The consequences of the conflict are highly controversial. On the one hand, conflicts destroy social structures, lead to significant unreasonable expenditure of resources, on the other hand, they are the mechanism that contributes to the solution of many problems, unites groups and, ultimately, serves as one of the ways to achieve social justice. The ambiguity in people's assessment of the consequences of conflict has led to the fact that sociologists involved in the theory of conflicts have not come to a common point of view about whether conflicts are beneficial or harmful to society.
The severity of the conflict to the greatest extent depends on the socio-psychological characteristics of the warring parties, as well as on the situation requiring immediate action. Absorbing energy from the outside, the conflict situation forces the participants to act immediately, putting all their energy into the collision.
The duality of people's assessment of the consequences of the conflict has led to the fact that sociologists involved in the theory of conflicts, or, as they say, conflictology, have not come to a common point of view about whether conflicts are beneficial or harmful to society. Thus, many believe that society and its individual components develop as a result of evolutionary changes, and as a result, they assume that social conflict can only be negative, destructive.
But there is a group of scientists, consisting of supporters of the dialectical method. They recognize the constructive, useful content of any conflict, since as a result of conflicts new qualitative certainties appear.
Let us assume that in every conflict there are both disintegrative, destructive, and integrative, creative moments. Conflict can destroy social communities. In addition, internal conflict destroys group unity. Speaking about the positive aspects of the conflict, it should be noted that a limited, private consequence of the conflict may be an increase in group interaction. Conflict may be the only way out of a tense situation. Thus, there are two types of consequences of conflicts:
- disintegrated consequences that increase bitterness, lead to destruction and bloodshed, to intra-group tension, destroy normal channels of cooperation, divert the attention of group members from pressing problems;
- integrative consequences that determine the way out of difficult situations, lead to the resolution of problems, increase group cohesion, lead to the conclusion of alliances with other groups, lead the group to understand the interests of its members.
Let's take a closer look at these implications:
Positive Consequences of the Conflict
A positive, functionally useful result of the conflict is considered to be the solution of the problem that gave rise to disagreements and caused clashes, taking into account the mutual interests and goals of all parties, as well as the achievement of understanding and trust, strengthening partnerships and cooperation, overcoming conformism, humility, striving for advantage.
Socially (collectively) - the constructive impact of the conflict is expressed in the following consequences:
The conflict is way to identify and fix disagreements, as well as problems in society, organization, group. The conflict indicates that the contradictions have already reached the highest limit, and therefore it is necessary to take immediate measures to eliminate them.
Thus, any the conflict performs an informational function, i.e. provides additional impulses to the awareness of one's own and other people's interests in the confrontation.
The conflict is form of conflict resolution. Its development contributes to the elimination of those shortcomings and miscalculations in the social organization that led to its emergence. The conflict contributes to the removal of social tension and the elimination of a stressful situation, helps to "let off steam", defuse the situation.
The conflict may perform an integrative, unifying function. In the face of an external threat, the group uses all its resources to unite and confront the external enemy. In addition, it is the task of solving existing problems that unites people. In search of a way out of the conflict, there is mutual understanding and a sense of involvement in the solution of a common task.
The solution of the conflict contributes to the stabilization of the social system, as it eliminates the sources of discontent. The parties to the conflict, having learned from the "bitter experience", will be more cooperative in the future than before the conflict.
In addition, conflict resolution prevent more serious conflicts from arising that might have arisen if this were not the case.
Conflict intensifies and stimulates group creativity, contributes to the mobilization of energy to solve the problems assigned to the subjects. In the process of finding ways to resolve the conflict, mental forces are activated to analyze difficult situations, new approaches, ideas, innovative technologies, etc. are being developed.
Conflict can serve as a means of clarifying the balance of power of social groups or communities and thus can warn against the following, more destructive conflicts.
The conflict may become the source of new norms of communication between people or to help fill the old norms with new content.
