Conflict as the positive factor in the workplace

1. Abstract Interpersonal conflicts in the workplace are very common because they

inevitably arise when groups or teams perform. This essay critically discusses the view
that these conflicts can in certain circumstances be a positive factor in improving the
individual performance. The approach used to address this issue is a combination of
literature review and interviews of employees working at the chosen business. 

T he four levels of conflict in the workplace and the explanation of the traditional,
behavioral and integrationists views of conflict are identified. Conflicts are classified
using two approaches: First, they are grouped into relationship and task conflicts.
Second, they are categorized by distinguishing between competitive and cooperative
conflicts. Seven circumstances are identified and explained in which conflict in the
workplace can be a positive factor in improving the individual performance. 

Conflict in the workplace 

1.Levels of conflict Conflict in the workplace occurs when two or more people disagree
over issues of organizational substance and / or experience some emotional
antagonism with one another (Wood et al., 2003, ). In general, it can be explained as
perceived incompatible differences regarding interests or ideas that result in
interference or opposition.

Four levels of conflict can be identified:

§  Interorganisational conflict is conflict that occurs between organizations. 

§ Intergroup conflict is conflict that occurs between groups in an organization. 

§ Intrapersonal conflict is conflict that occurs within the individual as a result of

actual or perceived pressures from incompatible goals or expectations. 

§ Interpersonal conflict is conflict that occurs between two or more individuals

that work together in groups or teams (Wood et al., 2003, ). Here a link can be made to
the organizational behavior theme ‘groups and teams’. As a group performs its assigned
tasks, conflicts inevitably arise (Robbins et al., 2003, ). Groups and teams must
contend, among other issues, with conflicts over effective and fair distribution of work
and rewards, social loafing, and the best ways to accomplish their goals (Alper et al.,
2000). 

Interpersonal conflicts are natural and can actually spur creativity and

performance of the participating individuals. This level of conflict will be the focus of
the entire essay because it is the most frequently found kind of conflict in the
workplace. Among the common reasons for this level of conflict are differences in
personal beliefs and values

Sources of Interpersonal Conflicts :

Communication Problems 

Ambiguous Rules 

Scarce Resources 

Task Interdependence 

Different Values and Beliefs 

Incompatible Goals 

1 : Sources of interpersonal conflict in the workplace .

1.2. The recent perspective of interpersonal conflict Three different views regarding

interpersonal conflict can be found in the literature .

§ The traditional view argues that conflict must be avoided because it indicates

problems. 

§ The behavioural view sees conflict as a natural and inevitable outcome when

people work together in groups and teams and need not be negative. Rather it has the
potential to be a positive force in contributing to the performance of the individuals. 

§ The interactionist view proposes not only that conflict is a positive force but also
that some conflict is necessary for an individual to perform effectively. Resolving
conflicts means challenging normal processes and procedures in an effort to improve
individual productivity or introduce innovative systems. This represents the most
recent perspective of conflict and will be the underlying assumption of this essay
(Robbins et al., 2003,). 

However, the interactions view is not suggesting that all interpersonal conflicts are
good. In terms of the intensity of the conflict, it distinguishes between functional and
dysfunctional conflicts (Wood et al., 2003,): 
§ Functional conflicts are of a constructive nature. They, for instance, support the
goals of a work group and thus improve the performance of its individuals. 

§ Dysfunctional conflicts are destructive and can decrease work productivity and

job satisfaction and contribute to absenteeism and job turnover. 

1.3. Two classifications of interpersonal conflict 1.3.1. Types of conflict - relationship

and task conflict To be able to differentiate between functional and dysfunctional
conflicts an additional factor has to be taken into consideration: the type of conflict.
Two major conflict types can be identified: relationship and task. Relationship
conflict, also called A-type or socio-emotional conflict, is a conflict based on
interpersonal relationships (Esquivel & Kleiner, 1996). This type of conflict is usually
dysfunctional and thus not preferable. It involves interpersonal difficulties that arise
over feelings of anger, mistrust, dislike, fear, resentment and the like. Relationship
conflicts can drain people’s energies and distract them from other important work
priorities (Wood et al., 2003, ). It appears that the friction and hostilities inherent in
relationship conflicts increase personality clashes and decrease mutual understanding,
thereby hindering the completion of organisational tasks (McShane & Von Glinow,
2003,). 

Task conflict , also called C-type or substantive conflict, is a conflict over content and
goals of work (Esquivel & Kleiner, 1996). Task-related conflicts occur when people
disagree about task issues, such as key decision areas, procedures, processes and the
appropriate choice for action. This conflict is potentially healthy and valuable because
it makes people rethink their perspectives and reality. As long as the conflict remains
focused on the issue, new ideas may emerge and the conflict remains controlled
(McShane & Von Glinow, 2003, ). It can force participants to address some of their
assumptions and override their attempts to achieve premature unanimity, thus leading
to better performance (Wood et al., 2003, ). Low to moderate levels of task conflict are
functional and consistently demonstrate a positive effect on the individual performance
(Robbins et al., 2003, Tjosvold et al., 2003). Successful organisations encourage mild
forms of task conflict without having the situation escalate into an emotional battle
between employees or work units. The key is to create task conflicts and to prevent
them from escalating into relationship conflicts (McShane & Von Glinow, 2003, ). 

