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There is always two side of coin in this
way there is also positive and negative effect of conflict on the
organisation so lets as discuss first negative effect of conflict :
Negative
Effects of Conflict Within an Organization
An
organization is made up of groups of people, and within groups of people
conflicts are inevitable. Part of the measure of a good executive and
management team is how they handle conflict. When conflict management is
successful, there are limited negative effects and the company can move
forward in a productive manner. When management does not offer conflict
resolution, there can be many negative effects on the company.
Understanding the negative effects of conflict on your organization can
help emphasize the importance of conflict management.
Insubordination
A company with weak management develops
problems with conflict that continue for the long term. Employees see that
management is unable to resolve conflicts within the company, and respect
for the authority of management can be eroded. Insubordination develops
because employees do not think management can maintain control over the
company
Drop in Productivity
Allowing a conflict to continue means that
employee attention becomes more focused on the conflict and not on
productivity. As a problem is allowed to linger, employees will attach more
importance to resolving the issue in their favor rather than attending to
worker productivity.
Lack of Direction
Conflict can sometimes arise when management
is unable to communicate the direction of the company to employees.
Conflict will erupt as employees are allowed to interpret change within the
company in their own way.
Fragmentation
Conflict creates rival factions. Sometimes
those factions are individuals, sometimes they are groups. Unresolved
conflict can create tension between groups that may normally need to work
together. Such rivalries can make progress within the company difficult.
Lack of New Ideas
Groups in conflict tend not to collaborate on
new ideas. When conflict goes unresolved it can be difficult to create new
ideas the company needs to solve problems it is facing.
Quality of Work
If a conflict is allowed to go on long enough,
the parties involved may begin to show more interest in the conflict than
in doing their jobs properly. Product quality can suffer, and in some cases
the safety of the employees can be in jeopardy as well.
Deadlines
In some companies, deadlines are very important.
Groups in conflict may start to push deadline limits as the conflict
becomes more important than reaching their deadlines. When both sides think
they are right and the conflict is not brought in check by management, the
idea that each side must think they are right before they can move on will
begin to affect important deadlines
The Positive &
Negative Factors of a Conflict
Many psychologists or behavioral experts agree that
conflicts are an inevitable and natural aspect of human interaction that
occur both internally and externally and as a result of change. In
addition, conflict itself cannot be thought of as good or bad, since
clashing opinions, values and ideas themselves cannot be called right or
wrong. If conflicts are managed effectively, they can have a positive
effect. If they're not diffused properly, however, they can negatively
impact people.
Positive: Identification of Problem
When a conflict arises, it means that
different ways of tackling an issue have arisen and a solution cannot be
achieved unless there is further discussion. Conflict can highlight where a
group needs to focus its attention to move forward. In many cases, if
conflict is avoided (for example, if one person gives in against her will
or chooses to avoid antagonism altogether by not speaking up), it could
lead to larger problems down the road. Therefore, engaging in conflict
sooner can potentially prevent future conflicts, as well as point out where
organizational changes must be made.
Positive: Encouragement of Cohesion
Any time a group engagement is encouraged, it
has the potential to bond members more deeply. People will use
communication skills as they try to find a solution to the problem. This
enables a group to develop as a whole as members open up to see different
viewpoints and perspectives, and might aid them in working together
effectively in future disputes. Problem-solving can also attest to a
group's unified strength and open-mindedness, since it shows commitment to
their relationship and stability.
Inspire Creativity
Fortunately, some organization members view
conflict as an opportunity for finding creative solutions to solve
problems. Conflict can inspire members to brainstorm ideas, while examining
problems from various perspectives.
Share And Respect Opinions
As organization members work together to solve
conflict, they are more willing to share their opinions with the group.
Conflict can also cause members to actively listen to each as they work to
accomplish the organizations’ goals.
Improve Future Communication
Conflict can bring group members together and
help them learn more about each other. From learning each others’ opinions
on topics relevant to the organization’s growth to understanding each
member’s preferred communication style, conflict within an organization can
give members the tools necessary to easily solve conflicts in the future.
