Capitalize on constructive conflict for organizational growth by recognizing needs for proper conflict management skills and of perceptions of diversity at different stages of group interactions.
Diversity management and conflict management strategies have become increasingly important issues in managers' agendas as increased globalization and changes in the demographics of the workforce are becoming more common. In a longitudinal study performed by F. Pinar Acar, 348 graduating seniors who were enrolled in a capstone Strategic Management class of a large southwestern university were randomly assigned to group projects. Each group completed three group tasks over the course of the semester with a post-task survey completed immediately after submitting the group assignment. The tasks were the same for each group and were administered during weeks five, eight, and eleven. The survey focused on group member’s perceptions of diversity, the level of intra-group conflict, shared leadership, and demographic information (on the first survey, only). A unique identification number was developed for each student, and all responses were confidential and had no effect on the students’ grades. In order to capture the dynamic nature of diversity, individuals were asked to evaluate their groups after each assignment and only evaluate the time during which they worked on the assignment. To test the hypotheses of the study, seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) was used.
To operationalize diversity, students were asked to indicate which attributes about their teammates stood out while they were working on a specific assignment. Students were asked to mark the attributes off a list which included: gender, race, age, attitudes, personality, and values. To operationalize emotional conflict, the Relationship Conflict Scale was utilized with a 5 point scale of 0 = none and 5 = a lot. The article concluded that surface-level diversity attributes (age, gender, race, or other readily-visible attributes) were more salient at the beginning and end of group’s interactions whereas deep-level attributes (values and attitudes) are more salient in the middle of an interaction. Managers need to be aware that different kinds of diversity may be relevant at different phases of group interactions. A major limitation is the ability to generalize this research. Since it was done on students receiving a grade, there is limited generalization opportunities for the workplace. Managers are able to develop value-creation opportunities in conflict. One particular factor that enabled the groups to complete tasks was their ability to capitalize on shared interests (Malhotra, 2012). They all had to receive a grade and regardless of perceived emotional conflict, they had to complete their work.
There are plenty of misconceptions about conflict within an organization. Conflict is often regarded as inevitable, but nonetheless undesirable. Some believe team members have to be good friends or there is never room for anger. Often conflicts are left in the hopes it will “blow over.” Yet others believe leaders are not in control if there is conflict. Ideas about surface-level stereotypes creating conflict in the workplace has lead to widespread diversity training in an attempt to avoid potential conflicts (Acar, 2010). In Ways to Capitalize on Creative Tensions, the authors argue for in favor of conflict warning lack of conflict can lead to groupthink, consensus, and getting into a rut (Su & Wilkins, 2010). There is no doubt there can be a dark side to conflict, but with proper conflict resolution skills conflict can lead to innovation, creativity, and better working environments. Anger can be a promoter of change. Outward harmony is usually accompanied by negative politics and subversive tactics. Exceedingly harmonious groups lose out on quality decisions. If a conflict does not blow over it can grow out of control. Numerous studies have indicated communication skills predict success. With managers spending up to one quarter if their time dealing with conflict, employees well trained in conflict resolution would allow managers to be more productive, decrease workplace tension, and reduce turnover (Lang, 2009).
One of the limitations and weaknesses of this study include the time restraint on the study. There was only fourteen weeks’ worth of interaction between the groups used in the study. Therefore, there was not enough time for many conflicts to occur and ultimately be resolved. The assignments of the student groups had deadlines. This in turn did not give the groups enough time to address conflicts. Perhaps if more time was given, the students could have learned how to handle the conflict that they experienced. The conflicts experienced in these groups may not completely be transferred to a real world setting as well. The subjects of the projects were artificial and would not have included unforeseen events that could have arisen in a real world environment. Unfortunately diversity and conflict resolution training can sometimes backfire and cause more conflict then reduce it. As the article explains ironic processes suppress biases that are inherited from society and culture. Sometimes the training can bring these prejudices and biases to the surface and actually make an individual more aware of the biases that they had suppressed. So in turn these trainings can have a negative effect in some incidences. Another constraint on conflict resolution training that is addressed by Pfeffer and Sutton is the fact that individuals are in competition with each other in a work environment. In some cases it is expected of employees to have interpersonal competition. This issue will have a negative effect on trying to resolve conflict in a diverse team organization. If you feel threatened by others you may not try to resolve issues within your team. Although the results of the study can be effective, there still remains weaknesses that can occur from diversity and conflict resolution training that should be addressed when implementing these training programs.
Resources
Acar, F. (2010). Analyzing the effects of diversity perceptions and shared leadership on emotional conflict: a dynamic approach.International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 21(10), 1733-1753. doi:10.1080/09585192.2010.500492
Lang, M. (2009). Conflict Management: A Gap in Business Education Curricula. Journal Of Education For Business, 84(4), 240-245.
Jehn, K. A., Northcraft, G. B., & Neale, M. A. (1999, December). Why Differences Make a Difference: A Field Study of Diversity, Conflict, and Performance in Workgroups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(4), 741-763. Retrieved July 18, 2014
Pfeffer, J. & Sutton, R. I. (2006). Hard facts, dangerous half-truths, and total nonsense: profiting from evidence-based management. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.
Su, J., & Wilkins, M. M. (2010, May 18). Three Ways to Capitalize on Creative Tension. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/05/three-ways-to-capitalize-on-cr/
Ten myths of conflict?. (n.d.). The Home of Human Resources – HR insight & discussion. Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.hrzone.com/partners/press/ten-myths-conflict
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