**3. Conflict triggering issues**

If pursuing a conflict prevails, then all the contradictions, whether being imaginary or real, provoke ego-centric reaction and striving to aggressively defend one's own ego from imaginary and real threats. In case any real working problems arise, a manager with a conflict pursuing complex can easily start blaming other people, could use threats and would rather manipulate other people's a sense of guilt. While discussing the situation, the manager would perceive any disagreement or a rush word as a threat to his/her own status, he/she then would use cruel irony and sarcasm, and so with his/her own reactions would ease the dynamic tension in the conflict, and eventually shift from discussing the problem itself to personal opposition.

Conflict resolution ability is an alternative to these two extremes in ego-centric behavior and is expressed through a set of motivational, cognitive, emotional, will-power, behavioral and communicative characteristics: either perceiving a wide range of conflict manifestations: emotions, images, words, actions "both in yourself and other people" as soon and as clear as possible, without either intensified taking all the necessary measures to promote non-escalation; or assertive communication that is aimed at explaining and expressing one's own point of view, clearing all the discrepancies and holding discussions; judging one's own personal potential in conflict resolution clearly and readiness to turn to third parties for help, if necessary.

Organizational conflict is defined in modern literature is not just any conflict of interests that happens within the organization but also the one that is caused by breaking rules of behavior or sets of values, that happens due to contradictions of formal organizational standards and the real behavior of the people within that group that is aimed at fulfilling the interests of the parties involved on the basis of opposition. These types of conflicts are tightly connected with

The most widely spread reason of conflicts is inequality because of the position in imperatively coordinated associations in which some people manage and rule, while the others have to submit and follow the commands and orders. Conflicts are defined by people's consciousness, contradiction in personal and public values, difference in expectations, practical intentions and actions and misunderstanding each other's actions; conflicts are also caused by all sorts of misapprehensions, logical mistakes and a wide range of semantic difficulties in conducting communication, either lack or distortion of information. Incompatibility in the claims of the parties involved, while having to deal with restricted means, could be called a universal source of conflicts. A conflict is a clash and confrontation of individuals and groups that is characterized by inflicting mutual damage that is aimed at protecting one's real and/or imaginary interests.

Conflict at a workplace as Antsupov and Shipilov remarked [9] has four basic functions: first, it balances personal, group and company interests. Sometimes it strengthens the bonds between employees as they unite against one common problem or one common opponent; second, they indicate that something is wrong within the staff; third, they promote innovations and creativity, as conflicts help the company to develop economically, socially and spiritually; fourth, they change the climate within the organization, encouraging trust, respect and authority.

All the participants in these types of conflict could be roughly divided into three groups that include: (1) a boss and an employee, (2) two employees and (3) groups. The first is actually the mostly wide spread, constituting about 53% of the total number of organizational conflicts. As

the organization itself and its working conditions.

152 Management of Information Systems

Viewing conflict resolution from a practical standpoint, it looks viable to break all the reasons that cause conflicts into five main categories. Understanding this will definitely help the mediator to promptly find a way to resolve the conflict most efficiently. Lincoln in [11], defined the following attributes: structural factors that exist intrinsically, despite our wishes and capabilities and those could not be changed within a conflict: (1) values, (2) relations (directives, stereotypes), (3) behavioral reactions, (4) information-related incentives, that is, the information that kindled the conflict. The way particularly, these factors influence the conflict and what exact role they play in it constitutes the essence of the present analysis. In various socio-humanitarian discourses, a conflict issue is essential and integral. Society is mostly treated not as a static and stable condition but as an ever-going process, infinite flow of events that consists of not some stable conditions but rather endless conflicts and tension.

The conflict issue is one that could be described as a key question in social perception and it requires appropriate knowledge with a wide range of applicable resources that would enable to reasonably interpret the logic that predominates social processes and can produce relevant apparatus for immediate correction and managing these processes. It is clear that the role and importance of information in social conflict dynamics is essentially a troubled area that becomes the center of a discussion, concerning defining the limits and forms of socially acceptable conception that has long become more than just academical. Eco once opened his mouth to say that [12] "in the immediate future the entirety of our society is bound to split into or maybe it has already done so- two groups: those who only watch TV and thus get ready-made images and conceptions about the world affairs without any right to critically select the information they get; and those who look at the computer screen, this group is capable of selecting and processing information. So starts the division of cultures that has already existed since the Middle Ages: those who were able to read manuscripts and so could critically assess religious, philosophical and scientific issues; and those who were brought up in churches via images that were previously chosen and processed for them."

