Introduction
Whether desirable or undesirable, conflict must exist as part of an organization due to the diversity in the views and cultures and other factors. As employees interact, they have different values and norms, which create a tense situation in an organization, making them appear as if they are incompatible. This study will identify the underlying humanistic facets that contribute to interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict in an organization (Robbins & Judge, 2016).
Resolving Conflicts Between People and Over Time in the Transformation Toward Sustainability: A Framework of Interdependent Conflicts
One of the causes of interpersonal or intrapersonal conflict is personality. This occurs when people in an organization do not agree on different personalities, such as their lifestyles or approaches to different personalities (Majer et al., 2021). According to different organizational heads, personality conflicts are complicated to solve because they involve personal matters. Some colleges are difficult to tolerate in organizations, with some having mild annoyances and others totally intolerable. Personality conflicts may affect the mental and emotional well-being of the employees involved, hence reducing their overall productivity.
The main causes of personality conflict are individual differences, incivility, threats to status, and lack of trust. Individual differences in how a person feels, looks, and acts may cause conflict among employees (Majer et al., 2021). Differences in personal beliefs and culture can stir interpersonal or intrapersonal conflict in an organization. Incivility is a situation whereby employees do not have respect for each other. There is disregard and lack of consideration in many forms that may include sarcasm, brusque greetings, noise, untidiness, satire, and other distractions in the workplace (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Threat to status involves the social rank of a person in an organization; when employees feel that their social rank is being threatened, they may be rebellious as they try to maintain their desired image. Regarding trust, employees need to have relationships that open up to their boundaries to enrich their social interactions. However, if not there, employees have trust issues with each other, which can cause conflict among them.
Conflict can arise based on the general mental ability of the employees. This case mostly happens when there is task interdependence between the employees. According to Majer et al. (2021), the more the nature of task interdependence among employees, the more likeliness of conflict to arise. This high level of interdependence intensifies relationships, and therefore a small mistake can lead to a significant issue. This mainly occurs when the senior employees consider the junior employees to have a low mental ability to perform their tasks, so they look down on them. This creates an environment of disrespect which causes conflict to escalate very quickly.
Different levels of mental abilities impact the performance standards of employees. Therefore, during the rewarding period, conflict may arise as people question the criteria used in awarding the employees (Majer et al., 2021). For instance, while the production employee is rewarded for their efficiency and productivity, sales employees are rewarded based on their net sales. Therefore, disagreement in the rewarding systems can cause employee conflict.
Gender, whether noticeable or not, is another organizational factor that causes conflict. There is significant evidence of the values and beliefs that power relations and gender roles are the main causes of gender-based conflict in organizations. A study conducted in over 100 organizations in the US showed that gender roles, especially notions relating to masculinity, can lead to insecurity and eventually conflict (Majer et al., 2021). The rewarding system in gender is another reason which can generate gender-based conflict. For instance, when women in managerial positions fail to achieve their goals, they are more likely to be supported by the organization and given a second chance, unlike men, who can be immediately dismissed and perceived as failures.
International Journal Of Organizational Leadership: How Cultural Differences Influence Conflict Within an Organization: A Case Study of Near East University
According to this article, conflict, whether in-born or adopted due to social, political, or economic factors, is a biological concept. The author links conflict with the individual personalities of an individual rather than the cause of the act. Conflict in humans is inevitable, part of their daily social and biological lives, as they compete for rare resources (Com et al., 2019). Therefore, everyone is born with an aggressive spirit based on “survival for the fittest.”
Conflict in an organization can be caused by a lack of compatible goals and approaches. Communication is essential in solving conflict, which implies that resolving conflict becomes a problem when there is no communication (Com et al., 2019). When there is a communication breakdown between groups, interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict will likely occur. However, conflict can sometimes escalate to a point where it cannot be resolved using communication, mainly personality conflict. In this case, the different parties in conflict have varying motives, styles, or values, making their conflict unresolvable using communication due to the need for dominance (Robbins & Judge, 2016). For instance, during a power struggle whereby the different parties want to be in power or control a specific aspect of the company, the conflict is difficult to resolve because they cannot all be satisfied. In this case, an organization must use other methods such as punishments, rewards, incentives, emotional blackmail, and integration to handle the conflict. It is important to ensure no unresolved relationship in an organization because it leads to poor performance and less productivity.
The other factor that can lead to conflict, according to this article, is cultural factors. These include factors such as gender, values, communication, and religion (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Gender affects how people react to situations, and it differs between males and females. Organizations that have both genders are bound to have conflict. The study assumes that human beings who operate within the same organizations are bound to have conflict, and therefore, if both genders are available, then gender conflict must arise (Com et al., 2019). Additionally, employees also cause conflict based on their values. These are various beliefs that each employee takes significantly, and they may not align together for all employees. For most people, beliefs are inbuilt in them, and therefore, they find it difficult to abandon them; therefore, when the values cross, an organization is likely to face an intensified conflict (Com et al., 2019). Since most employees are not ready to compromise their values for others, conflict is expected to arise in the event of a values mishap.
Finally, religion as well causes conflict in organizations and society. People’s perceptions and attitudes are shaped by their religion. Religion also shapes the commitment of individuals in the workplace and their values (Com et al., 2019). Therefore, when an organization implements various policies based on a specific religion, there is a possibility of conflict arising. Organizations should ensure that they are religion-neutral to reduce the chances of religious conflict.
Conclusion
Many factors cause conflict in an organization, including personality differences, the general mental ability of employees, gender, biological factors, lack of compatible goals, and cultural factors. Although some such as personality differences are not easy to control, other personality factors such as cultural factors, gender, and mental abilities can be controlled. Organizations should look for ways to avoid conflict in their organizations for enhanced performance and increased productivity.
References
Com, W., Gözde Koyuncu, A., & Chipindu, R. (2019). International Journal Of Organizational Leadership: How Cultural Differences Influence Conflict Within an Organization: A Case Study of Near East University. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 8, 112–128. Web.
Majer, J. M., Barth, M., Zhang, H., van Treek, M., & Trötschel, R. (2021). Resolving Conflicts Between People and Over Time in the Transformation Toward Sustainability: A Framework of Interdependent Conflicts. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. Web.
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2016). Essentials of organizational behavior (13th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.