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Article
Publication date: 11 August 2023

Burcu Aydin Küçük and Hizir Konuk

This study aims to reveal the association between task conflict and job satisfaction with the mediating role of incivility and the moderating role of self-esteem. In addition, the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to reveal the association between task conflict and job satisfaction with the mediating role of incivility and the moderating role of self-esteem. In addition, the data collected from the UK and Turkey were analyzed separately, and the aim was to contribute to the literature in this field by analyzing the research model in a cultural context.

Design/methodology/approach

This research focuses on the relationship between managers and subordinates in organizations. In this study, a survey method was applied to 708 subordinates, both UK and Turkish citizens, working in nine different industries. The obtained data were first analyzed in combination; then, the data of both countries were analyzed separately, and the effect of cultural differences on the research model was investigated.>

Findings

According to the results obtained, the relationship between task conflict and job satisfaction is negative, and subordinates’ perceptions of incivility play a mediating role in this relationship. In addition, subordinates’ self-esteem level has a moderating role in the effect of task conflict on job satisfaction through incivility. However, there is no evidence of an effect of culture on this model.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by presenting new evidence on the antecedents of job satisfaction. In addition, it is one of the pioneering studies that provides evidence of the impact of the perceptions and personal characteristics of disputants in a task conflict on task conflict outcomes. Furthermore, this study contributes to the limited cross-cultural studies in the conflict and job satisfaction literature.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2014

M. Kamil Kozan, Canan Ergin and Kadir Varoglu

This study aims to develop an influence perspective for managerial intervention in subordinates conflicts, which helps to represent various strategies identified in the literature…

2399

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to develop an influence perspective for managerial intervention in subordinates conflicts, which helps to represent various strategies identified in the literature in a single model. Managers' power base was then related to their intervention strategies. Drawing upon Social Judgment Theory, anchoring of subordinates positions is studied as a moderating variable.

Design/methodology/approach

Thirty nine supervisors and their 165 subordinates from several organizations in Turkey filled out a questionnaire reporting power base of supervisor and their intervention strategy utilizing the critical incident technique.

Findings

Referent power of superior led to mediation in subordinates' conflicts. However, mediation decreased while restructuring, arbitration, and educative strategies increased with increased anchoring of subordinates' positions. These latter strategies mostly relied on reward power of manager. Subordinate satisfaction was highest with mediation and lowest when supervisors distanced themselves from the conflict.

Research limitations/implications

The present study could only test the moderating effect of escalation as an anchoring variable. Future studies may look at the anchoring effect of whether the dispute is handled in public or in private, and whether the parties have a competing versus collaborative or compromising styles.

Practical implications

Training of managers in mediation may be essential in cultures where they play a focal role in handling subordinates conflicts. Such training may have to take into account their broader influence strategies and use of power.

Originality/value

An influence perspective is useful in integrating the vast array of managerial intervention strategies in the literature. Furthermore, the anchoring effect provides a theoretical explanation for managers' use of more forceful intervention with less cooperative subordinates.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2006

Renee de Reuver

The purpose of this study is to gain more insight in how line managers react to power use of superiors and subordinates in conflict situations.

6625

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to gain more insight in how line managers react to power use of superiors and subordinates in conflict situations.

Design/methodology/approach

The data was collected from 488 line managers; the majority of these managers worked in business services and non‐profit organizations. To measure the reaction of the line manager, the “Test for handling common organizational conflicts” was used, which incorporates a response factor (conflict style) and a situation factor (a combination of the opponent's behaviour and the organizational position).

Findings

The results showed, as expected, that managers' dominant or submissive reactions to opponents' dominant or submissive behaviour depend on opponents' power positions. The predicted directions of these relationships were that managers would react more complementarily to their superiors and would react more reciprocally to their subordinates. The hypotheses on the complementary reaction to superiors were supported. Managers submissiveness was more and dominance less with dominant superiors than with submissive superiors, and vice versa. Managers' reciprocal reaction in conflicts with subordinates was found for managers' submissiveness, but not for their dominant behaviour. The results showed complementary interactions, namely, managers dominate more with submissive subordinates than with dominant subordinates.

Originality/value

This study shows the structuring role of the hierarchal relationship in conflict interactions, and the prevailing position of complementary conflict patterns between managers and their superiors. The results supported the theoretical propositions in most cases, and they provide a better understanding of the use of dominance and submissiveness by managers.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 35 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2007

M. Kamil Kozan, Canan Ergin and Demet Varoglu

The purpose of this paper is to investigate strategies used by managers when intervening in subordinates' conflicts and the factors affecting choice of strategy in Turkish…

2492

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate strategies used by managers when intervening in subordinates' conflicts and the factors affecting choice of strategy in Turkish organizations, where heavy emphasis is placed on intermediaries in managing conflicts.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected by means of a questionnaire from 392 employees of a convenience sample of 59 organizations, most of which were located in Ankara.

