FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE-EKITI, EKITI STATE

LECTURE NOTE ON EDM 103 (INTRODUCTION TO PERSONNEL

RELATIONSHIP)

BY

SHAIBU LEONARD PhD

PRINTED BY COVENANT COMPUTER, ANKPA-KOGISTATE

JANUARY, 2020

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF PEOPLE IN THE ORGANIZATION: A CASE STUDY
OF THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE-EKITI, EKITI STATE

Every university organization is been managed by the management team headed by the
vice chancellor who represent the owner.

Administrative Formation and Mode of Operation

The administrative formation and mode of operation of universities in Nigeria

differ and depend to some extent on their stated institutional objectives, the orientation
of their proprietor(s), and the university’s area of specialization. These structural and
operational details are usually clearly stated in a document which is enacted into the
Enabling Law or Decree of the particular university by the federal government in the
case of federal and privately- owned universities and state governments for universities
owned by them. The Enabling Law or Decree defines the governance structure and
clearly spells out the responsibilities and limitations to the powers and authority of each
of the organs and officers of the university.

Despite the differences that may exist, there are many common areas in the way
universities in Nigeria administer and run their affairs. The tradition is essentially
British and is a throwback to the University of Ibadan, with its origin from the
University of London and which, by virtue of its foremost position in the NUS, has
produced a large pool of university administrators in Nigeria of a particular mould.
This similarity exits whether the universities are organised in the Collegiate, School or
Faculty Systems. Many universities in Nigeria function through the following officers
and bodies and FUOYE cannot be an exception:

 Visitor

 Chancellor

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  Pro-chancellor

 Governing Council

 Vice-Chancellor and other principal officers

 Senate

 Congregation and Convocation

 Colleges/Schools/Faculties/Departments

This list is not exhaustive but a description of the functions of those mentioned, coupled
with the other issues that will be ventilated later should give members of Council the
feel of how a university operates.

Visitor

The Visitor to the university is usually the head of the organisation that owns the
institution- Mr. President in the case of federal universities and the Governors, for state-
owned universities. The Visitor is not usually involved in the management process of
the institution but he is expected to order a periodic review of the operations of the
institution – a process known as Visitation, to assess the state of health of the university.

Chancellor

The Chancellor is the titular or ceremonial head of the university. He awards the
degrees of the institution at Convocation ceremonies when he is present. Revered
traditional rulers and accomplished senior citizens are the ones that often get appointed
as Chancellors of universities.

Pro-chancellor

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 The Pro-chancellor is the chairman of the Governing Council as well as some
Committees of Council such as Finance and General Purposes Committee and Tenders
Board and in these capacities; he is more directly involved with the operations of the
institution than either the Visitor or Chancellor. The Pro-chancellor and the Council that
he leads play a critical role in the affairs of a university.

Governing Council

In addition to the Chairman, the composition of Council consists of those

appointed by the proprietor(s) usually from outside the institution representing public
interest, ex- officio members and those elected from the university representing Senate
and Congregation. The Council is charged with the “general control and
superintendence of the policy, finance and property of the university, including its
public relations. Nothing further need be said on the role of this all-important body in
the affairs of the university and which is also the kernel of this retreat, as this will be
adequately handled by the next speaker.

Vice-Chancellor and other Principal Officers

The Vice-Chancellor is the head of the university and is responsible for its day-
to-day management. He and other very highly placed officers of the institution, such as
the Deputy Vice-Chancellor(s), Registrar, Bursar and University Librarian, who man
various sections of the institution, and all of whom report to the Vice-Chancellor, are
often referred to as Principal Officers, as they constitute the immediate support of the
Vice-Chancellor in the running of the affairs of the university.

While the Deputy Vice-Chancellor(s) works directly with the Vice-Chancellor,

the Registrar as the chief administrative officer, is in charge of the Registry, where
university records, Seal and Articles of Authority as well as other documents pertaining
to the governance, administration and management of the institution are kept and
administered. The Registrar also serves as the Secretary to Council, Senate and

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Congregation In the same vein, the Bursar, as the chief finance officer, is in charge of the
Treasury of the university and manages the finances of the institution, while the
University Librarian is in charge of the Library, where the volumes of books owned by
the university are kept and managed. Some universities also classify the Director of
Works and the Director of Health Services, as Principal officers.

Until recently, the Vice-Chancellor was appointed by the Visitor on the

recommendation of Council for federal universities while the other Principal Officers
are appointed by Council on the recommendation of Senate and other bodies with the
authority to do so.

Senate

The Senate of a university serves as the supreme body on academic matters. It is

charged with the responsibility of initiating and supervising courses of studies and
organising as well as controlling teaching, the admission and discipline of students and
the promotion of research. The Vice-Chancellor is the chairman of Senate with the
professors, and heads of various academic units making up its membership in many
universities. The Vice-Chancellor is also the chairman of several committees of Council
and Senate, like the Appointments and Promotions Committees. It is by the Authority
of Senate that the Chancellor, or, in his absence, the Vice-Chancellor, awards the
degrees of the university to deserving students at convocations as such degrees are only
awarded after formal approval by Senate..

Convocation and Congregation

The Convocation is the assemblage of the staff and students of the university
constituted usually for the purposes of the award of degrees and diplomas as approved
by Senate while the Congregation is the body of graduate staff of the university who
meet to express opinion on various issues in the institution. The Vice-Chancellor
presides over Congregation and also Convocation, in the absence of the Chancellor.

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Colleges/Schools/Faculties/Departments

These are academic units which all report to Senate and have different levels of
responsibilities. The teaching, learning and research activities of a university are carried
out through them. Related Schools and Faculties make up a College while related
Departments make up a Faculty. A College is headed by a Provost, a School or Faculty
by a Dean and a Department by a Head. The Departments are the smallest academic
units where teaching, learning and research work are carried out usually on the bases of
single subject areas in which degrees are awarded, as part of the overall portfolio of a
Faculty, School or College of a university.

Most universities operate the “Committee System” in the decision making process in
which issues are freely debated at scheduled meetings and democratically decided
upon. In some cases, such decisions may need ratification by higher bodies, like Senate
on academic matters and Council in others, before implementation.

With reference to staff, Gorge Owen says” in animal farm, some animals are more
equals than the others”. The staff are heterogeneous in terms of status and emoluments.
In terms of status, some staff are professors. In terms of qualification, some staff have
PhD, Some have [Link]/MBA/ MA; some have First degrees such as B. Sc. Ed./ [Link]./
BA/ HND; Some have NCE, ND, OND and UD; Some have SSCE, NECO and some
have FSLC. In terms of salary placement, some staff are placed on consolidated salary
structure while some staff are on salary scale of the university. But the general
nomenclature is, every staff is called employee of the university but not the same in
terms of status, placement and salary, but all of them are working toward the
achievement of the specific objectives of the university. Also, students who are the
raw materials of the university are dichotomous and heterogeneous in terms of status
and placement. They have president students’ union government and other executives
representing the entire students of the university, faculty representatives, course

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representatives and class representatives in the pursuance of stated objectives of the
university.

CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATION

Organization refers to a collection of people, who are involved in pursuing

defined objectives. It can also be referred as the second most important managerial
function that coordinates the work of employees, procures resources and combines the
two, in pursuance of company’s goals. It can be understood as a social system which
comprises all formal human relationships. The organization encompasses division of
work among employees and alignment of tasks towards the ultimate goal of the
company. Organization is a goal oriented process, which aims at achieving them,
through proper planning and coordination between activities. It relies on the principle
of division of work and set up authority-responsibility relationship among the members
of the organization.

Types of Organization

They are two major types of organization which are

1. Formal organization and

2. Informal organization

Formal Organisation

The formal organisation refers to the type of organization that has structure of
jobs and positions with clearly defined functions and relationships as prescribed by the
top management. It contains a structure of well-defined jobs, each bearing a definite
measure of authority, responsibility and accountability."This type of organization is
built by the management to realise objectives of an enterprise and is bound by rules,
systems and procedures. Everybody is assigned a certain responsibility for the

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 performance of the given task and given the required amount of authority for carrying
it out. The essence of formal organisation is conscious common purpose and comes into
being when persons–

i. Are able to communicate with each other

ii. Are willing to act and

iii. Share a purpose.

The formal organisation is built around four key pillars. They are:

- Division of labour

 Scalar and functional processes

 Structure and

 Span of control

Thus, a formal organisation is one resulting from planning where the pattern of
structure has already been determined by the top management.

Characteristic Features of formal organisation

1. Formal organisation structure is laid down by the top management to achieve

organisational goals.

