Understanding and Solving Common Organizational Conflicts

¶ … Causes of Organizational Conflicts Business experts say that efforts to compete or even survive in the market can be obstructed or slowed down by troubles within the organization itself (Root, 2015). Everyone in the organization must focus on the singular goal of optimizing production and improving its ranks in the market. In order to do so, internal conflicts must be recognized and understood, addressed and prevented from recurring (Root). Common among these internal conflicts are inability to meet work expectations, communication gap,.

mis-information or misunderstanding it, lack of accountability and all forms of discrimination. Failure to Come Up to Expectations An employee's job description already lists what is expected of him. For whatever reason, he is unable to fulfill any or some of these expectations. Or his manager has additional but only implied or unwritten expectations of him. A secretary, for example, is very often expected to make decisions or substitute for her superior when she has earned his trust and has known her job too well.

One negative consequence is over-confidence on her part when she breaches her role and either approves or disapproves matters, which only her superior can decide on. Her unofficial decision may not be recognized or creates adverse consequences of conflict for her boss or the organization itself. A solution or prevention of this conflict is for the manager to discuss her role to her clearly and put it in writing. At the same time, he should elicit her reaction to any detail of her job (Root, 2015).

In the event that she stays long in the job and earns the full trust of her manager, she may be given other privileges and tasks for her expertise. In order to avoid abuses and conflict, the additional privileges should be officially communicated to her and the organization in writing and in a meeting (Root). Communication Gap Responsiveness is a first requirement in any organization. Queries or information sent from one department or manager to another should be responded to as promptly as possible (Foot, 2015).

Failure to do so can break communication lines. The asking department, for example, needs a specific information or reply to a specific question for an urgent decision it must make at the moment. The lack of reply or prompt reply can trigger a conflict. The purchasing department, for example, needs to know the exact number of items to be purchased by another department. It needs to place the order right then for the best bargain from a supplier.

The other department's lack of prompt response may be because the request is under review (Root, 2015) or is being withheld on purpose. This unresponsiveness is a strong cause of conflict between them and the organization as a whole. It can mean a loss or revenue or savings to the organization. It can be solved only by putting them together in a meeting and exploring the reason for the lack of response (Root). Opening blocked communication lines can reveal other conflict areas that can be shortchanging the organization itself.

Mis-information or Misunderstanding Information Sending information that is unclear or mis-understanding an otherwise clear information is a common cause of organizational conflict too (Root, 2015). Managers and employees have varying levels of comprehension and capabilities or expressing themselves verbally or in writing. A memorandum, which is incorrectly, incomplete or unclearly written, will surely elicit questions and lead to conflict unless promptly corrected or filled in. Mis-information or misunderstanding of communicated information not only delays outputs but also possibly lead to errors in production in any level.

This can be solved only when the responsible communicator promptly make the correction in a positive attitude. And it can be prevented if everyone is required to check the accuracy and completeness of the information before sending it (Root). This leads to another cause of organizational conflict. The Lack of Accountability This becomes a cause of trouble when no one is willing to take responsibility for some mistake or loss (Root, 2015). An important document at the records section, for example, may have been missing or damaged.

The head or employee directly in charge of the documents will be held accountable. But if they can prove that they were either out of the office at the time of the incident or that the documents was already endorsed to another department, the accountability shifts to the recipient. The loss or misplacement or damage of an important document can make or unmake an organization's.