Conflict Resolution in Organizations: Views from the Field of Educational Administration

Abstract

The experienced public administrator is well aware that conflicts in the organization stem from many sources, are pervasive throughout the organization, and the possibilities for resolving them depend on the situation. Administrators who have been involved in conflicts in their organizations and who have attempted to resolve the problems inherent in the symptoms that produce conflicting situations also realize that many of these conflicts are a result of interorganizational differences. conflicts and conflict resolution strategies cannot be confined to the internal realm of the organization. For example, a school superintendent may be engaged in a battle with a local newspaper over an unfavorable press release. To resolve the conflict, he may try to bring legal action against the editor, to woo the educational reporter, or to restrict the access of information. His particular conflict resolution strategy will depend on what has worked in the past, who he knows at the newspaper office, the superintendent's own personality, or even on * Public officials are currently besieged with organizational conflicts, the nature of which ranges from a dissatisfied employee to a full-scale riot This article attempts to consider organizational conflicts from the administrator's point of view; thus, it outlines some methods that an administrator may use to develop a strategy for conflict resolution. The article, first of all, identifies the most common kinds of organizational conflicts. Second, it underscores the importance of differentiating between conflicts (e.g., between those that foster creative tension and those that are potentially destructive to the organization), and it presents a model for determining the degree to which they are important and should be resolved. Finally, the article presents some specific proposals for resolving organizational conflicts and summarizes these proposals by presenting the Organizational Conflict Resolution Grid. For illustrative purposes, the author will draw on his own experience with school organizations.