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AN
ASSIGNMENT
OF
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
ON
“CONFLICT PROCESS”

For partial fulfillment of

Second year B.B.A (semester 3rd )
Academic year 2009-10

SUBMITED TO:
Chintan Thakkar,
A faculty member of,
‘VIVEKANAND COLLEGE FOR BBA’

SUBMITED BY: ROLL NO

1. Patel Dhara R. 59
2. Patel Milan R. 73
3. Patel Mohmedtalha V. 74
4. Patel Neha H. 75
5. Patel Reena S. 79
6. Vyas Bijal A. 111

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Introduction of conflict:

In our day-to-day life, many conflicts are observed in the world.

In a simple word, conflict may be understood as fight, war, collision or
disagreement. The conflict may be within an individual when there is
in-compatibility between his or her own goal and event; may be
between two individuals. When one does not see eye to eye with
another, and in the process tries to block or frustate the attempts of
another; or between two groups in organization.

Definition of conflict:

“Is a process that begins when one party perceives that

another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively
affect, something that the first party cares about.”

Conflict Definition

Negative Emotions Positive Feelings

Chung and Megginsion define conflict as:

“The struggle between in compatible or opposing needs,

wishes, ideas, interests or people. Conflict arises when

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individuals and groups encounter goal that both parties cannot
obtain satisfactorily.”

A cognitive conflict refers to differences in perspectives or

judgment about issues. Effective conflict is emotional and directed of
other people. Affective conflicts are likely to be destructive because it
can lead to anger, goal-displacement poor decisions.

The traditional view of conflict, relavent during the 1930s and 1940s,
was the conflict in organizations was unnecessary and harmful. Early
managers and management writers generally believe that the
appearance of conflict was a clear signal
that there was something wrong with the
organizations. They thought
that conflict would develop
only if manager failed to
apply sound management
principles in directing the
organizations or if manager
failed to communicate to
employees the common
interest that bind management and
employees together. If these failures were
corrected, according to the traditional view, organizations should
operate smoothly. For example, Taylor believes that if the principles of
scientific management were applied, the age-old conflict between the
management and labour would disappear.

The traditional view of conflict started to change as

organizational behaviour researchers and management writers began
to identify causes of organizational conflict independent on
management error and as the advantages of effectively managed
conflict started to be recognized. Conflict can lead to search for

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solutions. Thus, it is an instrument of organizational innovation and
change.

The Process of Conflict:

Pondy’s developed a process model of conflict that is very useful

in understanding how conflict start and different stages it goes
through. Pondy’s delineates the five stages involved in conflict
episode. These are:

1. Latent conflict
2. Perceived conflict
3. Felt conflict
4. Manifest conflict
5. conflict aftermath

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 Pondy’s five stages of conflict process

1. Latent conflict:

When two or more parties needed each other to achieved

desired objectives, there is potential for conflict. Factor or an
antecedent exists in situation that can become Potential forces to
induce conflict. These can be, for example:
• Competition for scare resources
• Communication barrier
• Divergence of subunit goals and
• Role ambiguities

For instance, if resources are limited in an organization and

there are demand for different kind of resources. Such as men,
material and money from various section in the organization, such
situational factor are very much conflict inducing.

Latent conflict exists whenever individuals, groups,

organizations or nations have difference that bother one or the other,
but those differences are not great enough to cause one side to act to
alter the situation. Difference power, resources, different interests or
values all have the potential to spark conflict if a triggering event
occurs.

Citing Collins, Paul Wehr observed that;

“Social life is above all struggle for power and
status regardless of the type of structure. An inventible power
differential between groups and between individuals, produce
latent conflict in all social relations.”

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 Latent conflict is often rooted in long standing economic
inequality, or in groups’ unequal access to potential power. The
government may be unresponsive to the need of a minority or lower
power group strong value or status differences may exists. Any of
these issues could emerge as an open conflict after a triggering event.
Antecedents of conflicts are interdependence, different goals and
ambiguity of responsibility. They do not automatically create conflict,
when that exists, they make it possible. Latent conflict often arises
when a change occurs. Conflict is likely to be caused by a budget
cutback, a change in organizational direction, a change in personal
goals and assignment of a new project to an already overloaded team.