1.3.2. Cooperative versus competitive conflict Another way to classify conflicts is to

distinguish between cooperative and competitive conflicts. Competitive
conflicts are based on a principle of competition between participants and are seen as
dysfunctional. The main characteristic of competitive conflicts is that the participants
have a win-lose orientation. This is the belief that the conflicting parties are drawing
from a fixed pie, the more one party receives, the less the other party receives
( McShane & Von Glinow, 2003, ). In contrast, cooperative conflict are seen as
functional and experiences of this kind of conflict are important antecedents for
individual and team effectiveness. In a team setting, knowing that group members tend
to manage conflict cooperatively can strengthen the team and individual productivity
(Alper et al., 2000). The win-win orientation of the participants is an integral part of
cooperative conflicts. The parties believe that they will find a mutually beneficial
solution to their disagreement. In addition, the parties discuss concerns quickly and
openly, seek their partner’s opinions, and explain their course of action fully. It works
best when the parties do not have perfectly opposing interests and when they have
enough trust and openness to share information (McShane & Von Glinow, 2003,). 

1.4. Conflict circumstances that improve individual performance This chapter will

identify and explain circumstances in which conflict can be a positive factor in the
workplace. To illustrate these circumstances, examples from the company PTA GmbH,
which is located in Mannheim / Germany, will be used. This consultancy firm with 240
employees has been serving its clients through the planning and implementation of
projects in strategic organization and information technology for over 30 years (PTA,
2004). 

1.4.1. Circumstance # 1: A daily project meeting in cooperative environment When the

PTA GmbH implements information systems for clients, the project team follows a
strict project approach. One integral part of this approach is a daily meeting of all
project members at the end of the day. The purpose of these meetings is twofold: First,
the project manager can address all issues that he / she sees as important and make
sure that everybody understands what the tasks are for the next day. Second, all project
members are encouraged to express any concerns or discuss any issues they might feel
uncomfortable with. The inevitable conflicts that occur during these discussions can be
categorized as both task and cooperative conflicts. As can be derived from the previous
chapters, these are the ideal kinds of conflict. Mr Fricke, software engineer at PTA
GmbH, states that very strong discussions come up during these meetings. However,
they hardly ever reach an emotional level and stay focused on the actual task. He also
feels that these conflicts help him to reassess the work-related situations and tasks. The
result of these conflicts is often a new solution, which is more efficient than the former
one. Team members that are actively involved in the conflict also feel a higher
commitment and motivation to achieve the devised new solution (Fricke, 2004). Mr
Gredel, project manager at PTA GmbH, argues that during the first stages of a project
many participants think that the frequent meetings are a waste of time, but when the
project ends, everybody realises that the daily discussions prevented a lot of trouble
und misunderstandings (Gredel, 2004). Consequently, it can be said that these
conflicts at the PTA GmbH increase the individual performance due to improved
solutions, enhanced task structure, higher commitment and stronger motivation. At
this point, a relation can be seen to the organizational behavior theme ‘motivation’.

1.4.2. Circumstance # 2: The ‘devil’s advocate’ approach another conflict situation that

can improve individual performance during a group discussion is the involvement of a
‘devil’s advocate’ as a member of the group (Esquivel & Kleiner, 1996). Mr Ludwig,
business analyst at PTA GmbH, regularly uses this approach during the requirement
analysis phase of projects to examine the client’s needs. During the discussions with the
client group members, he challenges their conclusions, forcing them to examine
critically their assumptions and the logic of their arguments. By using this approach,
the individuals of the group perform significantly better on the assigned tasks. They
generate more alternatives and their proposals can be judged as superior compared to
the outcome when not including a ‘devil’s advocate’ (Ludwig, 2004). However, one has
to be careful when using this approach because the members of the group feel
personally very uncomfortably when their ideas are continuously being attacked. The
person that is the ‘devil’s advocate’ must know when he has to stop challenging the
group and must not overdo it (Esquivel & Kleiner, 1996). 

1.4.3. Circumstance # 3: Win-win orientation As part of the cooperative environment at

the PTA GmbH, the employees are strongly encouraged to deal with conflicts on a basis
of a win-win orientation (Gredel, 2004). This is the perception that the parties will find
a mutually beneficial solution to their disagreement. They believe that the resources at
stake are expandable rather than fixed if the parties work together to find a creative
solution (McShane & Von Glinow, 2003, p. 394). Employees are encouraged to find
solutions that are acceptable for all conflict parties. The advantage concerning the
individual’s performance is that they are inspired to be creative and work together with
the counterparts instead of competing with them. To find creative solutions,
brainstorming and creativity techniques are regularly utilized. The following example
illustrates this: During a recent information technology project, a problem came up
concerning software performance versus hardware costs. Normally very expensive
hardware would have been bought to solve the performance problems but at the cost of
extremely high expenditure. However, the responsible project manager discussed this
issue with his software engineers. Eventually an alternative solution was found by a
engineer that only required the purchase of one additional small hardware component
(Gredel, 2004). It can be assumed that without the conflict that was brought up by the
project manager, this solution would not have been found by this engineer. 