Identify New Members
Within organizations members actively
participate in each meeting, enjoy serving on multiple committees and have
an opinion on each topic the group discusses. There are also members who
seemingly contribute little to the group and observe more than talk.
Conflict within an organization can inspire typically silent members to
step up and demonstrate their leadership skills by offering meaningful solutions
to the problem the group is facing.
Dealing with conflict
Conflicts are inescapable in an organization.
However, conflicts can be used as motivators for healthy change. In today's
environment, several factors create competition; they may be differing
departmental objectives, individual objectives, competition for use of
resources or differing viewpoints. These have to be integrated and
exploited efficiently to achieve organizational objectives.
A manager should be able to see emerging
conflicts and take appropriate pre-emptive action. The manager should
understand the causes creating conflict, the outcome of conflict, and
various methods by which conflict can be managed in the organization. With
this understanding, the manager should evolve an approach for resolving
conflicts before their disruptive repercussions have an impact on
productivity and creativity. Therefore, a manager should possess special
skills to react to conflict situations, and should create an open climate
for communication between conflicting parties.
Ways to resolve conflict
When two groups or individuals face a conflict
situation, they can react in four ways (De Bono, 1985). They can:
· Fight, which is not a beneficial, sound or
gratifying approach to dealing with a conflict situation, as it involves
'tactics, strategies, offensive and defensive positions, losing and winning
grounds, and exposure of weak points.' Fighting as a way of resolving a
conflict can only be useful in courtroom situations, where winning and
losing becomes a by-product of the judicial process.
· Negotiate, towards a settlement with the
other party. Negotiations take place within the prevailing situation and do
not involve problem solving or designing. Third-party roles are very
important in bringing the conflicting parties together on some common
ground for negotiations.
· Problem solve, which involves identifying
and removing the cause of the conflict so as to make the situation normal
again. However, this may not be easy. It is also possible that the situation
may not become normal even after removing the identified cause, because of
its influence on the situation.
· Design, which is an attempt towards
creativity in making the conflict situation normal. It considers conflicts
as situations rather than problems. Designing is not confined to what is
already there, but attempts to reach what might be created given a proper
understanding of the views and situations of the conflicting parties. The
proposed idea should be appropriate and acceptable to the parties in
conflict. A third party participates actively in the design process rather
than being just a an umpire.
Question 4).How do you see the relationship between leadership
styles and leadership Theories? Describe, explain and relate your answer
with the experience you have had in the organisational set up yourself or
you are aware of. Describe the situation and the organisation briefly,
which you are referring to
Ans :
Leadership Theory vs. Leadership Style
Leadership theory is a
discipline that focuses on finding out what makes successful leaders excel
in what they do. The primary distinction between leadership theory and
leadership style is that leadership style falls under the overall umbrella
of leadership theory. In other words, leadership style is one of many
examples covered with leadership theory. Leadership style focuses
specifically on the traits and behaviors of leaders.
Leadership Theory
Since businesses are always striving to find
great leaders that can lead them to success, much effort has been put forth
into finding out how they operate. More specifically, businesses are trying
to identify the characteristics and behaviors associated with the best
leaders. As a result, many leadership theories have been developed over the
years that attempt to explain what makes a leader great. Businesses figure
if they can identify the traits that make a successful leader, they can not
only identify potential leaders more readily, but also can hone in on those
specific skills for improvement.
Examples of Leadership Theory
In the beginning, leadership theories focused
primarily on specific characteristics and behaviors of leaders. However, as
time went on, theories began to focus more on a leader's followers and the
contextual nature of leadership. For example, the early theories, such as
the great man theory and the trait theory, focused specifically on innate
qualities leaders are born with. Within the next phase -- which includes
behaviorist theory, situational leadership theory, and contingency theory
-- focus shifted more toward what leaders do versus what traits they have.
The final stage includes transactional theory and transformational theory,
where the relationship between the leader and his followers is explored.
Leadership Style
Leadership style is modeled after a leader's
behaviors, which is encompassed under behaviorist theory. Within this
category, different patterns of leadership behavior are observed and then
categorized as leadership styles. Practicing managers tend to be the most interested
in researching this particular theory because with it leaders have the
ability to alter their style based on the beliefs, values, preferences and
culture of the organization they work for.
