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173
CHAPTER 11
Organizational Conflict
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, the students will have achieved the following objectives:
• Understand a definition of conflict
• Know the major types of conflict in organizations
• Define Intraorganizational conflict.
• Know the types of intraorganizational conflict
• Define Interorganizational conflict
organizations
• Understand the role of conflict in organizations
KEY TERMS
accommodating behavior
assertiveness
avoiding behavior
collaborating behavior
competing behavior
compromising behavior
conflict aftermath
conflict management
constituent pressure
contextual-modification
intra-organizational conflict
latent conflict
line/staff conflict
manifest conflict
perceived conflict
personal characteristics
personal conflict
process intervention
relationship conflict
role conflict
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Conflict Defined
A. Conflict is a dynamic process in which two or more individuals in an organization
interact in such a way as to produce “conflict episodes” that may or may not lead to
hostile behaviors.
B. Conflict in organizations can be understood:
1. by exploring the antecedent conditions of conflict, such as
2. as producing affective states in workers, such as
3. from the individual employees’ cognitive states;
4. by exploring the conflict behavior itself.
C. Conflict may also be examined at multiple levels.
1. the intraindividual level
3. the group level
II. Types of Conflict
A. There are four types of conflict in organizations.
1. Personal conflict exists within the individual and usually is some form of goal or
cognitive conflict, often resulting from not meeting one’s expectations.
3. Intraorganizational conflict is generated by the structural makeup of an
organization—that is, by formal authority in the organization and how it is
delegated. Intraorganizational conflict consists of:
4. Interorganizational conflict occurs when there is a common purpose among
different organizational units but disagreement as how that purpose will be
achieved.
B. A conflict episode consists of five stages.
1. The latent conflict stage occurs when the conditions that are the underlying
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2. The perceived conflict stage occurs when at least one of the two parties recognize
that a conflict situation exists.
4. The manifest conflict stage is characterized by overt or covert behavior to bring
out the conflict.
5. In the conflict aftermath stage, if the antecedent conditions (competition for
scarce resources, drives for autonomy, and divergent subunit goals) are dealt with
in a satisfactory manner, the conflict will dissolve.
C. Conflict behaviors
1. Conflict has two dimensions.
3. Competing behavior (assertive, uncooperative) occurs when one is willing to
place one’s own concerns above the concerns of the other individual.
5. Avoiding behavior (unassertive, uncooperative) neglects both one’s own concerns
and the concerns of the other individual.
6. Collaborating behavior (assertive, cooperative) attempts to satisfy the demands
7. Compromising behavior (intermediate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness)
seeks the middle ground. People who exhibit this type of conflict behavior realize
that you cannot always get what you want and recognize that for the conflict to be
resolved there must be some give and take by both sides.
III. Conflict Management
A. Process interventions fall into two categories.
2. Interaction management occurs when a supervisor intervenes directly in the
conflict situation between two subordinates, suggesting how the two parties can
change their behaviors to resolve this conflict and avoid future conflicts.
B. Organizational conditions that can be altered by process interventions from
administrators and managers include the following.
1. Personal characteristics
3. Constituent pressure
5. Power and status
7. Structural Interventions
9. Contextual-modification interventions
C. Administrators have to accept that sometimes they will not be able to handle a
conflict situation.
D. Conflict management deals with all three dimensions of conflict outcomes.
1. Goal attainment by conflicting parties.
3. Economy of time and effort
IV. The Role of Conflict in Organizations
A. Conflict in criminal justice organizations can be both beneficial and harmful.
B. Much of the conflict that occurs in the components of the criminal justice system is
good in the sense that it promotes change in those organizations.
1. Conflict makes the system responsive to the demands of a changing environment.
2. Conflict in criminal justice organizations seems inevitable given the fact of
frequently incompatible goals.
C. Conflict can also be harmful.
D. Conflict in criminal justice organizations is, however, a normal process, and
eliminating it is not only unrealistic but also counterproductive to their long-term
health.
