Interpersonal conflict on workplace American vs Chinese

•    competition over resources

•    non-compliance with rules (LO)

              A definition of a conflict can be the subject of legal action has three invariants:

•    legal

•    technical

•    emotional

              Causes

1. Structural Factors (How the conflict is set up)

•    Authority Relationships (The boss and employees beneath them)

•    Common Resources (Sharing the same secretary)

•    Goal Differences (One person wants production to rise and others want communication to rise)

•    Interdependence (A company as a whole can't operate w/o other departments)

•    Jurisdictional Ambiguities (Who can discipline whom)

•    Specialization (The experts in fields)

•    Status inconsistencies

•    Need of land, water and food (whole country)

2.  Personal Factors

•    Communication barriers

•    Conflict management style

•    Cultural differences

•    Emotions

•    Perception

•    Personalities

•    Skills and abilities

•    Values and Ethics

              The assertion that "the conflict is emotionally defined and driven," and "does not exist in the absence of emotion" is challenged by Economics. In this context, scarcity means that available resources are insufficient to satisfy all wants and needs. The subject of conflict as a purely rational, strategic decision is specifically addressed by Game Theory, a branch of Economics.

              Where applicable, there are many components to the emotions that are intertwined with conflict. There is a behavioral, physiological, cognitive component.

•    Behavioral- The way emotional experience gets expressed which can be verbal or non-verbal and intentional or un-intentional.

•    Physiological - the bodily expeerience of emotion. The way emotions make us feel in comparison to our identity.

•    Cognitive- The idea that we "assess or appraise" an event to reveal its relevancy to ourselves.

              These three components collectively advise that "the meanings of emotional experience and expression are determined by cultural values, beliefs, and practices."

1.1.         Cultural values- culture tells people who are a part of it, "Which emotions ought to be expressed in particular situations" and "what emotions are to be felt."

1.2.         Physical- This escalation results from "anger or frustration."

1.3.         Verbal- This escalation results from "negative perceptions of the annoyer's character."

              There are several principles of conflict and emotion.

              1. Conflict is emotionally defined-conflict involves emotion because something "triggers" it. The conflict is with the parties involved and how they decide to

resolve it - "events that trigger conflict are events that elicit emotion."

              2. Conflict is emotionally valence - emotion levels during conflict can be intense or less intense. The "intensity" levels "may be indicative of the importance and meaning of the conflict issues for each" party.

              3. Conflict Invokes a moral stance - when an event occurs it can be interpreted as moral or immoral. The judging of this morality "influences one's orientation to the

conflict, relationship to the parties involved, and the conflict issues".

              4. Conflict is identity based - Emotions and Identity are a part of conflict. When a person knows their values, beliefs, and morals they are able to determine

whether the conflict is personal, relevant, and moral. "Identity related conflicts are

potentially more destructive."

              5. Conflict is relational - "conflict is relational in the sense that emotional

communication conveys relational definitions that impact conflict." "Key relational

elements are power and social status."

              Emotions are acceptable in the workplace as long as they can be controlled and utilized for productive organizational outcomes and are used at the approiate timing

1.3. Conflicts in workplace.

              Workplace conflict is a specific type of conflict that occurs in workplaces. The conflicts that arise in workplaces may be shaped by the unique aspects of this environment, including the long hours many people spend at their workplace, the hierarchical structure of the organization, and the difficulties (e.g. financial consequences) that may be involved in switching to a different workplace. In this respect, workplaces share much in common with schools, especially pre-college educational institutions in which students are less autonomous.

              Also there exist many causes of workplace conflicts. There some views on causes of conflicts in workplace.

              According to Boston University FSAO, "Causes for workplace conflict can be personality or style differences and personal problems such as substance abuse, childcare issues, and family problems. Organizational factors such as leadership, management, budget, and disagreement about core values can also contribute." University of Colorado–Boulder cites as primary causes of workplace conflict poor communication, different values, differing interests, scarce resources, personality clashes, and poor performance.

