TURIZAM

Volume 21, Issue 1

45–64 (2017)
ORIGINAL
SCIENTIFIC PAPER Impact of Organizational Conflict on Employee Job
Performance in Selected Hotels (in Lagos Nigeria)

Nwokorie Edwin ChigozieA

Received: February 2017 | Accepted: April 2017
DOI: 10.18421/TRZ21.01-04

Abstract
Three first class establishments in Lagos Nigeria were investigated with a study population
of 122 from which a sample size of 110 was drawn to model the impact of organizational con-
flict on employee job performance in the hotel industry. A 61 point questionnaire was prepared,
using a four-point Likert rating scale for data collection. Data was analyzed using inferen-
tial statistics and hypotheses were tested in Chi-square statistics. Results showed that unclear
responsibilities, poor reward system, and lack of group cohesiveness, are responsible for organi-
zational conflicts; with the consequential impact on employee job commitment, service quality,
customer satisfaction and organizational performance, whereas outcomes generate influence
on employee job satisfaction and job performance, thus creating turnover intentions and fur-
ther generating organizational conflict. The research suggests a strengthened supportive mech-
anism from the human resource department and forestalling distrust among working groups,
which will reduce the impact of work stressors on psychological states.
Keywords: customer satisfaction, employee performance, employee turnover, hotel industry,
organizational conflict.

Introduction

Extensive studies in human resource management have expressly addressed the issue of organ-
izational conflict and its negative impact on various facets of the hospitality industry; as the
excessive level of organizational conflict has become one of the primary concerns in the lodg-
ing and food service industry (Ku, 2007). The most prominent effects are the quality of the
products and services, excessive expenses incurred as a result of recruitment and replacement
resulting from employee turnover, and most importantly, the loss of profit due to poor overall
organizational performance (Berta, 2004). Ku (2007) equally stated that the hospitality indus-
try is experiencing an all-time high turnover rate compared with other industries, and is doing
a less favourable job in managing turnover.
Since the characteristics of each industry are different from others and the reasons employ-
ees leave that specific industry are complex, some factors leading to employees’ intention to

A
Department of Hospitality Management and Technology, The Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, Nigeria, eddygozie@gmail.com

45
 Impact of Organizational Conflict on Employee Job Performance
in Selected Hotels (in Lagos Nigeria)

leave in one industry may not necessarily apply to the others. It has been presented evidently
that job-content factors are significantly related to turnover (Ku, 2007), and their relationships
to job satisfaction are also associated with turnover. However, there is no consensus on the
consequences of turnover in the hospitality industry hence, this study investigated the impact
of organizational conflict on employee job performance and its implication on service quali-
ty, customer satisfaction, employee job satisfaction and employees’ intention to leave; and the
causes of organizational conflicts in the hospitality industry.
Given that there are very high and unacceptable rates of employee turnover in the hospitali-
ty industry, it is imperative to minimize the role of conflict as a causal effect. Although conflict
does (and in some cases should) occur, it should not lead to an employee seeking to terminate his
employment. Employee turnover in the hospitality industry is a major problem on a global scale
(Nicolaides, 2010) and this is why organizational conflict management should be minimized.

Research Objectives
This study examined the impact of organizational conflict on employee job performance, how
organizational conflicts arise in a hospitality organization, which when discovered will ulti-
mately expose how they can be effectively forestalled by managers at various levels.
The specific objectives were to;
1. Evaluate the impact of organizational conflict on employee job performance.
2. Evaluate the impact of organizational conflict on the performance of a hospitality
organization.
3. Examine how organizational conflict can impact on the behaviour of employees’ job
commitment which may likely influence service quality and customer satisfaction.
4. Examine the relationship between organizational conflict and employees’ intention to
leave the job.

Research Hypotheses
H1: There are no significant impact of organizational conflict on employee job performance in
the hospitality industry.
H2: There are no significant impact of organizational conflict on the overall performance of
the hospitality organization.
H3: Behaviours of employee poor commitment have no negative effect on service quality and
customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry.
H4: There is no significant relationship between organizational conflicts and employees’
intention to leave the job.