E. Conflict management programs need to be developed to train managers and
administrators how to manage conflict effectively.
V. A Case Study in Conflict
A. One study on organizational conflict was conducted in Warren County where officers
were assigned to a multijurisdictional drug unit.
2. The county had over fifteen cities, each of which had fairly stable communities.
3. However, the introduction of crystal methedrine, or crystal meth, had changed the
positive perceptions of the county.
B. A plan was devised to create a multijurisdictional unit to crack down on the
clandestine laboratories creating the crystal meth.
2. Budget and supervision issues arose as talks proceeded.
4. Further, disagreements on how laboratory raids would be conducted began to
surface.
C. Structural problems and conflicts began to emerge.
1. Many officers lacked the training necessary to raid labs that utilized hazardous
materials.
3. Fire departments were initially reluctant to share information and communicate
freely with organizations they had little interaction with in the past.
D. The media began to look into the effectiveness of the multijurisdictional unit and
published reports showing unfavorable data.
1. Reporters discovered that the unit was involved in the investigation of crime not
necessarily part of the unit’s responsibility.
E. Eventually, a raid was ordered, but conducted on the wrong home due to
miscommunications. A civil trial found the county liable for damages.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter discussed the concept of conflict and applied it to the criminal justice system. There
are stages in the conflict process and various ways of understanding conflict behaviors. Conflict
is endemic to criminal justice organizations, and it is an intricate process. Conflict must be
viewed beyond the boundaries of the organization as an interorganizational phenomenon.
Conflict may also be examined at multiple levels including the intraindividual level; the dyadic
level; and the group level.
Administrators of criminal justice systems today constantly deal with conflicts that arise
among them as system actors. System interactions produce conflicts among the components, and
it is the responsibility of administrators to deal with such conflicts.
Effective criminal justice administration demands the proper management of conflict. We
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Describe a potential conflict situation in a criminal justice setting. Suggest possible ways
this conflict could be managed. Also, describe what you believe the role of a criminal
justice administrator should be in such a situation, and why. Is there a specific conflict
behavior that would be useful to deal with this conflict situation, and what is it?
2. Choose a conflict situation in one of the components of the criminal justice system and
describe its various stages. Identify the stage at which you think the conflict could be
managed, and what is the supervisor’s role in the management process. Moreover, are
there conflict situations beyond the control of the immediate supervisor? If so, mention a
3. Interorganizational conflict is common in the criminal justice system. Suggest methods
that administrators can employ to decrease this conflict. Is interorganizational conflict in
the criminal justice system inevitable?
4. Invite the local police chief to class to discuss the conflicts that arise in his or her
department. Ask the chief to describe the methods employed to decrease conflict. Finally,
ask about the department’s position on the role of conflict management programs in
policing. Do you think such programs are useful in reducing conflict?
5. Discuss a conflict that you may have had with a family member or friend. Can you see
yourself processing through the stages of conflict? What emotions did you experience
during the conflict? How was the conflict resolved?
DISCUSSION TOPICS/STUDENT ACTIVITIES
1. Form the students into three groups. Give the groups 20 minutes to analyze the case study
2. Have the students discuss strategies to resolve a conflict favorably for both parties
and apply it to a criminal justice example.
4. Have the students discuss the difference between interorganizational conflict and intra-
organizational conflict, and give examples of each.
5. Select a student, or students to act as a Chief Probation Officer. Have the remaining
students present a conflict to the Chief, such as office coverage when other officers are in
the field, or how the implementation of a new drug testing protocol will operate. Note the
areas of conflict and facilitate discussion with the students.
INTERNET CONNECTIONS
1. Access the Bacal & Associates Business & Management Supersite at
3. Visit the Legal Directory Website and review their articles on the federal government’s
Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, available at http://www.hg.org/adr.html
4. Navigate to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/programs/yvp_schools.htm and view the Office of
5. Visit the National Police Research Platform for a 2011 article about a program utilized by