Finally, it is of extreme importance to comprehend how the area of conflict expands due to the impact of informational influence concerning the issue of information safety and carrying out state policy in communication management area. We believe that the theoretical approaches to conflict studies that already exist require serious supplements and improvement.

Conflict is not just a simple phenomenon possessing particular traits that indicate some extent of deviation from a regular series of events that defines human behavior. As an attributive property of society, conflict has as its ultimate foundation and source not certain feelings and emotions that distort human relations but rather the relations themselves (and in terms of a systemic approach it means its social structure), in whose institutional foundations its subjects hold more or less meaningful positions.

Ashirov [13] stated that any organization develops only in case it works on the improvement of the already existing relations within the company. One of the key aspects of it is preventing and resolving any conflicts that may arise. If conflict resolution is focused on the conflict itself and not on the underlying issues that brought it, then there could be a shift of values, in case of which parties pay more attention to winning the conflict, than to resolving the issue. In case of a conflict in a workplace, one of the factors that make the situation even worse, is the fact that people involved in the conflict see themselves as a part of the group, thus removing from taking any personal responsibility and instead following the lead. One of the key strategies in resolving conflicts at a workplace is realizing that even opposing parties share some interests and aspirations and in this area lays the solution. All the participants have to understand that the solution would not mean just victory for one party and total defeat for the other one.

As a starting point for one aspect in the consideration of the special nature that defines any conflict, we have chosen the toolkit developed by Luhmann. This choice is explained by the fact that his communication theory combined many elements with different approaches to the understanding of conflict. As was noted by Cooley [11], the study of the information system in society is still one of the best ways of understanding social and value changes.

In developing the theory of self-referential systems, Luhmann made the following statement: a system is something that can distinguish itself from the outside environment and render this borderline. Society constantly makes a distinction between itself and the outside environment; it is this distinction that provides the society with the right to be called a system. According to this notion, he considers communications and not people and their actions the as the elements of the social system.

In this way, society as a system consists of various distinctions (communications) than in due course lead to other distinctions. Power, truth, money (property), law, religion, art and love constitute communicative codes. As Luhmann clearly shows, communication essentially means distinction between information, messages and understanding. It is impossible to communicate without all these three elements being united. This approach provides a different perspective to understanding the secrets of conflict. This is not just a tribute to another, this time "communicative" trend in fashion, which considers communication as one of the fundamental properties of sociality. Hence as our starting point we take a famous remark by Gilyarevskii [14] that information is the actual meaning that a person attributes to this particular data according to the rules of its presentation that is inherent to this particular person. Luhmann goes on to support a very similar conception that political communication is not just a multi-level system of information circulating around but above all, it is the meaningful context of a political process. We should also keep in mind that communication has its indispensable components, which are communicative relations (delivering the meaning) and communicative acts (delivering information via technology).

select the information they get; and those who look at the computer screen, this group is capable of selecting and processing information. So starts the division of cultures that has already existed since the Middle Ages: those who were able to read manuscripts and so could critically assess religious, philosophical and scientific issues; and those who were brought up

Finally, it is of extreme importance to comprehend how the area of conflict expands due to the impact of informational influence concerning the issue of information safety and carrying out state policy in communication management area. We believe that the theoretical approaches

Conflict is not just a simple phenomenon possessing particular traits that indicate some extent of deviation from a regular series of events that defines human behavior. As an attributive property of society, conflict has as its ultimate foundation and source not certain feelings and emotions that distort human relations but rather the relations themselves (and in terms of a systemic approach it means its social structure), in whose institutional foundations its sub-

Ashirov [13] stated that any organization develops only in case it works on the improvement of the already existing relations within the company. One of the key aspects of it is preventing and resolving any conflicts that may arise. If conflict resolution is focused on the conflict itself and not on the underlying issues that brought it, then there could be a shift of values, in case of which parties pay more attention to winning the conflict, than to resolving the issue. In case of a conflict in a workplace, one of the factors that make the situation even worse, is the fact that people involved in the conflict see themselves as a part of the group, thus removing from taking any personal responsibility and instead following the lead. One of the key strategies in resolving conflicts at a workplace is realizing that even opposing parties share some interests and aspirations and in this area lays the solution. All the participants have to understand that the solution would not mean just victory for one party and total defeat for

As a starting point for one aspect in the consideration of the special nature that defines any conflict, we have chosen the toolkit developed by Luhmann. This choice is explained by the fact that his communication theory combined many elements with different approaches to the understanding of conflict. As was noted by Cooley [11], the study of the information system in

In developing the theory of self-referential systems, Luhmann made the following statement: a system is something that can distinguish itself from the outside environment and render this borderline. Society constantly makes a distinction between itself and the outside environment; it is this distinction that provides the society with the right to be called a system. According to this notion, he considers communications and not people and their actions the

In this way, society as a system consists of various distinctions (communications) than in due course lead to other distinctions. Power, truth, money (property), law, religion, art and love constitute communicative codes. As Luhmann clearly shows, communication essentially means distinction between information, messages and understanding. It is impossible

society is still one of the best ways of understanding social and value changes.

in churches via images that were previously chosen and processed for them."

jects hold more or less meaningful positions.

