**3. Conflict resolution**

Just as in the general view of conflict resolution in people's lives, also in the context of interpersonal conflicts, it is possible to specify their positive impact on human relationships and the social world of people as such. Rue and Byars [3] see this positive effect in a number of areas, highlighting the "dynamizing" aspect of conflict action and its resolution. Social con-

A productive conflict helps to clarify the issues at stake and plays an important role in the development of interpersonal relationships, social groups, organizations, and communities that are likely to be stagnant if they are trying to persistently prevent these conflicts [4]. However, the correct solution of the conflict also plays an important role in developing the personality of a particular person. That is why it is more important to pay attention to how the conflict should be managed than to prevent it. A major challenge in conflict management is, according to the aforementioned authors, to prevent and avoid the escalation of the conflict, or to exploit its potential for productive discussion. Eggert and Falzon [5] also pointed out the possible positive impact of the conflict, which is linked to a constructive conflict

Conflict research has a long tradition and was mostly incorporated into a model of more general concepts, which has also significantly marked its definition and exploration. Lewin's [6–8] understanding of the conflict is derived from the concept of field dynamics, or the living space of a person, in which forces of varying valency and level continually operate. When studying conflicts, Dollard and Miller [9] rely on the definition and specification of the approach tendencies and the avoidance tendencies. These tendencies increase with the approach to a positive goal, or to a negative stimulus. The interdisciplinary approach to the conflict investigation was pointed out by Keller [10], who specifies the view of the conflict in terms of ethological, psychological, historical, philosophical, mathematical, and sociological

There are a large number of definitions of conflict, mostly influenced by the theoretical and methodological conceptual focus of the authors [4]. In general, they describe two approaches, or viewing angles of this issue. The first of these approaches is related to understanding the notion of conflict in terms of an apparent manifestation in the form of physical or symbolic confrontation, words, or activities between the opposing parties. The second meaning is related to the understanding of this concept in the sense of a conflict of interest and is situated within ourselves. It is represented by situations in which an individual experiences frustration when, for example, mutually exclusive targets cannot be achieved at the same time.

It should be noted that the aforementioned definitions of conflict are relative, as conflict of interest often produces a manifested conflict. In addition, conflicts of interest may produce additional responses, such as reluctance, reconciliation, and inactivity. On the other hand, the manifested conflict may also have other causes than conflicts of interest, e.g., perception of

contexts and we could continue in the calculation of the scientific disciplines.

flicts mobilize communication, emotions, and behavior.

resolution.

98 Organizational Conflict

**2. Conflicts**

Conflict resolution involves, in particular, the forms of behavior and mutual responses of individuals in a conflict situation [12]. In [13], authors emphasize a dispositional concept in conflict resolution, which is related to a certain form of solving the conflict. The conflict resolution form in terms of the dispositional concept is based on personality traits, power needs, affiliation, and so on.

It is also possible to examine conflicts and their solutions in terms of situational concepts. Rahim [14] describes a contingent approach according to which the individual conflict resolution styles are applied on the basis of an assessment of their adequacy in a particular situation in which the conflict arose. Antonioni [15] points out that not all individuals are able to always use the best style of solution within each conflicting situation.

When characterizing the basic concepts of ways of defining and resolving conflicts, it is essential to accept both points of view—disposition and situational. It is not possible to examine conflicts and ways of solving them in isolation from the situation in which the particular conflict arose and from the personality traits of the people who deal with these conflicts.

The correctness of such consideration is also supported by a number of researches in which attention has been paid within various contexts to analyses of the relationships among situational characteristics, personality traits, and behavior [16, 17].

In the background of these projects, a more general methodological problem is often discussed to address the question of how behavioral predictions can be made on the basis of knowledge of stable, dispositional, trans-situational characteristics that affect behavior regardless of the particular situation, or how that particular situation or a type of situations (their perception) modify the given behavior [18–21].

Authors of [22–24] define conflicts within two dimensions—interest in self and own needs, and interest in others. Each style of behavior in a conflict situation is thus a functional level of utilization of these dimensions. These theories distinguish five main conflict resolution styles, which are: avoidance, rivalry, compromise, adaptation, and cooperation [25].

Conflict resolution is influenced by situational factors that have a strong impact on their character and quality. They also affect the attitudes and interests of conflict participants. The processing of a conflict strategy is dependent on a complex set of situational conditions. Changing these conditions also changes strategy selection. Callanan and Perri [28] provide a broad overview of situational factors that can influence the choice of a conflict processing

Conflict Resolution by Managers

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Reference [32] defines situational factors as a time and place of observation that do not result from personal knowledge (intra-individual) and stimulation knowledge (selection of alternatives) that have a demonstrable and systematic impact on the current behavior. These are the attributes of a decision, which affect the decision-making process and its results. Bercowitch and Jackson [33], in turn, speak of situational factors that affect the behavior and relate to all the social and physical conditions under which the process is proceeding. The situational approach, according to [34], emphasizes the elements of the situation that motivate people's