Review of Related Literature

Empirical Literature
The relationship between organizational conflicts and employee turnover and the conse-
quence has been well document and reveals, for instance, that high employee turnover hurt
both organizations and their remaining employees in terms of work performance and job dis-
ruption (Scott, et al., 1999; Ku, 2007). Moreover, considerable research has been devoted to

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 Nwokorie Edwin Chigozie

addressing the issue related to organizational conflict and employee turnover both empirical-
ly and theoretically. For instance, studies have examined the impact and causes of turnover
(Birdir, 2002; Hinkin, Tracey, 2000; Simons, Hinkin, 2001), and numerous predictive and turn-
over path models and their relationships with various antecedents (Maertz, Griffeth, 2004;
Tett, Mayer, 1993).
a) Role Conflict: According to Stryker and Macke (2008), the term “role conflict” has been
applied to different conceptual process aspects, such as “(1) competing demands aris-
ing from different parts of a given role set, (2) conflicting reactions of the same individ-
uals to the same types of behaviours, (3) differences in the expectations of others and (4)
differences between role expectations and individuals’ self-concepts”. This study focus-
es only on that aspect of role conflict defined by temporal convergences of competing
demands arising from different roles; for example, work and family. In other words, role
conflict occurs when demands associated with one role interfere directly with one’s
ability to satisfy the demand of another role.
Empirical studies on the consequences of role conflict have been conducted in com-
plex organization settings exploring the effect of role conflict on psychological health
(Behrman, Perreault, 2004; Boles, Babin, 2006; Dubinsky, Hartley, 2006), work-relat-
ed attitudes and behaviour (Bedeian, Amenakis, 2001; Good, et al, 1998). Furthermore,
most turnover models have postulated that, role conflict, role ambiguity, and role over-
load will ultimately relate to the explanation of turnover directly or indirectly (Bedeian,
Amenakis, 2001).
In different analytical framework, the relationship between role conflict and job related
attitudes and behaviours is inconsistent. Bedeian and Armenakis (2001) and Netemey-
er, Johnston, and Burton (2000) reported weak causal paths from role conflict to pro-
pensity to leave; and Bedeian, Burke and Meffett (2008) further reported the relation-
ship between role conflict and job satisfaction was not significant.
b) Role Ambiguity: Spector (1997) wrote that, “Role ambiguity is the degree of certain-
ty the employee has about what his or her functions and responsibilities are”. There are
two sources of ambiguity as stated by Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, and Rosenthal (2004).
Objective ambiguity is due to the lack of information needed for role definition and role
performance, while subjective ambiguity is associated with the social and psychologi-
cal aspects of role performance (Woods, Macaulay, 2009).
Numerous studies have indicated that role ambiguity was found to be significantly neg-
atively related to job satisfaction (Baroudi, 2005). However, in the relationship between
role ambiguity and intention to leave, different results were found that role ambiguity
was the most dysfunctional variable in turnover intention (Bedeian, Armenakis, 2001;
Netemeyer, et al., 2000), while a couple of studies stated that there was a weak causal
relationship between role ambiguity and propensity to leave (Bedeian, Armenakis, 2001;
Behrman, Perreault, 2004). In order to further enhance the understanding of the con-
sequences of role conflict and ambiguity for work related attitudes and outcomes, stud-
ies also suggested that there are additional factors, such as different work settings, dif-
ferences in contexts, and tasks that need to be incorporated in future research (Hecht,
2011; Hood, Millazzo, 2013).
c) Work Schedule: Studies on the impact of shiftwork on personal/family life have demon-
strated the disruptive influence on physical and mental health problems (Schulz, et al.,
2007). In most organizational settings, hours worked, especially during weekends and
weeknights, have been found to be significantly correlated with turnover intentions

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 Impact of Organizational Conflict on Employee Job Performance
in Selected Hotels (in Lagos Nigeria)

