IRP 306 INDUSTRIAL CONTLICTS

Introduction

Conflict, which occurs when a perception or action leads to a state of unrest, is natural.
The sources of conflict include changes in relationships, power struggles, life changes, and poor
communication. Conflict is defined as a clash between individuals arising out of a difference in
thought process, attitudes, understanding, interests, requirements and even sometimes perceptions.
A Conflict not only can arise between individuals but also among countries, political parties and
states as well. There are five basic functions which conflict serves both among different groups
and within a single group. They are connection, definition, revitalization, reconnaissance and
replication. Conflict can be nasty and destructive. It can use up lots of time, energy and emotion.
It can create poor attitudes toward other people and degrade the climate of the workplace. It can
interfere with efficiency and employee performance
The most obvious disadvantage of conflict is the toll on emotions. Employees with high morale
are likely to work harder, stay with the company and be more productive. When employees feel
they are being bullied, taken advantage of or facing favoritism, they may begin looking for another
job or performing poorly.

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 NATURE AND TYPES OF ORGANISATIONAL CONFLICT

INTRODUCTION
Fundamentally, trade unions would never have originated and developed had it not been for the
inherently conflict-laden nature of the work situation. Workers began to form these “collectivities”
in order to “stand together” and thus correct the imbalance of power in the workplace. Conflict has
to be handled in various ways and on a day-to-day basis. While trade union-management conflict
(between representatives of these groups) is dealt with largely by way of collective bargaining, the
optimal management of conflict in any organisation that hopes to succeed in the modern business
world entails a good deal more. In this unit, therefore, you are introduced to the important aspects
of conflict in the workplace. As it were, you must understand that, while conflict management is
dealt with here in a separate study unit, it cannot be studied in isolation. Consequently, you must
integrate this theme with all your industrial relations studies and knowledge. You have to
understand that conflict has to be handled professionally so as to support the organisation in its
pursuit of success. For this reason, it is extremely important that you understand the dynamics of
conflict and that you develop the necessary skills for managing and controlling it.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• explain the nature of industrial conflict
• discuss the various types and levels of conflict
• identify and describe the causes of conflict
• identify and describe the variables that moderate or aggravate conflict
• explain the conflict management process.
Nature of Industrial Conflict
Most people are of the opinion that the concept conflict has a very negative connotation. And most
people are opposed to conflict. In fact, people would more often than not prefer to avoid it
altogether than to handle it. The most likely reason for this is that conflict is very often associated
with hostility, defensive behaviour and protracted trouble leading to loss, suffering, damage and
bad intentions. In short, conflict is commonly perceived as a negative element that should be
avoided as much as possible. As it were, most informed people regard these assumptions as being

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incorrect. To start with, they point out that conflict is a normal “by-product” of all human
interaction, which is why it is present in any work situation. Tension in work situations is common,
and specialists in conflict management are therefore constantly searching for new ways of handling
conflict in the industrial relations sphere. You should therefore accept that conflict is a fact of life
and rather try to understand it. It is, as we have mentioned, an essential element in all social
interaction. If one accepts that a measure of conflict is unavoidable, then the task of conflict
management should be to understand why and how various forms of conflict occur, and how they
can be identified and used to the advantage of all parties involved. Conflict situations are common
in all organisations, and such conflict is usually accompanied by certain types of behaviour.
Naturally, conflict is always present in the industrial relations context. For instance, if a trade union
wants to negotiate a wage increase of 22 percent, and employer representatives regard eight percent
as the maximum increase that can be granted, conflict arises. Members of the management
negotiate an increase they should settle on – some may feel that, if they could negotiate an increase
of, say, 10 percent, this would be acceptable to the workers, whereas others may feel that nothing
more than 6 percent would be acceptable. In other words, in this situation, there is also conflict
within the management group. You can understand then, that conflict occurs when there is a gap
between various parties’ points of view, or when they have contradictory objectives, needs and
ideas. If this were not so, collective bargaining would not be necessary - not even integrative
bargaining or inter-organisational bargaining, or any restructuring of attitudes. Conflict may occur
even when there is only a perception that such a gap or contradiction exists. From the foregoing,
you can appreciate the fact that it is impossible to formulate a single, uncontested and “correct”
description of conflict.

Functional Conflict
A number of studies have shown that conflict, correctly handled, can be a powerful, constructive
force that invigorates a social entity and in fact revives relationships.
For example, conflict can:
i. Be a source of energy, thus becoming a catalyst for change and adjustment.
ii. Be used to maintain internal group identity and solidarity when groups are in conflict with
one another - thus it can be instrumental in meeting the need “to belong”.

