**6. A model for conflict resolution**

moreover, important to talk openly with employees about organizational visions and arguments in support of them [25]. Managers who initiate dialog about core organizational values and listen to employees' views about aims and means of achieving them are in a good position to create agreement and cooperation in accordance with the best interests of

Role conflicts arise when the conflict parties have different views about areas of responsibility, distribution of tasks and borderlines between formal and informal roles. These conflicts can easily arise if there are many gray zones between roles and uncertainty about routines

Managers have, in the first instance, a responsibility for creating clear areas of responsibility, as a preventive means of avoiding role conflicts. When such conflicts arise, managers should make sure that there are clear agreements, and that they are accepted by all the conflict parties. Initiatives to change roles can be unpopular among employees who are given limited freedom to do what they want, but managers need to make decisions that benefit the

Role conflicts can easily arise when there are tensions between professional and administrative roles. These role conflicts have become increasingly common in organizations, in the light of modern ideals of economic-administrative management 'from above', and professional pressure from first-line services 'from below' [43–47]. This double pressure can be especially challenging for managers who have to bridge the two worlds: they must understand the roles of those who work on the periphery of the organization while at the same time be sensitive and heedful of centralized pressure. The solution is often to look at distribution of roles in the light of actual competence and to acknowledge that individual employees have different beliefs about areas of responsibilities, depending on where they work in the

Personal conflicts arise when someone perceives others' way of being as unacceptable or provocative. These conflicts are not connected to social roles or interests we strive to fulfill. They concern instead who we are as individuals, the personality traits we have and how we express

The fact that personal conflicts are rooted not so much in persons' actions as in the persons themselves makes them especially challenging to resolve. Any attempt to encourage the conflict parties to reconsider their way of being can easily be experienced as personal criticism,

Good communication skills are required to resolve personal conflicts. There are four main communication strategies managers can use. A *relational* strategy is to make it clear to the

which in turn creates communicative distance or, in the worst case, complete denial.

the organization [13, 43].

and competence skills [2–4, 44].

**5.5. Role conflicts**

10 Organizational Conflict

organization.

organization [13, 28].

**5.6. Personal conflicts**

attitudes [7, 10, 47, 48].

The abovementioned conflict types can surface in various ways in organizations. At the same time, they are related to each other conceptually. In the first type of conflict – interpretation conflicts – there is no substantive platform of disagreement, no shared conception of a factual object of discourse. The parties are, in reality, talking past each other.

In argumentation conflicts, the parties have the same perception of what the conflict is about, but their views on how it should be resolved are based on incompatible arguments. The next three conflict types involve specific ideas the parties have about what they are entitled to in terms of realizing values, fulfilling interests and conforming to roles. The final conflict type personal conflicts—can be understood as the category that remains when the other possibilities have been eliminated.

Understood like this, the way the conflict types are related to each other should guide managers' resolution practices. When confronted with a given conflict situation between opposing parties within a manager's area of responsibility, the natural first step is to determine whether the parties understand each other, whether they agree about the issue of discourse and whether they understand their own and opposing parties' arguments. If such an exploration does not lead to clarifying solutions, it is relevant to ask whether the conflict involves opposing interests or values, or incongruent role beliefs as regards organizational structure. If none of these questions can be answered in the affirmative, the conflict falls into the remaining category, personal conflicts.

It is important to bear in mind that although this step-by-step strategy has a general application, it is not always necessary to explore all the steps in detail. It may, for instance, sometimes be clear from the start that the parties do not misunderstand each other. Nonetheless, the two first conflict types can function as a check list: in cases where it is not already clear how a given conflict should be understood, it is always relevant to ask whether it has been caused by misinterpretation or incompatible arguments related to an area of discourse within the relevant organizational context.

agreement is often knowledge of facts in the world, but the idea has a wider significance: in all conflict resolution, it is crucial to find something the parties can agree on, something that can serve as a shared starting point for constructive dialog. Furthermore, in an organizational context, the aim is always to seek agreement about the best interests of the

Management and Conflict Resolution: Conceptual Tools for Securing Cooperation and Organizational Performance

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72132

13

It is also important to find a common core in the next phase: even when managers are unable to resolve a conflict by focusing on its factual basis, it is important to transcend subjective perspectives in order to understand what the problem really is. Three questions become

This second part of the conflict resolution process differs from the first in the sense that it is not always natural to start out with questions about values. It might be just as natural to start out with the issue of interests. In this phase, managers are therefore to a larger extent engaged in a clarifying analysis. It is necessary to understand which strategy that best fits the conflict

When managers have been unable to achieve an understanding of the deep structure of a conflict by posing these five questions, it is relevant to consider the final category, personal conflicts. The problem is not merely what someone says or does, but who they are, or, at least,

It may be difficult to resolve this conflict type, which is, in itself, a reason for trying to resolve a given conflict situation by considering the other conflict types one by one, before concluding that a conflict situation involves a personal conflict. In general, managers should not assume that a conflict between employees in their organization is a personal conflict unless the other