2. Formal organisation prescribes the relationships amongst the people working in

the organisation.

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 3. The organisation structures is consciously designed to enable the people of the
organisation to work together for accomplishing the common objectives of the
enterprise

4. Organisation structure concentrates on the jobs to be performed and not the

individuals who are to perform jobs.

5. In a formal organisation, individuals are fitted into jobs and positions and work
as per the managerial decisions. Thus, the formal relations in the organisation
arise from the pattern of responsibilities that are created by the management.

6. A formal organisation is bound by rules, regulations and procedures.

7. In a formal organisation, the position, authority, responsibility and

accountability of each level are clearly defined.

8. Organisation structure is based on division of labour and specialisation to

achieve efficiency in operations.

9. A formal organisation is deliberately impersonal. The organisation does not take

into consideration the sentiments of organisational members.

10. The authority and responsibility relationships created by the organisation

structure are to be honoured by everyone.

11. In a formal organisation, coordination proceeds according to the prescribed

pattern.

Advantages of formal organisation

1. The formal organisation structure concentrates on the jobs to be performed. It,

therefore, makes everybody responsible for a given task.

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 2. A formal organisation is bound by rules, regulations and procedures. It thus
ensures law and order in the organisation.

3. The organisation structure enables the people of the organisation to work

together for accomplishing the common objectives of the enterprise

Disadvantages or criticisms of formal organisation

1. The formal organisation does not take into consideration the sentiments of
organisational members.

2. The formal organisation does not consider the goals of the individuals. It is
designed to achieve the goals of the organisation only.

3. The formal organisation is bound by rigid rules, regulations and procedures.

This makes the achievement of goals difficult.

Informal Organisation

Informal organisation refers to the relationship between people in the

organisation based on personal attitudes, emotions, prejudices, likes, dislikes etc. An
informal organisation is an organisation which is not established by any formal
authority, but arises from the personal and social relations of the people. These relations
are not developed according to procedures and regulations laid down in the formal
organisation structure; generally large formal groups give rise to small informal or
social groups. These groups may be based on same taste, language, culture or some
other factor. These groups are not pre-planned, but they develop automatically within
the organisation according to its environment.

Informal organisation supplements the formal organisation in achieving

organisational goals effectively and efficiently. The working of informal groups and
leaders is not as simple as it may appear to be. Therefore, it is obligatory for every

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manager to study thoroughly the working pattern of informal relationships in the
organisation and to use them for achieving organisational objectives.

Characteristics features of informal organisation

1. Informal organisation is not established by any formal authority. It is unplanned

and arises spontaneously.

2. Informal organisations reflect human relationships. It arises from the personal

and social relations amongst the people working in the organisation.

3. Formation of informal organisations is a natural process. It is not based on rules,

regulations and procedures.

4. The inter-relations amongst the people in an informal organisation cannot be

shown in an organisation chart.

5. In the case of informal organisation, the people cut across formal channels of
communications and communicate amongst themselves.

6. The membership of informal organisations is voluntary. It arises spontaneously

and not by deliberate or conscious efforts.

7. Membership of informal groups can be overlapping as a person may be member

of a number of informal groups.

8. Informal organisations are based on common taste, problem, language, religion,

culture, etc. it is influenced by the personal attitudes, emotions, whims, likes and
dislikes etc. of the people in the organisation.

Benefits of Informal organisation

1. It blends with the formal organisation to make it more effective.

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 2. Many things which cannot be achieved through formal organisation can be
achieved through informal organisation.

3. The presence of informal organisation in an enterprise makes the managers plan

and act more carefully.

4. Informal organisation acts as a means by which the workers achieve a sense of

security and belonging. It provides social satisfaction to group members.

5. An informal organisation has a powerful influence on productivity and job

satisfaction.

6. The informal leader lightens the burden of the formal manager and tries to fill in
the gaps in the manager's ability.

7. Informal organisation helps the group members to attain specific personal

objectives.

8. Informal organisation is the best means of employee communication. It is very

fast.

9. Informal organisation gives psychological satisfaction to the members. It acts as a

safety valve for the emotional problems and frustrations of the workers of the
organisation because they get a platform to express their feelings.

10. It serves as an agency for social control of human behaviour.

Organizational Behaviour: Definition, Importance, Nature, Model

Organizational Behavior is the study of human behavior in organizational settings, the

interface between human behaviour and the organization, and the organization itself. It
can also be defined as the study of both group and individual performance and activity

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within an organization. Organizational Behavior researchers study the behavior of
individuals primarily in their organizational roles. One of the main goals of
organizational behavior is to revitalize organizational theory and develop a better
conceptualization of organizational life.

As a multidisciplinary field, organizational behaviour has been influenced by

developments in a number of allied disciplines including sociology, psychology,
economics, and engineering as well as by the experience of practitioners. This area of
study examines human behavior in a work environment and determines its impact on
job structure, performance, communication, motivation, leadership, etc. It is the
systematic study and application of knowledge about how individuals and groups act
within the organizations where they work. For example, when we review topics such as
personality and motivation, we will again review studies from the field of psychology.
The topic of team processes relies heavily on the field of sociology.

Features of Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people,
individuals, and groups act in organizations. It does this by taking a system approach.
That is, it interprets people-organization relationships in terms of the whole person, the
whole group, the whole organization, and the whole social system. Its purpose is to
build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and
social objectives.

Organizational Behavior is;

 It is a separate Field of Study and not a Discipline Only.

 It is an interdisciplinary approach.

 It is an applied science.

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  It is normative science.

 It has humanistic and optimistic approach.

 It has total system approach.

These 6 features or characteristics show the nature of Organizational Behavior

that is the study of understanding and control behaviour within the organization.

Objectives of Organizational Behavior

The organizations in which people work have an effect on their thoughts, feelings, and
actions. These thoughts, feelings, and actions, in turn, affect the organization itself.
Organizational behavior studies the mechanisms governing these interactions, seeking
to identify and foster behaviors conducive to the survival and effectiveness of the
organization. Thus, the objectives of organizational behavior include:

1. Job Satisfaction.

2. Finding the Right People.

3. Organizational Culture.

4. Leadership and Conflict Resolution.

5. Understanding Employees Better.

6. Understand how to Develop Good Leaders.

7. Develop a Good Team.

8. Higher Productivity.

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These 8 objectives of organizational behavior show that Organizational Behaviour is
concerned with people within the organization, how they are interacting, what is the
level of their satisfaction, the level of motivation, and find ways to improve it in a way
they yields most productivity.

Main Challenges and Opportunities of Organizational Behavior

Challenges and opportunities of organizational behavior are massive and rapidly

changing for improving productivity and meeting business goals.

1. Improving Peoples’ Skills.

2. Improving Quality and Productivity.

3. Total Quality Management (TQM).

4. Managing Workforce Diversity.

5. Responding to Globalization.

6. Empowering People.

7. Coping with Temporariness.

8. Stimulating Innovation and Change.

9. Emergence of E-Organisation & E-Commerce.

10. Improving Ethical Behaviour.

11. Improving Customer Service.

12. Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts.

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 13. Flattening World.

Limitations of Organizational Behavior

Recognize the limitations of organizational behavior. Organizational Behavior will not

abolish conflict and frustration; it can only reduce them. It is a way to improve, not an
absolute answer to problems. Thus, three Major limitations of Organizational Behavior
are;

 Behavioural Bias.

 The Law of Diminishing Returns.

 Unethical Manipulation of People.

Key Forces Affecting Organizational Behavior

There is a complex set of key forces that affect organizational behavior today. These key
forces are classified into four areas;

 People.

 Structure.

 Technology.

 Environment.

There is an interaction between people, structure, and technology and these elements
are influenced by the environment. 4 key forces affecting Organizational Behavior and
it is applied.

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Reasons for Studying Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior is concerned with the study of what people do in an

organization and how that behavior affects the performance of the organization.
Organization Behavior studies put the focus on motivation, leader behavior and power,
interpersonal communication, group structure and processes, learning, attitude
development and perception, change processes, conflict, work design, and work stress.
Organization Behavior draws heavily from behavioral and social sciences, most
importantly from psychology.

However, there are several practical reasons, why we study Organizational Behavior
some of them include:

1. It helps in the effective utilization of people working in the organization

guarantees the success of the organization.

2. Organizational behaviour helps the managers to understand the basis of

motivation and what he should do to motivate his subordinates.

3. Organizational behaviour helps to maintain cordial industrial relations which

help to increase the overall productivity of the industry.

4. It helps greatly in improving bur inter-personal relations in the organizations.

5. It helps managers to apply appropriate motivational techniques in accordance

with the nature of individual employees who exhibit a learning difference in
many respects.

CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATION

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Communication is a process of transmitting information from one person to another.
Communication can also be defined as a dynamic process by which someone, who has a
purpose to accomplish, tries to get someone else to do something for the achievement of
that purpose. Primarily, communication is purposeful and as such its success or failure
is to be judged in relation to the purpose itself. When we try to convey our thoughts,
ideas, intentions, opinions, desires etc, to another person, we use a wide variety of
means such as spoken word, printed word, graphs and pictorial representations, facial
expressions, bodily movements, gestures, actions etc. The purposeful use of all these
means becomes very important in an organization because people act on the basis of
communications received.

In any organization like the educational institutions, the executive performing the
management functions spend as much as 90% of their time in Receiving, Interpreting
and Issuing Communications. Communications form the cohesive bond among
organizational members and as such they provide an energizing function. In the daily
mail, incoming telephone calls, interviews and meetings, the educational manager is
receiving all kinds of communications, which have arisen from a purpose which
someone feels is important to accomplish.

When he plans to organize his actions and make decisions, he interprets the
communication, receiving by him, with reference to the objectives he has to attain for
the organization. Then he begins to issue communications in the form of oral and
written messages, telephone calls, letters, circulars, addresses at staff meetings etc. The
inseparability of communication from decision – making, which pervades all the
educational management process makes the study of communication theory extremely
important.

According to Williams (2007) smart managers understand that the end effective,
straight forward communication between managers and employees is essential for
success According to (Mckinney, Barker, Smith& Davis,2004) communication is

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essential to effective team performance and communications for any organization is like
blood flow in the human body. Therefore any organization that understands the
importance of communication uses it in their organizational environment. Since, it
ensures coordination of factors of production and most importantly material and
human elements of organization as an efficient network of change and advancement.

Components of Communication
A number of early writers in the field of communication developed models of the
communication process. Most of them included what were considered to be the four
essential components of the process: source, message, the nature of communication in
organizations
channel/ and receiver.
The Source: In the communication process, the source is the person who originates a
message. In a broader view, the source could be any individual or collection of
individuals—one person, a group, a dyad (twosome), or an entire organization. It could
be a group of managers wanting to explain policy changes to employees, it could be a
hamburger chain attempting to influence others to buy their hamburgers, or it could be
one employee explaining to another employee how to complete a certain task. Whether
an organization, group, or individual, the source has three primary functions in
communication: (1) determines what specific meaning is to be communicated, (2)
encode (translating ideas and information into messages) meaning into one or more
messages, and (3) transmit the message(s).
In an organizational environment, one individual may assume all three
functions, but it is not uncommon to see each one performed by a different person. For
example, a manager wants to communicate certain ideas to his or her employees; he or
she may turn to an assistant to ask advice on how best to state the message, and then he
or she may select an employee others like and respect and ask that person to carry the

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message to the rest of the employees. It is therefore very important that as sources we
select messages that have mutual meaning for us and the receiver, and that we
communicate in a way that will make others want to receive the message.
The Message: A message is any verbal or nonverbal stimulus that elicits meaning in the
receiver. When communicating in any environment, most people use a combination of
verbal and nonverbal stimuli to stimulate meaning in another. For simplification, we
can think of verbal as employing words and nonverbal as employing other stimuli
(gestures, smiles, frowns, groans, nods, yawns, touching others, and so on, to stimulate
meaning. It is not uncommon for an employee or a manager to use these simultaneously
when communicating with each other. It is virtually impossible to monitor all
nonverbal behaviours. For example, you can more easily monitor your selection of
words, but it is very difficult to monitor every facial movement, body movement, eye
movement, leg movement, and so on. Sometimes our nonverbal messages will convey
much more meaning than our verbal. Good managers have learned to try to interpret
the meaning behind the nonverbal messages of their employees as well as the verbal
messages; likewise for employees.
The Channel: A channel is a means by which a message is carried from one person to
another. In live interaction, our senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste) become
channels. Channels can also take the form of mediated systems—television, radio, the
Internet, the World Wide Web, film, billboards, telephones, etc. In organizations, people
often become the most important channels. For example, supervisors function as
channels between upper levels of management and lower-level employees. Secretaries
often serve as channels between people on different levels and/or in different parts of
the organization. People serving as channels make up the informal communication
network in organizations.
The Receiver: Just as the source is the person who originates a message, the receiver is
the person who acquires the source's message. Like the source, the receiver can be an
individual, a group, or an entire organization. Also like the source, the receiver has
three functions: (1) receive the source's message, (2) decode (translation of messages

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into ideas or information) the message into some meaning, and (3) respond to the
message. Again, it is typical for one person to handle all three functions, but not
uncommon for more than one person to be involved. For example, a new employee
might receive the manager's message, but have an older, more-experienced employee
interpret it for her or him and have another employee respond to the interpretation.
For communication to be effective, employees and managers need to consider the
backgrounds and experiences of each other. This may require that we "put ourselves in
the other person's shoes." A manager needs to know the employees to have effective
communication with them; likewise for an employee. One of the primary reasons for
problems in the organizational environment is that individuals do not understand what
one another is saying because they do not communicate with each other enough to get
to know one another's attitudes and feelings. Hence, many employees make major
errors in communication—and so do managers. We have to be more effective sources
and receivers if we want to improve communication. Even if our supervisor is an
incompetent bozo, we will be more effective in communicating with "the bozo" if we go
to the effort of getting to know her or him better so we are better able to adapt our
messages to take her or his feelings into account.
Feedback: Feedback is the receiver's Organizational behaviour servable response(s) to a
source's message. Such responses can be either of a verbal nature (for example, I don't
agree with you; Yes, that is right!) or a nonverbal nature (for example, a frown, shaking
one's head in disagreement, nodding in agreement). Feedback is extremely critical in all
communication situations, but particularly so in interpersonal communication between
manager and employee. A manager can carefully serve an employee's response to judge
the success or failure of messages being sent.
When feedback is negative, new messages can be constructed. Feedback is the
method we use to regulate the messages we send and those that are sent: to us. Many
astute managers have "advisory" groups or boards comprising selected employees
whom they use as "sounding boards" for messages and information that is going to be
sent to all employees. These "sounding board" groups have ideas bounced off them/

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and how they respond often determines how the message is sent or whether it is even
sent to other employees in the company at all.

Goals of Communication
Generally there are three major goals of communication in the organizational
environment: developing interpersonal relationships, gaining compliance, and gaining
understanding. Let's take a look at each of these goals and its impact on the
organization. Most of us have the need to develop interpersonal relationships with our
colleagues in organizations. It is a basic need, much like our needs for food, water, and
shelter.

Developing interpersonal relationships: We communicate with our colleagues with

the idea that good working relationships can be formed. Whether it is in the work
environment or in other environments, most of us communicate to develop
interpersonal relationships with others. We want friends, colleagues, and companions
we can talk with both on a formal and an informal basis.
Gaining compliance: We also communicate to gain the compliance of others.
Communication directed toward gaining compliance seeks to influence others' beliefs
and actions. By "gaining
compliance" we mean getting another person (manager) to engage in some behaviour
that is desired by the source (employee). Usually, our desire to get others to comply is
influenced
by the fact that we want a change of some kinds. For example, the employee who wants
to change her or his usual vacation time has to communicate with the supervisor in
such a way that she or he will comply with the request. The employee might have to
persuade the supervisor. She or he might have to promise to do extra work because it is
an inconvenience to rearrange vacation schedules. Communicating to get others to
comply is a way of life in contemporary organizations.

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Gain understanding: We all have a need to know and understand what is going on in
our environment. To know and understand, we need information. To acquire
information, we must communicate with others. Much of the communication in
organizations is for this purpose. People will make inquiries and ask for clarification so
they can understand how and why the organization operates as it does.
Managers and employees talk to each other for many of the same reasons.
Although the three goals can be separate, it is rare when they are achieved
independently. In other words, to achieve one of these goals usually requires that one
or both of the other two also be achieved. Relationship development in the organization
is a good example. When we first meet a new colleague, we often need or want to know
how the other person will respond to us. Hence, our desire to know more about the
person and how the person will react to us in a given situation creates the need for
information/ which can be acquired only by communicating with that person.