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iii. iii. Stimulate the structuring or regulations of situations so that rules, procedures and process
can be designed for the management of conflict.
iv. Sensitise people to different needs, perceptions and ideas, which results in better
understanding of people.
v. Motivate parties to assess the power balance between them. Be used as the catalyst for a
new, cooperative type of relationship, especially if the parties, in handling the conflict, can
identify common ground.
vi. Make the parties more sensitive and objective when seeking solutions to problems
vii. Help to define the limits of acceptable behaviour in the future.
viii. Help to defuse accumulated frustration and tension, thereby creating a more positive
climate.
ix. Help to defuse accumulated frustration and tension, thereby creating a more positive
climate.
Dysfunctional Conflict
Conflict can, of course, become dysfunctional (i.e. can damage relationship and organisations)
when it is too intense (or even not intense enough), but such type of conflict can also be put to
good use. As noted earlier, it can strengthen relationships and produce negotiated results that are
beneficial to everybody. However, if the potential advantages or benefits of conflict are to be
realised, the whole topic must be thoroughly understood and conflict must be managed
professionally, not only during collective bargaining but on a day-to-day basis as an integral part
of management.
Various Types and Levels of Conflict
Functional conflict is that type of conflict, which actualises the positive effect that is inherent in
any conflict situation. There are others ways of categorising different types of conflict without
labelling them “dysfunctional” or “functional”. One of these methods focuses on the level in the
system where conflict occurs.
Intrapersonal Conflict It is a conflict that occurs within an individual (e.g. an employee cannot
decide which trade union to join).

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Interpersonal Conflict Interpersonal conflict is a conflict between two individuals (e.g., a
supervisor treats a trade union representative unjustly because he or she belongs to a trade union
which the supervisor thoroughly dislikes)
Intra- Group Conflict SUPERVISOR TRADE UNION REPRESENTATIVE (shop steward)
Intra-group conflict is a conflict between members of the same group (e.g. differences of opinion
arise between members and officials of the same trade union about how to approach negotiations
or differences arise between members of the management team about wage negotiation zones).

Members of the Same Trade Union in Conflict with One Another

Intergroup Conflict Intergroup conflict is a conflict between various groups (e.g., differences of
opinion between the management team as a group and trade union representatives as a group, or
between various departments in an organisation).

MANAGEMENT TRADE UNION

Intergroup Conflict Suspected (or Latent) or Observed Conflict This relates to the likely
potential for conflict which is experienced by a person or group, but which has not been manifested
in their behaviour. In other words, there is only “suspected” conflict, because no outward signs of
it have yet appeared.
Unmistakable or Actual Conflict This type of conflict is usually observed between people or
groups during the later phases of conflict episodes. It may even occur in the form of “abnormal”,
defiant or aggressive behaviour.
Spontaneous or Natural Conflict This type of conflict may arise from natural causes, such as the
simple fact that people are different.
Engineered or Orchestrated Conflict This occurs when one party deliberately creates conditions
that promote conflict. For instance, if person A dislikes person B, A might tell tales about B to C,
thereby causing conflict between C and B.

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Causes or Sources of Conflict
Conflict has many causes, including the following:
1 Different objective: This is particularly in the case where people seek to realise opposing
objectives, but, at the same time, need one another i.e. interdependent. This is what happens in the
case of employers and employees. Employees need jobs and employers need employees, but
employees want more money and want to work shorter hours, whereas employers want to cut down
on costs, including industrial costs, and want employees to work longer hours, harder and more
efficiently.
2. Limited resources: This is closely related to the previous cause. Due to limited financial
resources and time restrictions, managers typically want workers to put more into their jobs,
whereas workers want to get more out of them. This leads to competition between the parties for
scarce resources.
3. Structural imbalance: This arises when parties perceive imbalances in a system; in other
words, when for instance, a perception exists that some people have too much money and power,
whereas others have none at all. This perception is part of the Marxist theory that criticises
capitalism because it creates an unfair structural imbalance between the owners of capital and the
working class. Class conflict therefore arises, and “status” becomes an important variable. This
emerges clearly from the multiple levels of organisational structures, where jobs are graded – some
“higher” (in status) and some “lower”.
4. Communication or information-related causes:
These may include the following:
i. Lack of communication: The interdependence and integration of job-related actions requires
effective communication between individuals and groups, something that does not always happen
in practice.
ii. Availability of information: The conservation, retrieval and interpretation or, rather,
misinterpretation of information may in itself be a cause of conflict.
iii. Interruption in the flow of information: Conflict also occurs when the flow of information
is interrupted. This may mean that people do not know what is going on, or that they are kept in
the dark. Information is sometimes deliberately blocked, or incorrect information is furnished
(disinformation). In addition, correct information may be misinterpreted because of a phenomenon
known as psychological noise.

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iv. Language differences: This is evident where so many different languages are spoken.
Managers often think that some workers are saying something negative, when the problem may
simply be that they do not understand the workers’ language. This is a possible cause of conflict
and disunity.
v. Problems with the media: Information gathered by the media is not always accurate, which
means that the “news” they disseminate may create further conflict. Sometimes, of course, the
media are out to create sensation, in which case inaccurate or exaggerated information may
increase the levels of conflict between the parties. Other potential sources of conflict include;
historical factors, ideological differences, low levels of trust, cultural differences, a flawed
collective bargaining system, differences in education levels, and uncertainty and ambiguity.

