Misunderstandings accompany us everywhere, we often encounter them at work and at home, in communication with friends and acquaintances. Conflicts in organizations deserve special attention - this is the scourge of many companies, which include a large number of employees. In some cases, such conflicts of interest can be considered as an additional part of the work process aimed at improving the climate in the team.
What is conflict
Conflicts in the organization are a big headache for its leaders and managers, since it is they who most often have to deal with their solution. It is about the actions of employees with different interests and opinions. In this situation, two sides are most often involved. Each of them pursues its own goals, which are often not consistent with the needs of opponents.
If we consider the conflict from the point of view of psychology, then it is understood as a whole series of actions that are taken by the conflicting parties to perform certain tasks. Moreover, all participants experience the strongest emotional experiences that may affect the work process. According to statistics, more than 65% of conflicts occur due to lack of motivation among employees or their dissatisfaction in the material plan, although from the outside it may look like a typical divergence of views on a particular problem.
Types of Conflict
Psychologists believe that various types of conflicts in the organization help to achieve team cohesion, identify unnecessary “links” in it, and also reveal the abilities of each employee in a particular unit. In their opinion, all the confrontations that occur within a given organization can be divided into two types: dysfunctional and functional.
The first ones are especially dangerous because they lead to the destruction of a comfortable environment within the team, a decrease in the number of relationships between employees, as well as to inefficient management of the company. The latter can lead to improved organization performance.
Collision typology
Each conflict performs a specific function for the team. Therefore, it can be classified according to one of the signs. The most common is role or intrapersonal conflict. It occurs when requirements are presented to the employee’s work that cannot be agreed upon. For example, when an employee needs to be simultaneously present at two different meetings scheduled for the same time, while his immediate supervisor requires that both tasks be performed. In some cases, production requirements may not coincide with the personal values ​​of a team member. It can also lead to conflict. Constant stress, overloading from a large number of work tasks, dissatisfaction with the results of work - all this leads to chronic fatigue, which can lead to such a contradiction.
Among social conflicts in the organization, a special place should be given to interpersonal, since they account for up to 70% of the total number of contradictions arising in the work. They can manifest themselves in a variety of ways. For example, several managers can fight to promote their own projects and allocate additional funding from the general budget. In some organizations, there are clashes that arise when trying to climb higher in the career ladder, when some employees “sit around” others. This should also include misunderstandings due to conflicting opinions on different working points. For example, the need for additional staff expansion, which employees constantly talk about, can be negatively perceived by management, as it will require additional financial investments. In some cases, conflicts between two employees who are not related to work are also transferred to the solution of labor issues, which can adversely affect the work of the entire organization.
Collisions can also arise between a group of employees and an individual. Most often this happens in situations where a person does not accept the organizational standards that were previously established by the group. As an example, we can consider the tense relationship between the head of the company and a subordinate who does not agree with his requirements and believes that management can be carried out in another way, more beneficial for the company.
Among social conflicts in organizations, intergroup ones stand out. They are the longest in time, they are the hardest to solve, because here it is necessary to come to a compromise, which not all are configured for. Such a collision may arise between managers and employees, performing up to 90% of the company's work. Often, such conflicts can arise between experienced specialists who are accustomed to working on the same schemes for many years, and a new generation of employees who are ready to introduce modern technical innovations into production. This category can also include misunderstandings between organizational units, for example, when one of them wants to significantly increase its own performance by reducing the implementation of the needs of the other.
Why conflicts arise
Even if the leader understands what types of conflicts in the organization he has to work with, it is very important to know everything about the reasons for their occurrence. Only then can we talk about the effective management of the organization. Psychologists highlight the frequent causes of misunderstanding as the need to distribute a limited number of resources (money, materials, production goods, etc.), poor-quality fulfillment of tasks (especially if this affects the work of other divisions of the company), and the individual’s work does not correspond to the general goals of the enterprise .
Also, the causes of the main conflicts in the organization may be differences in the perception of a particular production situation in terms of human values. This may include diametrically opposite behavior, the difference in age, experience, education, as well as perception of the world. In some cases, conflicts may arise due to untimely information and poor-quality communications, provoking misunderstanding between the two parties. Quite rarely, the causes of a collision can be incorrect wording of the tasks, the difference in the assessment of the employee’s labor activity, as well as the incorrect distribution of existing duties when two specialists undertake to perform the same functional, interfering with each other.
