THE IMPACT OF INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study Conflicts are inevitable part of organizational life since the goals of different stakeholders such as managers and staff are often incompatible Jones, Gorge and Hil, (2000). Conflict is an unpleasant fact in any organization as longer as people compete for jobs, resources, power, recognition and security. Organizational conflict can be regarded as a dispute that occurs when interests, goals or values of different individuals or groups are incompatible with each other Henry, (2009). This results into a situation whereby they frustrate each other in an attempt to achieve their objectives. Conflict arises in groups because of the scarcity of freedom, position, and resources. People who value independence tend to resist the need for interdependence and, to some extent, conformity within a group. People who seek power therefore struggle with others for position or status within the group. Conflict is a part of organizational life and may occur between individuals, between the individual and the group, and between groups Weihrich, (1992). While conflict is generally perceived as dysfunctional, it can also be beneficial because it may cause an issue to be presented in different perspectives. Conflict has both positive and negative effects Rusell and Jerome (1976). It can be positive when it encourages creativity, new looks at old conditions, the clarification of points of view, and the development of human capabilities to handle interpersonal differences. Conflict can be negative when it creates resistance to change, establishes turmoil in organization or interpersonal relations, fosters distrust, builds a feeling of defeat, or widens the chasm of misunderstanding. Unfortunately, the term "conflict" has only the connotation of "bad" for many people; so much so that they think principally in terms of suppression, giving little or no attention to its more positive side. Rico (1964 emphasizes this by stating that it seems entirely likely that many, if not most, organizations need more conflict, not less. Pondy, (1992) also stated that the absence of conflict may indicate autocracy, uniformity, stagnation, and mental fixity; the presence of conflict may be indicative of democracy, diversity, growth, and self-actualization. Tjosvold, (1998) complements this statement arguing that conflict is not the opposite of cooperation but a mechanism that allows to perceive benefits of cooperative work. Furthermore, conflict is considered psychologically and socially healthy. It is psychologically healthy because it provides a breather for frustrations and enables a feeling of participation and even of joy. And it is sociable healthy because it encourages opposition to the status quo and provides conditions for social chances and democracy stemming from pluralism and respect to diversity. Therefore, according to Butler, (1973), conflict is ubiquitous, not necessarily dysfunctional and can be required to defy people to perform and stimulate progress. 1.2. Statement of the Problem One of the major challenges facing managers of industrial organizations is how to ensure organizational productivity through prevention and resolution of industrial conflict and grievances in the nations organizations – public and private (Oyibo, 2006:150), using non-violent approaches or strategies. The ability to deal with conflict effectively is seen as a necessary skill efficient managers should possess, and this therefore constitutes an important aspect of organizational theory and organizational behaviour. Admittedly, no organization can be free from industrial conflict all the time. This is because conflict is a necessity of life. It is an everpresent process in human relations (Loomis and Loomis, 2005:180); it is an unavoidable aspect of organizational life. According to Isard (2004), conflict is an important part of human existence. It is a natural part of our daily lives. For management to be efficient, it must devote some part of its time to the management of conflict. Ordinarily, managers spend up to 30% of their time dealing with conflicts (Siegel, 2007:120). This is because conflict has been recognized as part of the expectations in any social organization. among all the programmes in organizational management, such as leadership, crisis management, decision making, planning, control, budgeting, communication skills, human resources management, etc the one that occupies an important position is the management of conflict (Thomas and Schmadt, 2000). This is because conflict may be inevitable and functional. Every organization whether industrial, service oriented or voluntary in nature is a social system made up of interacting entities who have lots of personal wants/needs/desires to achieve through the organization. Similarly, the organization has its own needs which are to achieve its established goals maximally and efficiently. Unfortunately, such a delightful fit between individual and organizational needs are very rare, hence the occurrence of conflicts in organizations. At times, these conflict situations get out of hand and lead to strikes by the workers or lockouts by the management. It may also lead to frustration by workers, demotivation, low productivity, poor profits and returns by such organizations. It is on this premises that this research was developed to carry out an empirical study on Imperatives of Effective Conflict Management and Resolution in Nigerian Organizations – A Survey of Selected Manufacturing Companies in Delta State, Nigeria, with a view to identifying possible causes of conflict in organizations and the strategies often applied to manage it. 1.3. Objectives of the Study To examine the relationship between industrial conflict on organizational effectives in Abuja National Hospital 1. To examine the relationship between industrial conflict on organizational service delivery in Abuja National Hospital 2. To examine relationship between industrial conflict on employee’s performance in Abuja National Hospital 3. To examine relationship between employee conflict of interest on organizational performance in Abuja National Hospital 1.4. Research questions 1. What is the relationship between industrial conflict on organizational effectives in Abuja National Hospital? 2. What is the relationship between industrial conflict on organizational service delivery in Abuja National Hospital 3. What is the relationship between industrial conflict on employee’s performance in Abuja National Hospital 4. What is the relationship between employee conflict of interest on organizational performance in Abuja National Hospital 1.5. Statement of the hypothesis 1. There is no significant relationship between industrial conflict on organizational effectives in Abuja National Hospital. 2. There is no significant relationship between industrial conflict on organizational service delivery in Abuja National Hospital. 3. There is no significant relationship between industrial conflict on employee’s performance in Abuja National Hospital. 4. There is no significant relationship between employee conflict of interest on organizational performance in Abuja National Hospital. 1.6. Significance of the study This study is very important in several respects. Firstly, it will be beneficial to management in all corporate organizations. This is because conflict has become a regular and frequent feature of corporate organizations including Abuja National Hospital. By investigating the causes of organizational conflicts the study will be able to find out how the conflicts will be minimized since they cannot be completely avoided. Besides, in examining the causes of conflicts, the study will be able to determine why they re-occur. Furthermore, by examining how conflicts are managed, the study will be able to find out the limitation of the strategies. All these will provide the basis on which recommendations will be made for the benefit of management. Secondly the government will also benefit from the study. As conflicts occur at organizational level so do they occur in the public sector level. The findings of this study will be very useful to the government in formulating effective strategies for managing conflicts in the public sector. Thirdly, employees in both the private and public sector organizations will also benefit from this study. This is because it will show how their intra and inter-relationships bring about conflict and how they can accommodate one another or what approach to adoption order to avoid conflicts. Fourthly, union leaders will also benefit from the study. This is because the findings will show how they can use their positions in helping to ensure sustained harmony in corporate organizations. Finally, the study will be useful for academic purpose. This is because students who will carryout related studies will use this project report as a reference material. 1.7. Justification of study Upon the completion of this work, it would bridge the gap that had been created where previous works on this subject area stopped. The finding in this study would serve as a base and framework for future researchers to carry out research in similar fields of studies. 1.8 Scope of the study The scope of the study was delimited to the effect of industrial conflicts on organizational performance using Abuja National Hospital as a study area. 1.9 Definition of terms Study