and provided the explanation of a large percentage of the variance in intention to leave
(Almer, Kaplan, 2000; Orpen, 2001; Woods, Macaulay, 2009).
The relationship between work scheduling and the work related outcomes, such as
unfavourable turnover has been one of the major concerned subjects when the human
resource personnel is considering the employee retention programme (Schulz, et al.,
2007). Furthermore, weekend and weeknight hours worked, along with job satisfaction,
were found to have direct linkages with turnover intentions (Jamal, 2001). The same
implication that shiftwork was related to withdrawal behaviour was found in the study
of nurses and industrial workers (Kazerooni, 2005). The hospitality industry, which has
a notorious history of long hours and low pay, has different assessments regarding the
influence of working hours and shifts (Nwokorie, Ezeibe, 2016).
d) Pay Satisfaction: Pay satisfaction is assumed to be predictive of absenteeism and turn-
over (Cotton, Tuttle, 2006; Guthrie, 2000; Lum, et al., 2008). A number of studies have
included pay satisfaction as a component of job satisfaction (Lum, et al., 2008). Allen,
Drevs, and Ruhe (2009) found that one of the top three reasons employees leave their
organizations is the opportunity for higher pay at another organization. Pay dissatis-
faction often leads to decreased motivation, morale, and work quality (Leonard, 2001).
Pay satisfaction has been identified as a determinant to job satisfaction, organization-
al commitment and behavioural intentions to leave the organization (Lum, et al., 2008).
Pay is often used in organizations to motivate employees (Lum, et al., 2008). Employ-
ees view it as an important reward or outcome. Consequences of pay dissatisfaction
include negative employee behaviours (Lum, et al., 2008). Such behaviours are turnover,
absenteeism, willingness to strike, and lowered job performance. In the hotel industry,
Woods, Heck and Sciarini (2008) found that rate of pay was the top reason of the most
important internal causes of turnover. In addition, the major cause of the most impor-
tant external causes of turnover was “better pay elsewhere” (Woods, et al., 2008).
e) Intention to Leave: Fishbein and Ajzen (1985) proposed a turnover model based on the
theory of planned behaviours. Fishbein and Ajzen postulated that the belief an indi-
vidual may have is related to the person’s attitude, and would finally lead to a specif-
ic action. Mitchel, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Ere (2001) agreed that the Fishbein and
Ajzen attitude model was based on the premise that “employees’ behaviours could be
influenced by the extent to which other people expected them to behave in a certain
manner and is further reinforced by personal motivation on the person’s part to com-
ply with such expectations”.
Due to the difficulty of predicting actual turnover before it occurs, the best alterna-
tive would be to measure variables that consistently and immediately precede vol-
untary turnover, such as employees’ intention to quit (Lambert, et al., 2001). Spencer,
Steers and Mowday (2003) agreed that the Fishbein and Ajzen attitude theory might
have a superior ability to predict turnover, compared to several other models. Richer,
Blanchard and Vallerand (2002) whose study was based on a motivational theory also
confirmed that overtime, turnover intentions translate into actual turnover behaviour.
f) Employee Job Performance and Satisfaction: The performance of an employee in a
given organization can be affected by a variety of reasons including long working hours
which has become a traditional norm in the hospitality industry (Nwokorie, 2016). Fur-
thermore, working couples with children are experiencing more imbalance in work and
family life and desire to reduce the working hours in the industry (Maqsood, et al., 2012).
Similarly, Deutsch, Coleman and Marcus (2011) wrote that ‘when the employee con-

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 Nwokorie Edwin Chigozie

sistently faces work-family conflict, he is exposed to emotional exhaust and this ulti-
mately drags the employee to turnover intentions, and job performance is also affected.
The experience of negative work-to-home disturbance is linked with the less employ-
ees’ capability to deal with both realms and cheaper fulfilment with work-family stabil-
ity (Hecht, 2011).
g) Work Family Conflict and Intention to Leave: There is a consensus in the litera-
ture regarding the way work-family conflict considerations affect turnover intention
either directly or moderating; however, few turnover models have addressed work-fam-
ily conflicts as an important factor in the turnover process (Howard, et al., 2004; Lin-
den, 2005). Regardless of applying various turnover models and different theoretical ori-
entations, intention to quit and absenteeism have been linked to work-family conflict,
and several studies have revealed a significant relationship between work-family con-
flict and intention to leave. Good, Page, and Young (1996) found a direct relationship
between work-family conflict and intention to leave among entry-level retail managers
but not the upper-level group. Good, et al. (1998) reported that although the relation-
ship between work-family conflict and intention to leave was positive, it was quite weak.
In addition, Boyar, Maertz, Pearson and Keough (2003) further examined the effect of
work-family conflict and family-work conflict on turnover intentions separately and
found that both were significant in predicting turnover intentions.

Conflict of Interest Role Conflict

Triggers Work Scheduling Pay Satisfaction

Role Ambiguity Work Family Conflict

Employee Commitment Service Quality

Customer Satisfaction Organizational Performance

Reactions

Employee Job Satisfaction Employee Performance

Impact Intention to Leave Organizational Conflict

Figure 1. Research Model (Adopted from Ku, 2007)

Methodology

The research model developed for the study utilized a three-stage quantitative approach and
a cross-sectional survey research design. The study employed a questionnaire (using a four-
point Likert rating scale) which was premised upon relevant literature and survey models of
past researchers to create the new instrument. To this end, the questionnaire was prepared

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 Impact of Organizational Conflict on Employee Job Performance
in Selected Hotels (in Lagos Nigeria)

in 10 sub-scales, in the three-stage approach, to address the research objectives and form the
basis for testing the research hypotheses. The elements in the sub-scale were determinants of
personal employee performance and turnover intentions-related decisions such as; job stress-
ors, customer friendliness, family support, and pay expectations; and were adopted from previ-
ous research, as follows: conflict of interest and causes of conflict (Rizzo, et al., 1970), role con-
flict (Bedeian, Amenakis, 2001; Good, et al., 1998), work scheduling (Wood, Macaulay, 2009;
Schulz, et al., 2007; Nwokorie, Ezeibe, 2016), pay satisfaction (Lum, et al., 2008), work-fami-
ly conflict (Good, et al., 1998; Maertz, et al., 2003), employee job satisfaction (Nwokorie, 2016;
Hecht, 2011), service quality and customer satisfaction (Nwokorie, Ezeibe, 2016), organization-
al performance (Ku, 2007), and intention to leave (Mitchel, et al., 2001; Lambert, et al., 2001).