Variables that Moderate and/or Aggravate Conflict

While some factors may be the direct cause of conflict between industrial and management, others
may at times simply be variables that raise or lower conflict levels. For instance, an organisation’s
industrial relations history might influence current cooperation or conflict levels. Or, to put it more
directly, when a trade union and management have had serious differences for some time, it is
likely that conflict negotiations are going to take place in that organisation, even after the historical
issues have been resolved. The following are some of the factors that can aggravate or temper
conflict:
1. Mutual recognition of legitimacy An important factor in industrial relations is the extent to
which the two parties recognise the validity of the other’s objectives. This recognition of
legitimacy also means that the other party is accepted as a partner in acceptance of the other party’s
right to hold an opinion and to act in a certain way. The negotiation process is therefore, based on
the extent to which the parties recognise one another’s viewpoints and right to a viewpoint, and
accept one another’s right to exist and to use certain methods of operation. In the absence of such
recognition and acceptance, conflict levels will probably increase.
2. Personal qualities of the leaders Obviously, the personalities of trade union leaders and
management representatives may have a significant effect on how the relationship between the
two groups develops. You will appreciate the fact that a highly authoritarian personality; that is a

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person who is conservative, callous, power hungry and hostile to outsiders is more likely to create
distrust and advocate a “win lose” approach to collective bargaining.
3. Professionalism and maturity of the parties People who have learnt from past conflict
situations are usually better equipped to handle conflict than inexperienced persons. By the same
token, parties who do not understand conflict and who are not trained to handle it may act
incorrectly, thus causing the conflict to rise to dysfunctional levels.
4. Competing goals In a sense this refers to a relationship between parties who compete for scarce
resources. The division of economic benefits between industrial and management self-evidently
becomes a cause of conflict. Collective relationships could therefore be more harmonious if both
parties use every opportunity to cooperate in matters of mutual interests. Many of the issues faced
by management and industrial are powerrelated, and a power struggle may be dealt with in a
number of ways. On the one hand, trade unions may see the entire collective bargaining process
in the light of absolute power, in which case they will engage in a constant battle for supremacy,
and any advantage which they gain will be seen as a loss to the employer. If, on the other hand,
management and industrial see their task as a matter of problem solving, both will try to reach a
compromise when faced with conflict, or at least a solution that will require a minimum of sacrifice
from both parties. In other words, conflict levels are raised or lowered according to whether the
parties choose an integrative or divisive type of bargaining.
5. Super-ordinate goals An issue closely related to the previous one is the matter of superordinate
goals. It has been found that the most effective way of reducing excessively high intergroup levels
of conflict to optimal levels is to lay down a series of super ordinate objectives or goals. This
places the emphasis on “us” rather than on the separate parties (industrial and management). The
areas and modes in which hostility and frustration between management and industrial (hence,
dysfunctional conflict levels) may be reduced could include the following:
• training and education programmes that benefit both parties
• joint inspection of the reduction of expertise and waste
• promotion of occupational health and safety in the workplace
• promotion of human dignity, regardless of race, gender, colour, etc.
• measures to alleviate the housing needs of workers and their families
• pursuit of a better –quality working life. These are potential areas of common interest for which
more integrative or cooperative bargaining styles are needed.

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In other words, it involves working towards a situation that is to everybody’s advantage. Basically
there are some external factors which can cause conflicts in an organisation. Industrial relation in
organisations cannot be viewed in isolation. Any study of industrial relations must take into
account the general social and political milieu in which management and industrial find
themselves. The government promulgates and enacts industrial legislations in accordance with
which management and trade unions are required to function. Such legislations are designed to
institutionalise conflict between these two parties. The IAP and the Industrial Court were for
instance established as independent entities with the tasks of assisting management and trade
unions to resolve the conflict between them. It is important that we distinguish between pure
conflict resolution and true conflict management (Bendix, 2001). Conflict resolution refers to the
achievement of an agreement between two parties who initially differed regarding a particular
matter. However, it often happens that such an agreement is reached because one of the parties has
more power than the other and the “weaker” party merely acquiesced. In this situation, one or more
of the parties will consequently still be dissatisfied, despite the agreement that has been reached.
To truly manage conflict, no duress must emanate from one of the parties, or from a third party.
Both parties must be satisfied with the outcome and the potential for future conflict must be
reduced. The overarching goal must therefore be to improve the relationship between the two
parties.
CONCLUSION
From the foregoing analysis, you can appreciate the fact that industrial conflict cannot be avoided
or wished away by the management of any organisation. Hence, it is imperative that you should
understand the nature of the conflict, their manifestation, factors that aggravate it and how to
manage it in your own organisation.
SUMMARY
This unit addressed the importance of conflict and the management thereof in industrial relations.
Conflict among the various members in organisations is inevitable. Therefore, you have been
exposed to the various forms of conflict, their causes or sources, and the variables that tend to
create conflict situations. In the next unit, you will be taken through the various ways of resolving
industrial conflict.

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TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. a. Describe the nature and significance of conflict. b. List and discuss at least eight potential
benefits of conflict.
2. Explain at least five categories of possible cause or sources of conflict in collective bargaining.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Distinguish between functional conflict and dysfunctional conflict, pointing out their similarities,
if any
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Identify and discuss various types of organisational conflict.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Identify and explain the various ways communication in organizations can induce conflict. Suggest
means through which such problems can be minimised.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Identify and discuss factors which may aggravate organizational conflict.

MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCES

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In organisational setting the employees are bound to encounter some problems which may bother
on denial of rights, witch- hunting, sexual harassment, and all forms of discrimination, among
others. When such situation arises, the appropriate channel through which the affected employees
can seek redress is the focus of this unit. Therefore, in this unit, you are being exposed to the
appropriate procedure through which aggrieved employees can express their grievances instead of
resorting to petition writing, which is never in the best interest of neither the employee nor the
superior officer or any other culprit involved.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• explain the term grievance
• discuss the grievance procedure
• mention and discuss the basic phases of grievance interview
• identify the features of a good grievance procedure.

Grievance and Grievance Procedure

A grievance occurs when an employee feels that he or she is being wrongly treated by his her
colleagues or the superior officer. This can arise out of the feeling of being picked on, unfairly
appraised in the annual performance report, and unfairly blocked for promotion or discrimination
against on grounds of race, tribe, sex, religion, cultural practice, and the like. For the purpose of
harmonious interrelationship in the organizational setting, an employee who has a grievance
should be opportune to pursue it and request to have the problem resolved. Some grievances should
be capable of resolved informally by the individual employee’s manager or superior. Nevertheless,
if an informal and immediate solution is not possible, the case should be made to go through a
formal grievance procedure.
Inherent Issues in Grievance Procedure
A formal grievance procedure should be instituted as a policy (necessarily in writing) and made
available to all the employees to serve as a guide for pursuing grievances. The entrenched
grievance procedures should incorporate the following things:
1. State what grades of employees are entitled to pursue a particular type of grievance.

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2. State the rights of the employee for each type of grievance. For instance, an employee who has
not been considered for promotion might be entitled to a review of his annual appraisal report.
Alternatively he can be allowed to attend a special appeals promotion board if he has been in his
current grade for at least a certain number of years.
3. State what the procedures for pursuing a grievance should be.
4. Distinguish between individual grievances and collective grievances. Collective grievances
might occur when a group of workers or work group considers that it is being unfairly treated.
5. Allow for the involvement of an individual’s or group’s trade union or staff association
representative. A grievance procedure may even be initiated through the union or association rather
than through official grievance procedures. The involvement of the representative implies that
there will be a common view on the appropriate procedures to take in the resolution of the matter.
6. State time limits for initiating certain grievance procedures and subsequent stages of them. For
instance, an employee who is not considered for promotion is required to make his appeal within
a certain time period of his review, and his appeal to higher authority within a given period after
the first grievance interview. There should also be time scales for the management to determine
and communicate the outcome of the complaint to the employee.
7. Requirement of written records of all meetings concerned with the case, to be made and
distributed to all the participants.

A Typical Grievance Procedure

A typical grievance procedure goes though the following stages:
1. The aggrieved individual discusses the problem with a staff, union representative or a colleague.
If his case seems a good one, he should take the grievance to his immediate boss.
2. The first interview will be between the immediate boss unless he is the subject of the complaint,
in which case it will be the next level up and the employee, who has the right to be accompanied
by a colleague or representative.
3. If the immediate boss cannot resolve the matter, or the employee is otherwise dissatisfied with
the first interview, the case should be referred to his own superior and, if necessary, in some cases
to an even higher authority.

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4. Cases referred to a higher authority should also be reported to the personnel department. Line
management might decide to ask for the assistance or advice of a personnel manager in resolving
the problem.
5. The case should be treated with dispatch and the outcome communicated to the aggrieved
employee immediately.
Grievance Interview
It is a healthy practice that the manager should have some idea of the complaint and its possible
source prior to the grievance interview. Normally the grievance interview itself goes through three
stages as enumerated and discussed below.
1. Exploration The problem of the aggrieved employee has to be explored: in terms of the
background, the facts, and the causes manifest and hidden. At this stage, the manager should
simply try to gather as much information as possible, without attempting to suggest solutions or
interpretations. Hence, the situation must be seen to be open.
2. Consideration Under this stage, the manager takes time to: check the facts; analyse the causes
of the problem of which the complaint may be only a symptom; and evaluate options for
responding to the complaint, and the implication of any response made. It may be that the
information obtained can be used to clear up the misunderstanding, or the employee will withdraw
his complaint. Nevertheless, the manager can adjoin the meeting for some days in order to get
extra information and consider extra options.
3. Reply The manager, having reached and reviewed his conclusions, reconvenes the meeting to
convey and, if necessary, justify his decision, hear counter-arguments and appeals. The outcome,
agreed or disagreed, should be recorded in writing. Basically, grievance procedures should be seen
as an employee’s right. In this wise, managers should be given formal training in the management
of grievances and their procedure based on laid down organisation policy. Managers and superior
officers in organisations are implore to realize that the grievance procedures are beneficial for the
organisation, and therefore are not a threat to them.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Discuss the stages involved in grievance interview.
Features of a Good Grievance Procedure
1. Be in writing.