Findings

Factor analysis results showed that managers utilize as many as five strategies: mediation, inquisitorial (similar to arbitration), motivational tactics, conflict reduction through restructuring, and educating the parties. The conditions under which these strategies are used were analyzed by regression. Harmony emphasis in the organization led to increased use of mediation. However, harmony emphasis, when coupled with a low degree of delegation of authority to subordinates, resulted in increased use of the inquisitorial strategy. Harmony emphasis, when combined with substantive (as opposed to personal) conflicts and with high impact conflicts led to educating the subordinates. Motivational tactics were used more when the conflict had high impact at the workplace and had escalated or threatened to get out of control.

Research limitations/implications

Readers are cautioned on possible common factor bias; relations between variables may have emerged as a result of the data being reported by the same respondent.

Originality/value

The findings have research implications for future studies and for training of managers for conflict intervention in collectivistic cultures.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 April 2019

Ali Mohammad Mosadeghrad and Arezoo Mojbafan

Hospitals are complex and complicated organizations and are prone to the conflict. The purpose of this paper is to identify the intensity and type of conflict experienced by…

4322

Abstract

Purpose

Hospitals are complex and complicated organizations and are prone to the conflict. The purpose of this paper is to identify the intensity and type of conflict experienced by hospital managers and explore their conflict management strategies in hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

This quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from top, middle and front line managers. In total, 563 managers from 14 hospitals responded to the questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19.

Findings

Hospital managers reported average level of conflict (2.73 score out of 5). Organizational factors produced more conflict for managers than personal factors. High workload, resource shortage, bureaucracy and differences in managers’ personality, knowledge, capabilities and skills were the main causes of organizational and personal conflict. Top managers experienced more conflict than middle and front line managers. Conflict was higher in specialized hospitals compared to general hospitals. Less conflict was observed in administrative and support departments than diagnostic and therapeutic departments. Conflict was meaningfully associated with management level, education, size of hospital, number of employees and willingness to leave the hospital. The dominant conflict management style of managers was collaborating. There were significant relationships between collaborating style and management level, manager’s age, work experience and management experience.

Practical implications

The nature of hospitals requires that managers use collaborating, compromising and accommodating styles to interact better with different stakeholders. Managers by acquiring necessary training and using the right conflict resolution strategies should keep the conflict in a constructive level in hospitals.

Originality/value

This is the first study conducted in Iran examining the level of conflict, its types and identifying managers’ dominant conflict resolution strategies at front line, middle and top management levels.

Details

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0952-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2022

Hizir Konuk, Goksel Ataman and Ugur Yozgat

This study aims to reveal the role of performance on the likelihood of conflict occurrence and the conditions that affect this relationship. This study measures managers’…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to reveal the role of performance on the likelihood of conflict occurrence and the conditions that affect this relationship. This study measures managers’ perceptions about the cause of the subordinate’s low-level performance, stability of the performance, propensity to trust of managers and investigate the effects of them on conflict types.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws on the attribution theory for investigating the effect of the negative performance of subordinates on a conflict between manager and subordinate by using the quantitative research method. A random sample was drawn from 150 Turkish mid-level managers from midsized small and medium - sized enterprises companies. The hypotheses are tested by hierarchical linear modeling.

Findings

According to results, negative performance of subordinates may predict the types of conflict depending on the attributions of managers about negative performance. In addition, the manager’s attributions to the locus of control or/and to the stability affect the likelihood of conflict types occurrence, between managers and subordinates. Depending on the managers’ attributions, the propensity to trust of managers has a significant moderation effect on the relationship between performance of subordinates and the likelihood of conflict types occurrence.

Originality/value

This study advances knowledge on conditions that affect the likelihood of conflict occurrence. It contributes to the literature by suggesting performance as a predictor of conflict instead of an outcome of the conflict. The research is one of the rare studies investigating the relationship between attributions and conflict. In addition, it expands the understanding of personal traits and conflict interaction by testing the moderation effect of propensity to trust.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 December 2017

Nancy Chen, Mike Chen-ho Chao, Henry Xie and Dean Tjosvold

Scholarly research provides few insights into how integrating the western values of individualism and low power distance with the eastern values of collectivism and high power…

3835

Abstract

Purpose

Scholarly research provides few insights into how integrating the western values of individualism and low power distance with the eastern values of collectivism and high power distance may influence cross-cultural conflict management. Following the framework of the theory of cooperation and competition, the purpose of this paper is to directly examine the impacts of organization-level collectivism and individualism, as well as high and low power distance, to determine the interactive effects of these four factors on cross-cultural conflict management.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a 2×2 experiment study. Data were collected from a US laboratory experiment with 80 participants.