Population of Study
The population for this study consists of management staff, frontline employees at various lev-
els of the industry as well as customers of the study establishments. The employees’ positions
cut across various types of managerial and customer service roles. This is considered to be well
represented across job classifications and can serve the research purpose regarding the char-
acteristic of the target population’s organizational role. The choice to study the establishments
was premised on their perceived standard as first class hotels in the country.

Sample Size
The target population is made up of 34 frontline employees, 38 management employees, and 50
customers of the selected establishments. The determination of the sample size is based on the
122 study population and was determined using the Taro Yamen formula, which is thus stated:
N
n=
1 + N (e )2

where:
n = sample size
N = finite population
1 = constant
e = correction factor level (level of significance of error assumed to be 0.05) (Schawnms, 1994).

Table 1. Population of Frontline Employees

Section Hotel A Hotel B Hotel C Total
Front Office 4 4 6 14
Food Service 3 3 4 10
Reservation 3 4 3 10
Grand Total 10 11 13 34

Source: Field survey, 2017

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Table 2. Population of Managers/Management Staff

Section Hotel A Hotel B Hotel C Total
Front Office 4 4 4 12
Housekeeping 3 3 3 9
Food Service 3 3 3 9
Reservation 2 3 3 8
Grand Total 12 13 13 38

Source: Field survey, 2017

Table 3. Population of Customers

Section Hotel A Hotel B Hotel C Total
16 19 15 50
Grand Total 16 19 15 50

Source: Field survey, 2017

a) Frontline Employees

34
n=
1 + N (0.05)2
34
n=
1 + (34 ⋅ 0.0025)
34
n=
1 + 0.085
34
n=
1.085
n = 31

b) Management/Senior Staff

38
n=
1 + N (0.05)2
38
n=
1 + (38 ⋅ 0.0025)
38
n=
1 + 0.095
38
n=
1.095
n = 35

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 Impact of Organizational Conflict on Employee Job Performance
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c) Customers

50
n=
1 + N (0.05)2
50
n=
1 + (50 ⋅ 0.0025)
50
n=
1 + 0.125
50
n=
1.125
n = 44

Analysis of Data

Response Rate
A total of 110 questionnaires were delivered to the respondents which resulted to 100% effec-
tive sample size. About 108 questionnaires were returned, yielding a raw response rate of 98.2%.
Net effective response rate was also 98.2%. Unusable number of responses were (four) found
among those of the customer responses, while total number of usable questionnaires were 105,
representing a usable response rate of 97.2%, while the net response rate was 95.5% as present-
ed in Table 4.

Table 4. Response Rate

Total number of surveys 110
Number not delivered 0
Percentage not delivered 0%
Effective sample size1 110
Surveys returned 108 (65 employees & 43 customers)
Raw response rate2 98.2%
Net effective response rate 3
98.2%
Number unusable 3 (customers’ response)
Net number usable 105
Usable response rate4 97.2%
Net response rate5 95.5%

Notes: 1: Total number of surveys minus number not delivered; 2: Surveys returned ÷ total number of surveys; 3: Surveys
returned ÷ effective sample size; 4: Net number usable ÷ effective sample size; 5: Net number usable ÷ total number of
surveys
Source: Field Survey, 2017

Characteristics of Sample
Eighteen out of the 35 members of the managers were male respondents (51.4%) while 17 (48.6%)
of the management staff were females. The 31 frontline employees were made up of 15 (48.4%)
male respondents and 16 (51.6%) females. Out of 44 customers, 28 (55.5%) were males while 16
of them were females, representing 36.4% as presented in Table 5.

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Table 5. Characteristics of Sample

Strata of Sample Male % Male Female % Female Sub-(total) % Total
Managers 18 51.4 17 48.6 35 100
Frontline employees 15 48.4 16 51.6 31 100
Customers 28 63.6 16 36.3 44 100
Total 61 65.55 49 45.55 110 100

n=110; Source: Field Survey, 2017

Respondents Distribution by Establishments

From the 105 usable responses, Hotel ‘A’ has nine frontline employees (8.6% respondents), 12
managers (11.4% respondents) and 12 customers (11.4% respondents). Hotel ‘B’ provided 10
frontline employees (9.5% respondents), 11 managers (10.5% respondents), and 14 customers
(13.3% respondents). Comparatively, Hotel ‘C’ has 12 frontline employees (11.4% respondents), 11
managers (10.5% respondents), and 14 customers (13.3% respondents). See Table 6.

