CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Conflicts in organization are inevitable. Conflict is defined by many authors as: struggles quarrels, opposition, bitter argument between employers and workers or disparagement between people with different ideas or beliefs. Therefore, conflicts are seen as aberration and also a serious threat to the survival of an organization any where in the world.

The churches are threatened by regular conflicts. The family records high incidence of conflicts. The industries, the civil service is bewildered by conflict. Anchor insurance Uyo an other unnamed media sale industrial in Uyo and its environment might be sitting on a lot port of conflicts.

Charles Dowin (1976) in his work on “origin of species” focused on the evolution theory with the recurrent items on struggles for existence “survival of the fittest”.

David look wood (1956) shared the same view, stating that the presence of a normative order or common value system does not meant that conflicts have totally disappeared rather the existence of normative order mirror the potentiality of conflict presence while absence of conflicts it both surprising and abnormal.

Therefore, it must be stressed that there is no organization that displays no evidence of conflicts. Conflicts is considered a permanent feature of social structures and its inevitable whether at the individual organization levels. However, conflicts is not necessary a bad thing rather, if properly managed, it can arguably have potentially positive outcomes.

It can be an energizing and vitalizing force in groups and in the organization. The organization is viewed as an integrated and harmonies uchole. Conflicts in seen as a dysfunction outcome and can be explained, for example be social action writer and the idea of a pluralistic approach  to work organization, then conflicts among competing subgroups will be seen as inevitable.

Conflict is seen as an inherent feature of organization and induced in part by the very structure of the organization the pluralistic manager is more likely to accept that conflicts in organization requires careful handling and attempt to reconcile rival interests.

Obviously, extreme cases of conflict in organization can have very upsetting or even tragic consequence, for some people and have adverse effects on organizational performance. Conflict situation can give risk to excessive emotional or physical stress. Conflict can be seen as a constructive for and in certain circumstances it can be encouraged. For example, it can be seen as an aid to in-cremental improvement in organization design and functioning; and to the decision-making process. conflict can be an agent for evolution and for internal and external changes. properly identified and handled , it can help to minimize the destructive influences of the unin-lose situation.

From a survey of practicing manger, who reported that they spend approximately to 20 percent of their time with conflict situations. Summit record a number of both positive and negative outcome of conflict.

Positive outcomes of conflict include

• Better ideas produced
• People forced to search for new approaches
• Long-standing problems brought to the surface and resolved.
• Clarification of individual views.
• Stimulation of interests and creativity.
• A chance for people to test their capacities negative outcomes include
• Some people felt defeated and demeaned;
• The distance between people increased;
• A climate of mistruced and suspicious development
• Individuals and groups concentrated on their own narrow interest.
• Resistance developed rather than teamwork
• An increase in employee turnover.

There are basically three forms of conflict, these are: distributive, structural and human relations conflicts. Distributive conflict in a conflicts of interest between employers and employees.

Structural conflicts relate to the problems that arise form the interaction within the formal structures the organization.

Common type in characterized with different view, attitude and values. There are conflict between individual in the same group usually caused by personality, differences, or related, pressure, conflict between individuals and groups relations to the ways individuals deal with the pressure for conformity imposed on them by their group. There are inter group conflicts which characterized by competition for product market share or common resources. there are conflict with individuals arising form a person who has unresolved anxieties and identity crisis.