Examples of Leadership Style
Leadership styles can be broken down in
several different ways depending on what information is being looked at.
For example, an organization interested in how decisions are made may
define leaders as either being autocratic or democratic. Another
organization may have more interest in how leaders handle situations and
choose to define them as being charismatic, participative, situational,
transactional, transformational, quiet or servant-like. One more way to
differentiate leadership styles is according to whether leaders are task-oriented
or people-oriented. Task-oriented leaders are said to have a considerate
style and people-oriented leaders an initiating-structure style.
Leadership Styles and Theory
·
Leadership is the
process of motivating a group of people to act towards accomplishing a
common task. There are number of recognized versions, or styles, of
leadership, some of which have been shown to be more effective than others.
In 1939, a group of researchers led by German-American psychologist Kurt
Lewin identified three major leadership styles: authoritarian or
autocratic; participative or democratic; and delegative. Good leaders may
well adopt some element of all of the styles of leadership.
·
Autocratic leaders
seek to have the most authority in decision-making and provide the rest of
the group with clear expectations regarding what needs to be done and how
it should be done. They try to make as many decisions as possible and
consultation is minimal. This leadership style is effective on short-term
projects or in environments where employees are poorly motivated or need to
perform low-skilled tasks.
·
This leadership
style offers some benefits to managers who use it. It reduces their stress
levels as they know they have full control and it also improves the working
speed of poorly motivated employees, who know they are being watched by a
leader. One of the main disadvantages of this style is that by making all
the decisions, the leader doesn't give the other members of the group the
opportunity to start their leadership development. By taking all
responsibility, the leader works at full capacity, which can lead to health
problems and poor working relationships with colleagues.
·
Participative or
democratic leadership style is generally seen to be the most effective.
Democratic leaders offer guidance to group members and participate in the
group. Democratic leadership promotes sharing of responsibility and
continual consultation. The leader delegates tasks to each member of the
group and gives full control over them. Democratic leaders encourage others
to get involved in leadership development.
·
This leadership
style has many benefits. Employees that are given responsibility tend to
become more enthusiastic about their work and are involved more in the
accomplishment of their task. Consulting the other members of the group and
giving and receiving feedback results in better decision making and
creative thinking. But consulting over every decision can be time-consuming
and can cause opportunities to be missed.
·
Delegative
leadership style gives little or no guidance to group members, but allows
them to make the decisions. This style can be effective in situations where
group members are highly qualified or when the leader trusts them. However,
it can lead to poorly defined roles within the group and a lack of
motivation.
·
Over time, many
other leadership theories have been developed. Most can be classified as
one of the eight major types.
·
"Great
Man" theories assume that great leaders are born, not made. Leaders
have exceptional qualities and are destined to lead. They are portrayed as
heroes who will rise to leadership when needed.
·
Trait theories are
similar to "Great Man" theories. These theories assume that
people inherit certain qualities and traits that are suited to leadership.
·
Contingency
theories state that no leadership style is suited for all situations.
Success depends on situational factors, including the leadership style and
the abilities and behavior of the followers.
·
Situational
theories assume that the best action of the leader depends on a range of
situational variables including motivation and capability of followers.
·
Behavioral
theories are based on the assumption that great leaders are made, not born.
They don't focus on the leaders' inborn traits, but on what they can do.
According to these theories, leadership can be learned, rather than being
inherent.
·
Participative
theories assume that the members of the group make decisions together while
leaders help them feel more relevant within the group.
·
Management
theories, also known as transactional theories, are based on a system of
rewards and punishments. The leader creates a clear structure which states
what is required from each member of the group. Transactional leadership is
mainly used in companies, when the employees' performance is good, they are
rewarded and when it is poor they are reprimanded.
·
Relationship
theories, also known as transformational theories, focus on the
relationships between the leader and the members of the group.
Transformational leaders put passion and energy in everything and inspire
and motivate the members of the group. These leaders focus on the
performance of each member group and help them fulfill their potential.