154 Management of Information Systems

the other one.

as the elements of the social system.

to conflict studies that already exist require serious supplements and improvement.

Luhmann coordinate system, which in the communicative categories fixes the role of conflict in social evolution, makes it possible to explain a basic approach using a unified theoretical foundation: the causes of conflict lie in the area of any interaction, thus reflecting distinguishing features if this particular interaction, in which case the degree of interdependence and mutual obligations is higher than of "common values" or "social contract".

The key conclusion speaking about studying conflicts is the notion that by utilizing the conflict potential and society's tolerance to conflicts (or declaring it in a different way, due to refusal to externalize all conflicts as it was typical for segmentary societies) social systems require instability, otherwise they will fossilize, while through strengthening of the potential of conflicts and tolerance to conflicts in society" [15] accumulation and acceleration of social evolution occurs.

According to Luhmann in Ref. [16], potential conflict is an attribute feature and a natural state of all social systems. The degree of actualization in the conflict potential may vary and basically depends on the degree of differentiation within the system and the stage of its evolution. The conflict itself, in its turn, is a source of the communicative evolution in the society. Conflicts in legislative societies are neither suppressed nor avoided; each citizen is provided with an appropriate form of communication in order to evade its violent resolution.

This analysis allows Luhmann to allocate several criteria to the communicative features of a conflict: (1) a conflict is an attribution of independence to the contradiction in communication; (2) a conflict only takes place in a situation when anticipation of communication is present, while the opposing party, on the other hand, transmits total denial of communication [14]. Thus, conflict is a consequence of inadequate ("negative") communicative responses to challenges and deviations from these challenges; (3) a conflict is clearly separated from the contradictions which are either suggested or watched. Conflict is not actually an interruption or termination of communication but is in fact its continuation in some particular form. Conflicts lend themselves to the continuation in communication and maintain its openness, including the use of denial. Logically, unfolding the complex and multi-valued definition of a conflict, Luhmann draws our attention to its parasitic nature and forms its conceptual core, that a conflict is a negative form of interaction. A conflict as a negative form of interaction is a set of forced actions that definitely possess an affirmative-negative character. Negative interaction which is characterized by parties acting at cross purposes is observed when one of the parties seeks to neutralize the counteracting subject or a group of subjects.

Later, this original definition is supplemented and developed using the following suppositions: first, conflicts do not only put the potential of socio-political deviations to the test but also lead to behavioral integration within the participants; second, noting the "disturbing influence" of conflicts on the social system, Luhmann articulates their special properties, such as the easiness with which it all comes out of control; third, suppression of conflicts by using violence, that is, "extremely burdensome suppression that leads to suppressing conflicts, is a vital characteristic of early societies". With increasing social complexity, development of political domination and the emergence of legitimate force to suppress illegitimate violence, which is able to affirm its own type of communication, it becomes "possible to achieve a greater number of conflicts and greater peace options at the same time", while simultaneously increasing the deviation in various communication proposals and removing the burden of possible conflicts that arise from this deviation; fourth, as a fundamental social fact, Luhmann describes the possibility of allowing conflicts while de-emphasizing them through social regulation or third-party influence; fifth, while the complexity of social systems increases, it is concurrently accompanied by differentiation in the causes and topics of conflicts, which are increasingly searching for new issues. All the while, although the structural mechanism of conflict initiation does not present a "solvable problem", the system is able to bear conflicts since differentiation of their causes helps one to identify deep structural foundations in society that lead to outbreaks of new conflicts.

The seriousness of the problems touched upon by Luhmann lies in the fact that the present analysis gives one reasonable grounds to construe that if actors, while having no communication between themselves, make predictable decisions within the rigid framework of rules in the game of their own design, they do not actually need social interactions. Accordingly, the problem of social order is not so much a problem of political power as rather a problem of socialization [17].

Zaitzev in [18] remarked that one can clearly see the correlation between the group's maturity and efficiency and the types of conflicts that prevail there. Highly developed companies with strong group identity are characterized by having professional conflicts that on the other hand mostly suffer from personal conflicts. He also stated, that Russian business culture, unlike the typical American and European ones which were defined by Hofstede in 1980, possesses six unique features that define it. They are strong ideology, definiteness, highly developed hierarchy, collective mind overtaking individual one, sociality (social stability and protection) and own views concerning the future.