The constructive impact of the conflict on the personal level reflects the impact of the conflict on individual traits:
fulfillment by the conflict of a cognitive function in relation to the people who take part in it. In difficult critical (existential) situations, the real character, true values and motives of people's behavior are shown. The possibility of diagnosing the enemy's strength is also connected with the cognitive function;
promotion of self-knowledge and adequate self-esteem of the individual. The conflict can help to correctly assess one's strengths and abilities, to reveal new, previously unknown aspects of the personality's character. It can also temper the character, contribute to the emergence of his new virtues (a sense of pride, self-esteem, etc.);
removal of unwanted character traits (feeling of inferiority, humility, compliance);
increasing the level of socialization of a person, his development as a person. In conflict, an individual can gain as much life experience in a relatively short period of time as he may never get in everyday life;
facilitating the adaptation of the employee in the team, since it is during the conflict that people open up to a greater extent. A person is either accepted by the members of the group, or, conversely, they ignore it. In the latter case, of course, no adaptation takes place;
reducing mental tension in the group, relieving stress among its members (in case of a positive resolution of the conflict);
satisfaction of not only primary, but also secondary needs of the individual, its self-realization and self-affirmation.
Negative Consequences of the Conflict
The negative, dysfunctional consequences of the conflict include people's dissatisfaction with a common cause, a departure from solving urgent problems, an increase in hostility in interpersonal and intergroup relations, a weakening of team cohesion, etc.
The social destructive impact of the conflict manifests itself at various levels of the social system and is expressed in specific consequences.
When resolving the conflict, violent methods can be used, as a result of which large human casualties and material losses are possible. In addition to the direct participants, those around them can also suffer in the conflict.
The conflict can lead the parties to the confrontation (society, social group, individual) into a state of destabilization and disorganization. The conflict can lead to a slowdown in the pace of social, economic, political and spiritual development of society. Moreover, it can cause stagnation and a crisis of social development, the emergence of dictatorial and totalitarian regimes.
The conflict can contribute to the disintegration of society, the destruction of social communications and the socio-cultural alienation of social formations within the social system.
The conflict may be accompanied by an increase in pessimism in society and a disregard for customs.
The conflict can cause new, more destructive conflicts.
The conflict often leads to a decrease in the level of organization of the system, a decrease in discipline and, as a result, a decrease in the effectiveness of the activity.
The destructive impact of the conflict on the personal level is expressed in the following consequences:
- negative impact on the socio-psychological climate in the group: there are signs of a negative mental state (a feeling of depression, pessimism and anxiety), leading a person to a state of stress;
- disappointment in one's capabilities and abilities, deintensification of the face; the emergence of a feeling of self-doubt, the loss of previous motivation, the destruction of existing value orientations and patterns of behavior. In the worst case, the consequences of the conflict can also be disappointment, loss of faith in former ideals, which gives rise to deviant behavior and, as an extreme case, suicide;
- a person's negative assessment of his partners in joint activities, disappointment in his colleagues and recent friends;
- a person's reaction to conflict through defense mechanisms that manifest themselves in various forms of bad behavior:
- indentation - silence, separation of the individual from the group;
- information that scares with criticism, scolding, demonstrating one's superiority over other members of the group;
- firm formalism - formal politeness, the establishment of strict norms and principles of behavior in a group, observation of others;
- turning everything into a joke;
- conversations on extraneous topics instead of a business discussion of problems;
- constant search for the guilty, self-flagellation or accusations of all the troubles of the members of the team.
These are the main consequences of the conflict, which are interconnected and are concrete and relative.
Conflict: participate or create... Vladimir Kozlov
Diagram 1.1.2 Negative consequences of the conflict
Scheme 1.1.2
Negative Consequences of the Conflict
Possible negative consequences of conflicts are as follows.
Approximately 80% of industrial conflicts are of a psychological nature and move from the industrial sphere to interpersonal relationships.
About 15% of working time is spent on conflicts and worries about them.
Labor productivity is declining.
Conflicts worsen the psychological climate in groups, they violate cooperation and mutual assistance.
Job dissatisfaction and employee turnover are on the rise.
Unjustified competition is on the rise. Information is hidden.
The idea of the other side as an "enemy" is formed.
It is difficult to imagine a leader who has never faced the problem of resolving conflicts between subordinate employees or departments, while understanding that:
Any conflict, as a rule, has a strong destructive charge;
The spontaneous development of the conflict very often leads to disruption of the normal functioning of the organization;
The conflict is usually accompanied by powerful negative emotions that the parties experience in relation to each other. These emotions impede the search for a rational way out and form the image of an enemy that must be defeated or destroyed at all costs. When the conflict reaches this stage, it is already difficult to deal with it.