Table 6. Respondents Distribution by Establishments

Frontline % of Managers % of Customers % of Σ
Selected Hotel
Employees (r1) (r1) (r2) (r2) (r3) (3) (r)
Hotel A 9 8.6 12 11.4 12 11.4 31.4
Hotel B 10 9.5 11 10.5 14 13.3 33.3
Hotel C 12 11.4 11 10.5 14 13.3 33.3
Total 31 29.5 34 32.4 40 38.1 100

n=105; Source: Field Survey, 2017.

Analyses of Responses
Means (X) and standard deviation (SD) were calculated for data generated from field survey, as
presented in Table 7, which is determined by;

( X − X )2
∑ n −1

Where:
X = each data in the set
X = Mean
n = total number of data in the set (Oloyo, 2001). Hence,

X is given by:

∑ FX
F

while SD is given by:

X−X
n

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 Impact of Organizational Conflict on Employee Job Performance
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Therefore, item 1a in Table 7, for instance, is thus calculated;

F X FX (X – X) (X – X)2
21 4 84 0.45 0.20
8 3 24 -0.55 0.30
0 2 0 -3.55 12.6
2 1 2 -2.55 6.5
31 4 110 19.6

19.6
X = 3.55 SD = SD = 1.11
4

Table 7. Analyses of Responses from Questionnaire

Responses
Statement
SA (%) A (%) D (%) SD (%) Mean Std. Deviation
1. Conflict of Interest Sub-scale (n = 31)
8 2
a. Group Conflict 21 (67.7) - 3.55 1.11
(25.8) (6.5)
8 3
b. Incompatible Requests 20 (64.5) - 3.45 0.73
(25.8) (9.7)
8
c. Resentment Among Employees 13 (41.9) - 10 (32.3) 2.61 0.56
(25.8)
8
d. Staff-guest Conflict 12 (38.7) 11 (35.5) - 3.13 0.65
(25.8)
4 7
e. Workplace Tension 20 (64.6) - 2.91 0.6
(12.8) (22.6)
2. Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity Sub-scale (n = 31)
2 3
a. Authority Assurance 15 (48.4) 11 (35.5) 1.87 0.64
(6.4) (9.7)
6 4 16
b. Unclear Objectives 5 (16.2) 2.35 0.56
(19.3) (12.9) (5.6)
c. Loss of Ideas 14 (45.1) 17 (54.9) - - 3.45 0.73
2
d. Inadequate Manpower 15 (48.4) 14 (45.2) - 3.42 0.72
(6.4)
4 1
e. Role Clarity 14 (45.2) 12 (38.7) 1.90 0.63
(12.9) (3.2)
4 3
f. Policy Inflexibility 18 (58.1) 6 (19.3) 3.09 0.63
(12.9) (9.7)
3
g. Inadequate Resources 16 (51.6) 12 (38.7) - 3.13 0.64
(9.7)
3 6
h. Clear-cut Assignment 15 (48.4) 7 (22.6) 2.16 0.59
(9.7) (19.3)
3. Work Scheduling Sub-scale (n = 31)
7 2 2
a. Unstable Working Hours 20 (64.5) 3.45 0.73
(22.5) (6.5) (6.5)
b. Excessive Stress 19 (61.3) - 12 (38.7) - 3.23 0.67

