Conflict is inevitable in business relationships, just as it is in social relationships. Without conflict, growth is limited. Conflict is feared and avoided by many managers because they don't know how to deal with it. Unresolved conflict can be as poisonous to the productivity of a company as the virus is to the computer. Having an understanding about how people deal with conflict gives us, as managers an additional tool for managing effectively.
Oliver E. Williamson has postulated two attributes of Man: bounded rationality and opportunism. Though this was proposed more in the context of Organizational Theory, the second postulate is relevant to the discussion at hand. It is Man’s opportunistic nature, workplace or at home, which is one of the primary causes of conflict. Other people are also opportunistic to the same degree. When these tendencies are not aligned with each other, conflict arises. A trivial example is illustrated during Group Discussions for entrance to reputed institutes. Talented hopefuls pit themselves against each other and consider the discussion as a forum to put down the rest of the competitors in any manner possible. The conflict arises when
Conflict between such contradictory objectives will lead to conflict between these structural sub-units. A classic example occurred recently at Bajaj Auto Limited. Top management decided to raise the production of motorcycles to a very large number compared to what was being produced. The Sales and Marketing department communicated this objective to the workers. At the same time, the Human Resources department received a directive saying they were overstaffed so a VRS policy will have to be initiated. A substantial fraction of workers were asked to leave. The remaining workers subsequently had to work overtime to achieve the requisite targets. A union strike was proposed and the situation threatened to turn ugly. This illustrates the nadir that an organization can reach if it’s component sub-units attempt to operate independent of each other.
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