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2. Specify to whom they apply; all or some of the employees.
3. Be capable of dealing speedily with grievance matters.
4. Indicate the remedy to which the aggrieved employee is entitled.
5. Allow the employees to state their case exhaustively.
6. Allow the aggrieved employee to be accompanied by a fellow employee or union representative.
7. Ensure that every grievance is properly investigated before any action is taken.
8. Ensure that the employee is informed of the reasons for any decision taken on his case.
9. All proceedings must be recorded and the final outcome distributed to the relevant persons such
as the personnel manager, the aggrieved employee, and his immediate boss. 10. Provision for the
right of appeal to the higher authority, and specification of the appeal procedure.

CONCLUSION
From the foregoing analysis, you can appreciate the fact that employees do have some problems
which are related to the organisational setting and operations that need the management attention.
The employees are bound to encounter some problems which may bother on denial of rights, witch-
hunting, sexual harassment, and all forms of discrimination, among others. Therefore, you are been
exposed to the intricacies of what it takes to handle employees grievances so as to equip you with
such knowledge in dealing or resolving issues bordering on employees’ problems in organisational
setting. You can also appreciation the fact that appropriate handling of employee grievances is an
important requirement in ensuring organizational harmony and cordial personal interrelationship
among the employee subsystem in the organisation, hence, the need for an appropriate policy on
how to deal with employees’ grievances and operational problems.

SUMMARY
The study unit has been used to discuss the appropriate procedure for dealing with peculiar
problems and operational grievances of the employees in the organisation. You have been exposed
to the various strategies for encouraging the employees to follow laid down grievance procedure
in order to avoid petition writing in the organisation. Other topics discussed in this unit include
inherent issues in grievance procedure, grievance interview and features of a good grievance
procedure.

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TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. Enumerate and discuss the stages involved in grievance interview.
2. What are the inherent features of an appropriate grievance procedure?

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Explain the issues which are associated with grievance procedure.

EFFECT OF STRIKES AND LOCKOUT

In industrial and labour relations and particularly in union management relation, there are bound
to be conflict and consensus from time to time. Conflicts may arise as a result of the perceived

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interest of the various parties. For instance, it has agreed by scholars that the major pre occupation
of every employer or management is to reduce cost as much as possible in order to maximize
profit. On the other hand it has been repeated that the major per occupation of the workers and the
union is to maximize their salaries, wages and other material and non material incentives. Because
of this divergent interest between employers and employees, there are cases of disagreement, dis-
affective and discontent from time to time, it has been agreed that the interest of the employees
and employees can never converge unless there is increase in productivity leading to what it is
called “Productivity bargaining”
When conflict comes or arises, it is important to know what it will affect the workers, the
employers and the nation of large. It is important to know that strikes represent workers to
withdraw their services. Sometime this withdrawal may be active, passive and sometimes total. In
order words it can come in various forms i.e. total strikes refer to as absolute withdrawal of service
until certain demand are met.
Active resistance is types of conflict/strike that has element of violent, demonstration, damaging
of company’s properties, blocking major high ways, rioting e.t.c.
Passive resistance is subtle way of sabotaging the interest of a particular organization. This may
be in various from; wasting or damaging company’s properties, go-slow, work to rule, sit in desk.
On the other hand, lock-out basically refers to as the employer’s form of strength. In other words,
the employer lock-out the worker out of the premises of the organization in order to prevent them
from gaining access to the premises of the organization to perform their official responsibilities.
Therefore, strike is peculiar to employees where as lock out is peculiar to employer. No matter the
type of the conflict, they have various consequences to the parties concern.

Effects of Strike Action, Lockout on Workers.

1) Loss of Earning: As a result of strike action workers may lose their pay for the period of
work stoppage. The principle of no work no pay will be made applicable. And in most
instances, there is no established fund from which union can pay their strike members. The
effect of this on the individual workers and his/her dependent could be unpalatable. It has
been agreed that non-existence of such funds is a major reason why strike do not last in the
counties.

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2) Injury or loss of lives depending on the nature of strike action: There would be injuries
sustained by some workers. In other ands some strike could degenerate into violent
demonstrations and lives may be lost in the process.
3) Arrest, detention and imprisonment: When strike actions turns violence, arrest could be
made, those arrested may be made, those arrested may be grant into detention for a long
period of time depending on the magnitude of the instruction that accompanied the strike,
this striking workers that had been arrested and detained may be brought before the count
of law and depending on the native judgment received may be imprisoned for specific
number of years. When this happens, the dependant of those imprisoned workers may have
suffer a great deaf emotionally psychologically materially e.t.c. during the military regimes
especially during the regime of ABACHA some union were rounded up and detained over
a long period of time for instance the former NUBENG General Secretary Comrade
FRANK KOKORI was arrested in 1994, he could not regain his freedom until after 1998
(After the death of ABACHA)
4) The loss of jobs: Apart from losing money for the period of strike action, some workers
may lose their jobs permanently either as a result of the roles in the strike or as a result of
the loses already incurred by the employer and the need to reduce workforce, so as to
decrease or minimize the operating cost
5) With strike action some of the worker especially union of official could gain of some fame
and become hero for championing the course of union and that of their fellow workers.

