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Managing Human Element at Work

Notes reducing destructive conflict but allows for the existence of constructive conflict. Department
chairs who accept conflict management as the objective realize that all conflict cannot or
should not be eliminated. It will help to understand some basic facts about conflict.

8.14.1 Conflict is Inevitable
Conflict is a natural outcome of human interaction. Conflict exists whenever there is
disagreement and derives from differences in attitudes, beliefs, and expectations. Conflict can
result from differences in perception as to what has happened or what needs to be done.
Whenever two or more people disagree about a decision or action, conflict exists. Conflict
is inevitable because not all persons think alike. Not all persons hold the same values or
priorities. Not all persons react to situations in the same manner. Those facts make conflict
resolution virtually impossible.
8.14.2 Conflict can be Positive

It is important to remember that conflict is not inherently destructive. In fact, some conflict
is desirable. In a constructive mode, conflict can improve problem solving, clarify issues or
expectations, increase participant involvement and commitment, and result in a better
decision or outcome. If all faculties held the same views on every issue, final decisions and
recommendations would not account for the full range of ramifications. If all faculties
thought alike, departments would experience little change. Change that results in improvement
typically grows out of conflict.
8.14.3 Conflict can be Managed

Conflict that is allowed to run its own course is more likely to be destructive. Department
chairs need to be ready to manage conflict. However, two precautions must be noted. First,
how a department chair responds to a conflict affects the conflict. Even when a department
chair opts to ignore an existing conflict, his or her silence affects the conflict. Second, the
department chair’s response is never static in that a chair brings to each conflict a personal
set of beliefs, perceptions, and expectations. Chairs need to remember that their perception
of the persons involved or the situation may not be congruent with reality. Everyone,
including department chairs, views conflict from his or her own biases despite the best of
intentions.
8.14.4 Conflict Resolution is not Always the Goal

Conflict management, unlike conflict resolution, acknowledges that human interaction is
dynamic and that people do not always think or act alike. Because conflict results from
differences in attitudes, beliefs, and expectations, a conflict-free environment would be the
one that is so homogeneous that it could not be optimally innovative or productive. The
goal becomes maximizing constructive conflict and minimizing destructive conflict. Conflict
management includes those times when chairs need to initiate or encourage conflict to
achieve a positive outcome.

Conflict between Ambani Brothers

mproper succession planning is the primary cause for conflicts in most family-owned
Indian business houses. Dhirubhai Ambani, credited with bringing Indian investors
Ito the stock market, started Reliance Commercial Corporation with a paltry Rs 15,000.
When he passed away in 2002, Reliance Industries had a gross turnover of US $15 billion.
After he passed away intestate, his two sons, Mukesh and Anil, entered into a highly
publicized battle for the control of group companies. The conflict between the siblings

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