Dysfunctional Consequences of Organizational Conflicts:
Decreased productivity, negative emotional state, increased staff turnover (people leave the organization), increased feelings of dissatisfaction with oneself, increased aggressiveness in interaction;
Reducing the scope of cooperation, focusing on the struggle between groups, increasing competition between groups, increasing the influence of intra-group norms;
Shifting attention from the overall task of the organization to the conflict: the formation of a negative image of the competitor as an enemy.
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Depending on how effective conflict management is, its consequences will become functional or dysfunctional, which, in turn, will affect the possibility of future conflicts: eliminate the causes of conflicts or create them.
There are the following main functional (positive) consequences of conflicts for the organization:
1) the problem is solved in a way that suits all parties, and as a result, people feel involved in solving an important problem for them;
2) a joint decision is implemented faster and better;
3) the parties gain experience of cooperation in resolving disputes and can use it in the future;
4) effective resolution of conflicts between the leader and subordinates destroys the so-called "submission syndrome" - the fear of openly expressing one's opinion, different from the opinion of seniors;
5) relations between people improve;
6) people cease to consider the existence of disagreements as "evil", always leading to bad consequences.
The main dysfunctional (negative) consequences of conflicts:
1) unproductive, competitive relationships between people;
2) lack of desire for cooperation, good relations;
3) the idea of the opposite side as an "enemy", of one's own position as exclusively positive, of the opponent's position as only negative. And people who think that they alone own the truth are dangerous;
4) curtailment or complete cessation of interaction with the opposite party, which impedes the solution of production problems.
5) the belief that "winning" the conflict is more important than solving the real problem;
6) feelings of resentment, dissatisfaction, bad mood, staff turnover.
Of course, both the negative and positive consequences of conflicts cannot be absolutized, considered outside the specific situation. The real ratio of functional and dysfunctional consequences of the conflict directly depends on their nature, their causes, as well as on the skillful management of conflicts.
4. Handling conflicts.
4.1. Leadership attitude towards conflict.
There are four types of manager's attitude to a conflict situation.
1. The desire to avoid trouble, suffering. The elder acts as if nothing happened. He does not notice the conflict, avoids resolving the issue, lets things take their course, does not violate apparent well-being, does not complicate his own life. His moral infantilism often ends in disaster. Discipline violations grow like a snowball. More and more people are drawn into the conflict. Unresolved disputes destroy the team, provoke its members to even more gross violations of discipline.
2. Realistic attitude to reality. The manager is patient, sober about what is happening. He adapts to the requirements of the conflicting ones. In other words, he follows their lead, trying to mitigate conflict relations with persuasion and exhortation. He behaves in such a way that, on the one hand, he does not disturb the team and the administration, and, on the other hand, does not spoil relations with people. But persuasion, concessions lead to the fact that the elder is no longer respected and laughed at.
3. Active attitude to what happened. The leader recognizes the presence of a critical situation and does not hide the conflict from superiors and colleagues. He does not ignore what happened and does not try to please "both ours and yours", but acts in accordance with his own moral principles and beliefs, ignoring the individual personality traits of conflicting subordinates, the situation in the team, the causes of the conflict. As a result, there is a situation of external well-being, cessation of quarrels, violations of discipline. But at the same time, the lives of members of the team are often crippled, their destinies are broken, and a steady hostility is caused to the boss and the team, and sometimes to the organization as a whole.
4. Creative attitude to conflict. The senior behaves in accordance with the situation and resolves the conflict with the least losses. In this case, he consciously and purposefully, taking into account all the accompanying phenomena, finds a way out of the conflict situation. He takes into account the objective and subjective causes of the conflict, for example, not knowing the motive for insulting one employee to another, he does not make a hasty decision.
A creative attitude, a thorough analysis of what happened is especially necessary when perceiving criticism. If the critic seeks to improve work efficiency, correct shortcomings that interfere with full-fledged work, social work, it is necessary to record valuable advice, try to correct omissions, and in your free time, when the speaker cools down, if necessary, criticize him for tactlessness, explain what criticism should be , and be sure to praise for a serious attitude to work, for the desire to correct shortcomings.
