37 Factors and Types of Conflict

Types of Conflict

To help us better understand what conflict is, we need to analyze its possible sources and types

• Economic Conflict involves competing motives to attain scarce resources. This type of conflict typically occurs when behavior and emotions of each party are aimed at increasing their own gain. Each party involved may come into conflict as a result of them trying to attain the most of these resources. An example of this is when union and management conflict on how to divide and distribute company funds (Fisher, 2000; Evans, 2013).
• Value Conflict involves incompatibility in the ways of life. This type of conflict includes the different preferences and ideologies that people may have as their principles. This type of conflict is very difficult to resolve because the differences are belief-based and not fact-based. An example of this is demonstrated in international war in which each side asserts its own set of beliefs (Fisher, 2000; Evans, 2013).
• Power Conflict occurs when each party tries to exert and maintain its maximum influence in the relationship and social setting. For one party to have influence over the other, one party must be stronger (in terms of influence) than the other. This will result in a power struggle that may end in winning, losing, or a deadlock with continuous tension between both parties. This type of conflict may occur between individuals, groups, or nations. This conflict will come into play when one party chooses to take a power approach to the relationship. The key word here is “chooses.” The power conflict is a choice that is made by one party to exert its influence on the other. It is also important to note that power may enter all types of conflict since the parties are trying to control each other (Fisher, 2000; Evans, 2013).
• Relationship Conflict may arise from the interpersonal tension that exists between the employees of the concerned organization. These conflicts are concerned intrinsically with the persons. They do not concern about the project or the assignment at hand.
• Task Conflict arises from the discordance that exists among the employees regarding the nature of the particular job at hand. These conflicts generally involve the members of the organization and the management of the concerned organization (de Wit, Jehn & Scheepers, 2013).
• Conflict of Process arises among the members of the same team. These conflicts arise from the differences in the opinions of the members regarding the ways in which the task should be completed. In order to avoid these conflicts, the team members must discuss the work strategy before commencing the job. The investor of the Target Corporation William Ackman had raised an issue with the management of the retailer chain. The conflict, in this case, was raised in the field of the change that Ackman felt was necessary in the business strategy of the organization.

Since conflict can result in emotions that can make a situation uncomfortable, it is often avoided. Feelings such as guilt, anger, anxiety, and fear can be a direct result of conflict, which can cause individuals to avoid it all together. Conflict can be a good thing and avoiding it to preserve a false impression of harmony can cause even more damage (Loehr, 2017a).

Causes of the Conflict

There are many causes that result in conflicts to arise. These causes are listed below.

• Expectations of the managerial staff – The management expects all the employees to meet the targets that are set by their superiors. The discrepancies in the understanding of the task at hand or the inability on the part of the employee to achieve the set targets results in the conflicts that arise in the concerned workplace.

• Disruption in communication – One of the major causes of the conflicts that arise in the workplace is the disruption that occurs within the members working in the same organization. These conflicts may arise in situations where a member may be in need of some information from another colleague who does not reply in a proper manner or does not provide the needed information (Halevy et al, 2014).

• Misunderstanding – This is the most common cause of the arousal of conflict within an organization. These conditions may arise when one member of the organization misinterprets the information that has been conveyed to him. This may lead to the creation of a number of conflicts that may prove disturbing towards the overall growth of the organization (Chen et al, 2012).

• Accountability lack – There may be situations in the organization whereby the responsibilities of the member are not clearly stated. In any dispute and mistake conditions that arise, no member of the concerned team or group is ready to take responsibility. This may lead to conflicts between the employees of the organization.

In order to resolve the conflicts within a group or organization, the factors that cause the conflicts must be clearly addressed. These conflicts if unresolved may pose a hindrance to the effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of the members.

Original content authored by Saylor Academy and Fadi Smiley

References

Evans B. (2013, August 13) Blog website: typesofconflict.org. Last accessed March 24, 2018.

Fisher R. Sources of Conflict and Methods of Conflict Resolution. International Peace and Conflict Resolution School of International Service. 2000: 1-6.