Findings

American managers working in a company embracing western low power distance and eastern collectivism values were able to manage conflict cooperatively with their Chinese workers. Moreover, American managers working in a company valuing collectivism developed more trust with Chinese workers, and those in a company culture with high power distance were more interested in their workers’ viewpoints and more able to reach integrated solutions.

Originality/value

This study is an interdisciplinary research applying the social psychology field’s theory of cooperation and competition to the research on employee-manager, cross-cultural conflict management (which are industrial relations and organizational behavior topics, respectively), with an eye to the role of cultural adaptation. Furthermore, this study included an experiment to directly investigate the interactions between American managers and Chinese workers discussing work distribution conflict in four different organizational cultures.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 January 2019

Helen X. Chen, Xuemei Xu and Patrick Phillips

This paper aims to use a multi-level approach to examine the effects of emotional intelligence (EI) components on conflict management styles of Chinese managers when the…

4161

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to use a multi-level approach to examine the effects of emotional intelligence (EI) components on conflict management styles of Chinese managers when the respondents were in conflicts with their subordinates, peers or superiors.

Design/methodology/approach

The primary research was conducted in Dalian, China, via a personal survey resulting in 885 usable observations for analysis. EI was measured using the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS; Wong and Law, 2002), which is made up of 16 questions measuring four dimensions. The conflict management component was measured via Rahim’s (1983) five conflict management styles, which are avoidance, dominating, collaboration, compromise and integration.

Findings

The data analyses suggested that managers at different levels possess different EI and adopt different conflict management styles when dealing with their subordinates, peers and superiors. Specifically, when subordinates were involved in a conflict, junior managers and female managers were more likely to use the dominating style, while when peers were involved in a conflict, male managers were more likely to use the dominating style. When peers were involved in a conflict, managers working in public sectors were more likely to adopt the integrating, avoiding, obliging and compromising style. The Chinese managers were found to regulate their emotions and use of their emotions effectively in conflict with their peers and supervisors and thus they tended to adopt the avoiding, integrating and obliging style. Self-emotions appraisal and others emotions appraisal were significant to the adoption of the obliging style to handle conflict with their peers and supervisors. Use of emotions effectively was significant for the Chinese managers adopting the compromising style in conflicts with their peers, superiors and subordinates.

Research limitations/implications

The authors could only reach employees working and living in one city, which affects the generalizability of the paper.

Practical implications

Training should be provided to managers at different levels on the awareness of the impact of EI on conflict management at workplace.

Originality/value

There is little existing research on how employees across different levels within organisations in China moderate their EI according to the party they are interacting with. The objective of this paper is to stimulate further debate on the matter, thereby improving the understanding of EI moderation.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1988

Brian Bloch

Interdepartmental conflict is a vital but frequently underrated cause of organisational inefficiency and sub‐optimal performance. The views are presented of a number of practising…

Abstract

Interdepartmental conflict is a vital but frequently underrated cause of organisational inefficiency and sub‐optimal performance. The views are presented of a number of practising managers in large manufacturing enterprises on the issue of interdepartmental conflict. Managers' comments are reported in the following categories: personality of managers, communication, objectives and interdepartmental priorities and perspectives. The comments indicate the prevalence of interdepartmental conflict, and suggest that the essence of the problem is limited managerial effectiveness and a paucity of mutual interdepartmental understanding.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 88 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 August 2014

Hulda Mjöll Gunnarsdóttir

This chapter examines how structural factors related to gender, managerial level, and economic sector could impact the level of experienced person/role conflict in management…

Abstract

This chapter examines how structural factors related to gender, managerial level, and economic sector could impact the level of experienced person/role conflict in management based on a representative survey conducted among managers in Norway. Person/role conflict appears relevant for understanding emotions in organizations and is linked with emotional dissonance and emotional labor through theoretical and empirical considerations. Our findings reveal that the effect of gender remains significant when controlled for economic sector and managerial level. This indicates that experienced person/role conflict can be partially caused by perceived incongruity between internalized and gender role-related expectations as well as managerial role-related expectations.

Details

Emotions and the Organizational Fabric
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-939-3

Keywords

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