Organizational Role, Conflict and Stress

Role

Role - Position one occupies in a social system Defined by the functions one performs in response to the expectations of the significant members of the system & Ones own expectations Organizational Role is a set of expectations one tries to fulfill in ones organization, not just what tasks one performs
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Role as Integrating Point of Organization and Individual

Role as Region of Individual - organization Interaction

Role Episode
Role sending (by the significant others) Role taking Role receiving (by the role occupant)

Role Behavior of the individual

Influences the expectations of the role senders

Role Space Map of A

1.Self GM 2. Husband HRD Manager 3. Son, secretary sports club Subordinates 4. Personnel manager Union Leaders 5. Member HRD network Director Personnel 6. Member gymkhana club Training Director 7. Friend
self

A dynamic interrelationship between the self and the various roles an individual occupies
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Introduction: Organizational Roles

Relevance of Studying Roles

Often a performer is like a new actor playing a character, which was played by another actor in a TV serial People around us prefer constancy Performance occurs in a network of interdependent relationships with others through our roles The boss is not the only one having expectations form a performer Performance is rated in terms of expectations satisfied We cannot even begin to understand how organisations survive and grow in the face of the challenges posed by its environment, unless we understand the boundary roles played by various employees such as sales or purchase executives Finally, the concept of role performance allows the integration of the individual with the organisation

Organizational Roles Basic Definitions

Roles

A pattern of expected behaviours engaged in while performing job tasks, not necessarily defined in terms of specific job tasks The plurality of others with whom one has role relations These expectations may contain preferences with respect to specific acts, personal characteristics or styles, what that person should do, think or feel, and how that person should relate with others

Role Set

Role Expectations

Organizational Roles Basic Definitions

Sent Role The role expectations that the members of a role set have from the holder of a role, do not remain just within the role set, they get communicated in various ways to the role holder Role Pressure You can see that the role sending is not just transfer of information. It is an attempt to influence the holder of the role so that performance by him/her would be as per the expectations of the role set, these attempts to create conformity are called role pressure Role Forces The work environment of any role holder is created by his/her role set members and the role pressures sent by them

Negative Impacts on Role Performance

Role Conflict Role Ambiguity Personal Inadequacy Role Erosion Role Inadequacy Role Isolation Personal-role Conflict Role Stagnation

Organizational Role Dynamics in India

Presence of highly bureaucratic organisations with their high degree of formalization is known to create high role stress, lower organisation commitment as well as high level of alienation Alienated employees are likely to care little about their work, expend little energy on their work, and perform work only for extrinsic rewards In India it is often found that the top and the bottom parts of the organisations are more democratic, while the middle managers are not Perhaps this is so because at the top of the organisations democracy is required for successful integration, and the bottom because of the power of the unionized staff

How to Make Organizational Roles Effective

Create and Support Boundary-Spanning Roles Create and Clarify Inter-role linkages: Managing the conditions that moderate the relationship between role ambiguity and job performance Role Analysis: A Technique for Reducing Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity Helping the role holders perceive the centrality of the role Role making Role Negotiation Increasing the Person-Role Congruence coming full circle to understanding personality Role Motivation

Role Efficacy
Potential effectiveness of an individual occupying a
particular role in an organization

General sense of adequacy in a Role Integration of the person and the role

Role Making
Role Centering Role Linking

Role Efficacy- Ten Aspects

Role Making
Self-role integration Pro-activity Creativity Confrontation

Role Centering
Centrality Influence Personal growth

Role Linking
Inter-role linkage Helping relationship Super-ordination

Role Making

Role Making: Initiative to creatively design the role to integrate the expectations of both others and self Role Taking: Responding to the expectations of others
1. Self-role integration use of special strengths of occupant in
the role

2. Pro-activity taking an initiative to start new activity in the

role, rather than responding to others expectations

3. Creativity opportunity to try new and unconventional ways 4. Confrontation tendency to confront problems and find
solutions

