Page 18 - DMGT519_Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Notes It is possible to construct such a landscape for any complex system and, by tracking interactions
over time, observe how the environment is affected and responds to the changes that are occurring.
System theory is an approach to social life that stresses functional parts working together for a
specific end. In general, this approach deals with what holds the organism together, yet when
conflict theory is introduced, it explains how things fall apart. A system theory of conflict seeks
to show how parts of a system do not always harmoniously work together.

Function

Systems theory of conflict stresses how oppression is part of larger social whole. The function of
the theory is to show how the structures of production oppress labor. The capitalist must force
labor to work more and more for less money, or as little money as the owner can get away with.
But this is not because the owner is a bad person, it is because the capitalist system as a whole
demands the capitalist save money, operate efficiently and turn a profit to survive. This entails
the oppression of labor.

Significance

The system needs to be destroyed: this is the basic battle cry of critical theory in a systemic
context. The system, that interlocking parts of production, ownership and labor, entails, by its
very functioning, the oppression of the poor and laboring classes. The system becomes the only
object of revolutionary activity on the part of labor, not individual owners.
A systems theory of conflict locates oppression not in the personal behavior of those who are
forced to operate within the system. According to this approach to conflict, systems theory holds
that human nature is always changeable, and those with power will always develop ideologies
that justify their domination. Without the system, those ideologies would fade away, leading to
a fully human, honest life without the smokescreens or deception. Systems theory does not just
deal with economics or politics, but with human attitudes

1.5 Systems Approach to Conflict Diagnosis

Management of Conflict

Conflict is essentially detractive in nature. Therefore, immediate measures are necessary for its
resolution. Thus, it’s better to go for prevention and proaction than reaction and fire-fighting.
There may be two approaches for managing the organizational conflict:

1. Preventive measures
2. Curative measures
In the preventive measures, the management tries to create a situation or environment where
dysfunctional aspects of conflicts do not take place. As in most of the cases, conflict is destructive
in nature, it should be resolved as soon as possible after it has developed, but all efforts should
be made to prevent it from developing.
Preventive Measures

Some of the preventive measures to manage the organisational conflict are as follows:

1. Establishing Common Goals: The major reason for the development of conflict is the
incompatible goals. This is particularly true in case of conflict among groups and between
individuals and organization. The basic strategy of reducing the conflict should be to find

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