group of people is different because even within one organisation or team, conflict can arise from the individual differences or ambitions mentioned earlier; or from rivalry between sub-groups or factions. All leaders and members of the organisation need to be alert to group dynamics that can spill over into conflict.
It is important that work is designed in such a way that it in-corporate the needs of the individual and the organization.
Key management responsibility is to create a two way communication between organizations and individuals. This will allow the employee to communicate the aspirations and worries about work while the employer is able to communicate organizational needs and objectives. Improved communication can be achieved through regular progress reviews. The employee sits down with their line manager to discuss work related progress.

Reference:
http://www.mediate.com/articles/donaisB2.cfm
Week 6 lecture notes - Power and Conflict in organisations