Role Centering
How much central the role is to the organization Centrality how important the role is Influence power exercised in the role Personal growth opportunity for individual to grow and develop
in the role

Role Linking
How the role is linked to the organization Inter-role linkage Linkage of ones role with other roles in org.,
joint effort in understanding problems, finding solutions

Helping relationship opportunity to receive and give help Super-ordination opportunity to work for larger cause or superordinate goal

Three Role Interventions

Role

Efficacy Lab Role Contribution Role Negotiation

Organizational Conflict

Conflict may be defined as the disagreement between two or more individuals or groups over an issue of mutual interest. Conflicts may arise between two parties when: one party (an individual or a group) feels that the actions of the other party will either affect its interests adversely or obstruct the achievement of its goals.
The goals of both the parties differ significantly or are interpreted differently; or the basic values and philosophies of the two parties are different. Conflicts can range from small disagreements to violent acts.

SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Organizational change As people may hold different views about the change and the future direction of an organization, conflict may arise. Personality Clash Differences in their levels of maturity, emotional stability and their behavior. When they do not recognize or appreciate these differences, conflicts occur. Differences in value set Contradicting values and beliefs interact with each other Threats to status When an individual feels that another person's acts may harm or damage his image, which in turn may affect his status, conflict is likely arise. Perceptual Difference When people act as though their perception is the only reality, without attempting to understand or accept another persons view, conflict arises.

Tensions. No desire to communicate. Work not done properly. Disastrous meetings. Anger occurs quickly and easily. Failing productivity. Absenteeism. Accidents. Slipping morale. Escalating costs. Slamming doors. Shouting. Bad times.

SYMPTOMS OF CONFLICT

STAGES OF CONFLICT

LATENT CONFLICT

PERCEIVED CONFLICT
FELT CONFLICT MANIFEST CONFLICT CONFLICT OUTCOME

WIN- LOSE DYNAMIC

Win

WinWin LoseWin
Win

WinLose LoseLose
Lose

I Want To
Lose

I want you to

CLASSIFICATION OF CONFLICT
INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICT The result of tensions and frustrations within the individual Intrarole Conflict, When an incumbent receives conflicting messages from different role senders, he experiences intrarole conflict. Interrole Conflict, The conflict a person experiences because of the multiple roles he has to play in life is termed interrole conflict. Person- role Conflict, This takes place when a person in a role has to perform activities which do not fall in his value system.

CLASSIFICATION OF CONFLICT
INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICT Goal- related Conflicts Approach- approach Conflict: It happens when the incumbent is faced with two goals, both of them equally attractive but cannot be enjoyed together. Approach- avoidance Conflict: This conflict arises when a person has to choose between two goals both important, one attractive and the other unattractive, therefore, avoidable Avoidance- avoidance Conflict: This conflict is faced by incumbent who has to make a choice between two equally unattractive, but important goals.

CLASSIFICATION OF CONFLICT
INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT People always try to maintain their image and respect. When someone threatens their self concept, they try to retaliate and this leads to interpersonal conflict. Different individuals have different tolerance levels, and this depends on their personalities. Individuals with low tolerance levels get into interpersonal conflicts frequently. Often, interpersonal conflicts are the result of differences in perception and gaps in communication.

CLASSIFICATION OF CONFLICT
Intergroup Conflicts In an organization, people from different departments compete for limited resources such as funds, personnel and support services. This competition often results in conflict. Sometimes, conflicts occur when one group attempts to take the entire credit for the successful completion of a task, to the completion of which another group may have also made significant contributions. Perceived inequitable treatment in matters of working conditions, reward and status, in comparison to other groups can also lead to intergroup conflict.

CLASSIFICATION OF CONFLICT
ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT Conflict occurring between two organizations is called inter- organizational conflict. e.g. Pepsi- Cola War Corporate Takeovers, M&A can produce conflicts.