If the critic is settling personal scores or seeking to present himself, to show his integrity, it is best to try to enlist the support of those present and avoid further contact with the speaker. It is useless to explain anything in this case. It is better to calmly explain to those present the reason for the indignation of the critic, to show what caused the desire to “boldly” speak out against the gaps in the work.
Particularly unpleasant forms of criticism are performances in order to improve one's status in the team and criticism in order to receive an emotional charge. In both cases, the conflicting party is not at all interested in the matter. The reason is frankly selfish motives or love for squabbles, the joy of emotional discharge, the need for it. In both situations, one should not succumb to emotional influence, become a target for the critic. If possible, you should leave the room, if not, calmly, with dignity, talk with the team on an interesting topic or do some business, in no case demonstrating contempt for the critic, without stimulating his emotional intensity even more.
These forms of criticism are rarely found in their pure form and are by no means always used consciously and deliberately. Therefore, they are difficult to recognize and correctly interpret. However, having understood their causes, it is easier to determine the goal of the critic and outline tactics for preventing a quarrel and getting out of a conflict situation.
The manager's indifferent attitude to the events in the team, the passive reaction to the seemingly insignificant friction of the employees often cause stable uncontrollable conflicts. Therefore, it is advisable not to bring things to serious clashes, not to wait until good relations are established by themselves. It is necessary, setting a specific goal for the subordinate, organizing his activities aimed at achieving this goal, cultivating camaraderie, friendship in the team, increasing the cohesion of its members, making the team resistant to disagreements and conflicts.
If this is not possible, the conflict has arisen, it is necessary to eliminate it with the least losses for the participants, the team, the manager himself.
Summarizing the work of the American scientist E. Mayo and other representatives of the functionalist (integration) direction, the following negative consequences of conflicts are distinguished:
- · destabilization of the organization, generation of chaotic and anarchic processes, decrease in controllability;
- Distraction of personnel from the real problems and goals of the organization, shifting these goals towards group selfish interests and ensuring victory over the enemy;
- An increase in emotionality and irrationality, hostility and aggressive behavior, distrust of the “main” and others;
- · weakening the possibilities of communication and cooperation with opponents in the future;
- · distraction of the parties to the conflict from solving the problems of the organization and the fruitless waste of their strength, energy, resources and time to fight each other.
Positive Consequences of the Conflict
In contrast to the functionalists, supporters of the sociological approach to conflicts (they are represented, for example, by the largest modern German conflictologist R. Dahrendorf) consider them as an integral source of social change and development. Under certain conditions, conflicts have functional, positive results:
- Initiating change, renewal, progress. The new is always the negation of the old, and since certain people always stand behind both new and old ideas and forms of organization, any renewal is impossible without conflicts;
- · articulation, a clear formulation and expression of interests, publicizing the real positions of the parties on a particular issue. This allows you to see the urgent problem more clearly and creates fertile ground for its solution;
- the formation of a sense of ownership among the participants in the conflict in the decision taken as a result of it, which facilitates its implementation;
- · Encouraging participants to interact and develop new, more effective solutions that eliminate the problem itself or its significance. This usually happens when the parties show understanding of each other's interests and realize the disadvantage of deepening the conflict;
- · development of the ability of the parties to the conflict to cooperate in the future, when the conflict is resolved as a result of the interaction of both parties. Competitive fair competition enhances the mutual respect and trust necessary for further cooperation;
- defusing psychological tension in relations between people, a clearer clarification of their interests and positions;
- development of skills and abilities among the participants in the conflict regarding the painless solution of problems that arise in the future;
- Strengthening group cohesion in the event of intergroup conflicts. As is known from social psychology, the easiest way to unite a group and muffle or even overcome internal discord is to find a common enemy, a competitor. An external conflict is able to extinguish internal strife, the causes of which often disappear over time, lose their relevance, sharpness and are forgotten.
The real ratio of functional and dysfunctional consequences of the conflict directly depends on their nature, their causes, as well as on the skillful management of conflicts.
conflict behavior problematic
In the most general form, the subjective causes of any organizational conflicts related to people, their consciousness and behavior, as a rule, are caused by three factors:
- interdependence and incompatibility of the goals of the parties;
- awareness of this;
- the desire of each of the parties to realize their goals at the expense of the opponent.
