IMPACT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN SELECTED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN KWARA STATE
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IMPACT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN SELECTED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN KWARA STATE
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of conflict management techniques on employee performance in selected tertiary institutions in Kwara State. Three objectives were proposed, which included:
Evaluate the impact of accommodation strategy on employee commitment in tertiary institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria; investigate the impact of collaboration strategy on employee productivity in tertiary institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria; and determine the impact of compromise strategy on job satisfaction in tertiary institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria.
The study’s overall population consists of 75 selected workers from the Federal Polytechnic Offa, Kwara State Polytechnic Ilorin, and Lens Polytechnic, Offa. The researcher employed questionnaires to collect data.
The descriptive survey research design was used for this investigation. The acquired data was organised into tables and analysed using simple percentages and frequencies.
Finally, the study suggests that institutional management ensure that employees are promoted based on merit rather than sentiments, as this will not only encourage hard workers but will also lower the frequency of industrial disputes in the institutions.
The management of the institutions and government should also ensure the sanctity of all agreements signed with the unions at all times to avoid frictions and industrial crises because it has an impact on the image of the institutions and some compelling costs, especially on the students and the entire community as a whole.
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
An organisation is a recognisable social body whose members work together to achieve multiple goals while also pursuing their own personal goals and desires. Therefore, the organisation has employees, materials, and objectives that are achieved through cooperation and coordinated efforts.
However, the foundation and continued existence of any organisation requires the habitual realisation of preset established aims and objectives, as well as the ongoing and effective operation of both material and human elements.
The human components required to promote the achievement of these objectives are frequently involved in arguments and differences over interests, ideas, and management style, among other things.
This reactionary influence is referred to as conflict because of perceived incompatibilities, which are usually caused by interference or resistance. According to Azamoza (2004), conflict encompasses the entire range of behaviours and attitudes that oppose owners/managers on the one hand and workers on the other. It is a condition of dispute about substantive or emotional issues that might come from rage, mistrust, or personality clashes.
Every organization’s performance reflects and functions as a result of the combined efforts of business stakeholders who contribute in some capacity. The ability of an organisation to accept workplace diversity is critical to its success and competitiveness.
Each department brings together people from various backgrounds, each with their own unique ideas, personalities, perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, values, aspirations, and interests. Differences in goals and interests might sometimes coincide with those of other organisations, resulting in conflict.
The rising organisational connections among employees from different departments with diverse professional specialisations result in more complex and dynamic relationships inside organisations. (Zhu, 2013)
The global economic crisis that emerged in the middle of 2008 has prompted managers, strategists, and scholars to consider how to preserve long-term competitive corporate strategies.
Conflict in multinational organisations also undermines competitive strategy, causing failures in group interaction, synergy, and productivity. As a result, dispute resolution at the multinational business organisation and global leadership levels is critical to long-term stability and success.
Educational institutions in Nigeria have numerous obstacles, including a lack of resources to establish infrastructure, the payment of salaries and emoluments, and the availability of finances for research development (Alajekwu & Alajekwu, 2017).
This is particularly common in publicly owned institutions of higher learning, which rely heavily on tertiary education trust funds (TETFUND) derived from budgetary allocations to the educational sector.
However, workers at these institutions spend the majority of their productive energy and time, particularly those in charge of managing staff welfare, resolving issues that may be considered unnecessary if the correct things are done on time to prevent conflict.
The organisation cannot exist without people and physical resources to ensure that its operations perform smoothly. Thus, accomplishing organisational objectives through goal congruence is always a challenge due to conflicts of interest among employees and management. Conflicts can be “functional” and promote an organization’s goals, or “dysfunctional” and inhibit an organisation from attaining its goals.
Nonetheless, whichever kind of conflict emerges, it can have negative implications if not managed effectively. However, when managed appropriately, disagreement can enhance employee performance and boost organisational productivity. Conflict cannot be fully eliminated from human beings and their activities, whether in groups or organisations.
This suggests that as long as there is interaction among individuals in an organisation, conflict is a “necessary evil” that cannot be avoided. According to Muhammad, Imran, and Faisal (2011), in order for an organisation to grow, change, and endure, conflicts among stakeholders must be resolved.
According to the American Management Association, managers spend at least 24% of their working day managing conflicts (Guttman, 2009). This demonstrates the necessity of dispute resolution in an organisation.
Conflict in an organisation is a condition of friction generated by actual or perceived differences in requirements, beliefs, and interests among individuals who work together (Oseremen & Osemeke, 2015).
This is why it is so crucial to understand the many sorts of disputes in an organisation and to discern between those with good and negative repercussions.
Effective conflict management creates a conducive working environment for generating possibilities, stimulating creativity, and moving towards nonviolent reconciliation of basic conflicting interests.
According to Oseremen and Osemeke (2015), good conflict management improves organisational performance, increases productivity, and promotes the organization’s growth and sustainability.
Researchers and experts such as Alajekwu and Alajekwu (2017) recognised different tactics and techniques for effectively managing conflict in an organisation, including avoidance, accommodation, competitiveness, compromise, and collaboration strategies.
The avoidance tactic is known as conflict avoidance. Any organisation that employs this strategy is sitting on a keg of gunpowder. The accommodation strategy holds that no sacrifice is too great to allow peace to rule.
It is a palliative method that includes submission and appeasement. The compromise strategy requires the contending parties to give up something in order to resolve the disagreement.
The final option is collaboration, which is a win-win strategy in which conflicting parties are prepared, willing, and ready to fully satisfy each other’s expectations.
Except for the cooperation strategy, which is expressed in cooperative and assertive behaviours, all other approaches are heavily influenced by organisational structure since they provide a short-term solution to conflict situations.
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