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Responses
Statement
SA (%) A (%) D (%) SD (%) Mean Std. Deviation
9 8
c. Weekend Job Strain 14 (45.2) - 3.19 0.66
(29.0) (25.8)
d. Shiftwork and Poor Leisure 17 (54.8) 10 (32.3) - 4 (12.9) 3.29 0.68
4. Pay Satisfaction Sub-scale (n = 31)
2 5
a. Pay and Benefit Packages 24 (77.4) - 1.29 0.82
(6.5) (16.1)
b. Low Pay Replacement 19 (61.3) - 12 (38.7) - 3.23 0.67
c. Pay Dissatisfaction 19 (61.3) - 12 (38.7) - 3.23 0.67
8 2
d. Salary Advancement Certainty - 21 (67.7) 1.58 0.72
(25.8) (6.5)
5. Work-Family Conflict Sub-scale (n = 31)
a. Work-Private-Life Conflict 12 (38.7) 14 (45.2) 5 (16.1) - 3.23 0.67
9
b. Pressure from Family Responsibility 22 (71.0) - - 3.42 0.72
(29.0)
9
c. Lack of Support to Family Activities 22 (71.0) - - 3.42 0.72
(29.0)
d. Perceived Home Stressors 19 (61.3) - 12 (38.7) - 3.23 0.67
e. Zero Job Stressors - 12 (38.7) 19 (61.3) - 2.39 0.56
6. Employee Job Commitment Sub-scale (n = 31)
1
a. Lack of Employee Job Involvement 17 (54.9) 13 (41.9) 3.61 0.79
(3.2)
4
b. Negative Career Identity 11 (35.5) 16 (51.6) - 3.23 0.67
(12.9)
c. Job Satisfaction - 10 (32.3) - 21 (67.7) 1.65 0.70
d. Job Displeasure 21 (67.7) - 10 (32.3) - 3.35 0.70
7. Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Sub-scale (n = 40)
8
a. Poor Staff-guest Relationship 18 (45.0) 14 (35.0) - 3.25 0.67
(20.0)
5 2
b. Poor Overall Customer Satisfaction 20 (50.0) 13 (32.5) 3.26 0.70
(12.5) (5.0)
2
c. Charges for Quality Service 5 (12.5) 10 (25.0) 23 (57.5) 1.73 0.68
(5.0)
3
d. Employee Friendliness 5 (12.5) 12 (30.0) 20 (50.0) 1.83 0.65
(7.5)
e. Service Inefficiency 12 (30.0) 16 (40.0) 12 (30.0) - 3.0 0.61
8. Organizational Performance Sub-scale (n = 34)
a. Occupancy Level Non-improvement 16 (47.06) 9 (26.47) 9 (26.47) - 3.21 0.66
b. High Revenue From Occupancy - 11 (32.3) 16 (47.1) 7 (20.6) 2.12 0.59
9. Intention to Leave Sub-scale (n = 31)
5
a. Turnover Culture 16 (51.6) 10 (32.3) - 3.35 0.70
(16.1)
b. Organizational Loyalty - 5 (16.1) 10 (32.3) 16 (51.6) 1.65 0.70
3
c. Action Tendency Measure 13 (41.9) 15 (48.4) - 3.32 0.69
(9.7)

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Responses
Statement
SA (%) A (%) D (%) SD (%) Mean Std. Deviation
8 7
d. Retention Tendency - 16 (51.6) 1.74 0.68
(25.8) (22.6)
10. Causes of Conflict Sub-scale (n = 34)
5
a. Pressure from Unclear Responsibilities 17 (50.0) 12 (35.3) - 3.35 0.70
(14.7)
5
b. Adequate Reward System - 11 (32.4) 18 (52.9) 1.62 0.71
(14.7)
1
c. Family Influence 25 (73.53) 8 (23.53) - 3.71 0.82
(2.94)
5
d. Recurrent Customer Complaint 17 (50.0) 12 (35.3) - 3.35 0.70
(14.7)
e. Employee Confrontation 14 (41.18) 15 (44.12) 4 (11.76) 1 (2.94) 3.24 0.67
f. Irregularities in work Settings - 26 (76.47) 8 (23.53) - 2.76 0.57

Source: Field Survey, 2017.

Scale Code: SA = Strongly Agreed; A = Agreed; D = Disagreed; SD = Strongly Disagreed.
Decision Rule: Respondents disagree if Mean ≤ 2.49; Respondents agree if Mean ≥ 2.50.
Decision is based on effective sample size (≤ 100) for each sub-scale (Egbulonu, 2001)

Test of Hypotheses
The Chi-square is calculated as:

(Oi − Ei )2
x 2 = ∑ i =1
m
(Bladock, 1998)
Ei

Level of significance for hypotheses test is at 5%, meaning that the probability of rejection
of each hypothesis or if it is true; that is, type 1 error, is fixed at; 0.05.
Decision: The statistical representation of decision rule is given that if X2 cal > X2 tab,
reject H0. Rejecting H0 means that there is significant relationship between two variables,
while accepting it means that there is no significant relationship between two variables.Simi-
lar test method was applied in the test of the hypotheses. In testing H1 for instance;

Table 8. Contingency Table for Hypothesis One

From Table 9 SA & A D & SD Row Total
6a 30 1 31
6b 27 4 31
6c 10 21 31
6d 21 10 31
Column Total 88 36 124
Grand Total 124

Source: Tables 9 (item 6 a,b,c,d) Field Survey; 2017

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The expected value “E” is calculated using the compound proportion model, according to
Ogoamaka (1998):

(rt ∙ ct) / gt

Where: rt = row total; ct = column total; gt = grand total

From Table 7 (6a)

yes: E = (31 ∙ 88) / 124 = 22
no: E = (31 ∙ 36) / 124 = 9

From Table 7 (6b)

yes: E = (31 ∙ 88) / 124 = 22
no: E = (31 ∙ 36) / 124 = 9

From Table 7 (6c)

yes: E = (31 ∙ 88) / 124 = 22
no: E = (31 ∙ 36) / 124 = 9

From Table 7 (6d)

yes: E = (31 ∙ 88) / 124 = 22
no: E = (31 ∙ 36) / 124 = 9

Table 9. Statistical Table for Hypothesis One

O E 0–E (O – E)2 (O – E)2 / E
31 22 9 81 3.7
1 9 -8 64 7.1
27 22 5 25 1.14
4 9 -5 25 2.8
21 22 -1 1 0.05
10 9 1 1 0.11
10 22 -12 144 6.5
21 9 12 144 16.1
X 2 Value 37.5

Source: Field Survey, 2017.