1. Resource allocation. In almost any organization, resources are always limited, so the task of management is the rational distribution of materials, people and money between various departments and groups. Since people tend to strive for the maximum receipt of resources and overestimate the significance of their work, the distribution of resources almost inevitably leads to all sorts of conflicts.
2. Interdependence of tasks. The possibility of conflict exists wherever, in the performance of its functions, one person (group) depends on another person (group). In view of the fact that any organization is a system consisting of a number of interdependent elements - departments or people, if one of them does not work adequately, as well as if their activities are not coordinated enough, the interdependence of tasks can cause conflict.
3. Differences in purpose. The possibility of conflict increases with the complexity of organizations, their further structural division and the autonomy associated with it. As a result, individual specialized units (groups) begin to largely independently formulate their goals, which can significantly diverge from the goals of the entire organization. In the practical implementation of autonomous (group) goals, this leads to conflicts.
4. Differences in perceptions and values. Different ideas, interests and desires of people influence their assessment of the situation, lead to a biased perception of it and a corresponding reaction to it. This gives rise to contradictions and conflicts.
5. Differences in behavior and life experience. Differences in life experience, education, length of service, age, value orientations, social characteristics and even just habits hinder mutual understanding and cooperation of people and increase the possibility of conflict.
6. Poor communications. Lack, distortion, and sometimes an excess of information can serve as a cause, effect, and catalyst of conflict. In the latter case, poor communication exacerbates the conflict, making it difficult for the participants to understand each other and the situation as a whole.
This classification of the causes of the conflict can be used in its practical diagnosis, but in general it is rather abstract. R. Dahrendorf offers a more specific classification of the causes of the conflict. Using and supplementing it, the following types of causes of social conflicts can be distinguished:
1. Personal reasons ("personal friction"). These include individual traits, likes and dislikes, psychological and ideological incompatibility, differences in education and life experience, etc.
2. Structural reasons. They show up as imperfections.
- communication structure: lack, distortion or inconsistency of information, weakness of contacts between management and ordinary employees, distrust and inconsistency of actions between them due to imperfection or disruption of communications, etc .;
- role structure: inconsistency in job descriptions, various formal requirements for an employee, official requirements and personal goals, etc.;
- technical structure: unequal equipment of different departments with equipment, exhausting pace of work, etc.;
- organizational structure: the disproportion of various departments that violates the general rhythm of work, the duplication of their activities, the lack of effective control and responsibility, the conflicting aspirations of formal and informal groups in the organization, etc.;
- power structures: disproportion of rights and duties, competencies and responsibilities, as well as the distribution of power in general, including formal and informal leadership and the struggle for it.
4. Conditions and nature of work. Unhealthy or dangerous working conditions, unhealthy ecological environment, poor relations in the team and with management, dissatisfaction with the content of work, etc. - all this also creates fertile ground for the emergence of conflicts.
5. Distribution relations. Remuneration in the form of wages, bonuses, rewards, social privileges, etc. not only serves as a means of satisfying the diverse needs of people, but is also perceived as an indicator of social prestige and recognition from the leadership. The cause of the conflict may turn out to be not so much the absolute amount of payment, but the distribution relations in the team, evaluated by workers in terms of their fairness.
6. Differences in identification. They are manifested in the tendency of employees to identify themselves mainly with their group (division) and exaggerate their importance and merits, while underestimating the importance of others and forgetting about the overall goals of the organization. This kind of inclination is based on the intensity and emotional coloring of communications in primary groups, the relatively large personal significance of such groups and the issues addressed in them, group interests and group egoism. Causes of this type often determine conflicts between different departments, as well as between individual teams and the center, the leadership of the organization.
7. The desire of the organization to expand and increase its significance. This trend is reflected in the well-known Parkinson's law, according to which every organization seeks to expand its staff, resources and influence, regardless of the amount of work performed. At the heart of the trend towards expansion lies the interest of each unit, and above all real and potential leaders, in obtaining new, including higher and more prestigious positions, resources, power, and authority. On the way to the implementation of the expansion trend, there are usually similar or restraining positions of other departments and management (the center), which tries to limit the aspirations and keep the power, control functions and resources of the organization mainly at home. As a result of this kind of relationship, conflicts arise.