The Nature of Communication in Organizations

When we have gained that knowledge, we have reduced some of our uncertainty about
the other person, and the goals of relationship development and gaining understanding
both have been met. Often when we meet people in the work environment/ we
establish a relationship and gain some understanding about them. This assists us when
we want to gain a person's compliance. For example, employees who know their
supervisors well and have a close relationship with them might find it easier to get the
supervisor to comply with certain requests. Of course, astute supervisors are aware of
this and may avoid allowing many employees to get close to them or know them too
well.
Context. We conclude our discussion of the critical components of the organizational
communication process by focusing on the "context" of communication. Generally, we
refer to the characteristics of a situation in which communication takes place as the
"context." This is an important concern for organizations because people do not
communicate in exactly the same way within any two different contexts. Thus, even

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when we are communicating with a particular individual (for example, a manager),
how and what we communicate is likely to change as the context in which we
communicate changes.
There are issues we will discuss with our co-workers that we might not discuss
with our supervisor. Regardless of our role in the organization, the rules for each
interaction will change when we change communication partners. We can easily draw
from our own experiences how communication with close friends on the job behaviour
differs from that with new members in the organization. As our role changes (for
example, we get a promotion), so do the rules for communicating with organizational
members.

Functions of Communication in Organizations

Communication serves many functions in organizations. There are six functions that
seem to dominate communication in the organizational context. The functions are
informed, regulate, integrate, manage, persuade, and socialize.
Informative Function: The informative function of communication is fairly self-
explanatory. It is the function of providing needed information to personnel so they can
do their job in an effective and efficient manner. People need to be informed about any
changes of procedure or policy that are related to their work. Sometimes this function is
accomplished by people at higher levels sending information to people at lower levels/
and the reverse. At other times, people needing information must contact people who
have the needed information to acquire it.
Much of the informative communication in organizations is conducted in a
written format. This way, a whole group of employees can be informed with one
message and at one time. On the other hand, managers may decide to call a meeting
once each week (or month) which is primarily of an informative nature. Most
employees understand that such meetings are for the purpose of disseminating

24
information and can be prepared to inquire about matters about which they feel they
need additional information.
Regulative Function: The regulative function of communication is involved with the
communication that is directed toward regulatory policies within the organization or
messages about maintenance of the organization. For example, an employee might be
informed by the
manager that he or she has broken some rule or regulation and is not to break it again.
Communication that involves the regulative function is often not pleasant, but it is
essential to the smooth operation of the organization.
Integrative Function: The integrative function of communication is focused on
coordination of tasks, work assignments, group coordination, or the fusing of work
units toward a common goal.
In other words, it is communication directed at getting people to work together and
have tasks coordinated so that the "left hand knows what the right hand is doing." It is
an attempt to get people to work together and make things run more smoothly. For
example, consultants often will find employees duplicating each other's work, whereas
if there were more integrative communication, one could do one task and another do a
related task.
Management Function: The management function of communication is directed
toward the three goals mentioned earlier. It is communication focused on getting
personnel to do what is needed, learning information about personnel to know them
better, and establishing relationships
with personnel. If one can meet the interpersonal relationship goal and the
understanding goal, he or she might have a better chance at knowing "how to manage"
the employees.
Persuasive Function: The persuasive function of communication is an outgrowth of the
management function. Here the supervisor is attempting to influence the employee to
do something in particular. Whereas simply issuing an order might accomplish the

25
same function, this approach makes for much better relations between supervisors and
subordinates.
Socialization function: The socialization function of communication in the organization
is the one that can determine whether an individual survives well, or not at all, in an
organization. Socialization does not mean being "buddies" with everyone. It means
being integrated into the communication networks in the organization. It means being
told whom one should talk to and what one should talk about. It also means being told
whom not to talk to. It means being told what to say in certain situations and what not
to say. It means being told how to address others (Ms. / Sir, Dr.). It means being told
the informal norms of the organization (what social gatherings to attend/ what to wear
at luncheons, what things others find offensive). It means being told the idiosyncratic
behaviours (and pet peeves) of others. It means knowing whom you should associate
with and whom you should avoid (who are the "in" people and who are the "out"
people). In a nutshell, it means survival! Today, many organizations realize the value of
this function and will assign each new employee to an employee who has been with the
organization for some time so the experienced person can assist the new-comer in
"settling into" the organization the first two or three weeks. These guides help new
employees "learn the ropes" without upsetting the system or saying things that could
hurt them with the older, more established employees.

Organizational Communication Networks

There are two primary communication networks that exist in any organizational
environment. These are the formal communication network and the informal
communication network.

Formal communication network: The formal network is communication that follows

the hierarchical structure of the organization, or the "chain of command." It follows the
formal, established, official lines of contact. In other words/ it follows the prescribed
path of the hierarchical chart and tends to be explicit in terms of "who should be talking

26
to whom and about what." The formal chart for this network often is provided to new
employees the first day they walk in the door. It explains whom they report to and for
what. There usually is little confusion about the formal communication network.

Informal Communication Network: The informal network involves communication

that follows the "grapevine." It carries the "scuttlebutt," the rumours. It is the unofficial
network. This is the type of communication that does not follow the hierarchical path or
chain of command. It tells you "who is really talking to whom and about what." We are
not talking about "gossip" here. Gossip can exist in either network. We are referring to
informal communication links that have grown out of relationships among employees
and management and that have little or no correlation with the formal organizational
chart. The informal network is very strong in most organizations. It usually works
much faster than the formal network, and often it works with more accuracy. Until you
have access to this informal network, you have not really become a part of the system.
An employee needs to be aware of both networks. Management has more control
over the formal network than the informal, but employees have more control over the
informal network than management does. It usually is relatively easy to learn the
formal network, but specific information regarding the informal network may be more
elusive. Being properly socialized assists an employee in gaining understanding about
the informal system in the particular organization. It is critical that employees and
management remember that the formal network is
not the only network functioning in the organization. One needs to remember that the
informal network is a very powerful communication avenue and carries information
that the formal network doesn't. The informal network tells you "who is playing golf
with whom," "who is sleeping with whom," "who has an occasional lunch with whom,"
"who is distantly related to whom," "who protects or defends whom," "who promoted
whom, and why." These all are things the formal network almost never tells an
individual, but the informal network usually will when one is properly socialized.

27
Formal Communication Flow and Impact
This section reviews the types of communication flow in organizations and the impact
of each type. Communication flows in two directions in the organization: vertically and
horizontally. Vertical communication: Vertical communication is concerned with
communication between employees at different hierarchical levels in the organization.
It focuses on downward and upward communication between managers and
employees.
Horizontal communication: Horizontal communication is concerned with
communication between employees at the same level in the organization. It focuses on
communication between peers, people ,at equal or very nearly equal levels in the
organization. It is communication that goes across the organization. Let's look at what
types of communication flow downward in the organization.
Downward Communication: The first type of vertical communication is downward
communication that which flows from upper management down to the employees at
lower ranks. Downward communication generally is effective when upper levels of
management are highly motivated to make it work. There are five different elements
that generally flow downward in all organizations. They are job instruction, rationale/
ideology/ information, and feedback.
Job instruction is the conveying of information to subordinates about what they are
expected to do. It can be carried out by a variety of means/ such as direct orders,
written memos, workshops on how to do the job, and so on. The key here is that job
instructions should be precise and applied directly to one's job. Rationale is the
rationalization or explanation of a duty or assignment and how it is compatible with
what the personnel are already doing. Again, this can be carried out by various oral or
written methods. Ideology is an extension of rationale. This type of downward
communication seeks to woo the loyalty of the employees. Ideology is the philosophy of
the organization.

28
 Managers want employees to "buy into" the organizational philosophy. When
everyone has the same or similar ideals and goals, communication becomes easier.
Many organizations have a written ideology they give to new employees when they
walk through the door.
Information is concerned with acquainting employees with general bits of knowledge
that they need to know, such as regulations, changes in benefits, and general policies. It
usually is of an informative nature and does not require a response from the employee.
It is simply to give employees needed information. Feedback is the manager's way of
giving employees information about how they are doing. Feedback can take many
forms, such as salary increase or decrease, a pat on the back, a termination notice, a
smile, or a frown. Supervisors need to provide feedback on job performance on a
regular basis so that subordinates know how to change what they are
doing poorly and keep doing what they are doing well. Feedback also needs to be clear,
appropriate, and with instructions on how to make any needed changes.
People at the lower levels of the organization are dependent in many ways on
the downward communication of management for their own success. However,
management controls most of the means by which downward communication occurs. If
that control does not permit needed information to flow to you, you must actively
prompt the system to get it. It may be management's fault that the downward system is
not working, but the person who receives the blame normally will be at the other end of
the line.

