Question

Discuss the types and levels of both functional and dysfunctional conflict, as well as culture and conflict in organizations.

Answer 1

In any organization, work place setting , or any other institution, conflict is almost inevitable to arise. However, some conflicts are productive where as others are unproductive. This means the conflict may cause damage, which is usually how it is thought to be but at other times, just as strange as it sounds, it may improve performance and cause people to perform better. This is where the concept of healthy criticism can be thought of to be closely related, or the concept of healthy competition i seven more similar.

Conflict refers to incompatibility, disagreement or even a clash between two parties, whether it be individuals, groups, or communities. It is very normal to see conflict not among those who dislike each other or are in competition, but also among loved ones, families, whenever there is a disagreement among them. conflict has a negative connotation, but just as prevalent conflicts are, the good news is that they are productive at times.

Functional conflicts are those tensions among parties, or groups that lead to positive results. There are 5 stages of conflicts, interaction of which may result in the conflict being either productive or functional or dysfunctional.:

1- Potential Opposition or Incompatibility. In this stage there is a perceived threat of having a conflict with the other party. The chances are higher when there is a communication barrier, or the two have not contacted and talked. Also, if one of the group, or party, is more specialized or skilled, or may have higher turnover, then the risk of conflict is high. personal factors as views, opinions, beliefs, values, if differ from the other party, the chances of conflict is high.

2- Cognition and Personalization. When there is acknowledgement of potential opposition, the cognition comes into play. We tend to become more aware, more conscious. this may be functional to a certain level, as the party will tend to perform better than the other party. There may be an interaction of emotions involved, positive or negative.

3- Intentions.These are the intended acts to perform in a conflict. These include competing, collaborating, avoiding, accommodating, and compromising. Competing, Collaborating, accommodating will tend to have functional consequences to a certain extent. Compromising and Avoiding may tend to have dysfunctional impact.

4- Behavior.This is implementing the intentions. Depending on the intentions, the behavior involved may be harmless or harmful.

5- Outcomes- The outcome of the conflict may either be functional or dysfunctional.

Functional outcome is one when the conflict resulted in productivity, positive results, improved quality, better decision making, and creativity.

Dysfunctional outcomes are those that resulted in reduced productivity, reduced quality, and effectiveness, as well as resulting is lack of communication, interaction even more, among the groups.

The Organizational culture refers to the norms and rules of the organization to be followed by the employees, this may include code of conduct, dress code, the social atmosphere etc. Therefore, it may also help prevent the conflict to arise, or at times may even cause the conflict to arise, latter happens when the competition is very high and the turn over is differential. When people of different cultures work at the same organization, their cultural differences, or difference in values, habits may at times result in what is called cultural conflict. This is where the "organization culture" comes in, as it forms guidelines for all the employees which are uniform, thus, preventing conflict to occur relatively less frequently.