HR Management Assignment help on : Conflict and Stress in Organizations
Conflict
A conflict is said to occur whentwo or more people disagree over issues of organisational substance and/or experience some emotional antagonism with one another, in other words conflict is disagreement through which two parties which are involved perceive a threat to their interest or needs (Academic Leadership Support n.d.). The views over conflict have changed over a period of time. It started with what is called a traditional or contemporary view which considered both negative and positive aspects. The outlook has now moved to be positive. This positive viewis named after the author De Dreu.
There are three levels of conflict, these three levels may occur simultaneously also and can increase intensity of the conflict.
1.Intrapersonal Conflict: This conflict occurs within the individual itself. This conflict arises when an individual behaves in a way that contradicts to their real thinking, belief and how they feel.
2. Interpersonal Conflict: This type of conflict arises whenever there is clash between individuals who share the same location and are unable to come together to reach to a common objective.This may arise because of different personality trait, different background etc.
3. Intragroup Conflict: This type of conflict is said to occur when there are several people in one group get into an argument with other group which results in the group getting into disagreement to accomplish objectives and goals(Demand Media 2012).
There are many sources which lead to conflict; some of them are discussed briefly below:
Poor Communication: Different communication styles can give rise to misunderstandings between people and employees.
Difference in value: Different individuals have different values and they have different perception about the world. Conflict arises when there is difference in accepting and understanding the difference.
Differing Interests: When individuals fight for their own goals, objectives and interests, conflict occurs and they ignore the common goal of organization.
Poorly designed reward system : When reward system are not fair, conflicts are bound to occur.
Scarcity of Resources: In scarce resource environment individual fight for their share leading to conflicts.
Poor Performance: When individuals within a group or unit do not perform to their full potential and this issue remains unaddressed, conflict arises (University of Oklahoma 2011)
Of various styles of managing conflict, Thomas style of conflict management is the most appreciated one. It organizes five conflict management styles .choosing the right style or strategy is the choice of the leader or the manager and it is seen that managers have their preferred style which might not be the best one however it depends on them to make it work. Thomas Model is based on two dimensions i.e: Assertiveness and Cooperativeness. The same is shown below:
(Source: Kilmann Diagnostics 2012)
1.Competing: It is kept at top left of the model which means completely assertive and uncooperative style of resolving conflict which mean defending a position which you believe is right.
2. Accommodating: It is put at the bottom right of the model which means a completely unassertive and co-operative approach. This might means taking a generous or selfless approach to resolve conflict.
3. Avoiding: It is put in the bottom left which means unassertive and uncooperative approach. This means avoiding the conflict which might result in postponing or cornering the issue till the right time and simply keeping away from the situation.
4. Compromising:This option is put in the center of the model and it is considered to be be both assertive and cooperative but only to a certain extent. Under this approach both the sides get something and none of them get everything which means trying to find a middle ground for a conflict resolution.
5. Collaborating: It is at the top right in the model. This approach believes that both the parties can come out with what they want and conflict can be resolved by listening to each others and by finding solutions( Manage Train Learn 2012)
The structural approach to conflict management suggests following strategies:
- Reduction of communication barrier and improvement of understanding
- Reduction in task interdependence
- Increase in resources
- Reduction in differentiation and clarification of rules.
Stress
Stress in Organization a phenomenon which is not very uncommon instead it is wide spread and it has serious practical and economic implications.It is extreme physiological and emotional condition which an individual experiences when confronted with threatening situation. In other words it is the response individual when excessive and unreasonable pressure is put on him/her. It may not be a bad thing always if sound preparation is already done.
In 1936,Hans Selye’screated a stress model known as “General Adaptation Syndrome” and this model is made up of three elements or phases which describes response of body to stress:
Alarm Stage:During this phase the initial reaction of body to stress that a threat has aroused which needs to be balanced or fought and hence it releases stress hormones like adrenaline ,nonnoradrenaline and cortisol which helps in performing activities that is generally not done.
Resistance Stage: After the first stage the threat or the stressor gets reduced or eliminated during which the defence of the body gets weaker and it needs energy to repair torn or damaged cells, tissues and muscles and hence it lowers the production of stress hormones.
Exhaustion Stage:During this stage the body loses all its capacity to fight because the energy is already drained out, this can refer to burnout stress overload and if not resolved immediately can cause problems to health.
(Source: Flat World Knowledge, n.d.)
There are many factors that cause stress from Physical factors to emotional factors. The environmental factors that cause stress are known as stressors. The major kinds of stressors are mentioned below:
- Individual Level stressors (personality etc.)
- Interpersonal (group) stressors-(experiences with others)
- Organisational stressors (e.g. restructuring etc.)
- Non-work stressors (work/life balance, relationship etc)
The outcome of the stress can be both positive and negative. Sometimes stress acts as driver and helps in motivating to reach to the desired goal. This helps in increasing the productivity. The positive outcome is constructive form of Stress and is known as Eustress. When the effect or outcome is negative it can be physically and mentally defeating. It can lead to absenteeism and burnouts. This negative outcome is known as Distress.
Stress can have a consequence on individual and organization both.
For individuals it can cause Mood disorders leading to depression, pessimism, discouragement and sadness which make them prone to bullying and an individual might feel dejected. For Organizations the impact can be profound and it can impact productivity and motivation level in the workplace. Insecurity of the job and heavy workload increases stress on the emotional and physical ailments. This might result in poor performance and high turnover( Demand Media 2012) In order to overcome this problem of stress,management needs to take effective interventions which still have flaws in it. The research is not adequate; the occupational stressors are neglected or ignored. A stress management training program or program assisting employees overcome their work oriented stress can prove to be beneficial for organization when it comes to reducing stress.
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