Upward Communication: Although upward communication is initiated by those at the

lower levels of the organization, it can be successful only if those at the higher levels are
willing to allow the communication to be effective. There are five factors that are most
likely to influence upper levels of the organization to allow the upward communication
to be effective. Upward communication should be positive, timely/ support current
policy/ be sent directly to the person who can act on it/ and have intuitive appeal in
order to go up the system without being stopped/

29
ignored/ or sent back down.
Positive communication is more likely to go up the system than negative. Many
times employees think the negative will go through the system faster than the positive;
however/ this is not the case. Supervisors try to prevent negative information from
reaching their managers/ but forward the positive right up to them. If too much
negative reaches a person's immediate supervisor/ it looks as if the person is not doing
his or her jOrganizational behaviour. Managers try to "keep the noise level down" in
their respective units. They don't want negatives going up/ so they "filter out" the
negative information. They send positive information to their bosses so they are seen as
doing their job. Hence/ if you want something to go up the system/ couch it in positive
terms.
A message must be sent at the appropriate time to be allowed to go on up the
system. It should be timely or it may not be acted on. Think of your own situation.
When is it a good time to "ask for a raise/" "ask about vacation/" "ask about different
duties/" "ask about being absent for a day"? If you do not learn timeliness/ you are
likely to be asking at the "wrong time" or to be "getting yelled at" for inappropriate
behaviour. When your boss has a sign on the door that says "Do not disturb /" is this the
time to go in and ask for help with a problem? Messages that support current policy are
much more likely to be given attention than those that are incompatible with current
policy. If a message supports current policy/ it is easier for management to adapt it to
the system. Hence/ try to generate messages that are consistent with current policies.
Many times messages are ignored or not acted on because they are sent to people
who cannot make a decision about them. It is essential that messages be forwarded to
those people who can act on them, or else communication will be ineffective. In many
organizations if a message is sent to a person who cannot act on it/ it is simply
discarded. It goes into the ever-popular "File 13." The person who generated the
message may never know what happened to it. The best advice is do not bother to send
a message unless you know it is going to the person with authority to act with regard to
it.

30
 Finally/ messages that have intuitive appeal are much more likely to go up the
system than those that don't. "Intuitive appeal" is an idea that "sounds good." For
example/ messages dealing with ideas about how productivity can be increased
quickly/ how more profit can be achieved with-' out a great deal of effort, or how major
problems can be avoided without a lot of expense are likely to get sent right up the
system. In becoming a more-effective communicator in your organization/ you must be
aware of what will come down the system and what will go up. Adapt your
communication so you can use the system and get messages to the correct sources.
Don't expect the system to change because you don't like the communication —it won't.
And you cannot force inappropriate messages through the system. At every level there
is another person trying to block them.

Horizontal Communication: This is communication that flows across the organization

(from peer to peer to peer). There is much more horizontal communication in
organizations on a daily basis than there is vertical. This is a function of two things: (1)
There are more employees than managers, and (2) employees at the same level feel
more comfortable talking with each other than with people at different authority levels.
Horizontal communication often focuses on employee satisfaction and employee
morale. Here is where you usually can talk openly and freely about your feelings about
the system and can discuss your problems with others who can identify with them. In
addition, this is also the channel at which most social interaction takes place within the
formal organization. It is through the horizontal channels that you are likely to increase
your knowledge, communication skills, and socialization skills. This often is where you
can establish long-lasting interpersonal relationships that can assist you in becoming a
better
employee with a better chance of survival in the organization.

CONFLICT RESOLOTION

Definition of Conflict

31
Conflict is very important for any manager. It is rooted primarily in the fields of
business, sociology and psychology, but not in communication or education. It is
complicated to define conflict as it is difficult to come to a consensus concerning the
definition of this term (Borisoff and Victor, 1998). The easiest way to understand the
term “conflict” is to divide theories of conflict into functional, situational and
interactive. The followers of the functional approach think that a conflict serves a social
function and those who view a conflict as situational, suggest that conflict is an
expression under certain situations. The third theory views conflict as interactive.
Functionalists usually ask the questions: “Why is there conflict? What purpose does it
serve?” while situationalists ask: When do we have conflict? Under what circumstances
does it occur?” Interactionalists are: “how is there conflict? what methods and
mechanisms are used to express it?”
One of the representatives of the functionalist school was George Simmel, the
German Sociologists. In 1955, he defined conflict as designed to resolve divergent
dualisms; it is a way of achieving some kind of unity, even if it will be through the
annihilation of one of the conflicting parties”. According to Simmel, conflict served as a
social purpose and reconciliation came even with the total destruction of one party.
Conflict socializes members into a group and reduces the tension between group
members. Furthermore, Simmel determines three possible ways to end a conflict.
Firstly, conflict may end with a victory of one party over another; secondly, the conflict
can be resolved through compromise; and thirdly, through conciliation. However, not
all conflicts may be ended as discussed. In 1967, Lewis Coser, an American sociologist
and author of the Functions of Social Conflict gave the following definition of conflict:
“The clash of values and interests, the tension between what is and what some groups
feel ought to be.” According to Coser (1967), conflict served the function of pushing
society and was leading to new institutions, technology and economic systems. The
most important contribution of Coser to conflict resolution was determination of the
functional and dysfunctional roles of conflict.

32
 A representative of the situationalist school, Bercovitch (1984), defines conflict as
a “situation which generates incorruptible goals or values among different parties”. For
Bercvitch, conflict depends on the situation. Conflict arises because of different
conditions, such as the influence of a person and external factors.
Concerning the interactive view, Folger (1993) defines conflict as “the interaction
of interdependent people who perceive incompatible goals and interference from each
other in achieving these goals”. This approach introduces two important concepts:
Interdependence and perception. Interdependence is connected to such situations
where one party’s future actions depend on another party’s actions.
Another concept was mentioned by Tillett (1991): “Conflict does not only come
about when values or needs are actually, objectively incompatibles, or when conflict is
manifested in action; it exists when one of the parties perceives it to exist”. Folger also
sees conflict as coming from interdependent people (Tidwell, 1998).
Cross, Names and Beck (1979) define conflict as “differences between and among
individuals. The differences are created by the conflict, for example, values, goals,
motives, resources and ideas. Hocker and Wilmot (1985) define conflict as “an
expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive
incompatible goals, scarce rewards and interference from the other party in achieving
their goals” (Borisoff and Victor, 1998). Thomas (2005) defines conflict as a
“disagreement in opinions between people or groups, due to differences in attitudes,
beliefs, values or needs. In the business world, differences in such characteristics as
work experience, personality, peer group, environment and situation, all lead to
difference in personal attitudes, beliefs, values or needs”.
From the above definitions, it is obvious that there is no just one practical definition of
conflict. Each person has an individual way of thinking and behaves differently from
others in similar situations. It can be concluded that conflict can affect everyone to
varying extent (Leung, 2010).

Views on Conflict

33
There are various perceptions regarding conflicts. Conflict is a reality in everyone’s life
and should be considered a natural process that occurs daily. As a group performs its
assigned tasks, conflict inevitably arises (Robins, et al, 2003).
Conflict is viewed as natural due to life’s uncertainty. Conflict is good and necessary
because it can stimulate innovative thinking when it is managed in the right way.
Lacking conflict, thoughts and actions are performed because they are habitual. Conflict
allows an examination of the necessity of these thoughts and actions. People find it
easier to live with unresolved misunderstanding than facing the fact that fundamental
differences do exist, and demand recognition and appropriate management (Deetz and
Stevenson, 1986). Conflicts are an integral past of a human’s life in all aspects. One
cannot avoid conflicts in families, at work or even when watching the news on
television (Viletta Bankovs Kay, 2012). Historically, the following views on conflict are
identified:
Traditional View (1930-1940): One school of thought says that conflict must be avoided
as it reflects malefaction within the group. Conflict is viewed negatively and is
associated with violence and destruction. Conflict is a result of poor communication
and a lack of trust between people. Conflict can be eliminated or resolved only at high
level of management. According to this view, all conflicts should be avoided. Thus,
there is need to pay attention to causes of conflict and correct them in order to improve
group and organization performance (Robins, 2005). Most conflicts have negative
connotations, invoke negative feelings and often lead to destruction. Whether the effect
of conflict is good or bad depends on the strategies used to deal with it (Rahim, 1986).
The Human Relations or Contemporary View (1940-1970): Conflict is a natural
occurrence in all groups. The human relations school accepts conflict. It believes that
conflict may benefit a group’s performance (Robbins, 2005). Dispute happens from time
to time and it is not wise to put too much effort into avoiding or preventing the conflict.
Concentrating only on large or critical conflicts allows people to resolve the conflict in a
better and more effective way (Leung, 2010). According to this view, conflict is seen as a
natural and inevitable outcome of people working together in groups and teams. Thus

