Conflict Management –HRM624 INTRODUCTION TO CONFLICT Quotations A man's greatest battles are the ones he fights within himself. Ben Okri (1959 ) Antagonism is a form of struggle within a contradiction, but not the universal form. Mao Zedong (1893 - 1976) Chinese statesman. VU Lesson 1 We should look in society not for consensus, but for in eliminable and acceptable conflicts, and for rationally controlled hostilities, as the normal condition of mankind...Harmony and inner consensus come with death. Stuart Hampshire (1914 - 2004) British philosopher. We have met the enemy and it is us. Walt Kelly Introduction to conflict Conflict is everywhere. Every relationship has conflict. It exists inside us. It exists around us. It is natural and inevitable part of all human social relationships. It occurs at all levels of society - intrapsychic, interpersonal, intragroup, intergroup, intranational and international (Sandole & Staroste, 1987). Conflict is ubiquitous at all levels of human social relationships. Some social scientists have given conflict a bad reputation by linking it with psychopathology, social disorder and war (Burton, 1990). Conflict is not deviant or sick behavior. Social scientists need to analyze the level and the type of the conflict in order to understand the phenomenon. Conflict is largely a perceived phenomenon. It is our perception of the situation that determines if a conflict exists. Conflict may be either healthy or unhealthy. Moreover, it should not be taken as the opposite of order. Though, there is orderliness in conflict yet it can be disorderly. No two persons in the world are absolutely same or absolutely different. Therefore no two persons can feel or think
alike. The difference between thinking of different people causes conflict. The parties in conflict believe they have incompatible goals, and their aim is to neutralize, gain advantage over, injure or destroy one another. Conflict is the root of personal and social change. Hence, the organizations have conflict because of its ever changing environment. Conflict prevents stagnation. It stimulates interest and curiosity. Conflict management is very popular in business schools. The role of the administrator or a manager in an organization is to handle day to day conflict in the allocation of limited resources. Definitions a. Conflict is a state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more people or groups of people. b. A state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests. c. A hostile encounter between two or more people. d. Conflict is usually based upon a difference over goals, objectives, or expectations between individuals or groups. Conflict also occurs when two or more people, or groups, compete over limited resources and/or perceived, or actual, incompatible goals. © Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 1
Conflict Management –HRM624 e. A hostile encounter between two or more people . f. The dramatic struggle between the antagonist and the protagonist .
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