In today's information society, the information transmission process is mediated by the mass media, as direct interaction between the sender and the addressee is virtually impossible. Luhmann considers in [19] that something must be new and deviating to become one of important assumptions that determine whether some object becomes information. Moreover, this selection principle is essentially the conflict itself. The system faces a choice whether to continue creating new meanings, continue communication or cease to exist at all. The social system can successfully function only through communication. So the negative assessment is not just an evaluation of the entire world but of a specific system. The communicative system can continue to show its ability to communicate only on the basis of ongoing communication. However, communication may still be misinterpreted or may be rejected altogether. Does this mean surrender? According to Luhmann, no, as there is still a powerful mechanism that ensures the continued existence of society even in case of misunderstanding and rejection. Society provides a self-control mechanism in which the process of communication refers to itself and engages in communication about its own difficulties, reorganizing itself through conflict.

Later, this original definition is supplemented and developed using the following suppositions: first, conflicts do not only put the potential of socio-political deviations to the test but also lead to behavioral integration within the participants; second, noting the "disturbing influence" of conflicts on the social system, Luhmann articulates their special properties, such as the easiness with which it all comes out of control; third, suppression of conflicts by using violence, that is, "extremely burdensome suppression that leads to suppressing conflicts, is a vital characteristic of early societies". With increasing social complexity, development of political domination and the emergence of legitimate force to suppress illegitimate violence, which is able to affirm its own type of communication, it becomes "possible to achieve a greater number of conflicts and greater peace options at the same time", while simultaneously increasing the deviation in various communication proposals and removing the burden of possible conflicts that arise from this deviation; fourth, as a fundamental social fact, Luhmann describes the possibility of allowing conflicts while de-emphasizing them through social regulation or third-party influence; fifth, while the complexity of social systems increases, it is concurrently accompanied by differentiation in the causes and topics of conflicts, which are increasingly searching for new issues. All the while, although the structural mechanism of conflict initiation does not present a "solvable problem", the system is able to bear conflicts since differentiation of their causes helps one to identify deep structural foundations in soci-

The seriousness of the problems touched upon by Luhmann lies in the fact that the present analysis gives one reasonable grounds to construe that if actors, while having no communication between themselves, make predictable decisions within the rigid framework of rules in the game of their own design, they do not actually need social interactions. Accordingly, the problem of social order is not so much a problem of political power as rather a problem of

Zaitzev in [18] remarked that one can clearly see the correlation between the group's maturity and efficiency and the types of conflicts that prevail there. Highly developed companies with strong group identity are characterized by having professional conflicts that on the other hand mostly suffer from personal conflicts. He also stated, that Russian business culture, unlike the typical American and European ones which were defined by Hofstede in 1980, possesses six unique features that define it. They are strong ideology, definiteness, highly developed hierarchy, collective mind overtaking individual one, sociality (social stability and

In today's information society, the information transmission process is mediated by the mass media, as direct interaction between the sender and the addressee is virtually impossible. Luhmann considers in [19] that something must be new and deviating to become one of important assumptions that determine whether some object becomes information. Moreover, this selection principle is essentially the conflict itself. The system faces a choice whether to continue creating new meanings, continue communication or cease to exist at all. The social system can successfully function only through communication. So the negative assessment is not just an evaluation of the entire world but of a specific system. The communicative system can continue to show its ability to communicate only on the basis of ongoing

ety that lead to outbreaks of new conflicts.

protection) and own views concerning the future.

socialization [17].

156 Management of Information Systems

Burton, who believes that [20] "communication is a characteristic of any relationship. In human relations, communication streams typically include messages and established interactions. Communication takes place even in the absence of messages and interaction" established the dependence in the use of communication in relationships of either cooperation or conflict on the content and understanding of its content, uses the concept of "effective communication", understanding it as the following: intentional transmission of information; obtaining and interpreting information in the exact way which it was intended during transmission; and including information into the forming and changing of values, interests and goals.

The effectiveness of communication depends on: whether the information is intentional or unintentional; the transfer purpose: accurate or misleading information; and the accuracy in the interpretation of information.

Each and every of the above-mentioned characteristics depends on the type of communication (verbal or visual, direct or indirect) and the circumstances that accompany it (its transmission being conveyed either in the conditions of fear or security, awareness or prejudices).