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 2. Perceived conflict:

This is the stage at which members become aware of a

problem. Incompatibility of needs is perceived and tension begins as
the parties begin to worry about what will happen. However, no party
feels that it is being overtly threatened.

Sometimes conflict may be perceived when latent

conditions are not in existence in the system. Such a situation
arises when one party perceives the other to be likely to thwart or
frustrate his/her goal. Let it be clarified with an imaginary example,

“Suppose the production manager hears the marketing

manager saying that he requires more sales persons to achieve
the set target for the year 2008-09. As the production manager
also requires more mechanists to step up production, he
perceives the likelihood of a conflict developing between him and
the marketing manager. This is because, given the limited
resources of organization, if more sales personal are hired, less
money will be available to hire more mechanics for the
production division.

According to this explanation, conflict is said to the result from

the party’s misunderstanding of each other to position it is argued
that such conflict can be resolved by improving communication
between the parties. This model has been the basis of a wide variety of
management techniques aimed at improving interpersonal relation. Of
course, is the party true position in opposition then open more
communication may only exacerbate the conflict.

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 3. Felt conflict:

At this stage, parties become emotionally involved and

begin to focus on differences of opinion and opposing interest –
sharpening perceived conflict. Internal tensions and frustration
begin to crystallized around specific, define issues and people begin to
build and emotional commitment to their position.

Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety

tenseness, frustration and hostility is known as felt conflict. It is
that stage when the conflict is not only perceived but actually felt and
cognized. In a felt conflict people feeling and attitudes towards each
other, and a particular cause of conflict will further affect their
eventual behaviour.

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 4. Manifest conflict:

This is the stage where conflicts become visible. In this stage

the two confronting parties using themselves in behaving different
form such as open aggression, apathy, sabotage, withdrawal and
perfect obedience to rules. In other words, the behaviour of conflicting
parties includes the statements, action and reaction to each other.
In other words, parties engage in actions that help achieve own
objectives and thwart those of others. Conflict behaviors vary form the
suitable indirect and highly controlled form of interference to direct,
aggressive, violent and controlled struggle. At the recognizational
level, strikes, or locks-out are the result.
One important factor is that the behavior must be
interpreted in the contex in which it takes place. If A does not
interact with B, it may be either because A and B are not related
in organizational sense, or because A has withdrawn a too
stressful relationship, or because A is drawn away from the
relationship by other competing demands upon his time. In other
words, knowledge of the organizational requirements and of the
expectations and motives of the participants appear to be necessary to
characterize the behavior of conflictful. This suggests that behavior
should be defined to be conflictful, if and only if, some or all of
participants perceived it to be conflictful.
Should the term manifest conflict be reserved for behavior,
which, in the eyes of the actors is deliberately and consciously
designed to frustrate another in the pursuit of his overt or covert
goals. In other word member of an organization is said to engage in

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conflictful behaviour if he consciously; but not necessarily
deliberately, blocks another member’s goal achievement.

5. Conflict aftermath:

Each conflict episode, is but one of the sequence of such

episodes that constitute the relationship among organizational
participants. If the conflict is genuinely resolved to the satisfaction of
all participants, the basis for a more co-operative relationship may be
laid; or the participants in their drive for a more ordered relationship
may focus on latent conflicts not previously perceived and dealt with.
On other hand, if the conflict is merely suppressed but not
resolved, the latent condition of conflict may be aggravated and
explode in more serious form until they are rectified or until the
relationship dissolves. This legacy of conflict episode is called
“conflict aftermath”.
However, an organization is not a closed system. The
environment in which embedded may become more benevolent
alleviate the condition of latent conflict. For example,by making more
resources available to the organization. However, a more malevolent
environment may precipitate new arises. The development of each
episode is determined by a complex combination of the affect of the
predicting episode and the environmental milieu.

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