ACADEMIA Letters

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE

RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN

AIMS OF THE REPORT

• Understand the concept of conflict management

• Importance of conflict management at workplace

OBEJCTIVES OF THE REPORT

• To choose appropriate approach to manage conflict

• Develop conflict management as a performance tool in an establishment

• Preventing future conflicts

1.0 SUMMARY
The following given report investigated the concept of managing conflict at workplace. It
was found after detailed research that conflict management serves as an important branch
of managing human resources in present world. As feelings of the people are attached to
the conflicts aroused in their workplaces it becomes much more important to handle them
effectively. It was also found that proper conflict management approaches form the bases of
impartial decisions at workplace to both the sections involved in conflicts.
Proceeding on tracks of managing people by the means of solving conflicts the report
outlines theory of attribution as crucial to any establishment. It suggested that solving conflicts

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]

1
to satisfy the needs of the parties involved also proved out to be beneficial and hence, making
conflict management a performance tool as well as motivation factor for people.
At the end it was discovered that by adopting certain firm methods of conflict management
it can be made sure that noticeable types of conflicts don’t occur again in future. The preven-
tive approach towards conflicts makes huge difference in performance of the organisation as
noticed by the report. Conflict management was explored to be important at workplace after
detailed study of various sources.

2.0 METHODOLOGY
The data for this report were collected from various sources concerning the issue of conflict
management. The book behavioural study in hospitality management by Carmouche, R and
Kelly, R (1995) was consulted to derive the understanding of theory of attribution in a conflict
situation. Furthermore, Whetten, D et al. (1994) developing management skills for Europe
was utilised to bring about the approaches applicable towards solving conflicts in an efficient
manner. Internet sources were brought into consideration for having an overview of the recent
changes in techniques of conflict management at workplace. A booklet issued by ACAS in
2009 about managing conflict at work was reviewed for finding out ways to prevent conflict
in coming future. All the sources used proved to be of optimum importance for the report.
To enhance the knowledgebase of the report research, a live conflict was brought forward
from a London based Indian food company – Holyfood Pvt. Ltd. The conflict situation in be-
tween two employees of the company regarding improper use of machine and being penalised
was taken up with immense care. The case thus adjudged was used to better understand the
concepts of conflict management.

3.0 INTRODUCTION
Workplace conflicts may be of various types which pose a great threat to the organisation on
wide scale. It can be worker to worker or individual to higher or lower authority. It can also
be teams competing against each other or big groups of employees and management lacking
in integration.
Conflict is a factual truth as humans are programmed to fight for jobs, power, security,
acknowledgement and resources. It is very frustrating to deal as it arouses primitive emotions
for people to feel threatened creating instant hikes in stress levels. Approaching and inter-
vening in a meaningful way towards a conflict can make a mammoth difference in lives of
others as people’s emotions are attached to conflicts as well. Conflict management resolution

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]

2
is describes by Mutt (2009) as conflict management in the workplace develops the harmo-
nious relationship among employees. To identify different conflicts experienced by a person
is the first step in managing the conflict effectively. Afterwards identifying appropriate ways
to resolve a conflict and practicing of conflict management steps. It involves conversation,
discussion and practice of conflict resolution skills.
Managing conflict at workplace can be a big challenge, especially when it has to be dealt
with supreme care of not hurting anyone’s feelings. Finding the actual cause of conflict and
nipping it in bud becomes quiet necessary as it might take form of great concern to the estab-
lishment in coming future. Some sort of medium has to be used in almost every conflict at
workplace as to entertain the both sides involved in conflict. At this very point there arises a
dire need of conflict management at work.

4.0 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

It is often an assumption at workplace on the part of the customer and staff that, when dealing
with complaints, it is appropriate to act in accordance with the idea put forward by Ritz, that
the customer is always right. Issue that will influence the way that you will behave and the
course of action you will consider is the way in which both you, as manager, and the staff
involved perceive the situation.

