1. CONFLICT

2. What is conflict?
Definition:
Smith (1996)
A situation in which conditions, practices, or goals of individuals are inherently incompatible.
Thomas (1995)
A struggle over values or claims to scarce resources, power, or status. In this struggle, opponents aim to neutralize, injure, or eliminate their rivals.
Armstrong, M. (1991)
It is a total range of behaviour and attitudes that express opposition and divergent opinions between managers on the one hand, and workers and their organisations on the other.

3. Conflict is the interaction of interdependent people who perceive opposition of goals, aims and values, and who see the other party as potentially interfering with the realisation of these goals, i.e., when one party feels its concerns are frustrated or about to be frustrated.

4. Conflict occurs when there are
differences in:
Needs
Perceptions
Goals
Experience
Values

5. One must distinguish between issues of substance and issues of emotion
Issues of substance
There are things such as disagreements over organizational policies and practices or competition for the same organizational resources (i.e. people, money, office space, vehicles, etc.)
Emotional issues
Generally these involve negative feelings between parties and they range from anger, distrust, resentment, fear or differences in styles.

6. Types of conflict
Intrapersonal (within or inside ourselves) Frustration
Interpersonal (between two or more individuals) substantive; emotional
Intragroup / intra-departmental/ (within or inside a group)
Intergroup/ inter-departmental/ (between two or more groups)
Organizational –occurs when organizations are antagonistic towards one another
Conflict at one level can impact on another. These
are interlinked.

7. Conflict cycle

8. The conflict cycle
Understanding of the conflict cycle helps identify links between conflict causes, tensions, outbursts and solutions and helps determine effective responses.
Conflict is dynamic; it can either wreak havoc or can lead to very positive results for an organization or group.

9. As two or more parties try to have their own way, things are done or said that threaten the other’s territory.
This causes reactions intended to protect that territory and to set things right.
This sets in motion a cycle of feelings and behaviour.
As the conflict cycle progresses from one stage to another, tension mounts and actions become more destructive.

10. STAGES IN THE CONFLICT CYCLE
There are five distinct stages:
Tension development/Prelude to conflict
Role confusion stage/Triggering event
Injustice Collecting stage/Initiation stage
Confrontation stage/Differentiation stage
Adjustment stage/Integration or resolution

11. We need to understand that:
Once begun, conflict follows a five stage progression.
The length and time for any stage may be short or very long, but no stage is missed.
The conflict may be resolved at any stage.
The further a conflict progresses, the more difficult it will be to resolve in a positive way.

12. 1. Tension development stage
All conflict begins at this level.
Tension develops before a conflict comes out into the open.
Tension signals that someone is feeling threatened or hurt, or is experiencing a sense of loss in some way.

13. At this stage, the problem seems insignificant but it is at this stage that conflict can best be handled since there is still a measure of trust and communication, and no great harm has been done to parties.
If the conflict is not handled at this stage, it will move on to the next.

14. 2. Role confusion stage
Here the parties are confused about what is going on and are asking:
“Who and what is causing the conflict?”
“Am I part of the problem?”

15. At this stage, it is extremely important that opposing parties be talking to one another, defining:
The issues involved
The changes or action that have precipitated the conflict
The decisions or renegotiations that need to be made to resolve the conflict.

16. Unfortunately, communication often breaks down at this stage because now the issues seem very threatening and the parties are uncertain about how they should relate to one another in the conflict.
While initially they were embarrassed to say anything, now the opposing parties feel threatened and avoid the conflict by breaking off communication with one another.

17. 3. Injustice collecting stage
This is the first really dangerous stage as participants begin to feel that matters can only get worse.
Now the opposing parties begin to pull apart and prepare for battle.
Every injustice and bad report, past or present, real or imagined, is collected to become a part of each one’s artillery.

18. It is also the name-calling stage as each party criticizes the other as being “stubborn”, “insensitive”, “unfair” etc.
Opposing parties now expend their energies on attacking each other, rather than on attacking the issues.
Positive communication has now broken off between the opposing parties.

19. 4. Confrontation stage
This is a very sensitive and potentially volatile stage as opposing parties now confront one another.
It may even turn into a “fight” stage if reason is allowed to give way to anger, insults and heated arguments.
If confrontation is well-managed at this stage, it can become an opportunity for the parties to see how damaging the conflict has become and how important it is for them to clarify and resolve their differences.

20. 5. Adjustment stage
Confrontation cannot continue forever since it taxes those involved so heavily.
As a result the conflicting parties look for ways to make adjustments to end the confrontation, with some going to the extreme of severing relationships with the other party.

21. Conclusion
Major emphasis should be placed on dealing with conflict before it comes to a crisis point.

22. Conflict in the workplace

23. IN ORGANISATIONS WE CAN HAVE:
Role conflict
Goal conflict
Hierarchical conflict
Functional conflict
Line staff conflict
Formal–informal conflict

24. Conflict in the workplace can be a result of:
Bad management style
Bad employee morale
Differences in attitudes and opinions to meeting the goals and objectives of the organisation

25. If one or bothparties refuse to participate in bringing the cycle back down, there will be further troubles.
This creates distress, distrust, divisiveness and resentment within the group.
And although it is true of both parties
Expectations are that the manager/s can resolve or manage such conflicts.

26. Liability of Conflict
An organisation can be negatively affected by conflict because it can:
Can distract from goal achievement
Can cause defensiveness and rigidity
Brews unproductive stress
Workers slow down production

27. Groups do their best to under cut each other
A ‘he who is not with me is against me’ climate takes over
Mutual suspicion and distrust becomes order of the day
Coordination of effort, job satisfaction morale and productivity go down the drain.

28. Expectations of a manager’s role in conflict
If one or bothrefuse to participate in bringing the cycle back down, there will be further troubles. This fundamental lack of social skills creates distress, distrust, divisiveness and resentment within the group. And although it is true of both parties, the higher expectations reside with the manager.

29. While 'management' involves meeting the goals of the organization, 'leadership' is about --among other things --trust.
This includes those in the department trusting that their 'leader' knows how to complete the conflict cycle and ensure peace and cooperation within the group.

30. If the conflict involves the leader, it is especially notabout showing the individual the dangers of challenging one's authority by publically humiliating that person.
Such behaviour erodes anyconfidence and trust employees have toward that manager.
And yet, it is a common tactics of both insecure andinefficient managers, who lead using “fear tactics.

31. Conflict Resolution vs Conflict Transformation

32. Conflict resolution is a range of methods for alleviating or eliminating sources of conflictwhich involves external actors.
Processes of conflict resolution generally include negotiation, arbitration, mediation, and diplomacy.

33. *Conflict transformation is the process by which conflicts, are transformed into peaceful outcomes.
*It differs from conflict resolutionin that it recognises that conflicts require more than the reframing of positions and the identification of win-win outcomes.
*Conflict transformation is therefore a process of engaging with and transforming the relationships, interests, discourses of the conflicting parties by the parties themselves.

34. Conflict Resolution is a problem-solving approach to conflict. A "mediator" walks the complainants through a discussion of the conflict to help them solve their differences.
Conflict transformation is all about the conflicting parties understanding each other, trying to get something positive out of it.