Institutionalized Conflict

Emergent Conflict

INSTITUTIONALIZED CONFLICT

Institutionalized conflicts arise due to the division of work. When two departments have mutually incompatible goals, conflicts arise between employees in these departments. Similarly, within a department, people compete for rewards, leading to conflicts among them.
Line Vs. Staff Conflict

Functional Conflict Hierarchial conflict

Individual Vs Organizational
Individual Vs Individual

EMERGENT CONFLICT
Emergent conflict arises due to social and personal reasons in an organizational environment. They have been classified into four categories:
Status Conflict Formal Vs. Informal Conflict Individual Vs. Informal group Political Conflict

SOURCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT

Scarcity of Resources Specialization Interdependence

Reciprocal Interdependence Sequential Interdependence Pooled Interdependence

Differences in Values Communication Distortions Cultural Barriers

Incompatible Goals Jurisdictional Ambiguity Incompatible Personalities Differences in Perception

Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility

Communication

Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and noise Size and specialization of jobs Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity Member/goal incompatibility Leadership styles (close or participative) Reward systems (win-lose) Dependence/interdependence of groups Differing individual value systems Personality types

Structure

Personal Variables

Stage II: Cognition and Personalization

Perceived Conflict Felt Conflict
Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness, frustration, or hostility. Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise.

Stage III: Intentions

Intentions Decisions to act in a given way.

Cooperativeness:
Attempting to satisfy the other partys concerns. Assertiveness:

Attempting to satisfy ones own concerns.

Stage III: Intentions (contd)

Competing A desire to satisfy ones interests, regardless of the impact on the other party to the conflict. Collaborating A situation in which the parties to a conflict each desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties.

Avoiding
The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict.

Stage III: Intentions (contd)

Accommodating

The willingness of one party in a conflict to place the opponents interests above his or her own.
Compromising

A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing to give up something.

Stage IV: Behavior

Conflict Management The use of resolution and stimulation techniques to achieve the desired level of conflict.

Stage V: Outcomes

Functional Outcomes from Conflict

Increased group performance

Improved quality of decisions Stimulation of creativity and innovation

Encouragement of interest and curiosity

Provision of a medium for problem-solving Creation of an environment for self-evaluation and change

Stage V: Outcomes

Dysfunctional Outcomes from Conflict

Development of discontent Reduced group effectiveness Retarded communication Reduced group cohesiveness Infighting among group members overcomes group goals

Dimensions of Conflict-Handling Intentions

Source: K. Thomas, Conflict and Negotiation Processes in Organizations, in M.D. Dunnette and L.M. Hough (eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2nd ed., vol. 3 (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1992), p. 668. With permission.

Conflict Resolution Techniques

Problem Solving Face-to-face meeting of the conflicting parties for the purpose of identifying the problem and resolving it through open discussion.
Creating a shared goal that cannot be attained without the cooperation of each of the conflicting parties. When a conflict is caused by the scarcity of a resource say, money, promotion opportunities, office space- expansion of the resources can create a win- win solution.

Super ordinate goals

Expansion of resources

Avoidance Smoothing Compromise Authoritative command Altering the human variable Altering the structural variables

Withdrawal from, or suppression of the conflict Playing down differences while emphasizing common interests between the conflicting parties.

Each party to the conflict gives up something of value. Management uses its formal authority to resolve the conflict and then communicates its desire to the parties involved Using behavioral change techniques such as human relations training to alter attitudes and behaviors that cause conflict. Changing the formal organization structure and the interaction patterns of conflicting parties through job redesign, transfers, creation of coordinating positions, and the like.

Conflict Stimulation Techniques

Communication Using ambiguous or threatening messages to increase conflict level Adding employees to group whose backgrounds, values, attitudes, or managerial styles differ from those of present members. Realigning work groups, altering rules and regulations, increasing interdependence, and making similar structural changes to disrupt status quo.

Bringing in outsiders

Restructuring the organization

Appointing a devils advocate

Designating a critic to purposely argue against the majority positions held by the group.