34
it needs not necessarily be viewed negatively, but rather positively as a potential force
in contributing to the performance of individuals (Robbins, et al, 2003).
The Interactionist View: According to this view, conflict is not only a positive force, but
is also necessary for an individual to perform effectively. Resolving conflicts means
challenging normal processes and procedures in an effort to improve individual
productivity or introduce innovative systems (Robbins, et al, 2003). Conflict is necessary
to perform effectively, but not all conflicts are good. This school of thought has
identified several types of conflict:

Forms/Classification of Conflict
Different scholars have tried to classify conflict into various forms. The first
classification is the relationship, task and process conflict. There is, however,
considerable conceptual overlap between these different forms of conflict (Dirks and
Parks, 2003).
(a) Relationship Conflict: This exists when there are interpersonal incompatibilities
among group members, including personality clashes, tension, animosity and
annoyance (Jehn, 1995). This type of conflict produces negative individual emotions,
such as anxiety, mistrust, or resentment (Jehn, 1995), frustration, tension and fear of
being rejected by other team members (Murmnigham and Conlon, 1991).
(b) Task Conflicts: These are disagreements about the content of a task and work goals,
such as distribution of resources, procedures , and interpretation of facts (John, 1995;
1997). Task conflicts include differences in view points, ideas and opinions, and may
coincide with animated discussions and personal excitement. In contrast to relationship
conflict, findings concerning task conflict are not as conclusive. Task conflict has been
associated with several beneficial effects such as improving the use of debate within a
team (Jehn, et al, 1999), which results in quality ideas and innovation (Amason, 1996;
West & Anderson, 1996) and leads to better service delivery (Tjosvold, Dann & Wong,
1992).

35
In addition, studies have shown that task conflict can also be associated with several
harmful effects, such as job dissatisfaction, lack of team work (Kabanoff, 1991; Jenn, et
al, 1997), and increased anxiety (Jehn, 1997)
(c) Process Conflicts: This refers to disagreement about how a task should be
accomplished, individuals’ responsibilities and delegation (Jehn & Mannix, 2001), e.g.
when group members disagree about whose responsibility it is to complete a specific
duty. Process conflict has been associated with lower morale, decreased productivity
(Jehn, 1997) and poor team performance (Jehn, 1999).

Another form of classification or levels of conflict is as follows:

i. interpersonal conflict;
ii. interpersonal conflict /intra group conflict;
iii. inter group/Inter departmental conflict and
iv. inter organizational conflict.

36
Types of Conflict
So far, it is quite evident that to say that conflict is all good or bad is inappropriate and
naïve. Whether a conflict is good or bad depends on the type of conflict. Specifically, it’s
necessary to differentiate between functional and dysfunctional conflicts
([Link]).
Functional or Constructive Conflict: The interactionist view does not propose that all
conflicts are good. Rather, some conflicts support the goals of the group and improve its
performance; these are functional, constructive forms of conflict ([Link].
edu). Robbin (2001) defines functional conflict as the conflict that supports the goals of
the group and improves its (group’s) performance. The argument is that if conflict leads
to normal competition among groups and the groups work harder and produce more, it
is advantageous to the group and the institution. It is viewed as a confrontation
between two ideas, goals and parties that improves employees and organizational
performance ([Link]
One of the main benefits of constructive conflict is that it gives its members a chance to
identify the problems and see the opportunities. Also, it can inspire to new ideas,
learning, and growth among individuals (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2008).

Dysfunctional/Destructive Conflict: There are conflicts that hinder group performance;

these are dysfunctional or destructive forms of conflict ([Link]). Conflict
is inevitable and desirable in organizations, but when not effectively handled, conflict
can tear relationships apart and, thus, interfere with the exchange of ideas, information
and resources in groups and between departments. Dysfunctional conflict hinders and
prevents organizational goals from being achieved (http:??[Link]).
Dysfunctional conflict usually hinders organizational performance and leads to
decreased productivity. This conflict orientation is characterized by competing
individual interests overriding the overall interest of the business. Managers withhold
information from one another. Employees sabotage others’ work, either intentionally or
through subtle, conflict-motivated disinterest in team work (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2008).

37
The Conflict Process
Conflict is a process in which one party suggests that its interest are being opposed by
another party. As a role, people see only the observable part of conflict – angry words
and actions of opposition. But this is only a small part of the conflict process (Mcshane
and Glinow, 2008).
The conflict process consists of five stages:
i. potential opposition or incompatibility;
ii. cognition and personalization;
iii. Intentions;
iv. Behavior; and
v. Outcome.
The Conflict Process
Stage I: Potential opposition or incompatibility
Antecedent Conditions
 communication
 structure
 personal variables

Stage II: Cognition & personalization

Perceived conflict felt conflict
Stage III: Intentions
Conflict handling intentions
Stage iv: Behaviour
Overt conflict
 Party’s behaviour
 Other’s reaction

Stage v: Outcomes

38
Increased group Decreased group
Performance
Source: The Conflict Process (Robbins, 2005).

Sources Versus Causes of Conflict

It is important to differentiate between sources and causes of organizational conflict.
While the former explains the place or nature with which or from which conflict
emanates; (it explains the reason why conflict is endemic and inevitable), the latter
explains these conditions that may warrant conflict to spring up and become an issue of
concern. This is because conflict at its source may not necessarily become an issue of
controversy, confrontation and concern of all but conflict which is caused (either
intentionally or not) will no doubt bring about controversies and confrontations which
may not necessarily surface in conflict at its source (http:// [Link]).
Sources of Conflict
Fajana (2000), identifies two sources of conflict and they include:
(i) Internal Sources: This is so called because they refer to factors which are inherent
within the framework of an organization. Fajana (2000) states that the major prime
factor of internal sources of conflict is the “Opposing interests” of industrial actors.
These “divergent interests” will bring about conflict in attempts by the two parties in
organizations to try to share what Ajibade (2004) calls “industrial cake”. Apart from the
above, it is another statement of fact that there is usually “power relationship” between
the two actors in an industry which no doubt produce conflict and make such inevitable
([Link]
(ii) The External Sources: These are so called because they are outside the four walls of
an organization. It may occur when the third party intervention to industrial dispute
becomes one sided or biased. A good example is where government as the third and
regulatory party tries to formulate policy or enact laws that favour one party at the
detriment of the other. Such may generate conflict ([Link]

39
Causes of Conflict
Conflict can occur as a result of structural or personal factors.
Structural Factors
(i) Specialization. Employees tend to become specialists in a particular job or get a
general knowledge of many tasks. If most employees in an organization are specialists,
it can lead to conflicts because they have little knowledge of each other’s job
responsibilities. For instance, a receptionist at a camera repair store can say that a
camera can be repaired in an hour, even though the repair will take a week. Since the
receptionist does not know much about the technician’s job she should not give an
unrealistic deadline when the camera will be ready. This situation can lead to conflict
between the receptionist and the technician ([Link]/en/ category/view).
(ii) Common Resources. In many work situations, we have to share resources. The
scarcer the resource in the organization, the greater the chance for a conflict situation.
Resource scarcity leads to a conflict because each person that needs the same resources
necessarily undermines others who pursue their own goals. Limited resources may
include money, supplies, people or information. For example, The Redmond
Washington based Software Company may dominate several markets, but its staff
members still disagree over limited resources (Mcshare & Glinow, 2008). Sartorial
support computer time can contribute to conflict. Considering the company that installs
a new computer for administrative and research purpose, at first, there is plenty of
computer time and space for both uses. However, as both factions make more and more
use of the computer, access becomes a problem, and conflict may erupt at this point.
(iii) Goal Differences. Very often, the possibility of conflict increases substantially
when departments in the organization have different or incompatible goals. For
instance, the goal of a computer salesperson is to sell many computers as fast as
possible. The manufacturing facility may, however, be unable to meet the sales person’s
promises. In this case, conflict may occur as two persons have different goals
([Link]/en/category/view).

