Managing Organisations Through Change and Conflict

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Managing Organisations Through Change and Conflict

• Chapter 17

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Managing change and factors causing the need for
change

• Internal factors
• employees, structure, culture, jobs, technology
• External Change
• politics, economy, imports, technical
  developments, competition, regulations

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The Definite ...
Change will happenBUTthere doesnt always
have to be conflict
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The Change Cycle
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Why Individuals Resist Change

• Self-interest
• how will this affect me?!?
• Misunderstanding
• Lack of trust
• Different assessment of change virtues
• Individuals tolerance to change (most often low)

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Methods of Overcoming the Resistance to Change

• Education and communication
• give enough information and ensuring the change
  is clearly communicated to those it affects
• Participation and involvement
• Facilitation and support
• can overcome resistance
• Negotiation and agreement
• Manipulation and co-optation
• Explicit and implicit coercion
• direct or indirect power to make change resisters
  conform

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What is Conflict?

• Perceived difference between two or more parties

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When conflict occurs, employees must choose to ...

• Leave the organisation
• climb to upper mgmt
• use defence mechanisms
• psychologically dissociate from the organisation
• concentrate on the org. material rewards
• find allies within the organisation

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Causes of conflict

• Power
• personal behavior factors
• communication styles
• workforce diversity
• difference in goals
• reward structures
• differences in perceptions
• specialist demand

• Communication factors
• structural factors
• org. size
• participation
• line-staff distinctions
• reward systems
• resource interdependence
• task interdependence

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Benefits and Losses from Conflict

• Benefits
• Productive task force
• Cohesion and satisfaction
• Power and feedback
• Goal attainment

• Losses
• Energy diversion
• Distorted judgment
• Loser effects
• Poor coordination

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Managing intergroup conflict through resolution

• Problem solving
• Expansion of resources
• Smoothing
• Emphasis interests, de-emphasis differences
• Bureaucratic authority
• Limited communication
• Confrontation and negotiation
• Intergroup training

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Relationship between change and conflict
Personal responses to change p. 596

• Functional conflict

• Dysfunctional conflict