Continued from page 1
Below is a summarized list of
affect of conflicts on an individual
1. Psychological Responses
• inattentiveness to other things • lack of interest in work • job dissatisfaction • work anxiety • estrangement or alienation from others • frustration
2. Behavioral Responses
• excessive smoking • alcoholism • under eating or overeating • aggression towards others or work sabotage • decreased communication • resisting influence attempts
3. Physiological Responses
• peptic ulcers • respiratory problems such as asthma • hypertension • headaches • coronary problems
Conflicts in work situations may also give rise to organization related individual consequences:
- Job dissatisfaction - Apathy or indifference to work - Role-set members & company - Job stress & burnout - Disloyalty - Work sabotage - Employee turnover - Increased territoriality & resistance to change - Decreased information sharing, etc.
Can conflicts be positive? It can also be argued that conflicts are not necessarily bad. The progress we have made so far in our civilization is due to conflict between nature & man. Conflict releases energy at every level of human activity- energy that can produce positive, constructive results. Conflicts tend to have a motivational value; they drive or energize an individual to tackle a situation. To resolve a conflict one might explore different avenues or alternatives of action, which make him/her more knowledgeable. Conflicts also provide opportunities to test one’s own abilities.
While successful resolution of a conflict adds to one’s self-confidence, unsuccessful attempts make one more realistic & resourceful to seek better alternatives& thereby improve one’s skills. It is perhaps so in everyone’s experience. For example, think of any of personal or organizational problems that you may have faced in near future. It was probably difficult for you to resolve them at that time. But if same problems were to recur, surely you would have more confidence to tackle them at present than you had earlier when they first occurred. It may even be amusing to think that such problems bothered you then, even though they appear so simple now.
Every organization must have faced internal & external conflicts from time of its inception. However, organizations that resolved their earlier conflicts in positive & constructive ways have survived, grown & prospered because they benefited from their learning experiences. In certain instances they have also emerged as captains of industry. Similarly, in organizations, when individuals find themselves in critical situations, they often come up with workable & novel solutions because of stakes involved for themselves & their department. Given below is list of consequences of conflict.
Beneficial Consequences
- Motivate individuals to do better and to work harder. One‘s talents and abilities come to forefront in a conflict situation.
- Satisfy certain psychological needs like dominance, aggression, esteem and ego, and thereby provide an opportunity for constructive use and release of aggressive urges.
- Provide creative and innovative ideas. For example employee benefits of preset day are an outcome of union –management conflicts over past decades.
- Add variety to one’s organizational life, otherwise work life would be dull and ‘boring.
- Facilitate an understanding of problem, people and interrelationships between people, better coordination among individuals & departments, in addition to strengthening intra-group relationships, etc.
As one of the leading article writer, and corporate hotel professional. Advisor to various organizations and great sports fan. He is an elected member of south Indian hotel and restaurant federation. Now staying at city of Athens Greece.
Amarendra bhushan Dhiraj Athens, Greece PH-0030-6947667507 Abdhraj@mail.gr
