Mediating Organizational Disputes Every Organization

Mediating Organizational Disputes

Every organization has conflicts and disputes. It is the nature of business, especially in a capitalist society that is based on competition. Although sometimes these disputes can lead to profitable business ventures, more often than not they create obstacles to successful business. For this reason, part of running a successful business or organization is understanding disputes and employing conflict resolution strategies in order to ensure that these conflicts do not create obstacles that impede their resolution and the doing of business.

As has been said, every organization has conflicts and disputes. Organized crime, or the mafia, is no exception. The role that these disputes and conflicts play in the decision making, negotiating and business decisions of the mafia is perhaps shown best in the classic film the Godfather.

The film follows the Corleon family, a leading mob family in New York. The business deals of the movie begin at the wedding scene, when Johnny Fontane approaches the Godfather (Corleon) with the request that he help him revitalize his flagging singing career by pulling some strings and making some deals in Hollywood. When the studio owner refuses the request, perhaps in the most famous scene in Hollywood history, he wakes up to find the bloody severed head of his prize stud horse in the bed with him. This is how business is done with the Corleone family: if you are an obstacle, they will find ways to move you out of the way.

This is just one of the many scenes that depict the Corleone way of doing business. Although in many of the instances violence is used as a means of literally removing obstacles, underneath this layer of mafia-based bloodshed is a fundamental business plan. For example, as a result of Don Corleone's refusal to participate in a heroin ring, a mafia war breaks out as the rest of the Five Families unite against the Corleones. This act of uniting with otherwise competitors in order to better compete against another business (or family), is an example of forming business partnerships and relationships as a means of overcoming conflicts and obstacles.

The family feud eventually brings Michael, who up to this point has been considered "a civilian," into the family business, so to speak. He realizes that the only way to win the conflict is to kill both Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey. When his brothers kid him for bein naive and Sonny admonishes him for reacting too personally and emotionally, Michael makes a compelling argument for why killing the two is in the family's business. He concludes by stating, "It's not personal, Sonny. it's strictly business."

Not only does this scene demonstrate another example of removing perceived obstacles, it also touches upon parties perceptions and the roles they play in an organizational dispute. Although Michael is new to the business, from what he had seen in the hospital he perceives the problem being Sollozzo and McCluskey, or someone else. Based on this perception he makes the business decision to kill them, as it is what is in the best interest of his family, or the business.

As the film goes on and the violence and death between the families escalates, it becomes clear to Don Corleone that the war between the Five Families has become an obstacle to conducting business in and of itself. Not only is the war draining every family's assets, it is also threatening their survival. To remove this obstacle, Don Corleone calls a meeting with the other Five Family heads in order to negotiate a truce. At the meeting, a negotiated deal is made where the Corleone family agrees to provide political protection for Philip Tattaglia's heroin traffic ring.