When we talk about organizational conflicts, we tend to associate them with something negative, problematic, or undesirable. That view can be limited or even mistaken, though, since conflict is an inevitable and inherent part of human behavior, especially when it plays out in a social setting like a company.
Conflicts can arise at any point and at any level of an organization's processes, and they don't always represent a threat or an obstacle to achieving objectives.
On the contrary, conflicts can be an opportunity to improve, innovate, learn, and grow, as long as they're managed appropriately and constructively.
In this article, we'll explore the concept of organizational conflict, its types, causes, and consequences, along with some strategies for resolving it effectively and positively.
We hope this helps you better understand the nature and scope of conflict in the workplace, and gives you the tools you need to turn it into a source of personal and professional growth.
What is an organizational conflict?
We can define an organizational conflict as the clash of interests, methods, values, opinions, expectations, or perceptions between two or more parties (individuals, groups, or departments) within a company, over the same issue, objective, or perspective.
This situation creates tension, disagreement, confrontation, or resistance, which can affect performance, communication, cooperation, or the satisfaction of everyone involved. But when it's well managed, it can become an opportunity for improvement and learning.
Organizational conflict can have several causes, for example:
- Scarcity or misuse of available resources (material, financial, human, etc.)
- A lack of clarity or agreement about each party's goals, roles, responsibilities, or rules.
- Competition or rivalry between parties to gain recognition, power, prestige, or rewards.
- Individual or group differences in personality, values, attitudes, beliefs, work styles, or preferences.
- Internal or external changes that affect the organization's structure, culture, processes, or environment.
- Communication problems, such as a lack, excess, distortion, or ambiguity of information.
- Personal, family, or social conflicts that spill over into the workplace.
- And the most common of all: communication problems.
Organizational conflict can have a range of consequences, both positive and negative, depending on how it's handled and resolved. Some of the positive consequences can include:
- Generating new ideas, solutions, alternatives, or proposals that enrich the organization's creativity and innovation.
- Improving the quality, efficiency, productivity, or profitability of the organization's processes, products, or services.
- Identifying and analyzing the organization's problems, weaknesses, threats, or opportunities for improvement.
- Strengthening the cohesion, trust, commitment, motivation, or satisfaction of the parties involved.
- Developing the skills, competencies, knowledge, or attitudes of the parties involved, such as communication, negotiation, collaboration, empathy, or tolerance.
- Increasing diversity, plurality, democracy, or participation of the parties involved in the organization's decision-making.
Some of the negative consequences can include:
- Generating stress, anxiety, frustration, hostility, aggression, or violence among the parties involved.
- Decreasing the quality, efficiency, productivity, or profitability of the organization's processes, products, or services.
- An increase in errors, delays, waste, costs, or losses for the organization.
- Deterioration or breakdown of communication, cooperation, coordination, or integration among the parties involved.
- A reduction or loss of commitment, motivation, satisfaction, or wellbeing among the parties involved.
- Turnover, absenteeism, attrition, or the loss of qualified or valuable personnel for the organization.
- Damage to or loss of the organization's image, reputation, credibility, or competitiveness.
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Types of organizational conflicts by parties involved
Organizational conflicts can be classified according to different criteria, such as level, origin, intensity, duration, or outcome. Below, we present a classification based on the level or scope in which conflicts occur, which identifies four main types:
- Intrapersonal conflicts
These are conflicts that originate within a single person, when they experience a dilemma, contradiction, inconsistency, or dissatisfaction between their values, interests, needs, goals, or expectations and the situation they're facing. These conflicts can arise for a number of reasons, for example:
- When a person has to choose between two or more situations that clash with their values or interests.
- Due to emotional or psychological issues that carry over into the workplace.
- When a person's profile isn't compatible with the profile required for the role — sometimes the result of a flawed job description or recruiting process.
- When a person's competencies aren't compatible with their work process.
- When the workload exceeds the person's capacity.
Intrapersonal conflicts can have negative consequences for a person's physical and mental health, such as stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, insomnia, fatigue, aches, and more.
That's why it's important for people to be able to identify, express, and resolve their internal conflicts, seeking support from others or from professionals when needed.
- Interpersonal conflicts
These are conflicts that arise between two or more people, when they have opposing or divergent interests, values, opinions, expectations, or perceptions about the same issue, objective, or perspective. These conflicts can arise for a number of reasons, for example:
- When there's competition or rivalry between people to gain recognition, power, prestige, or rewards.
- When there's a lack of clarity or agreement about each person's goals, roles, responsibilities, or rules.
- When there's a difference or incompatibility between people's personalities, values, attitudes, beliefs, work styles, or preferences.
- When there's a scarcity or misuse of available resources (material, financial, human, etc.)
- When there's a communication problem, such as a lack, excess, distortion, or ambiguity of information.
- When personal, family, or social conflicts spill over and interfere with the workplace.
Interpersonal conflicts can have negative consequences for people's relationships, coexistence, cooperation, or integration, such as hostility, aggression, violence, isolation, distrust, resentment, and more.
That's why it's important for people to be able to talk through, negotiate, and resolve their conflicts with one another, seeking the support of others or of a mediator when needed.
- Intragroup conflicts
These are conflicts that originate within a group or work team, when there's a clash of interests, values, opinions, expectations, or perceptions among its members over the same issue, objective, or perspective.
These conflicts can arise for a number of reasons, including:
- Communication problems, when the message doesn't reach everyone involved or is so ambiguous that it's open to individual interpretation.
- When roles aren't clearly defined for each team member, which can cause overlaps in processes or in the authority of team members or leaders.
- When there are differing perspectives on how things should work within the organizational culture or how processes should be carried out.
- When two criteria or perspectives on the same issue clash with each other.
- When there's no shared understanding of values and norms.
- Intergroup conflicts
These are conflicts that arise between two or more groups or work teams, when there's a clash of interests, values, opinions, expectations, or perceptions between them over the same issue, objective, or perspective. These conflicts can arise for a number of reasons, for example:
- When each group's roles and objectives aren't clearly defined, leading to poor work distribution, duplicated functions, or overlapping responsibilities.
- When there's no communication between two work groups, which should happen through institutional or formal work channels.
- When people's membership in work groups isn't clearly defined, creating confusion about which group they belong to.
- When objectives or functions conflict with or exclude one another.
Intergroup conflicts can have negative consequences for coordination, cooperation, integration, or synergy between groups, such as conflict, confrontation, resistance, rejection, and more.
That's why it's important for groups to be able to talk through, negotiate, and resolve their conflicts with one another, seeking the support of others or of leadership when needed.
Conclusion
Organizational conflicts are an inevitable, constant reality in the workplace, and they can have positive or negative effects on a company's operations, performance, climate, and culture, depending on how they're managed and resolved.
That's why it's essential for the people, groups, and departments that make up an organization to have the skills, tools, and resources they need to face, handle, and resolve conflict constructively, peacefully, and satisfactorily, aiming for mutual benefit and the common good.
There are different types, causes, and consequences of organizational conflict, as well as different strategies and methods for resolving it, which can be adapted to the characteristics, needs, and expectations of each situation.
What matters most is having an open, flexible, dialogue-driven, and collaborative attitude — one that turns conflict into an opportunity for learning, growth, and personal and professional development.
