Managing Conflict in Organizations

by Rahim, M. Afzalur

• ISBN13: 9780275936808
• ISBN10: 0275936805
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-09-01
• Publisher: Praeger Pub Text

Summary

This revised and updated edition of Rahim's classic work on managing conflict in organizations presents new evidence that suggests, contrary to generally accepted views, that organizational conflict need not be minimized or avoided in all cases. Some conflicts are functional and others are dysfunctional. Substantive or task-related conflict is functional for nonroutine tasks, but affective conflicts are dysfunctional irrespective of the task conditions. Classifying conflicts as intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, or intergroup, Rahim explains how to diagnose conflict, how to intervene effectively, and how to handle all the different types of conflict that typically arise in organizations.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Contributions from Various Disciplines	p. 2
Organizational Conflict	p. 7
Summary	p. 14
Nature of Conflict	p. 17
Defining Conflict	p. 17
Threshold of Conflict	p. 19
Conflict and Competition	p. 19
Classifying Conflict	p. 20
Styles of Handling Interpersonal Conflict	p. 24
Summary	p. 32
Measurement of Conflict	p. 35
Development of the ROCI-I	p. 36
Development of the ROCI-II	p. 46
Summary	p. 61
Organizational Learning and Effectiveness	p. 63
Defining Organizational Learning	p. 63
Types of Learning	p. 64
Organizational Effectiveness	p. 65
Characteristics of the Old Paradigm	p. 68
Conflict Management in the New Paradigm	p. 72
Summary	p. 72
Conflict Management Design	p. 75
Defining Conflict Management	p. 75
Contingency Approach	p. 85
Conflict Management Process	p. 86
Major Research Challenges	p. 94
Summary	p. 94
Intrapersonal Conflict	p. 97
Types of Intrapersonal Conflict	p. 97
Role	p. 98
Role Conflict	p. 99
Role Ambiguity	p. 100
A Model of Role Conflict and Ambiguity	p. 101
Consequences of Role Conflict	p. 103
Managing Intrapersonal Conflict	p. 104
Summary	p. 115
Interpersonal Conflict	p. 117
The Prisoner's Dilemma	p. 117
A Model of Conflict	p. 118
Consequences of Interpersonal Conflict	p. 122
Negotiation	p. 123
Managing Interpersonal Conflict	p. 125
Summary	p. 142
Intragroup Conflict	p. 143
Types of Groups	p. 144
Effects of Intragroup Conflict	p. 145
Managing Intragroup Conflict	p. 148
Summary	p. 160
Intergroup Conflict	p. 163
Dynamics of Intergroup Conflict	p. 164
Effects of Intergroup Conflict	p. 167
Managing Intergroup Conflict	p. 168
Intervention	p. 175
Summary	p. 179
Ethics and Morality	p. 181
Ethics and Morality Defined	p. 182
Behavioral Perspectives for Conflict Management	p. 183
Ethical Evaluation of Conflict Management	p. 183
Ethics and Leadership Structure	p. 184
Four Methods of Discourse	p. 185
Practical Methods and Conflict Management Styles	p. 188
Stages of Moral Development	p. 193
Conclusions	p. 195
Summary	p. 195
Epilogue	p. 197
A Design for Managing Conflict	p. 198
The Ethics of Managing Conflict	p. 206
Cases	p. 209
Allen Manufacturing Corporation	p. 209
New Employee at the Credit Union	p. 211
Minnis Service	p. 215
The Hormel Strike at Austin, Minnesota	p. 218
Exercises	p. 235
Contract Building	p. 236
Technique of Role Analysis	p. 237
Job Design	p. 239
Transactional Analysis	p. 240
Management of Disagreements	p. 243
Team Building	p. 244
Intergroup Problem Solving	p. 247
Organizational Mirroring	p. 251
Analysis of Task Interdependence	p. 253
References	p. 257
Author Index	p. 281
Subject Index	p. 289
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