How to understand that problems started in a company
The emergence of conflicts in the organization is a long process. It almost never happens that employees began to quarrel among themselves in a few seconds. Psychologists distinguish four stages of the emergence of confrontation between people, regardless of whether they work together or not.
1. The hidden stage. It is then that conditions are formed that can subsequently lead to the appearance of a collision:
- Misunderstanding among team members.
- Disrespect to each other.
- Authoritarian management of the organization.
- Lack of clear workflow algorithms.
2. Stage of tension. At the same time, events develop in such a way that the presence of confrontation becomes obvious to everyone around. Its main sign is significant changes in the relationship between team members who are beginning to experience psychological discomfort. The leader can notice this by intense communication between his subordinates. In some cases, they even try to stay in the same room less, for example, in the dining room during a break.
3. The stage of antagonism. Labor conflicts in the organization necessarily go through it when the parties want to resolve the situation that has arisen, using a specific strategy for this. At first, all participants choose a confrontation - the desire to satisfy their own interests without taking into account the needs of the other side. However, the most optimal strategy is cooperation, when all parties try to find a solution that would suit absolutely everyone.
In some cases, conflicting specialists prefer to ignore the fact of a confrontation with someone, which leads to the avoidance of people with whom disagreements may arise. One of the parties must not be allowed to use an adaptive strategy, putting the interests of the opponent above their own, since in the future this can lead to a more global conflict.
All parties to the confrontation must come to a compromise, which involves a partial sacrifice of their own interests to achieve the common good.
4. Stage of incompatibility. It is she who is a direct conflict. Its presence is expressed in specific forms of behavior of the participants in the collision, which can demonstrate frank neglect and disrespect for their opponent, ignore his existence. In some cases, the parties behave very incorrectly: they arrange fights, open scandals and draw uninterested persons into a quarrel. It is advisable not to bring the conflict to this stage, since it is quite difficult to find the optimal solution at this stage.
What is fraught with the appearance of collisions in the team
The consequences of conflicts in the organization can seriously affect its direct work. If all the participants in the clash have found a compromise that suits everyone, we are talking about a functional outcome. In this case, solving the problem helps establish mutually beneficial cooperation between team members, develop a common position regarding a certain number of issues, and also significantly improve the quality of decision-making in a short time.
If employees see that the leader is determined to jointly resolve the difficulties that arise, they themselves are more willing to negotiate, because they feel that their opinion will be heard and taken seriously. A competent leader in this case must understand when to negotiate with his subordinates, and in which cases a decision must be taken individually, without involving the employees of the enterprise in this process.
If the staff constantly rotates, employees are dissatisfied with their own work, there are open manifestations of aggression and hostility, this means that the leader is dealing with the dysfunctional consequences of conflicts in the organization. Typical signs of such responses to collisions may include:
- Decreased performance.
- Failures in cooperation.
- A significant increase in negative comments about the company.
In some cases, employees arrange a competition among themselves, which is far from always aimed at the benefit of the company.
Particularly difficult is the situation when employees unite to persecute unwanted colleagues or the head of the company. The head of the enterprise must timely monitor the appearance of these signs. If the moment has been missed, it is important to hold a round table with dissatisfied employees of the company, where to discuss all urgent problems and come to some kind of solution. After such events, orders are often signed to dismiss those specialists who do not agree to compromise decisions and want to receive certain benefits to the detriment of the organization.
How to resolve emerging clashes
Conflict resolution in an organization often rests on the shoulders of its leader, since it is he who can look at the situation from the outside and find the most optimal solution that would meet the current needs of the company. The leader has to use appropriate measures aimed at resolving interpersonal conflicts. Parties involved in the conflict can also apply them, especially often in the case of avoiding cooperation, when one of them deliberately takes communication in a completely different direction, and when trying to discuss the conflict that has arisen, it refers to the fact that it is no longer relevant.
Another option is to smooth out the problem. In this case, the conflicting party is trying to justify itself or to agree with the claim. However, neither one nor the other way of behavior is able to help resolve the conflict, it can even worsen the situation. The third style involves a compromise at the time of discussion of the opinions of all participants in the confrontation. Both sides offer arguments that are suitable for absolutely everyone, and do not seek to resolve the issue unilaterally. If they manage to find a really optimal solution, it helps to get rid of tension in the team and tune it to work.