              The issue of "personality clashes" is controversial. According to the Australian government, the two types of workplace conflicts are "when people's ideas, decisions or actions relating directly to the job are in opposition, or when two people just don't get along." Turner and Weed argue, "In a conflict situation, don’t ask ‘who’, ask ‘what’ and ‘why’. Managers should avoid blaming interpersonal conflicts on “personality clashes”. Such a tactic is an excuse to avoid addressing the real causes of conflict, and the department’s performance will suffer as a result. Managers must be able to recognize the signs of conflict behaviors and deal with the conflict in a forthright fashion. Approaching conflicts as opportunities to improve departmental policies and operations rather as ailments to be eradicated or ignored will result in a more productive work force and greater departmental efficiency."

              Office romances can be a cause of workplace conflict. 81 percent of human resource professionals and 76 percent of executives said workplace romances are dangerous because they can lead to conflict within the organization. Public displays of affection can make co-workers uncomfortable and accusations of favoritism may occur, especially if it is a supervisor-subordinate relationship. If the relationship goes awry, one party may seek to exact revenge on the other.

              Passive aggressive behavior is a common response from workers and managers which is particularly noxious to team unity and productivity. In workers, it can lead to sabotage of projects and the creation of a hostile environment. In managers, it can end up stifling teams creativity. De Angelis says "It would actually make perfect sense that those promoted to leadership positions might often be those who on the surface appear to be agreeable, diplomatic and supportive, yet who are actually dishonest, backstabbing saboteurs behind the scenes." - In brief, to respond to this kind of hostile behavior, people need to control performance expectations, parcel out important tasks so there are several responsible people involved, and re-check frequently to see how much delay the passive aggressive worker can generate before the team leader stops him."

              Types of workplace conflicts:

-  Interpersonal

-  Organizational

-  Trends/Change

-  External Factors

              Interpersonal conflict is the most apparent form of conflict for workplace participants. It is easy enough to observe the results of office politics, gossip, and rumours. Also language and personality styles often clash, creating a great deal of conflict in the workplace. In many workplaces there are strong ethno-cultural and racial sources of conflict as well as gender conflict. This may lead to charges of harassment and discrimination or at least the feeling that such things exist. People often bring their stresses from home into the office leading to further conflict. An additional source of workplace conflict can be found in varying ideas about personal success. The strong drive for work related achievement in some participants can clash with participants who do not emphasize work-related success in their lives.

              There are a variety of ways to uncover such sources of conflict, including the use of personality testing instruments like Myers-Briggs, Thomas-Kilman, FIRO-B, and Personality Dynamics Profiles. In addition to this, confidential surveys, interviews and focus groups can be a good way of uncovering interpersonal sources of conflict.

              There are a number of organizational sources of conflict. Those relating to hierarchy and the inability to resolve conflicting interests are quite predominant in most workplaces. Labour/management and supervisor/employee tensions are heightened by power differences. Differences in supervisory styles between departments can be a cause of conflict. Also there can be work style clashes, seniority/juniority and pay equity conflict. Conflict can arise over resource allocation, the distribution of duties, workload and benefits, different levels of tolerance for risk taking, and varying views on accountability. In addition, conflict can arise where there are perceived or actual differences in treatment between departments or groups of employees.

              A thorough review of the workplace is suggested for such sources of conflict. Again surveys, interviews and focus groups can help reveal these sources of conflict. Additionally, organizational sources of conflict can be predicted based upon best practices from similar organizations. All organizations experience such conflict. Much can be learned from the lessons of similar organizations who have made a study of this source of conflict.

              The modern workplace has significant levels of stress and conflict related to change-management and downsizing. Technological change can cause conflict, as can changing work methodologies. Many workplaces suffer from constant reorganization, leading to further stress and conflict. In line with reorganization, many public and non-profit organizations suffer from downloading of responsibilities from other organizations.

