EFFECT OF CONFLICT ON ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Organizational conflict can be regarded as a dispute that occurs when interests, goals or values of different individuals or groups are incompatible with each other. This results into a situation where by frustrate each other in an attempt to achieve their objectives (Henry, 2009). Conflict arises in groups because of the scarcity of freedom, position, and resources. People who value independence tend to resist the need for interdependence and, to some extent, conformity within a group. People who seek power therefore struggle with others for position or status within the group. In addition,(Adomi and Anie,2005) argue that conflict is a fact of life in any organizations as long as people compete for jobs, resources, power, recognition and security. Conflict has both negative and positive effects on organization, but when managed properly, the positive effects can be used to encourage organizational innovativeness and build cooperation among the employees (Hotepo, Asokere, AAbdul-azeez & Ajemunigbohun, 2010). Most people view conflict as a negative force for the successes of the organization or in reaching the common goals and create negative impact to a group but may also lead to positive effects depending on the nature of the conflict. The positive effects of conflict are: improving the quality of decisions, stimulating involvement in the discussion and building group cohesion. Recent researchers have demonstrated that conflict help managers confront reality and create new solutions to tough problems. When conflict is well managed, it breaths life and energy into people’s relationships and makes people more productive. Conflict is also necessary for true involvement, empowerment and democracy. It allows people to voice their concerns and opinions and create solutions responsive to several points of view. The result is they became more united and committed (Garcia 2013). Robinson, (2005) advocate that managing conflict toward constructive action is the best approach in solving conflict in organization. When conflict arises, we need to be able to manage them properly, so that it becomes a positive force, rather than a negative force, which would threaten the individual or group. Conflict management theory state that a healthy conflict management systems should be in place in any organization. The conflict management systems should be integrated within the system of the organization and the integration should be at higher level of the organization hierarchy rather than being interconnection, conflict management is a human subsystem which is achieved through typical development process. The process starts with assessment and inquiry, addresses the design, implementation and evaluation (Ford, 2007). So AEDC is an organization that is not free from conflict situation as long as the human element is part of its resources. It may disagree over issues in the workplace which can stimulate conflict that needs to be managed to improve productivity or performance of the factory.