Effect of strike and lockout employer/management

1) Production and distortion of strategic planning: in the first instance strike action leads
to work stoppage this in turn leads to loss of unexpected revenue for the organization,
in other word through the duration of the strike action no production or service will
take place in the organization and for the employer and management that does not
receive subvention or subsidy from government this is a huge loss because those days
or house wasted could never be regained, in other words the budget for the quarter or
year will be distorted and with these the organization will never attain or achieved goals
and objectives set for itself

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2) Waste of Asset: During the strike action the forced asset of the organization will remain
idle why fixed cost will have to be met move over there could be spoilage of raw
material. He implication of this is that where as production and services are not going
on, the employer or management most or continue to incur unavoidable cost
3) Destruction or realization of Assets the asset of organization such as plants, offices,
equipment, vehicle building etc could be destroyed or vandalized by the striking
workers, that could also be looting of properties or leading to additional loss to the
organization employer and management, this is because when the strike is over huge
sum of money would be spent or replacing this vandalize or damaged company
properties.
4) Dented image: When strike begins effort is made to settle the contagious issue between
the work and management and however, when resolution cannot be reach and the strike
linger or continues the organization cannot rendered the required services to his
customers or clients or meet their demand with this, the image of the organization will
be dented, in addition to this it could loose market to her competitors and also lose his
sources of supplies, the lost of such looses may not be easily quantified and regaining
such loss ground could be difficult
5) Effect on the nation, Depending on the sector affecter a strike action is capable of
having advertising effect on the nation; this brings to mind the strike action of tankers
divers or workers in the oil sector, worker in aviation sector, the strikes action of
employee commercial tanks. As the nations depends on the service of this vital sector,
strikes active of workers in this sector always cause economic and social dislocation
and bring the counties a nation to a halt and explain why government in his wisdom
categorized some sector on services has been essential and workers in the sector are
prohibited from embarking strikes action. The effects of strike by hospital workers for
instance cannot be easily quantify, many preventable death will of course during the
period strikes by health workers. The agony of the sick, accident victims women in
labour are some the easily identifiable victims of such strike action.
Trade dispute by organization that offers other essential service like electricity, water
supply also result in as both economic and social likes are affected adversely. Finally,

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 the man-hour or man-days as a result of strike action if computed in monetary terms, it
could then be realized that the lost sustain by the nation is very huge.

FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGEMNET OF ORGANISATIONAL CONFLICT

INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit, you are introduce to the intricacies of industrial conflict in terms of the nature
of industrial conflict, various types and levels of conflict, causes or sources of conflict and the

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variables that moderate and or aggravate conflict. In this unit, the discussion is focused on the
various ways through which the organisation can encourage the resolution of industrial conflict.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
•explain the concept of conflict process
•explain the meaning of conflict episode
•identify and explain the strategies for conflict management and resolution identify and explain
the appropriate situations to use conflict handling orientations.

The Conflict Process

An organisational conflict has been viewed as a perceived condition that exists between parties in
which one or more of the parties perceives goal incompatibility and some opportunity for
interfering with the goal attainment of others. There are three propositions about conflict, as
observed by Albanese (1998). These propositions are that: conflict arises within a context of
interdependence; conflict can occur or grow out of the similarities of the requirements of
organisation members; and conflict can emerge out of the differences in the requirements of
organisation members. Managing conflict requires both the reduction and stimulation of the level
of conflict. For an inept understanding of the resolution of industrial conflict, there is the need to
throw more light on the conflict process. Albanese (1998) posits that conflict is a dynamic process
in nature. It also means that conflict involves an element of time sequence and a series of events
rather than a discrete event that occurs at one moment. Furthermore, according to Kilmann and
Thomas (1978), as quoted in Albanese (1998), the process models of behaviour place the parties
in conflict in a temporal sequence of events. And behaviour is assumed to
be directly influenced by preceding events and anticipation of subsequent events. Knowing how
to manage and cope with conflict, as observed by Albanese (1998), is a skill of increasing
importance to managers. This view is true because of a variety of forces, operating within and
outside the organisations that make conflict a more probable dimension of managerial problems.
Basically conflict can affect all components of job performance; such as role perception, abilities
and skills, motivation, and the situational context.

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The Conflict Episode
The conflict episode, according to Albanese (1998), portrays that conflict is a series of stages:
latent conflict, perceived conflict, felt conflict, manifest conflict, conflict resolution, and conflict
aftermath. Basically, therefore, a conflict episode is a gradual escalation of conflict through the
series of stages. Figure 7 portrays vividly the conflict
The Conflict Episode
1. Latent conflict: It provides the necessary antecedent conditions for conflict in organisations.
The basic types of conditions are competition for scarce resources, role conflict, competition for
positions in the organisation, and divergence in the goals of organization members.
2. Perceived conflict: It is the conflict about which organization members are aware. It may,
according to Albanese (1998), result from misunderstanding or lack of understanding and does not
necessarily emerge out of latent conflict. Some latent conflicts are never perceived as conflicts;
that is, they never reach the level of awareness.
3. Felt conflict: Felt conflict is a situation whereby A is aware that B and A are in serious
disagreement over some policy, but it may not make A tense or anxious, and it may have no effect
whatsoever on A’s affection towards B. This happens most often in organisations whereby the
head of marketing department is aware that the head of sales department is in serious disagreement
with him over, say, a promotion policy. However, this situation may not make the former to be
tense or make him to lose interpersonal affection for the latter in the organisational relationship.
4. Manifest conflict: The manifest conflict takes the overt behaviour including sabotage, open
aggression, apathy, withdrawal, and minimal job performance. This situation can occur when a
subordinate is in conflict with is superior officer such as his head of department. The subordinate
as expect, may resort to withdrawal, apathy, and sabotage. The subordinate may even resort to
open confrontation against the superior officer, which will affect his job performance.
5. Conflict resolution: The conflict resolution or suppression can range from approaches that
essentially avoid facing up to the conflict to approaches that confront the conflict in an attempt to
resolve it so that all the parties achieve their goals.
6. Conflict aftermath: This represents the conditions that result from the resolution of conflict.
According to Albanese (1998), if the conflict is genuine resolved it can lead to an improved
relationship between organisational participants. On the other hand, if the conflict is inadequately
resolved, it can provide the conditions for additional conflict.