              Workplace analysts should review the history of the particular organization, reaching back as far as 10 years to determine the level of churn that has taken place. Generally speaking, the more change and the more recent the change, the more likely there will be significant conflict.

              External factors can also lead to conflict in the workplace. Economic pressures are caused by recession, changing markets, domestic and foreign competition, and the effects of Free Trade between countries. Conflict arises with clients and suppliers effecting customer service and delivery of goods. Also public and non-profit workplaces in particular can face political pressures and demands from special interest groups. A change in government can have a tremendous impact, especially on public and non-profit organizations. Funding levels for workplaces dependent upon government funding can change dramatically. Public ideologies can have an impact on the way employees are treated and viewed in such organizations.

              To look for external factors of conflict, have a review of the relationships between the subject organization and other organizations. Companies or government departments that have constant relationships with outside organizations, will find this to be a major source of conflict for workplace participants.

              Whether good or bad, conflict can be one of many types: for example, personal, work-related, bureaucratic, societal, economic. Here are the types of conflicts that are most relevant to the topic of leadership:

-  Interpersonal

-  Ideological

-  Organizational

-  Operational

-  Relational

              Each type is a bit different and requires its own type of handling. You need to be ready to deal with any of them if you want your group to be successful.

Interpersonal conflict is often the single largest source of dispute. This is when people don't get along, and it is often a useless type of conflict. What makes it such a difficult type to manage is its focus on the personal. A team works when it elevates its objectives above individual concerns — when it doesn't let the personal get in the way of the team.

              But interpersonal conflict is exactly that: when personal considerations, in the form of a clash between team members, take precedence. If you are around people having this type of conflict, you'll hear that personal aspect. Those involved will frame everything in terms of their own concerns, feelings, and reactions. People in the throes of an interpersonal conflict never say something like, “Oh, darn, I hate how this run-in distracts me and keeps me from pursuing our group goal.” No, what you'll hear instead is, “That so-and-so! I'm tired of having to deal with him when he does that thing that bothers me!”

              What you must do is turn attention back to the team goals while understanding that people have a right to their own feelings. Sometimes the feelings are justified. Sexual harassment isn't a trifle, for instance, and you can't tell a victim to just ignore it. But you also don't want to elevate every spat to a legally actionable issue.

              When working with conflicts between team members, don't go for the easy solution. Try to get them to devise their own solution. The means by which team members resolve their conflict should have a broad enough structure that the people involved are able to continue to work successfully to make sure the problem doesn't recur.

              When the conflict does not rise to that degree of seriousness, work with the team members. Although they may want to focus on proving their points, get them to look instead at what is happening to the team's goals. Ask them how to resolve any issues to enable the group's work to continue. The more you can get them to look at what the group needs, the less they focus on themselves, averting the head-on collision.

              Ideological

              You'd be surprised how often ideology in its many forms can appear. A business can insist on promoting a given political, economic, or philosophical view just as much as any advocacy organization. Groups can hold to particular ideas and so can individuals. Strong belief is a powerful force, a form of motivation and vision.

              Belief can also be a limitation. When people insist that the world works in a given way, they sometimes refuse to acknowledge anything to the contrary. Cognitive scientists and linguists refer to the condition as a framework. We all have frameworks of culture and experience, but to solve problems, you must not let preconceived thoughts blind you to possible solutions.

              By its nature, ideological conflict is difficult to overcome. People literally cannot see that they are stuck. The way to fight ideological conflicts is to start throwing away assumptions. You must insist on re-examining areas where things seem blocked. Investigate and use creativity techniques to break mental associations and find new ways to view situations.

              The best way to avoid ideological conflicts is not to get into them in the first place. That means standing guard against the problem. Your principles and the need to support them can help you avoid ideological conflicts. Focus on them and toss other assumptions out the window.

              Organizational

              If you want to achieve a goal, you organize your efforts and structure your solution for success. Think about the word organization, which describes a selection of people gathered to achieve something. The way you structure the interaction of people, responsibilities, and hierarchy understandably corresponds with the way you get things done. However, you can do things well or badly.