1.4.4. Circumstance # 4: Condition of openness and informality As mentioned above,

the key to create efficient conflicts in the workplace is to promote task conflicts. One
way of doing this is to encourage conditions of openness, informality and constructive
communication (Esquivel & Kleiner, 1996). Such an environment reinforces open
debate, rapid and effective communication, loyalty and trust (Thompson & McHugh,
2002, ). However, inadequate communication also has the potential to worsen conflict
situations when either too little or too much communication takes place (Robbins,
1983, ). In general, how members of a team communicate with each other in order to
manage their conflicts very much influences their outcome (Tjosvold et al., 2003). The
employees at the PTA GmbH work in a very informal environment. Regular team
events after work or on the weekend ensure that everybody knows each other, which
helps to decrease communication barriers. When new employees start at the company,
they are sent to a three-day communication workshop. During projects, employees are
expected to communicate all relevant information to their project managers. The
project managers judge this information and very often they find some incompatible
data that leads to conflicts between them and their team. These conflicts are often
resolved by open discussions and they frequently result in better mutual understanding
or even enhanced solutions. Mr Gredel states that without such an open
communication environment these effective conflicts would never come up (Gredel,
2004). Here a link can be made to the organizational behavior theme ‘communication’. 

1.4.5. Circumstance # 5: Task conflicts in the decision-making process Conflict in the

workplace can either enhance or reduce the decision-making process (Esquivel &
Kleiner, 1996). Task conflicts, undertaken in a positive and constructive manner, can
be beneficial for the individual decision-making. They can reduce groupthink as well as
enhance the individual’s creativity (McFadzean, 2002). Groupthink is a type of
conformity in which group members withhold different unpopular views in order to
give the appearance of agreement. It undermines critical thinking in the group and
eventually harms the quality of the final decision (Robbins et al., 2003, ).
Consequently, groupthink should be prevented because it negatively influencing the
effectiveness of the individuals. Mr Fricke has often experienced this phenomenon
during meetings at the PTA GmbH. As long as no conflict comes up, hardly any
assumptions or proposals are challenged by the group members. However, when a
conflict comes up, the entire atmosphere changes. Members start thinking very
critically about what they are told (Fricke, 2004). Consequently, such a conflict triggers
individuals to think thoroughly over solutions and their tasks. At this point, a
relationship to the organisational behaviour theme ‘decision-making’ can be seen. 

1.4.6. Circumstance # 6: Gender conflicts The PTA GmbH does not employ many
female employees, with an average figure of one female employee out of ten (Fretz,
2004). This condition reinforces the gender conflict that female employees often
experience. They often suffer from a lower social status than males in work
organizations. However, this may also motivate them to perform better to gain
credibility (Tjosvold et al., 2003). Ms Fretz, software engineer at the PTA GmbH, feels
that kind of conflict quite often. Many male colleagues do not listen to her advice or
consciously ignore her results. To improve the situation she works after hours and even
at home on the weekends (Fretz, 2004). This resulting increase of her individual
performance would not exist without the gender conflict. However, in the end this kind
of conflict may be very exhaustive for the female part and often becomes dysfunctional. 

1.4.7. Circumstance # 7: Employee empowerment Another way of improving the

employees’ individual performance by means of conflict is employee empowerment,
which links to the organizational behavior theme ‘leadership’. Employee empowerment
increases conflict with peers and decreases conflict with the line and project manager.
Employees are supposed to resolve conflicts themselves. The employee’s participation
in resolving conflict issues is expected to increase ‘ownership’ of problems and more
commitment to implement their solutions that in turn results in improved productivity,
product quality, and work life (Alper et al., 2000). The PTA GmbH leadership style
strongly focuses on employee empowerment. Mr Fricke explains that when a problem
comes up he first does not go to his manager but contacts the responsible colleague to
resolve it. A good example for this is the following case: Two separate software
modules, which have been developed by two different employees, do not work well
together. Instead of involving the manager, the two engineers discuss the issue and find
a solution together. This solution finding process is definitely not easy because both
employees believe in their own work (Fricke, 2004). However, the conflict involved in
this process is important to increase the outcome. 

2. Conclusion This essay showed that interpersonal conflict in the workplace can in

certain circumstances be a positive factor in improving the individual performance.
The most recent view of conflict, the integrationists view, even proposes that conflict is
necessary for an individual to perform effectively. Functional conflicts, which are of a
constructive nature, are facilitated by two kinds of conflict: task and cooperative.
Businesses should try to increase the occurrences of these kinds of conflict.
Simultaneously, conditions that encourage destructive dysfunctional conflicts, such as
relationship conflicts and competitive conflicts, should be minimized. The essay
identified the following seven circumstances that encourage functional conflicts in the
workplace, which may improve the individual performance: 

§ daily project meetings in a cooperative environment, 

§ the use of the ‘devil’s advocate’ approach, 

§ win-win orientation of all conflict participants, 

§ condition of openness and informality, 

§ task conflicts in the decision-making process, 

§ gender conflicts, and 

§ employee empowerment. 
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