Sources and Types of Conflict

Graphics courtesy of PM Study CircleOpens in new window Before leaders can respond effectively to a particular conflict, they need to understand it. They need to ask, “Who is involved?”; “What is the source of the conflict?” Leaders are likely to respond differently to a conflict that results from a clash of opinions than to one stemming from frustration over limited resources. Conflict may occur between or within organizations, within departments, and even between an individual and the organization.

Types of Conflict

There are several types of conflict in organizations: interpersonal, intra-group, intergroup, and interorganizational.

Interpersonal Conflict

Interpersonal conflicts may arise from differing opinions, misunderstandings of a situation, or differences in value or beliefs. Sometimes two people just rub each other the wrong way.

Two managers may experience interpersonal conflict when their values concerning protection of the environmentOpens in new window differ. One manager may argue that the organization should do only what is required by law. The other may counter that the organization should invest in equipment to reduce emissions even though the organization’s current level of emissions is below the legal limit.

Leaders may be involved in interpersonal conflicts with a manager, an employee, a peer, or even a customer.

Intragroup Conflict

When members of the marketing department in a clothing company disagree about how they should spend the advertising budget for a new line of men’s designer jeans, they are experiencing intragroup conflict.

Some of the members want to spend all the money on advertisements in magazines. Others want to devote half of the money to billboards and ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Intergroup Conflict

Intergroup conflict occurs between groups, teams, or departments. R&D departments, for example, sometimes experience intergroup conflict with production departments. Members of the R&D department may develop a new product that they think production department can make inexpensively by using existing manufacturing capabilities. Members of the production department, however, may disagree and believe that the costs of making the product will be much higher. Managers of departments usually play a key role in managing intergroup conflicts such as this.

Interorganizational Conflict

Interorganizational conflict arises across organizations. Sometimes interorganizational conflict occurs when managers in one organization feel that another organization is not behaving ethically and is threatening the well-being of certain stakeholder groups.

Sources of Conflict

Conflicts in organizations springs from a variety of sources. The ones we examine here are:

• different goals and time horizons
• overlapping authority
• task interdependencies
• different evaluation or reward systems
• scarce resources, and
• status inconsistencies.

Different Goals and Time Horizons

An important activity for operational managersOpens in new window is organizing people and tasks into departments and divisions to accomplish an organization’s goals. Almost inevitably this grouping creates departments and divisions that have different goals and time horizons, and the result can be conflict.

Production managers, for example, usually concentrate on efficiency and cost cutting; they have a relatively short time horizon and focus on producing quality goods or services in a timely and efficient manner.

In contrast, marketing managers focus on sales and responsiveness to customers. Their time horizon is longer than that of production because they are trying to be responsive not only to customers’ needs today but also to their changing needs in the future to build long-term customer loyaltyOpens in new window. These fundamental differences between marketing and production often breed conflictOpens in new window.

Consider the following: Suppose production is behind schedule in its plan to produce a specialized product for a key customer.

Those in marketing believe the delay will reduce sales of the product and therefore insist that the product be delivered on time even if saving the production schedule means increasing costs by paying production workers overtime. Production says that they will happily schedule overtime if marketing will pay for it.

Both positions are reasonable from the perspective of their own departments, and conflict is likely.

Overlapping Authority

When two or more leaders, teams, departments, or functions claim authority for the same activities or tasks, conflict is likely. For example, in a hotel where receptionists and billing cashiers are both assigned the task of collecting money from guests, there would undoubtedly be situations in which conflict could occur. The situation can also cause conflict with their managers if neither group did the work while assuming the other was responsible.

Task Interdependencies

It is not unusual for employees to be assigned to a groupOpens in new window or team projectOpens in new window and have one member who consistently fails to get things done on time, if at all.

This most often creates some conflict in the team because other team members are dependent on the late member’s contributions to complete the project.Whenever individuals, groups, teams, or departments are interdependent, the potential for conflict arises.

With differing goals and time horizons, the leaders and others in marketing and production come into conflict precisely because the teams and departments are interdependent. Marketing is dependent on production for goods it markets and sells, and production is dependent on marketing to create demand for the things it produces.

Different Evaluation or Reward Systems

How interdependent groups, teams, or departments are evaluated and rewarded can be another source of conflict. Those in production are evaluated and rewarded for their success in staying within budget or lowering costs while maintaining quality. So they are reluctant to take any steps that will increase costs, such as paying workers high overtime rates to finish a late order for an important customer.

In contrast, those in marketing are evaluated and rewarded for their success in generating sales and satisfying customers. So, they think overtime pay is a small price to pay for responsiveness to customers. Thus, conflict between production and marketing is rarely unexpected.

Scarce Resources

Effective leadershipOpens in new window includes the process of acquiring, developing, protecting, and using the resources that allow an organizationOpens in new window to be efficient and effective. When resources are scarce, a leader’s job is more difficult and conflict is likely. For example, divisional managers may be in conflict over who has access to financial capital, and organizational members at all levels may be in conflict over who gets raises and promotions.

Status Inconsistencies

The fact that some individuals, groups, teams, or departments within an organization are more highly regarded than others in the organization can also create conflict.

In some restaurants, for example, the chefs have relatively higher status than the people who wait on tables. Nevertheless, the chefs receive customers’ orders from the waitstaff, and the waitstaff can return to the chefs food that their customers or they think is not acceptable.

This status inconsistency—high-status chefs taking orders from low-status waitstaff—can be the source of considerable conflict between chefs and the waitstaff. For this reason, some restaurants require that the waitstaff put orders on a spindle, thereby reducing the amount of direct order-giving from waitstaff to chefs.

Diagnosing Sources of Conflicts

A checklist can help employees and leaders diagnose the sources and types of conflict. Key questions about conflict are listed below.

Understanding the sources of conflict in and between organizations is a first step toward resolution. Effective conflict-resolution techniques that can be used by leaders and organizations as well as individuals and teams, treated in designated entry here.