4.1. Attribution theory

In discussing managing conflict in service encounter, Carmouche and Kelly (1995, p.71) state
that:
In social science terms, there is a theory, derived from social psychology that can inform
us about this kind of differentiation of consideration and the way in which these can influence
behaviour. This is attribution theory.
In the book Behavioural studies in hospitality management by Carmouche and Kelly
(1995), both refer to a work by Heider (1958) and Kelley (1967) stating that attribution the-
ory attempts to look at the way in which individuals attribute causality to actions, events and
objects. In other words, when we experience an interaction with something or somebody, as
individuals we try to work out why certain courses of action occur, why people behave in the
way that they do. When trying to infer causality to particular actions, attribution theory sug-
gests that we can attribute according to two concepts: dispositional attributions and situational
attributions.
A dispositional theory would be one where we consider that the individual was the cause of

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]

3
the behavior, so this may be some notion of personality variable, temperament. As situational
attribution would be one where we consider that it was the situation that the individual was in
that was the cause of behavior. Whichever we choose obviously has implication for the way
that we perceive the situation and for the way that we will deal with it.

4.2. Five different approaches of handling conflict (model of conflict behavior)

Whetten, D. et al (1994, p.345) supporting the views of Filley (1975, 1978); Robins (1974)
state that five different approaches can be applied to conflicts while handling them in a desired
manner which are as follows:

• Forcing

• Accommodating

• Avoiding

• Compromising

• Collaborating Each category can be organized along two dimensions, shown in figure
1.1 (Appendix) of kilmann and Thomas (1976, p.145) mentioned by Whetten, D et al
(1994, p. 346). The five approaches to conflict reflect different degrees of co-operation
and assertiveness.

4.2.1 Forcing/Competing (assertive, uncooperative)

This is an attempt to satisfy one’s own needs at the expense of other person’s. This can
be done by using formal authority, physical threats, manipulation ploys, or simply by
ignoring the claims of other party. The problem with this approach is that its repeated
use breeds hostility and resentment.

4.2.2 Accommodating (co-operative, un-assertive)

This satisfies the other party’s concerns while neglecting one’s own. The difficulty
with the habitual use of this is that it emphasizes preserving a friendly relationship at
the expense of appraising issues critically and protecting personal rights.

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]

4
 4.2.3 Avoiding (unco-operative, unassertive)

This neglects the interests of both parties by side-stepping the conflict and postponing
a solution. The repeated use of this causes considerable frustration for others because
issues never seem to get resolved, tough problems are avoided because of their high
potential for conflict, and the subordinates engaging in conflict are reprimanded for
undermining the harmony of the work group.

4.2.4 Compromising

This is intermediate between assertiveness and co-operation. A compromise is an at-

tempt to obtain partial satisfaction for both parties, in the sense that both receive the
equal share. To make it happen, both the parties are asked to make sacrifices to obtain
a common profit. When decisions are made on this basis, then value goes way beyond
and harmony comes in front making the situation so illogical and impractical.

4.2.5 Collaboration (co-operative, assertive)

This is an attempt to fully address the concerns of the both parties; also known as
‘problem-solving mode’. The intent is to find solutions to the cause of the conflicts
that are satisfactory to both parties rather than to find fault or assign blame. Although,
this is not appropriate for all situations, when used appropriately, it has the most bene-
ficial effect on the parties involved. For all these approaches Whitten, D et al (1994, p.
368) put forward the point that in every conflict there has to be a concrete element of
three main roles to find possible solutions which are:

• the first party – the initiator

• the second party – the accused

• the mediator

4.3 INVOLVEMENT IN CONFLICT, CAUSES and PREVENTION IN FUTURE

ACAS (2009) provides information about managing conflict at work as: Conflict tends to fall
into two broad categories:

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Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]

5
4.3.1 Conflict between Individuals Involving:

• colleagues

• employees and their managers

4.3.2 Conflict between Groups Involving:

• Teams

• Large groups of employees and management.

4.3.3 Some of the issues that can cause conflict between individuals and groups at
work include:

• poor management

• unfair treatment

• unclear job roles

• inadequate training

• poor communications

• poor work environment

• lack of equal opportunities

• Bullying and harassment.

4.3.4 Conflict can be sparked off by:

• the personalities involved

• our changing needs and expectations

• ignoring common values

• unresolved problems from the past

• Increase in workload.

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]

6
 4.3.5 Preventing conflicts in future

• Put the systems and procedures in place:

– establish formal procedures –for dispute resolution, grievances and disciplinary

issues
– explain plans – link individual performance targets to the overall business plans
everyone feels involved
– listen – consultation is the key to involving employees in decision-making
– reward fairly – pay is seldom far from people’s minds
– Work safely – think about use of computers, smoking, stress and drugs as well as
noise, dust and chemicals.

