Organizational Planning

People have different points of view. They have a different hierarchy of values, develop unique perceptions of reality, and establish different norms about how to act in a social setting. Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that his or her interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. It is based on perceptions. According to the conflict-is-bad perspective, even low levels of disagreement tatter the fabric of workplace relations and sap energy away from productive activities. Conflict can affect team cohesion, information sharing, decision making, and employee well-being. It tends to distort perceptions and increase organizational politics. It distracts employees from their work, and can make them withhold important information. People who experience conflict are less motivated to communicate or to try to understand the other party, which escalates conflict, as parties rely on distorted perceptions and stereotypes. The optimal conflict perspective holds that organizations are most effective when employees experience some level of conflict in the workplace, but only in small amounts. One outcome of moderate conflict is improved decision making, and that it prevents organizations from stagnating and becoming non-responsive to the external environment. A third benefit is that conflict with people outside the team increase cohesion within the team.

Constructive conflict is a type of conflict in which people focus their discussions on the issue while maintaining respect for people having other points of view. This is called constructive because different positions are encouraged so that ideas and recommendations can be clarified, redesigned, and tested for logical soundness. This keeps the debate focused on the issue, and away from defense, negative emotions and ego. Of course, there is an upper limit to the level of constructive criticism. Relationship conflict is a type of conflict in which people focus on characteristics of...