Week 7 –
conflict
Conflict is
a disagreement or an argument between two parties, usually when people have
different opinions or interests. Conflicts can arise from anywhere between two
people to two different countries.
During my
time working at Waitrose, a conflict arose between my team of colleagues due to
clashes in personality. Some people were very bossy and opinionated and tried
to control their colleagues even though they were on the same level of the work
hierarchy. Others believed that the way they were being treated was unfair. This
conflict had an effect on the way our team worked as we were unable to
successfully work together. It also demotivated employees and made us less
inclined to work hard.
To overcome
this conflict our manager set up activities, such as team building, extra
training days, and other events outside of work. We had a few events like
dinners and parties; these successfully helped to overcome the conflict as it
was a relaxed environment in which we could all relax and get to know each
other better. After these events our team became friendlier and not just work
colleagues.
One study on
conflict was ‘Sources of Power’, carried out by John French and Bertram Raven
in 1959. They identified five bases of power:
1.
Legitimate – This comes from the belief that a person has the right to make
demands, and expect compliance and obedience from others.
2. Reward –
This results from one person's ability to compensate another for compliance.
3. Expert –
This is based on a person's superior skill and knowledge.
4. Referent
– This is the result of a person's perceived attractiveness, worthiness, and
right to respect from others.
5. Coercive
– This comes from the belief that a person can punish others for noncompliance.
French and
Raven (1959)
By being
aware of these five sources of power people can gain a better understanding of
why they are influenced by someone, and decide whether they want to accept their
power or not. For example, if an employee is getting orders from someone other
than their boss, they may decide that they have no authority to give those
orders and decide not to follow. It can also give people a better sense of
their own power and help them to build leadership skills.
The NHS
report that work-related stress has soared by 40% and absentee rates
by 25% during the recession. During the recession, participants generally
reported a poorer status in six out of the seven areas assessed (job demands,
job control, peer support, relationships, job role and changes at work). There
was no significant difference in managerial support before compared with during
the recession. This article shows that during the recession people were very
worried about the security of their jobs, putting a lot of stress on them to
work hard and prove that they deserved to keep their job. However, this had an
even worse effect as with higher work-related stress rates, comes higher
absentee rates. This article shows a high correlation between work-related
stress and work absences, however, it may be unreliable as a different number
of people were used before the recession to the study after the recession.
In conclusion, all organisations and businesses are
likely to experience conflict of some sort, whether it’s between two people or
between two parts of the organisation. However, conflict can easily be overcome
by using different management techniques and team building exercises.
References:
French and
Raven (1959) [online] Sources of Power. Available
from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htm
[Accessed on: 30/04/12]
Mullins, L.J. (2010) The Nature of Leadership.
9th ed. Great Britain: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
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