40
(iv) Interdependence: The possibility of conflict usually has a tendency to increase with
the level of task interdependence. When a person has to depend on someone else to
complete his/her task, it becomes easier to blame a co-worker when something goes
wrong. As a rule, interdependence exists when team members must interest in the
process of work and receive outcomes which depend on the performance of others
([Link]/en/category/view).
(v) Authority Relationships. In many companies, there is an underlying tension
between managers and employees because most people do not like being told what
they have to do. In many organizations, managers have priviledges (flexible hours, free
personal long-distance calls, and longer breaks). It is observed that very strict managers
often have conflicts with their employees. Sometimes people try to engage in conflict to
increase their power or status in an organization ([Link]/em/category/view).
(vi) Roles and Expectations. A role is a behaviour that is expected from an employee.
Every employee has one or more roles in the organization. These roles include such
elements as job title, description of duties, and agreement between the employee and
the organization. Manager– subordinate conflict can result when the subordinates role
is not clearly determined and each party has a different understanding of that role
(Whitlam & Cameron, 2012).
(vii) Jurisdictional Ambiguities. When the lines of responsibility in an organization are
uncertain, then jurisdictional ambiguities appear. Employees have a tendency to pass
unwanted responsibilities to another person when responsibilities are not clearly stated
([Link]/en/ category/view). Ambiguous goals, jurisdictions, or performance
criteria can lead to conflict. Under such ambiguity, the formal and informal rules that
govern interaction break down. Ambiguous jurisdictions are often revealed when new
programmes are introduced. This is a common occurrence in universities. Ambiguous
performance criteria are a frequent cause of conflict between superiors and
subordinates.
Effects of Conflict

41
Conflict may occur between two individuals, as in the case of superior versus
subordinate, between heads of department, etc. Groups may be drawn into conflict with
each other on the basis of performance, importance to particular groups and, in general,
union – management rivalries. Conflict can also occur within an individual as in
situations of dilemma of choice, vividly characterized by phrases such as “between the
devil and the deep blue sea” or caught on the horns of dilemma. For example, a
personel manager may be quite undecided about how to deal with a conflict (with
workers, union) that is likely to result in work stoppage and loss of productivity. The
general assumption is that conflict tends to have negative consequences for both the
individual and the organization. Below is a summarized list of the effect of conflicts in
an individual:
1. Psychological Responses
- Inattentiveness to other things.
- Lack of interest in work
- Job dissatisfaction
- Work anxiety
- Estrangement or alienation from others
- Frustration

2. Behavioural Responses
- Excessive smoking.
- Alcoholism
- Under eating or over eating
- Aggression towards others or work sabotage
- Decreased communication
- Resisting influence attempts.

42
3. Physiological Responses:- These are often ignored or unnoticed: more and more
adrenalin is shot into the blood which increases the heart beat and blood pressure while
more hydrochloric acid is secreted into the stomach, leading to:
- Peptic ulcers
- Respiratory problems such as asthma
- Hypertension
- Headaches
- Coronary problems.
Hence it may be understood that conflict not only affects an individual’s
performance, but also gives rise to psychosomatic disturbances, which undermine the
health of the individual.
The progress so far made in our civilization is due to conflict between nature and man.
Conflict releases energy at every level of human activity, energy that can produce
positive, constructive results. Conflicts tend to have motivational values; they drive or
energize an individual to tackle a situation.
To resolve a conflict, one might explore different avenues or alternatives of action,
which make him/her more knowledgeable.

Benefits of Conflict
The benefits of conflict include the following:
 Motivates individuals to do better and work harder. One’s talents and abilities come
to the forefront in a conflict situation.
 Satisfies certain psychological needs like dominance, aggression, esteem and ego, and
thereby provides an opportunity for constructive use and release of aggressive urges.
 Provides creative and innovative ideas. For example, employee benefits of the present
day are an outcome of the union-management conflict over the past decades.
 Adds variety to one’s organizational life, otherwise work life would be dull and
boring.

43
 Facilitates an understanding of the problems, people have with one another and leads
to better coordination among individuals and departments, in addition to strengthening
intra-group relationship. ([Link]/guestconflictinorgs,htm).

Other positive effects include:-

 Inspire creativity:- fortunately, some organizations view conflict as an opportunity
for finding creative solutions to problems. Conflict can inspire members to brainstorm,
while examining problems from various perspectives.
 Share and Respect Opinions:- As organization members work together to solve
conflict, they are more willing to share their opinions with other members of the group.
Conflict can also cause members to actively listen to each other as they work to
accomplish the organizational goals.
 Improve future communication:- Conflict can bring group members together and
help them learn more about each other. From learning each other’s opinion on topics
relevant to the organization’s growth to understanding each member’s preferred
communication styles, conflict within an organization can give members the tools
necessary to easily solve conflicts in the future ([Link] [Link]).

The dysfunctional effects are:

 Conflicts affect individual and organizational performance. Resolving conflicts takes
a toll on managerial time and energy which could be more productively spent.
 In a conflict situation, people may promote their self-interests or personal gains at the
cost of others or the organization.
 Intense conflicts over a prolonged period affect individuals emotionally and
physically, and give rise to psychosomatic disorders.
 Time spent on conflicts, if costed, could have been spent doing more productive
things.
 Conflict may lead to work sabotage, employee morale problems, decline in the
market share of product/service and consequent loss of productivity

44
Conflict Management and Resolution
As stated earlier, conflicts are inevitable in life, in organizations or even between
nations. It however does have some noteworthy advantages, if handled correctly, as it
brings problems out into the open and compels interested parties to find solutions that
are acceptable to all. Unfortunately, conflicts that escalate out of control are detrimental
to everybody in the equation. Thus, conflict management becomes a necessity
([Link] [Link]). Having the basic skills and knowledge, will go
a long way in handling conflict admirably.

Steps in Managing Conflict

1. Identify the conflict elements, emotions, behaviour and contradictions.
2. Transformation:- changing the orientation of the conflict and making the different
parties aware of the elements.
3. Solution:- changing the elements allows transformation of the conflict direction,
which leads to the solution apparent

Conflict Resolution Values

Respect for All: From a conflict resolution perspective, conflicts can and must be
resolved by taking into account the needs of the people affected by the conflict. In other
words, for a solution to be lasting, it must meet the needs of all those involved in the
conflict. A solution, in which one party’s needs are met at the expense of the needs of
the other party, is neither just nor likely to last for a long time (Bodtker & Jameson,
2001; Kazan & Ergin, 1999).

Participation and Empowerment: Conflict resolution is based on the view that people
have a right and an obligation to participate in decisions that affect their lives. As such
conflict resolution stresses that people are most likely to achieve their own goals and
have rewarding relationships when they co-operate. In the same vein, society will be
more productive. This means that when in conflict, people should consider each other

45
as allies in helping to create a solution to a common problem rather than enemies who
are to be defeated (Hughes, 1993).

Respect for Diversity in Views and Perspective: One of the fundamental tenets of
conflict resolution is that the parties in the conflict need to respect and understand each
other’s needs and perspectives. This is not only understanding and respecting people
that you agree with, but also attempting to understand and respect people that you
disagree with, and respecting their right to disagree (Kazan & Ergin, 1999; Bodtker &
Jameson, 2001).

Justice: Most people practicing and writing about conflict resolution agree that it is
necessary that solutions are just and fair. In conflict justice can be of two kinds:
procedural and substantive. Procedural justice means that the procedure for dealing
with conflict is fair. Conflict resolution techniques are very useful in ensuring procedure
justice, such as ensuring that all the parties affected by the conflict are present.
Substantive justice amounts to ensuring that the solutions produced are fair. This,
however, is more theoretical than practical. For instance, if parties in mediation agree to
what the mediator believes is an unjust solution, there is very little the mediator can do
to facilitate a more just outcome (Cambodia – World Bank, 2005).
Rahim, et all (2000) argue that justice is one of the most important concerns for
employees in organizations. Justice and fairness encourages positive attitudes and
facilitates conflict management.

Non-Violence: Conflict resolution promotes the use of non-violence techniques

wherever possible. Based on the argument that violence is generally unethical and
ineffective, conflict resolution techniques seek to highlight and create non-violent
options for dealing with conflict. While acknowledging that the use of force cannot
always be avoided, it is argued from a conflict resolution perspective that by increasing
the acceptance of non-violent methods for dealing with conflict and training people in

46
these skills, a great proportion of conflict can be more effectively addressed without
violence (Galturg, 1996).

Transformation of Individuals and their Communities: Changing the way we deal

with conflict helps us live a more rewarding and responsible life. Changing oneself is
also an essential part of creating community change, as one is providing positive role
models for others, and taking responsibility of the role one plays as part of one’s own
community. However, for community change, we also need to be proactive and
consider other ways to influence the communities such as through conflict resolution
training and direct intervention (Bodtker & Jameson, 2001). According to Rubin & Sung
(1994), once conflict escalates, it often reaches a stalemate, a situation in which neither
side can win but neither side wants to back out or accept loss either.