Critical Value: (r – 1) (c – 1)
(4– 1) (2 – 1)
(3) (1)
df = 3

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Table 10. Statistical Table for Hypothesis Two

O E 0–E (O – E)2 (O – E)2÷E
25 18 7 49 2.7
9 16 -7 49 3.1
11 18 -7 49 2.7
23 16 7 49 3.1
X2 Value 11.6

Source: Field Survey, 2017.

Table 11. Statistical Table for Hypothesis Three

O E 0–E (O – E)2 (O – E)2 / E
32 21.6 10.4 108.16 5.01
8 18.4 -10.4 108.16 5.9
33 21.6 11.4 129.96 6.02
7 18.4 -11.4 129.96 7.1
7 21.6 -14.6 213.16 9.9
33 18.4 14.6 213.16 11.6
8 21.6 -13.6 184.96 8.6
32 18.4 13.6 184.96 10.1
28 21.6 6.4 40.96 1.9
12 18.4 -6.4 40.96 2.23
X 2 Value 68.36

Source: Field Survey, 2017.

Table 12. Statistical Table for Hypothesis Four

O E 0–E (O – E)2 (O – E)2 / E
26 16.8 9.2 84.6 5.04
5 14.3 -9.3 86.5 6.05
5 16.8 -11.8 139.2 8.29
26 14.3 11.7 136.9 9.57
28 16.8 11.2 125.4 7.46
3 14.3 -11.3 127.7 8.93
8 16.8 -8.8 77.4 4.61
23 14.3 8.7 75.7 5.29
X 2 Value 55.24

Source: Field Survey, 2017.

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Result of findings

A three-stage research model for causes, behaviours and outcomes of organizational conflict in
the hospitality industry was proposed for the study. The first stage elicits the major variables that
cause organizational conflict in the hospitality industry (Table 7, item 1 to 5) and the subsequent
areas of impact of the conflict variables, which translate to a number of factors; like conflict of
interest (interpersonal conflict) as posited by Crossman (2014) and Stern (2014), role conflict and
role ambiguity, work scheduling, pay satisfaction, and work-family conflict; causing organiza-
tional conflict and creating impact on such dependent variables as, employee job commitment,
service quality, customer satisfaction, and organizational performance (Table 7, item 6 to 8).
The second stage continues with the first stage and discovers the behaviours and outcomes
of organizational conflict arising from the impact on the organizational conflict variables.
Therefore, the model depicts the causes of organizational conflict as; conflict of interest aris-
ing from lack of group cohesion, role conflict and role ambiguity, work schedule, pay satisfac-
tion, and work-family conflict. These conflicts causatives give rise to conflict behaviours such
as negative employee job satisfaction, and low level of employee job commitment (Table 7, item
6). The behaviours further develop the following outcomes – poor service quality, negative cus-
tomer satisfaction and poor organizational performance, and finally, employees’ intention to
leave the job (Table 7, item 7 to 9). Note the emphasis that conflict should not be shrugged off
by a mere “it will pass…” (Barling, Cooper, 2008; Tannen, 2013).
The third stage relates to the employees’ intention to leave the job, further creating conflict
within the organization (Table 7, item 9). Since intention to leave is voluntary within the indi-
vidual, the continuous emotional stress brought about by this trait further creates discomfort
within the employee thus causing varieties of conflict in the organization.
Results further reveal that conflict of interest, role conflict and ambiguity, work scheduling,
pay satisfaction, and work-family conflict are the major causes of organizational conflict in the
hospitality industry (Table 7, item 10). The existence of these conflicts give rise to behaviours
that negatively influence employee job satisfaction and job commitment levels thereby produc-
ing outcomes that affect service quality, customer satisfaction and overall organizational per-
formance which inevitably leads to employees’ intention to leave the job. See Figure 1.
Chi-square Test Results for the Hypotheses:
H1 was tested at 0.05 level of significance and critical value of 7.814 from chi-square table
with 3 df. Result showed that X2cal (37.5) > X2tab (7.814). The hypothesis was rejected to con-
firm that there is a significant impact of organizational conflict on employees’ job performance
in the hospitality industry.
H2 was tested at 0.05 level of significance and critical value of 3.841 from chi-square table
with 1 df. Result revealed that X2cal (11.6) > X2tab (3.841). The hypothesis was rejected; hence,
there is a significant impact of organizational conflict on the overall performance of the hos-
pitality organization.
H3 was tested at 0.05 level of significance and critical value of 9.847 from chi-square table
with 4 df. The result showed that X2 cal (68.36) > X2tab (9.847). The hypothesis was rejected to
affirm that behaviours of employee poor commitment have negative effect on service quality
and customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry.
H4 was tested at 0.05 level of significance and critical value of 7.814 from chi-square table
with 3 df. The result showed that X2cal (55.24) > X2tab (7.814). The hypothesis was rejected in
line with the decision rule showing a significant relationship between organizational conflict
and employees’ intention to leave.