According to [35], the situational approach represents a specific emphasis on the impact of the situation on the choice of behavior and intra-individual changes over time. Behavior in a particular situation is unique, even though one has an own way of responding to situations. In accordance with [28], organizations should recognize that there may be a very large number of conflict-causing situations and should therefore create the right environment for a proper response to them, and the conflict itself would produce more positive results for the partici-

In one of our research projects [35] dealing with conflict resolution by managers, we have attempted to identify the differences in the ways of resolving conflicts in different situations. The research file consisted of 52 managers (29 top managers and 23 line managers), of which 28 were men and 24 were women. The average age of these managers was 32 years, and the average length of managerial experience was 9 years. Data collection was carried out in 2013

In the research, we used the questionnaire method. The questionnaire contained two model

Situation 2: You have a feeling injustice because of being falsely accused of something. What

The model situations took place in three different environments (at work, at home, and among friends) and in each environment the respondent had to choose from five options to resolve the conflict situation (avoiding, accommodating, collaborating, compromising, and competing) that corresponded to the concept by [22]. The individual ways to resolve the conflict were

judged by managers on a 6-point scale from 1 (definitely yes) to 6 (definitely no).

Situation 1: Imagine that someone is backbiting and you learn about it. What do you do?

strategy.

behavior to resolve conflicts.

pating parties as well as for the organization itself.

**4. Research on conflict resolution**

by means of the snowball sampling method.

situations:

do you do?

Conflicts occur in a variety of social contexts, not excluding the working life. Collins [26] argues that the occurrence of conflicts in the work environment is inevitable, and therefore it is desirable to learn to address them and try to exploit their potential benefits. If the conflict is not properly resolved, losses occur in mutual relationships, trust, psyche, and often also in an organization as a whole [27]. At the same time, however, it is necessary to point out that if managers are forced to spend much time on conflict resolution, they lack behind in other management activities.

Effective conflict resolution in an organization or business is currently considered a legitimate, inevitable, and positive predictor of effective organization management. It is crucial for business productivity. Conflict is an essential feature of organizational life [28]. The organization is a place where there are disagreements in opinions and goals, and where conflicts among people but also among groups are seen as a common phenomenon, which cannot be avoided by any organization. According to [29], conflicts are reflected in the organizational structure, rules, procedures, and management. A key factor in working with organizational conflict is its impact on improving the organizational environment. However, the conflict must be functional; its solution must be the result of creative procedures. Only in this way can the conflict contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. On the other hand, if the conflict is uncontrollable, it can have dysfunctional consequences [30].

In the context of conflict issues in general and conflict resolution in managerial work, the issue of how effective conflict resolution can be is tackled in the forefront. The method of conflict resolution is essential for its further development in terms of the escalation or de-escalation of the conflict. However, this does not mean that there is no appreciation of the use of means to prevent conflicts.

Various theoretical and methodological concepts of conflict resolution methods are described in the literature. Even though these concepts correspond to certain theoretical and methodological bases, their common characteristic is in most cases to identify and specify individual attributes of the conflict resolution methods. In several publications, we can find the previously mentioned concept of Thomas and Kilmann [22]. In conflict resolution, in addition to the previously mentioned methods [22], there are styles such as dominance, positive vs. negative style, passivity, integration, delegation, mediation, negotiation, understanding, forgiveness, etc.

Irrespective of conflict resolution methods, Owen [31] recommends not to avoid conflicts, not take them personally, and take a neutral, emotion-free stance.

The ways of resolving conflicts can be discussed from different viewpoints. In several of our researches, we focused on the situational concept of conflict definition and ways of their resolution in the context of gender issues.

When characterizing the basic concepts of conflict resolution, it is clear as we have already mentioned that it is not possible to characterize, examine, and interpret this problem in isolation from the situation in which the particular conflict occurred and from the personality traits of the people who are actors of the conflict.

Conflict resolution is influenced by situational factors that have a strong impact on their character and quality. They also affect the attitudes and interests of conflict participants. The processing of a conflict strategy is dependent on a complex set of situational conditions. Changing these conditions also changes strategy selection. Callanan and Perri [28] provide a broad overview of situational factors that can influence the choice of a conflict processing strategy.

Reference [32] defines situational factors as a time and place of observation that do not result from personal knowledge (intra-individual) and stimulation knowledge (selection of alternatives) that have a demonstrable and systematic impact on the current behavior. These are the attributes of a decision, which affect the decision-making process and its results. Bercowitch and Jackson [33], in turn, speak of situational factors that affect the behavior and relate to all the social and physical conditions under which the process is proceeding. The situational approach, according to [34], emphasizes the elements of the situation that motivate people's behavior to resolve conflicts.

According to [35], the situational approach represents a specific emphasis on the impact of the situation on the choice of behavior and intra-individual changes over time. Behavior in a particular situation is unique, even though one has an own way of responding to situations. In accordance with [28], organizations should recognize that there may be a very large number of conflict-causing situations and should therefore create the right environment for a proper response to them, and the conflict itself would produce more positive results for the participating parties as well as for the organization itself.