·
Leadership
Leadership is the process where a person exerts influence over others and
inspires, motivates and directs their activities to achieve goals.Effective
leadership increases the firm’s ability to meet new challenges.Leader:The
person exerting the influence.Personal Leadership Style:the ways leaders
choose to influence others.Some leaders delegate and support subordinates,
others are very authoritarian.Managers at all levels have their own
leadership style.
·
Leadership Across
CulturesLeadership styles may vary over different cultures.European
managers tend to be more people-oriented than American or Japanese
managers.Japanese culture is very collective oriented, while American
focuses more on profitability.Time horizons also are affected by
cultures.U.S. firms often focus on short-run efforts.Japanese firms take a
longer-term outlook.
·
Sources of
PowerUsed to affect other’s behavior and get them to act in given
ways.Legitimate Power:manager’s authority resulting by their management
position in the firm.Can be power to hire/fire workers, assign work.Reward
Power:based on the manager’s ability to give or withhold rewards.Pay
raises, bonuses, verbal praise.Effective managers use reward power to
signal employees they are doing a good job.
·
Sources of
PowerCoercive Power:based in ability to punish others.Ranges from verbal
reprimand to pay cuts to firing.Can have serious negative side
effects.Expert Power:based on special skills of leader.First & middle
managers have most expert power.Often found in technical ability.Referent
Power:results from personal characteristics of the leader which earn
worker’s respect, loyalty and admiration.Usually held by likable managers
who are concerned about their workers.
·
EmpowermentProcess
of giving workers at all levels authority to make decisions and the
responsibility for their outcomes. Empowerment helps managers:Get workers
involved in the decisions.Increase worker commitment and motivation.To
focus on other issues.Effective managers usually empower substantial
authority to workers.
·
Leadership Models
Trait Model:sought to identify personal characteristics responsible for
effective leadership.Research shows that traits do appear to be connected
to effective leadership.Many “traits” are the result of skills and
knowledge.Not all effective leaders possess all these traits. Behavioral
Model:Identifies types of behavior.Consideration:leaders show care toward
workers. Employee-centered.Initiating Structure:managers take steps to make
sure work is done. Done by assigning work, setting goals, etc.Job-oriented.
·
Consideration
& Initiating StructureRate manager from 1 (never does) to 5 (always
does)NOTE: for full survey, see Figure 13.2 in textFigure
13.2ConsiderationInitiating StructureIs friendly, approachableDo little
things to make it funto be a member of groupGive advance notice of
changesWilling to make changesTreats group members as equalsTries out ideas
in the groupLets group members know what is expectedAssigns workers to
tasksSchedules work to be doneMaintains standardsof performance
·
Theories of
LeadershipTrait theories:Is there a set of characteristics that determine a
good leader?Personality?Dominance and personal presence?Charisma?Self
confidence?Achievement?Ability to formulate a clear vision?
·
Theories of
LeadershipTrait theories:Are such characteristics inherently gender
biased?Do such characteristics produce good leaders?Is leadership more than
just bringing about change?Does this imply that leaders are born not bred?
·
Theories of
LeadershipBehavioural:Imply that leaders can be trained – focus on the way
of doing thingsStructure based behavioural theories – focus on the leader
instituting structures – task orientatedRelationship based behavioural
theories – focus on the development and maintenance of relationships –
process orientated
·
Contingency Models
Fiedler’s Model:effective leadership is contingent on both the
characteristics of the leader and the situation. Leader style:the enduring,
characteristic approach to leadership a manager
uses.Relationship-oriented:concerned with developing good relations with
workers.Task-oriented:concerned that workers perform so the job gets done.
·
Fiedler’s Model
Situation characteristic:how favorable a given situation is for leading to
occur.Leader-member relations:determines how much workers like and trust
their leader.Task structure:extent to which workers tasks are clear-cut.
Clear issues make a situation favorable for leadership.Position
Power:amount of legitimate, reward, & coercive power a leader has due
to their position.When positional power is strong, leadership opportunity
becomes more favorable.
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