Group behaviour: conflict at work

Psychology A2 · Organisational Psychology. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Conflict at work happens at four levels: inside one person, between two people, inside one group and between groups. Organisational causes include competition for limited resources, unclear roles and different goals between departments. Interpersonal causes include clashes of personality and poor communication.

Thomas and Kilmann describe five conflict-handling modes, based on how assertive a person is (concern for own needs) and how cooperative (concern for the other person's needs).

Bullying is different from a single quarrel. It is repeated negative behaviour over a long period towards someone who finds it hard to defend himself or herself. Einarsen (1999) reviewed its types, phases and causes.

Rules to remember

Intra-individual: one person torn between demands. Inter-individual: two people. Intra-group: within one team. Inter-group: between teams or departments.
Competing: high assertiveness, low cooperativeness. Accommodating: low assertiveness, high cooperativeness.
Collaborating: high on both, a solution that fully satisfies both sides. Avoiding: low on both.
Compromising: moderate on both; each side gives something up.
Einarsen's types: predatory bullying (the victim has done nothing to provoke it) and dispute-related bullying (grows out of a conflict).
Einarsen's phases: aggressive behaviour → bullying → stigmatisation → severe trauma.
Causes: personality of victim or bully, envy, and organisational factors such as poor leadership, role conflict and a culture that tolerates aggression.

Common mistake

Students confuse compromising with collaborating. In a compromise both sides lose something and meet in the middle. In collaboration both sides get their concerns fully met, which takes more time.

Worked example

During a fire drill a safety officer overrules a supervisor's objections and insists that the building is emptied her way at once. Which Thomas-Kilmann mode is she using?

She pushes hard for her own position, so assertiveness is high.
She gives no weight to the supervisor's wishes, so cooperativeness is low.
High assertiveness with low cooperativeness is one mode, often suitable in an emergency.

Answer: Competing.

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