Burton concludes that there is a close correlation between conflict and ineffective communication. He correctly believes that: first, information does not always harmonize relations in behavioral systems, because people resort to communication both in conflict occurrences and peaceful relationships; second, there may arise communication antipathies, in case the flow of any other messages and interactions is blocked, that in its due course affects the behavior and opinions of people; third, conflict stems from inefficient communication; fourth, the first step in the study of conflict and its resolution is the establishment of effective communication; fifth, conflict resolution must include the need for controlled communication (raising its level to transform relationships of competition and rivalry into the search for common values); sixth, the process of conflict resolution primarily consists of confirming that information has been obtained exactly. It seems worthwhile to consider a general model that describes the way political communication takes place. The formula of this model is to answer the following questions: Who communicates? What is being communicated? Which channel is used? Who is it communicated to? What is the final result?

The general model of communication in that case looks like this: the communicator (the author of the message); the message (information); communication channel (message transfer means); the recipient (the message addressee); and the impact achieved (communication efficiency). Thus, to resolve social conflicts, society requires a constant increase in the number of information channels and their capacity, as "words and labels that we use define and create our social world" [20]. In this sense, social information should be treated as the key concept in the analyzing conflicts.

The information that is false, distorted, excessive or untimely is closely connected with the wrong understanding and interpretation of the facts and events that are present at the conflict. Information could be clearly perceived or distorted depending on the fact whether it was perceived as "friendly" or "alien"; according to Shainov in [8], people tend to trust and admit the information that came from friendly hands and misinterpret and omit the information originating from suspicious sources. The parties involved into a conflict, always come to it with a ready conception of what is right or wrong about the events concerned. They never bother to consider the possibility that they could be wrong and should double-check. Their expectations are always negative and never include letting the opposing party have its say. They establish their own behavior accordingly, never doubting that the other party shares the same views. The next step involves setting into motion the mechanism that should confirm the hypothesis stated, that in its turn ignores the information that does not follow the pattern, thus confirming the "evil design" that was already attributed to the opposing party, which solely aims at hurting the interests of the contender. That brings us to the notion that actually the information itself is most widely spread reason for conflicts breaking out. It essentially is the "most sensitive" indicator of the conflict escalation. In any given conflict it becomes the first factor that shapes hostility and mistrust. It happens at the very beginning, at the stage when behavioral change occurs, the information instantly starts to be adjusted, distorted and withheld. So, what particular information leads to a conflict fueling? It is the sort of information that is perfectly acceptable for one party and is totally unacceptable for the other.

Rozanova points out in [21] an evident some somewhat underplayed idea, that as many conflicts occur while the person is seriously unhappy, this hinders his ability to think clearly thus making the situation even worse for both parties.

The Russian expert in conflict resolution Karpenko [22] summarizing the studies of Lincoln, structured the most common information-related problems that contribute to creating a conflict. He stated them as the following: incomplete and inaccurate facts, including issues related to the concept of why the problem originated in the first place and the history of the conflict; irrelevant facts/sets of facts; unwanted disclosure of information that could offend the values of one of the parties, violate privacy and leave unpleasant memories; underestimation of facts and their implications; suspicion of the deliberate information concealment; involuntary misinformation; experts, witnesses, sources of information or data being unreliable, including controversial results of appraisals and issues concerning new unproven technologies, as well as inaccurate translations and media reports; rumors; arbitrary interpretation of language.

Another interesting case in point was that mentioned by Shainov in [8]. He remarked that more women than men actually admit having conflicts at work. He attributed it to the fact that women tend to be more emotional and sometimes over-dramatize. A series of surveys that attracted the author's attention indicated that younger people tend to be more involved into conflicts. It could be more than just getting older makes one wiser. Shainov remarked that this fact could be specific for our country where the older generation that was brought up and educated during the USSR era was encouraged to comply with the system and strongly commanded not to challenge it.

Making attempts to examine the above-mentioned problems, it became possible to develop a more or less adequate and efficient theoretical solution formulating the criteria for the applicability of information in the development of strategic models, which is represented as follows: (1) Coherence is the ability of actors in the organizational environment to use internal communication lines between hierarchical structures, institutions and sectors with success when preparing and making key decisions; (2) Competence is the level of rational evaluation and understanding of the meaning of information; (3) Loyalty is the ability of actors in the information environment to form an idea about the greatest acceptability of their proper activities in comparison with other players and about modification of information in the social context by transaction of values and mindsets; (4) Efficiency is an instrumental evaluation indicator of the efficiency of decisions that are made on the basis of information and the implementation of results in the organizational environment. This functional environment is exactly where it becomes possible to reformulate the issue of information relevance in the context of analyzing strategies of conflict management.