8. Difference of starting positions. This may be a different level of education, qualifications and values of the staff, and unequal working conditions and material and technical equipment, etc. various departments. Such reasons lead to misunderstanding, ambiguous perception of tasks and responsibilities, lack of coherence in the activities of interdependent units and, ultimately, to conflicts.
The last three reasons characterize mainly interorganizational conflicts. In real life, conflicts are often generated not by one, but by several reasons, each of which, in turn, is modified depending on the specific situation. However, this does not remove the need to know the causes and sources of conflicts for constructive use and management.
The causes of conflicts largely determine the nature of their consequences.
Negative Consequences of the Conflict
There are two ways to assess the consequences of conflicts: functionalist(integration) and sociological(dialectical). The first of them, which is presented, for example, by the famous American experimental scientist E. Mayo. He considers conflict as a dysfunctional phenomenon that disrupts the normal existence of the organization, reducing the effectiveness of its activities. The functionalist direction focuses on the negative consequences of the conflict. Summarizing the work of various representatives of this direction, we can distinguish the following negative consequences of conflicts:
- destabilization of the organization, generation of chaotic and anarchic processes, reduced controllability;
- distracting staff from the real problems and goals of the organization, shifting these goals towards group selfish interests and ensuring victory over the enemy;
- dissatisfaction of the participants in the conflict with being in the organization, growth of frustrations, depressions, stresses, etc. and, as a result, a decrease in labor productivity, an increase in staff turnover;
- an increase in emotionality and irrationality, hostility and aggressive behavior, distrust of management and others;
- weakening opportunities for communication and cooperation with opponents in the future;
- distracting participants in the conflict from solving the problems of the organization and fruitless waste of their strength, energy, resources and time to fight each other.
In contrast to the functionalists, supporters of the sociological approach to conflicts (they are represented, for example, by the largest modern German conflictologist R. Dahrendorf) consider them as an integral source of social change and development. Under certain conditions, conflicts are functional, positive results for the organization:
- initiating change, renewal, progress. The new is always the negation of the old, and since certain people always stand behind both new and old ideas and forms of organization, any renewal is impossible without conflicts;
- articulation, clear articulation and expression of interests publicizing the real positions of the parties on a particular issue. This allows you to see the urgent problem more clearly and creates fertile ground for its solution;
- mobilization of attention, interest and resources for solving problems and, as a result, saving the organization's time and money. Very often urgent issues, especially those that concern the entire organization, are not resolved until a conflict arises, because in the case of conflict-free, “normal” functioning, out of respect for organizational norms and traditions, as well as a sense of politeness, managers and employees often bypass sharp questions;
- the formation of a sense of belonging among the participants in the conflict to the decision taken as a result of it, which facilitates its implementation;
- encouraging more thoughtful and informed action in order to prove their case;
- encouraging participants to interact and develop new, more effective solutions eliminating the problem itself or its significance. This usually happens when the parties show understanding of each other's interests and realize the disadvantage of deepening the conflict;
- development of the ability of the parties to the conflict to cooperate in the future, when the conflict is resolved as a result of the interaction of both parties. Competitive fair competition enhances the mutual respect and trust necessary for further cooperation;
- relaxation of psychological tension in relations between people, a clearer clarification of their interests and positions;
- overcoming the traditions of groupthink, conformity, "syndrome of humility" and the development of free-thinking, the individuality of the worker. As a result of this, the ability of the staff to develop original ideas, to find the best ways to solve the problems of the organization increases;
- involvement of the usually passive part of employees in solving organizational problems. This contributes to the personal development of employees and serves to achieve the goals of the organization;
- identification of informal groups, their leaders and smaller groupings, which can be used by the leader to improve management efficiency;
- development of the participants in the conflict of skills and abilities relatively painless solution of problems that arise in the future;
- increased group cohesion in case of intergroup conflicts. As is known from social psychology, the easiest way to unite a group and muffle or even overcome internal discord is to find a common enemy, a competitor. An external conflict is able to extinguish internal strife, the causes of which often disappear over time, lose their relevance, sharpness and are forgotten.
Based on the assessment of the consequences of conflicts, a strategy for dealing with them in the organization is built.