If the resolution of conflicts in the organization depends only on the leader, a coercive style can be used. The chief makes a decision, not taking into account the positions of both parties, but taking into account the possible benefits that the organization can get. This style is unproductive, as it can provoke further emergence of even more confrontations between employees of the enterprise. Sometimes this option works, for example, when one side has a huge number of claims that the opponent does not have the opportunity to challenge.
Conflict resolution in an organization is possible only if all its participants adequately perceive the events that are taking place, are open to dialogue, and are ready to build a trusting atmosphere for mutually beneficial cooperation. According to psychologists, it is possible to get rid of the accumulated misunderstanding if you clearly define its cause. To do this, both parties should discuss the situation, understand their and others' attitudes towards it. Based on this discussion, it will be possible to talk about the joint development of solutions and behavioral strategies.
What to do if the problem is not solved
Since conflicts in organizations are a thing that is observed quite often, in some cases they have to be resolved using structural methods. These include an elementary explanation of the tasks assigned to employees, during which they have a clear understanding of what results the management expects. This also includes various mechanisms of the integration and coordination type: holding meetings between departments, establishing cross-functional interaction, the formation of a certain managerial hierarchy, which all employees of the company must adhere to.
Not always the solution is carried out using any particular method. Conflicts in the organization have a deep psychological background, so it’s best to use several ways to resolve them. For example, you can set employees common organizational goals that require common efforts in order for them and the company to receive certain benefits. A major task sometimes unites even the most inveterate enemies. In some cases, you can use the reward system as a tool for conflict management, but you need to do this as carefully as possible, as some employees may perceive this as an infringement of their own rights.
Is it possible to prevent the occurrence of quarrels and omissions
In order not to engage in the search for solutions to conflicts in the organization, it is easier to timely prevent their occurrence. Experienced entrepreneurs argue that the correct selection of specialists helps to avoid confrontation. Today, a psychologist is often employed to select employees, who can immediately identify a conflict person and prevent him from being employed. His tasks include the selection of such specialists, whose behavior should be subject to minimal correction in the process of work at the enterprise.
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A favorable psychological environment can help prevent conflicts and stresses in the organization. Effective work depends not only on the right work algorithms, the availability of equipment and conditions, but also on the emotional atmosphere that exists in the company. Large enterprises specifically attract psychologists who conduct a large number of individual consultations, social trainings, and also act as independent observers in modeling conflicts in artificially created conditions.
How do quarrels solve abroad?
Conflicts in international organizations are usually resolved with the help of a psychologist, and in some cases even several specialists in this field. Often we are talking about fairly large companies that pay special attention to the psychological climate, do everything possible to make employees comfortable working. In Russia, such a technique is not new. The largest holdings also use it, but they attract specialists from outsourcing services to help, since not all companies can afford the content of additional units in the staff list. Sometimes consultations turn out even by phone, which is very convenient for small enterprises.
The easiest way to resolve conflicts is in educational organizations, since qualified psychologists always work there, who can help solve almost any issues. Over the past twenty years, the role of these specialists in raising children has grown significantly. Almost all modern educational methods were compiled taking into account their comments and advice. Teachers can also have conflicts that are resolved by conducting a large number of team buildings with psychological games.
Does creating artificial disagreements help in the work
Experienced recruiters note the important role of conflict in organizations. In their opinion, only with the help of such clashes can one reveal the true nature of the employee, understand his true feelings, and understand whether the leader needs such a subordinate or not. Very often at interviews, HR specialists ask candidates whether there are conflicts in their lives. If a potential employee responds with a refusal, most often he is not considered for the current vacancy, since such an answer is regarded as a fraud.
Even if a non-conflict employee starts working for the company, sooner or later he will have to go through a conflict of interests with his colleagues. Leaders can provoke conflicts in organizations. This is a common practice in large institutions. With its help, it is possible to more effectively motivate ordinary specialists to perform their duties in a high-quality manner and to develop the correct response to irritating factors from them. But a manager resorting to such a technique should be a good psychologist. Otherwise, he risks completely ruining his team.