Conflict Management Theory and The Role of Manager Assignment

Conflict Management Theory and The Role of Manager - Assignment Example When people work in teams clashes of opinions are likely to occur and every manager has to deal with the conflicts in a positive way. A qualified manager can intellectually appreciate that conflicts are the necessary ingredient of a free - enterprise system( Abraham, 1965). He also should take appropriate steps to resolve the conflicts and draw meaningful implications from them. The following essay attempts to explore the role played by the manager as a leader and a mediator in resolving conflicts. The major sources of conflict in an organization are personal differences, informational deficiencies, role incompatibility and environmental stress(David and Kim, 2005). According to him, personal differences are a common source of conflicts as individuals come together to play certain defined roles in an organization. The people who form the team for the completion of a specific task come from various cultures, family traditions and extent of socialization, etc. Hence, it is very common that conflicts will arise when they work together to achieve a common objective. They differ in their perceptions about the challenges ahead of them and they also differ in their expectations about the outcomes from specified situations. When there is a mismatch between the perceptions and expectations, the situation can take a personal overtone which may be the major source of organizational conflicts. Secondly, informational deficiencies can also be a major source of conflict. There may be lapses in the information flow between various functional units or individuals. These lapses may be due to technological disabilities or psychological barriers. Technological barriers can be caused by dysfunction of technical equipment used for communication and psychological barriers can be caused by various factors such as lack of knowledge and understanding, presumptions of the person receiving the message. Next, role incompatibility is another major source of conflict. Most often this factor causes more conflicts because when it is combined with the above two factors, it causes more deep conflicts. When the team members operate with different types of people, systems, processes, and procedures and report to various team leaders, the overlapping of the roles played by the personnel can cause conflict. Lastly, environmentally induced stress caused by a change in economic conditions. Family relationships, changes in the organization, etc can be major triggers for conflicts. Especially during the times of economic slowdown as in recent times, it is very stressful for the employees. Stress due to insecurity due to change in environmental conditions can cause deep mistrust on each other and can cause teamwork more difficult. When the employees are subject to uncertainty about their job status it can cause frustration and conflicts are more certain to occur. When these types of factors influence the behavior of employees, it is the duty of the manager to take up the role of mediator and facilitator to establish smooth working relationships and achieve organizational objectives.