              Speak to experts, and you'll hear that the wrong organization is one of the biggest challenges a group can face. If it's possible to have the right people in certain positions, which is critical to building a good team, you can also have the wrong people. You could have the right people, but problems arise if you structure your organization so that communication doesn't happen easily or at the right time.

              You may face problems with achieving its goals when there are no conflicts between people or obvious roadblocks. Consider whether your approach to organizing the team doesn't work well with what you are trying to achieve. See if members are getting the information they need on a timely basis directly from the people who have it. Ask if people with the right set of talents or experiences are working together.

              Operational

              Organization can provide conflict, and so can operational issues. The term operations describes how your team structures its work flow, the chain of events that drives what actually happens. Just as proper organization promotes communication, good operations enable action, and it's action you ultimately need if you're going to achieve anything.

              Tasks that take too much time and effort to achieve are a sign of operational conflict. Your method of actually getting things done clashes with what you are trying to do. There may be too many steps or duplication or even some activities that send you in the wrong direction before doubling back.

              Making a chart of what happens and how it occurs can do wonders. Such a flow chart forces the team to think through every step it takes. If you've never undertaken such an exercise, be ready for some surprises; chances are you have more conflict between your operations and your goals than you think.

              Relational

              There is an entire world out there, and your team and its goals don't exist in isolation. This is the biggest class of conflict, and it includes some of the most difficult things to change. Your team might find that aspects of the larger organization make it difficult to achieve anything. There might be societal pressures or environmental conditions working to your detriment.

              Now you can see why this is the biggest — and toughest — class. When conflict is limited to the team, at least you have control. When it is outside, you only have partial control at best, and too many factors are independent of what you decide and which actions you take. Sometimes the best you can do is adapt to circumstances.

Unresolved conflict in the workplace has been linked to miscommunication resulting from confusion or refusal to cooperate, quality problems, missed deadlines or delays, increased stress among employees, reduced creative collaboration and team problem solving, disruption to work flow, decreased customer satisfaction, distrust, split camps, and gossip.

1.4.  Interpersonal conflict in workplace.

              Everyone has to navigate interpersonal conflict in the workplace from time to time. While avoidance often seems the path of least resistance, it can lead to trouble in the future.

              Understanding the impact of work-related stressors and employee health and well- being has been a burgeoning field over the last two decades (Jex, 1998; Lazarus, 1991; Spector & Jex, 1998; Shimazu, & Kosugi, 2003). Stressors resulting from one’s work life including work conditions, job characteristics, and relationships with others at work have been shown to impact employee health outcomes at both psychological and physical levels (Le Blanc, Jonge, & Schaufeli, 2008; Spector, Dwyer, & Jex, 1988). Gaining knowledge on how work-related stressors may mitigate the negative impact of stressors.

              The stressor explored in the interpersonal conflict at work. Conflict at work is an important and pervasive workplace stressor. Interpersonal conflict represents the extent to which an employee has negatively charged social interactions with his or her co-workers (Spector, 1987). Interpersonal conflict at work has been related to various behavioral, psychological, attitudinal, and physical health outcomes. On a behavioral level, interpersonal conflict has been associated with increases in counterproductive work behavior (Bayram, Gursakal, & Bilgel, 2009; Penney & Spector, 2005), absenteeism (Giebels & Janssen), and reduced job performance (Aquino & Bommer, 2003).

              For example, interpersonal conflict has been shown to have positive relationships with counterproductive work behaviors and in some cases, was found to be one of the strongest predictors of CWB out of a variety of other workplace stressors (Bayram, Gursakal, & Bilgel, 2009). The strain associated with interpersonal conflict at work has also been shown to be related to increased absenteeism (Giebels & Janssen, 2005). Additionally, mistreatment between supervisors and their subordinates has been shown to negatively impact overall performance as well as extra-role performance (Aquino & Bommer, 2003). Thus, conflicts at work have important ties to employee behaviors relevant to organizations.