• Develop relationships:

– Value employees – how would most employees describe the culture within the
organization?
– treat fairly – check the law on discrimination and the meaning of ‘harassment’
– encourage initiative – think about job design and developing individuals
– Balance personal and business needs – could flexible working patterns help to
improve the work-life balance of employees and the effectiveness of the business?
– Develop new skills – is it worth thinking about Investors in People (IIP) to promote
training and communication?

• Work together:

– Build trust between employee representatives and management – do relationships

add value to the organization by working effectively to respond to change?

5.0 CURRENT INDUSTRY PRACTICE

Conflicts can arise at any point of operations in between the premises of an organisation.
Conflicts arising from minute things take shape of claims, strikes, low performance etc. When
someone is involved in a conflict the morale of the person goes down. Eventually, this turns
down the individual as well for continuing up to his very best as he would have been out of
conflictual situation. Conflicts in the nowadays are given much more emphasis rather than in

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]

7
past. The companies have actually realised that conflicts hamper the performance of people by
hurting them from inside. Nowadays, so many establishments employ specialist to manage the
ongoing conflicts within the workplace. Employees of the organisation are trained to tackle
minor conflicts on their own or by helping each other in these kinds of situations. Whereas,
the situation is out of hand everybody is assured that there is a proper way to approach to a
solution through recognised channel. The conflicts now turn out to be somewhat the same as
past times but tackling them by various different approaches has actually helped individuals,
managers, groups, teams and establishments as a whole. Special committees have been set
up to manage the conflicts and specific rules are brought into actions after certain conflicts to
minimise the possibility of similar kinds of conflicts in nearby future. A particular case about
two employees of Holyfood Pvt. Ltd has to be considered here regarding minor conflict. But
if it would have not been dealt with immediate concern it might have hampered the overall
production of the establishment as both of the employees were key players to the company.
The conflict over the improper use of food processing machine and being penalised for the
same came in front of the company’s asst. production manager. The manager acted very
swiftly as the mediator between the both and tried to keep himself natural by listening to both
the parties. By this means both ends were satisfied that they have been given chance to prove
themselves against higher authority rather than tackling themselves. It was advised by the
manager to request production manager to give another chance for the unknown negligence
regarding improper use of machine and also to train the both employees once again about
using the machine properly. The decision was taken positively and any further frictions were
ruled out of the both. The manager applied the collaborative approach as soon as possible and
handled the conflict in a precise way to benefit the both parties.

6.0 CONCLUSION
Conflict management skills are the one of the most vital ones to be possessed by an individual,
team or a group. It takes very less to build but a lot to diminish, while talking in terms of
conflict in between two parties. If conflicts not tackled at the right time, right place and
inside right environment they might not be beneficial for the organisation as well as for rest
of the workplace. Appropriate approaches are necessary to solve the problems according to
the situation they are faced in. Managers, authority boards or the mediator play key roles in
managing conflicts in nowadays world as being natural to preside over conflicting matters.
Conflict management can also be seen as a full fledge performance tool because it is one of
the key factors which promotes people to work harder. When issues and concerns are heard
and solved at the same time it gives a boost to the metabolism of the employees to perform

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]

8
better. This report sums up the concept of conflict management as fruitful for both employees
and organisations. As conflicts are pondered upon by the passage of time there also grows a
possibility of them happening again. Hence, to sum up conflict management is pivotal to the
present world in order to run smoothly. Concrete steps like reviewing, general bodies, conflict
policies etc should be brought into use at massive scale to rule out even minor possibility
of conflicts in coming future. It is never possible not to create conflicts but with accurate
approaches it is possible to avoid them turning into blunders.

7.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY
• ACAS (2009) Managing Conflict at Work. Available at: [Link]
ashx?id=960&p=0 [Accessed: 27 Mar. 10]

• Carmouche, R and Kelly, N. (1995) Behavioural Studies in Hospitality Management.

1st ed. London: Chapman and Hall.

• Mastenbroek, W. (1987) conflict management and organization development. 1st ed.

Guildford: Biddles.

• Mutt, N. (2009) Workplace Conflict Management Resolution - How to Resolve? [Link],

July 30, 2009 [Online]. Available at: [Link]
[Link] [Accessed: 27
March 2010]

• Whetten, D. Cameron, K. Woods, M (1994) Developing Management skills For Europe.

1st ed. London: HarperCollins.

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: RAHUL RIPIN JIT SINGH MAAN, rahosh0408@[Link]

Citation: Maan, R.R.J.S. (2021). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE. Academia Letters, Article
1499. [Link]