INSTITUTIONALL CONFLICT

Institutional Conflict

Shelby Daniels

Capella University
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Describe Reasons for Conflict within an Institution or Organization

There are several reasons why conflict happens within a business institution. Just like

Justice (golden status of the blindfolded lady holding a scale inside the courtroom), conflict has

no eyes and does not discriminate. Conflict is inevitable and cannot be avoided. There will

always be a discourse in conversation when both parties do not agree, especially in a work

environment. In my HR profession, I deal with employee relations issues every day; majority of

the issue is between a manager and their subordinate. The manager may feel their employee is

not performing to their full potential. On the other hand, the employee may feel they are not

treated fairly by their manager due to several relational bias circumstances. Either way, the

manager and the employee must work through their issues through effective communication and

understand each other’s perspectives. Conflict is a universal issue and does not occur only in

online dating, it occurs quite frequently in the workplace. Welcome to my world of conflict!

Explain the Role of Functional Conflict in Institutional Change

Functional conflict helps pinpoint the communication behavior barriers in ethics,

personal accountability, and trustworthiness in an organization. Ethics is focused on fair business

practice. It governs the employees’ behavior in distinguishing the differences between right and

wrong. When an employee violates ethical moral practices, functional conflict comes into play

and helps reinforces discipline back into the employee’s behavior. Functional conflicts set the

foundation of moral principles that must be followed by employees and stakeholders (Kathz and

Flyn, 2013, page 4). HR is usually the subject matter expert in executing policies and resolving

institutional change through conflict resolution. For example, when I was an HR supervisor, I

had an employee who exuded behavioral issues. Their attitude was very disruptive which made it

hard for them to engage with others. Versus me terminating the employee, I used their behavior
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issue as a coaching opportunity to train them on effective communication. To identify the root

cause, I asked open ended question to gain the employee’s perceptive of issues they were facing

internally. I did not interject in the conversation and allowed room for the employee to express

their concerns without any biases. The employee was dealing with depression and was going

through a divorce. I offered advice on coping with family issues and suggested the EAP

(employee assistance program). To foster my employee’s commitment and trust, I kept an

open/closed loop communication through constant follow up and monitor employee’s behavior.

Explain the role of Dysfunctional Conflict in Institutional Change

Dysfunctional conflict happens without warning and it is natural for people to respond to

their environment. Emotions become strong in conflict, it can cause a person to act in ways they

will regret later, which leads to feelings of betrayal and humiliation (Kathz and Flyn, 2013, page

4). When conflict is not managed properly, it dampens the morale in the workplace and brings

about disloyalty in the organization. Today, organizations deal with multiple variances of

dysfunctional conflict ranging from layoffs, budget cuts, employee absenteeism, human

relational issues and workplace safety (Kathz and Flyn, 2013, page 4).

These challenges contribute to employee experience stress related health problems and

increases medical premium cost to the employee and the employer. Dysfunctional conflict

decreases creativity and the quality of decision making. Example, I worked with a leader in the

past that had poor leadership and interpersonal skills. The manager’s attitude affected the team

morale and caused major employee turnover. I handled the exit interview process and many

employees complained about the manager’s management style and how they were unenthusiastic

due to lack of support. Each time they expressed interested in applying internally to other

positions to their manager, they received backlash.

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Recommend a Conflict Resolution Strategy for Functional Conflict

In extreme measures, lack of functional conflict becomes an issue in the workplace that

can lead to more serious outcomes including lawsuits or violence when it is not managed

properly. On the other hand, conflict can be beneficial in the workplace when functional conflict

is used effectively. When two parties can talk through their differences, it helps restore the

morale in both personal and organizational arena. Effective problem solving resolution is a

versatile tactic that can be used in any situation. The best way to foster this approach is having

the courage to confront the conflict and address it with the other person from a neutral stance.

Confrontation should never be in a defensive approach. Using it in a tactful way can help both

parties engage in sound negotiation while maintaining their dignity (Stimac, 1982). This

methodology helps reduce tension in the conversation resulting in a positive outcome from a

conflict. For example, HR VP reviewed comments from the associate surveys concerning

employee dissatisfaction with leadership. Instead of shunning everyone in their department, the

HR VP met with the entire HR team and used the “behavioral integration” to gain understanding

of the conflict within the department. The HR VP allowed each team member to express their

concerns without interjection. The ending result was each team member felt valued and open to

share constructive feedback to the HR VP.

Recommend a Conflict Resolution Strategy for Dysfunctional Conflict

An effective way of resolving dysfunctional conflict is rebuilding trust and using

constructive behaviors when disagreement arise (Coleman and Marcus, 2014, page 127).

Instrumentally, a person can marshal this practice by learning more about the issue and develop

strategies for resolving conflict. To garner people’s trust, destructive behaviors must be avoided.

When dealing with dysfunctional conflict, constructive behavior help both parties redirect their
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focus on resolving the problem by collaborating. Managing destructive behaviors help regulate

emotions. For example, in supply chain partnerships, disagreements happen all the time. Rather

if it’s concerning production cost and promised delivery time, uncertainty arises, which cannot

be avoided. These two entities are bound by a contract agreement where they are both held

accountable. Each business partners’ organization success is contingent on their partnership. To

retain their line of business, they work together on resolving conflict through dispute resolution

and contract negotiation.

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References

Coleman, P., Deutsch, M., & Marcus, C. (2014). Chapter Five. The handbook of conflict
resolution: Theory and practice.3rd edition. (page 127). San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

Kathz, N.H., & Flyn, L.T. (2013). Understanding conflict management systems and strategies in
the workplace: A pilot study. Conflict Resolution Quarter. Volume 30: Issue 4. (page 4).
Online article retrieved from
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.library.capella.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e844787b-
e67b-42f8-a0f8-0475acb5e052%40sessionmgr120&vid=1&hid=128.

Stimac, M. (1982). NCBI. Strategies for resolving conflict: Their functional and dysfunctional
sides. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10261202/.