Conflict Resolution
There is a difference between resolving a conflict and managing conflict. Resolving a
conflict ends the dispute by satisfying the interests of both parties. Managing a conflict
contains specialized interaction that prevents a dispute from becoming a battle.
Managing a conflict attends to personal issues so as to allow for a constructive
relationship, even though the objective issues may not be resolvable (http: // Ezine
Articles. Com).
Conflict resolution requires great managerial skills. Acre we are trying to give a
solution to a conflict turning it in a constructive side. Our goal in conflict resolution
always should be to seek a resolution based on mutual gain. Realistically, however,
resolution is not always possible. When this is the case, we must manage the conflict to
ensure that the relationship is constructive and that open communication is maintained.
Successful conflict resolution depends on the ability to regulate stress and
emotions. During conflict, strong emotions appear which can hurt feelings. When
conflict is handled in an unhealthy way, it can be the cause of irreparable rifts,
resentments, and break-ups. When a person deals with a conflict in a healthy way, it

47
increases the understanding among people, builds trust and strengthens relationships It
is believed that the ability to resolve conflicts successfully depends on the ability to:
- manage stress quickly by staying calm. In this way a person can properly read and
interpret verbal and non-verbal communication;
- control emotions and behaviour. When a person can control his emotions it is simpler
to communicate the needs without threatening, fighting or punishing others;
- pay attention to the feelings and works of other people; and
- be aware of and respectful of differences by avoiding disrespectful words. In this way
problems can be resolved faster (Segel & Smith, 2011).

Conflict Resolution Skills

1. Quick Stress Relief: Stress is an individual’s adaptive response to a situation which is
challenging or threatening. The researcher, Han Segal, found out that people have a
fairly consistent psychological response to stressful situations. This response was called
“general adaptation syndrome”. It provides an autonomic defense system which helps
to cope with environmental demands.
2. Emotional Awareness: Emotional awareness is very useful for understanding
yourself and others. If a person doesn’t know how he feels in a certain way, he/she will
not have effective and productive communication.
3. Non-Verbal Communication: Non-Verbal communication plays a big role in conflict
resolution as during the conflict process the most important information is exchanged
in a non-verbal way. The elements of non-verbal communication are emotionally-
driven facial expressions, posture, gesture, pace tone and intensity of voice. The most
important communication is wordless because sometimes words cannot reflect all the
issues. In the middle of a conflict it is useful to pay attention to the other person’s non-
verbal signals. It may help to figure out what the other party is really saying and to
respond in the right way to build trust, and get to the root of the problem (Segel and
Smith, 2011).

48
Conflict Resolution Styles
Dealing with conflict between and among individuals can be one of the most
frustrating and uncomfortable experiences for an administrator.
1. Understanding of the source: Any attempt by an administrator to alter a specific
conflict position requires that he/she be knowledgeable of its origin. An understanding
of the source improves the probability that the proper resolution or stimulation
technique will be selected (Robbins, 1974).
2. Allowance of the group to openly express their disagreement: De Church, et al
(2001). express that active conflict management allows groups to openly talk about
issues and disagreements, allowing them to share information and confront a conflict
together. In addition, Tjosvold, et al (2002). argues that openness makes it possible to
contradict arguments. Research has shown that there are great possibilities in open
conversation and argument confrontation. The positive effects of conflict management
are, according to De Church, et al (2001), a result of the active approach which benefits
team effectiveness.
3. The early recognition of the emergence of conflict and payment of attention to the
parties: The most important element of the conflict management strategy is the early
recognition of the conflict and paying attention to the conflicting parties. These
elements are important when a manager deals with functional or dysfunctional
conflicts. There should be early indication of the conflict and early evaluation of its
impact on performance of employees. It is also necessary to make a plan to encourage
functional conflict or manage dysfunctional conflict ([Link]/category/view).
The approach to the conflict and the conflict management style also depend on the
participant’s emotional involvement in the conflict (Brodtker, et al, 2001).

Formation of Conflict
Brodtker et al (2001). argue that conflict is formed by three major elements:
a. Attitudes: cognitive ideas and emotion;
b. Behaviour: evident behaviour and potential aggressive actions; and

49
c. Contradiction: values and interests.
Brodtker, et al (2001), argue further that for a conflict to take place, these three
elements must be present. Moreover, to resolve a conflict, one must identify and deal
with all these elements, otherwise the attempt to manage the conflict will be
unsuccessful.
Conflict can be either complex or simple. The more complex a conflict is, the more the
potential for a creative, constructive transformation or solution of the conflict. If the
conflict is too simple, the parties will not be motivated to get engaged and they will
tend to ignore it. This can lead to greater problems in the organization which can in
turn, lead to poor performance. When there are more elements, the conflict becomes too
complicated to manage. Darling and Fogliasso (1999) conclude that it is impossible to
eliminate conflict totally. Managers who try to eliminate conflict will not last, while
those who manage it well typically experience both institutional benefit and personal
satisfaction.

The Framework for Conflict Resolution

When conflicts arise, we assess a variety of factors before selecting our approach
to the situation. We may chose to compete, or dominate, when we try to impose our will
on the other side through physical or psychological means, or we may choose to
accommodate or surrender and code victory to the other side. Likewise, we may decide
to withdraw by either doing nothing or refusing to participate in the conflict altogether,
or we may even collaborate and reach a constructive and mutually acceptable solution.
If none of these approaches proves effective, we might choose third-party intervention;
a form of collaboration in which an individual or group external to the conflict
intercedes to move both parties toward agreement (http:// Ezine [Link]).

Mistakes to Avoid In Conflict Resolution

50
Good communication can strengthen relationships and develop trust and support while
poor communication can create mistrust and misunderstanding. Some negative attitude
and communication patterns that worsen the conflict situation in relationships include:
(a) Avoiding Conflict Altogether: Rather than discussing disagreements in a calm,
respectful way, some people just do not say anything to their partner until they are
ready to explode and then they are ready to speak in an angry hurtful manner. This
seems to be the less stressful to avoid the conflict situation but usually it causes more
stress to both parties as tensions rise to a greater conflict.
(b) Being Defensive. Rather than understanding the complaints of a partner and
his/her point of view, defensive people steadfastly deny their wrong behaviour and
work hard to avoid looking at the possibility that they could continue to contribute to a
problem. It creates long-term problems when partners do not feel listened to and
understood. In this case, unresolved conflicts continue to grow.
(c) Over Generalizing. While addressing complaints, a person should not use
generalizations. For example, he/she should avoid starting sentences with “you
always”, “you never”, “you always come home late” or “you never do what I want you
to do!” It is irritating to the other person. Bringing up past conflicts can increase the
level of current conflict.
(d) Being right: Some people decide the “right” way to look at things and the “wrong”
way to look at things and they are sure that only their view on things is right. It is
necessary not to demand that your partner see things the same way and don’t take it as
a personal attack if there are differences in opinion. It is important to reach compromise
and remember that two points of view can both be valid.
(e) “Psycho Analysing” / Mind – Reading Sometimes people think negative about a
partner because they give faulty interpretations of their actions. They do this because
they do not think about the thoughts and feelings of the partner and it creates hostility
and misunderstandings. It is important to let the other person express his/her thoughts
and feelings.

51
(f) Forgetting To Listen. Some people are not good listeners: they interrupt, roll their
eyes and release whatever they are going to say next. People should develop listening
skills to strengthen the communication process.
(g) Playing the Blame Game. Some people in conflict situations always criticize the
other person. They always find ways or embarrassing others Instead of blaming the
other person it is necessary to view conflict as an opportunity to analyse the situation
objectively and understand the needs of both parties and come up with a solution that
is helpful to both parties.
(h) Trying To “Win” The Argument. People who are focused on “winning” the
argument can lose the relationship. There should be mutual understanding and respect
for everyone. People should be able to reach an agreement amicably.
(i) Making Character Attacks. Sometimes negative actions from a person can be blown
up into a personality flow. This can lead to negative perceptions on both sides. It is
important to respect the person even if he/she has bad behaviour. (j) Stone Walling.
Some people behave like “stone wall” and refuse to talk or listen to their partners when
disagreements occur. Stonewalling does not solve the problem, but creates hard feelings
and damages relationships. It is much better to talk about problems together with a
partner and listen to and discuss things in a respectful manner (Scott, 2011).

52
REFERENCES
McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1996). Human communication theory and
research: Traditions and models. In M. B. Salwen & D. W. Stacks (Eds.). An
integrated approach to communication theory and research. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Eribaum Publishers, 233-242.

McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1997), Communication in educational

organizations. Acton, MA: Tapestry Press.

McCroskey, J. C. (2001). An introduction to rhetorical communication. (8th ed.).

Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Richmond, V. P., & McCroskey, J. C. (1998). Communication: Apprehension, avoidance,

and effectiveness. (5th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Richmond, V. P., & McCroskey, J. C. (2004). Nonverbal behavior in interpersonal

relations. (5th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

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