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SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Enumerate and discuss the various stages of conflict episode.
Conflict Management and Resolution
Mary Parker Follett, as quoted in Albanese (1998), proposed three main ways of dealing with
conflict such as domination, compromise, and integration. Accordingly, domination is regarded as
a style used by someone operating from a position of power. This is a style regarded these days as
a “win-lose style”. On the other hand, integration style is the “win-win” style of managing conflict.
The style involves the use of creative, problem-solving approach to conflict management.
Compromise indicates creating a situation for the parties in conflict to partake in share of some
winning and losing. In modern times there is two-dimensional approach to the management of
organisational conflict. In essence, therefore, the approach is viewed in terms of a two dimensional
graph. One axis of the graph represents a person’s degree of concern for his or her own interest or
goals. The other axis of the graph represents the person’s degree of concern for the other person’s
interest or goals. This is a simplistic view of the modern approach to the management of
organisational conflict because, as you are aware, the parties to a conflict, in addition to
individuals, can be groups, departments, or other social groupings. The graph of figure 8 serves
the basis for the discussion of the management of organisational conflict in terms of the modern
approaches to conflict resolution.

Graph of Conflict-Management Styles

The Y-axis of the graph represents the degree to which the person in conflict asserts his or her own
goals. The X-axis represents the degree to which the person co-operates with the other person.
There are five basic conflict-management styles. These styles are competition, avoidance,
accommodating, compromise and collaboration, and they are discussed below.
Competition The approach involves high assertiveness and low competitiveness. The style is
essentially power oriented and approaches conflict in terms of a win-lose strategy. On the negative
side, according to Albanese (1998), a competitor may suppress, intimidate, or coerce the other
parties to a conflict. Hence, it may result in making others to be afraid to
communicate with the superior officer who uses this style. The competing style could prevent the
real causes of a conflict from being noticed, and therefore, the style tends to generally create forces
which aggravate the conflict and does little to bring about innovative, constructive solutions

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acceptable to all the parties involved in the conflict. On the positive side according to Albanese
(1998), the style is useful in many circumstances such as: when you know you are right on a
conflict issue; when important but unpopular courses of action must be taken; and when a quick,
decisive action must be taken. The style therefore, is frequently used by managers because of the
fact that they are in position of formal authority and they often are able to assert their views and
impose them on their subordinates. Nevertheless, such assertive behaviour may not be as effective
in the long run when compared with more cooperative type of behaviour form the managers
.
Avoidance Albanese (1998) posits that an avoiding style may reflect the failure to address
important issues and a tendency to remain neutral when there is a need to take a position and
therefore, of no value as a model of managing a conflict. An avoidance approach may also involve
the exhibition of detachment from conflict and a readiness to comply or conform that indicates an
indifference position. The style is useful in circumstances when: a conflict situation has relatively
minor implications for managerial effectiveness; there appears to be little chance for a person to
win; and the benefits of confronting a conflict situation are overshadowed by the potential damage
of confrontation. The avoidance style is also appropriate when it is imperative to reduce tensions,
to regain perspective, and to generate additional information.

Accommodating The accommodating style portrays low position on assertiveness and high
consideration for cooperativeness. Accordingly, Albanese (1998) posits that a person who uses an
accommodating style as the primary approach to conflict management may be showing too little
concern for his personal goals. This can lead to loss of influence and recognition. Nevertheless,
the style may be employed for gaining acceptance and affiliation. The inherent snag in the style is
the fact that conflicts can be resolved without each party to the conflict presenting their views in a
forceful manner. An accommodating person may appear to be agreeable cooperative, but on a
subtle posture. Nevertheless, underling the accommodating style may be a failure to realise that
interpersonal relations can be strengthened by a process of working through conflicts. The
accommodating style is useful when: the issue in conflict is more important to the other person;
one of the other style is more disadvantageous than the accommodating style; maintaining
harmony is important; it is advantageous to allow the other person to experience winning; and an

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accommodating style on one issue may make the person more receptive on another, more
important issue.