This means, in other words, that the resolution model can be used to explain why managers should not conclude that a conflict is personal unless they have thoroughly eliminated the other possibilities. It has been extensively documented that conflict parties too quickly assume that the problem is the opposing parties themselves more than factual or relational issues, and the model can help managers to think constructively about these issues [7, 8, 46]. Often, the core problem involves one or several of the other conflict types, and it is often easier to find solutions when this is the case. By using the model, it is possible to get knowledge of the real source of conflict escalation and to use this knowledge to work efficiently on deescalation. The probability of finding solutions is much greater if managers do this instead of

organization.

relevant:

in question.

• Do the parties have inconsistent values?

how they are perceived. The question becomes:

• Is social interaction undermined by personality traits?

possibilities have been thoroughly considered and eliminated.

relying on a superficial understanding of the conflict.

• Do they disagree about role distribution and areas of responsibility?

• Do they have incompatible interests?

More generally, there is a logical connection between the six conflict types that can serve as a model of preparedness, as illustrated in **Figure 2**. The conflict types may certainly overlap, and a given conflict may involve several conflict types. Furthermore, there are sometimes gray zones in which it is not clear how a given conflict should be analyzed. Nevertheless, considering each conflict type in turn will normally lead to clarifying insight. Ordinarily, it is not necessary to do more than ask a core question corresponding to each conflict type. As regards the two first types—interpretation conflicts and argumentation conflicts—the questions can be formulated as follows:


It may be sufficient to ask these questions if the conflict is, in fact, based on incompatible interpretive frameworks. The questions can also be used in dialog with the opposing parties to develop a shared understanding of what the conflict is about. Such a platform of

**Figure 2.** Model for conflict resolution.

agreement is often knowledge of facts in the world, but the idea has a wider significance: in all conflict resolution, it is crucial to find something the parties can agree on, something that can serve as a shared starting point for constructive dialog. Furthermore, in an organizational context, the aim is always to seek agreement about the best interests of the organization.

It is also important to find a common core in the next phase: even when managers are unable to resolve a conflict by focusing on its factual basis, it is important to transcend subjective perspectives in order to understand what the problem really is. Three questions become relevant:


a given conflict should be understood, it is always relevant to ask whether it has been caused by misinterpretation or incompatible arguments related to an area of discourse within the

More generally, there is a logical connection between the six conflict types that can serve as a model of preparedness, as illustrated in **Figure 2**. The conflict types may certainly overlap, and a given conflict may involve several conflict types. Furthermore, there are sometimes gray zones in which it is not clear how a given conflict should be analyzed. Nevertheless, considering each conflict type in turn will normally lead to clarifying insight. Ordinarily, it is not necessary to do more than ask a core question corresponding to each conflict type. As regards the two first types—interpretation conflicts and argumentation conflicts—the questions can

It may be sufficient to ask these questions if the conflict is, in fact, based on incompatible interpretive frameworks. The questions can also be used in dialog with the opposing parties to develop a shared understanding of what the conflict is about. Such a platform of

• Do the opposing parties have very different interpretations of the conflict?

• Are the parties concerned with very different arguments?

relevant organizational context.

12 Organizational Conflict

be formulated as follows:

**Figure 2.** Model for conflict resolution.

• Do they disagree about role distribution and areas of responsibility?

This second part of the conflict resolution process differs from the first in the sense that it is not always natural to start out with questions about values. It might be just as natural to start out with the issue of interests. In this phase, managers are therefore to a larger extent engaged in a clarifying analysis. It is necessary to understand which strategy that best fits the conflict in question.

When managers have been unable to achieve an understanding of the deep structure of a conflict by posing these five questions, it is relevant to consider the final category, personal conflicts. The problem is not merely what someone says or does, but who they are, or, at least, how they are perceived. The question becomes:

• Is social interaction undermined by personality traits?

It may be difficult to resolve this conflict type, which is, in itself, a reason for trying to resolve a given conflict situation by considering the other conflict types one by one, before concluding that a conflict situation involves a personal conflict. In general, managers should not assume that a conflict between employees in their organization is a personal conflict unless the other possibilities have been thoroughly considered and eliminated.

This means, in other words, that the resolution model can be used to explain why managers should not conclude that a conflict is personal unless they have thoroughly eliminated the other possibilities. It has been extensively documented that conflict parties too quickly assume that the problem is the opposing parties themselves more than factual or relational issues, and the model can help managers to think constructively about these issues [7, 8, 46]. Often, the core problem involves one or several of the other conflict types, and it is often easier to find solutions when this is the case. By using the model, it is possible to get knowledge of the real source of conflict escalation and to use this knowledge to work efficiently on deescalation. The probability of finding solutions is much greater if managers do this instead of relying on a superficial understanding of the conflict.