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 Impact of Organizational Conflict on Employee Job Performance
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Conclusion

This research has clearly shown that significant relationships exist between organizational
conflict and employee job performance, customer satisfaction, organizational performance,
and employees’ intention to leave the current job in the hotel industry. Organizational conflict
arises in the hospitality industry from a number of factors including lack of group cohesive-
ness, employee dissatisfaction arising from unfair pay packages, emotional exhaustion, and
other dimensions of role interference and work-family conflict. For the hospitality industry,
information from this research can be used to evaluate and establish preventive or correc-
tive actions with respect to role related factors such as work overload. In addition, role conflict
and role ambiguity are important factors in increasing the probability that hospitality indus-
try employees will experience conflict and perceive the desirability of leaving the current job.
It was equally revealed that one major impact of organizational conflict on employee job
performance clearly manifests in employees’ poor commitment towards the job which in turn
affect service quality and customer satisfaction. The outcome here is that the performance of
the organization is hampered and employee job satisfaction is affected, triggering off turno-
ver intentions.
The hospitality industry is characterized by small working groups who work together to
achieve a common goal, depending on the philosophy of the organization. Most of the small
groups studied in this research have conflicting interests that put them in persistent misun-
derstanding with each other while trying to put forth perceived rational ideas towards the
job. This is where the managers have failed to enforce team building and cohesiveness among
working groups.
Minimal attention has been focused on the role of pay satisfaction, work scheduling, role
conflicts, role ambiguity, and work-family conflict as causatives of organizational conflict with-
in the structure of the hospitality industry as well as the outcome of organizational conflict on
the job performance of the employee with the resultant effect on employee job satisfaction and
commitment, service quality and their role on customer satisfaction, overall organizational
performance and employees’ intention to leave. This depicts that the impact of organizational
conflict on employee job performance in the hospitality industry is significant as it negatively
affects overall organizational performance.
Recommendation:
1. The total number of hours an employee must work should be kept within an acceptable
level and should differ since some employees will be able to tolerate more hours than
others.
2. Practitioners in the hospitality industry need to re-examine job related tensions and
stress which are a direct function of role conflict (direct conflicts in which role obliga-
tions must be reconciled) and role ambiguity (lack of role clarity).
3. A kind of reward system should be introduced for employees who work in a group, with
benefits that make the group attractive to be in; or they may encourage them to stay in
the team by some other means suitable for the organization. The key factor may be com-
petition from other groups within the establishment. The need to achieve set objective
for a particular group often enhances group cohesion radically because members have
an incentive to stay in the group and to work together to achieve their common goal.
4. Human resource departments (HRD) of hospitality organizations should include
well-designed and implemented human resource training programmes for supervisors
and managers towards seeking a specific employee retention goal for the organization.

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The HRD should attempt to establish and strengthen the supportive mechanism with-
in the organization since it can reduce the impact of stressors on psychological states
and intention to quit.
5. Hospitality organizations might need to implement family-friendly policies that, pos-
sibly, will reduce the tension that create work-family stressors for employees. What is
more important is that middle managers and line supervisors should be involved in the
change effort and be able to communicate policies effectively in a holistic manner.
6. An employee complain consortium should be set up by managements of hospitality out-
fits to reduce build-up of employee face-offs and minimize reactions arising from unre-
solved misunderstandings among colleagues. They should design a mechanism to let
employees vent frustrations, and post views and opinions. It should be both therapeutic
and censorship free; hence any subject may be complained of.
7. Recruitment and selection processes should be designed in a way that individuals who
have passion for the hospitality industry are employed for jobs in the industry, rather
than recruiting transient employees who exit the industry at the slightest provocation
and role misinterpretation.
8. A conflict management unit/team with strong managerial competencies should be put
in place in hospitality organizations (within the human resource department) as a pro-
active approach to forestall incidents of conflicts likely to arise in the workplace. The
team may, for instance, assist an employee to manage emotional crisis or in forecast-
ing non-cohesiveness and distrust among working groups capable of generating dimen-
sions of role interference within individuals in the group.
9. Managers of hospitality organizations should be constantly trained on organization-
al conflict management procedures so that when traces of conflict arise in the organ-
ization, managers would be able to manage the situation between employees, and, or
between the organization and concerned employee(s) before things get out of hand.

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