LOOKING AT THE FACTORS AFFECTING CONFLICT IN ORGANIZATION: AN UNDERSTUDY LEADING TO A CONCEPTUAL MODEL
The purpose of this paper is to present and group an array of factors that are affecting employee related conflicts within organizations. Understanding sources of conflict has been a subject matter that raises interest from academics, professionals and managers alike. Extant research has shown that conflict is an essential characteristic of learning organizations and a certain level of it should be tolerated as it is often the medium of knowledge transfer to and from individuals. The difficulty arises when managers do not understand, or are able to identify, the sources, the clusters and the ensuing factors generating conflict and as such their efforts to choose between resolution and managing conflict are rendered inutile and without focus. The identification and grouping or such factors becomes an imperative and needs a general framework that could be applied and adapted to each organization regardless of industry. We therefore identify the following clusters of factors affecting conflict: environmental, individual and firm related factors based on which we issue propositions and managerial implications