Compromise The style involves considering expediency above principle as regards seeking short-
term solutions at the expense of long-term objectives. The approach enables each party in conflict
to share in some degree of winning and losing position. Albanese (1998) posits that if the
compromise position is base on a genuine consideration for reaching a solution to a conflict, then
the style can be a variant of the win-win strategy. On the other hand, if it serves to prevent an airing
of the real issues in a conflict, and it tends to undermines trust between the parties in conflict, then
the approach more closely approximates to a lose-lose strategy. The compromise style is a common
practical approach to conflict management it often conforms to the realities of situations in
organisational setting. This becomes imperative when a conflict is not important enough to warrant
the time and “psychological investment” in one of the more assertive modes of conflict
management. Furthermore, compromise may serve as the only viable way of handling a conflict
situation in which two equally strong and persuasive parties are interested in working out a solution
to the conflict. It is also useful when the time allowed for the resolution of a conflict does not
favour the consideration of any other style.
Collaboration The collaborative approach involves the position of high assertiveness and high
cooperativeness in terms of personal goals and the goals of others respectively. Hence, the style
can only be used when the parties to a conflict are ready to consider it as problem-solving situation.
Albanese (1998) observes that a problem-solving approach requires the following conditions:
1. There is an attempt to depersonalise the conflict in the sense that the parties to the conflict
channel their energies to solving the problem rather than defeating each other.
2. The goals, opinions, attitudes, and feelings of all parties to the conflict are seen as legitimate
and acceptable concerns, and all the parties are seen as playing a constructive role.
3. The parties realise that a conflict issue can make a constructive contribution to the quality of
human relationships if the issue is worked through in a supportive and trusting climate in which
opinions, information, and differences are freely aired and openly shared. The collaborative style
to conflict management, based on the above requirements is not an easy approach because of the
fact that people who engage in conflict may be greatly emotionally involved. Hence, it may be
difficult for the parties involved to treat the conflict as a problem solving situation; which is simply

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asking the parties for a complete rethinking of all elements of the conflict situation. The general
view is that the collaborative style should be used to manage conflict when:
i. The source of the conflict is rooted in semantic misunderstandings because the style may
allow doubts and misconceptions to surface.
ii. The issues involved are very important to both parties, thus warranting the time and effort
required in using it. The issues in conflict cannot be compromise. They have implications for
long-term benefits to all parties involved in conflict. The parties involved are mutually
dependent, where the use of creative resources by the parties involved is important.
iii. The issues involved are very important to both parties, thus warranting the time and effort
required in using it. The issues in conflict cannot be compromise. They have implications for
long-term benefits to all parties involved in conflict.
iv. The parties involved are mutually dependent, where the use of creative resources by the
parties involved is important.
v. The conflict issue may not be important enough to justify the time and effort required. The
parties involved may lack the necessary problem-solving skills. The conditions of support,
trust, and open sharing of information may be absent. The parties involved may lack power
parity, thus making candid and creative interaction difficult.
vi. The conflict issue may be such that neither party can cooperate with the other, for instance, a
conflict arising out of differences in values that are “non-negotiable”.
Hence, the collaborative style to conflict management is not always appropriate because it is
not the “one best way” to resolve and manage conflict. The style can only be used when all
the parties share appropriate cooperative values such as openness, trust, sharing, and mutual
respect and support for each other.

CONCLUSION
The foregoing analysis has enabled you to appreciate the fact that organisational conflict is a series
of stages, which involve latent conflict, perceived conflict, felt conflict, manifest conflict, conflict
resolution, and conflict aftermath, a process called conflict episode; a gradual escalation of conflict
through the series of stages. From the preceding study unit, you observe that organisational conflict
cannot be avoided or wished away by the management of any organisation. Therefore, it is

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imperative that you should understand the nature of the available strategies through which
organisational conflict can be managed and resolved by the management.

SUMMARY
This study unit has been used to discuss the nature of the process of organisational conflict, the
conflict episode and the conflict management and resolution. The strategies for the management
of conflicts in organisations are elaborately treated to drive home the fact that there is no one best
way to manage and resolve organisational conflict. You have appreciated the fact that the
application of any of these conflict resolution strategies depends on the nature of the conflict and
the amount of time and energy required to resolve a given conflict. In the next study unit, you will
be taken through industrial democracy to underscore the need to involve the workers in the
determination of the decisions that affect their life at work and the organisation affairs as a whole.
TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
Enumerate and discuss the various strategies through which organisational conflict can be
managed and resolved.

DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE

A trade dispute can be defined as a disagreement between workers union and management on
issues concerning the condition of work, this disagreement may be on salaries and wages,
allowances, work period and management policies, when the union feels bad about certain issues
which affect its members negatively it reports such issues to management, refusal by management
to look into that matters could lead to “trade dispute”. Therefore trade dispute constitute a very
important component of collective bargaining, trade or labour dispute may be grouped into two
types, dispute concerning on individual which is called ‘individual grievance’ and dispute
concerning the group (the union). In some cases, a dispute that may begin as an individual

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grievance may developed into a collective dispute involving the entire union, usually grievance
involving an individual are over his rights, that is what he thinks he is entitled to as a workman in
his workplace, in every organization there are lay down rule, regulation and procedures that govern
workmen, therefore if an organization does not follow this police rules regulations and procedures
in treating a particular worker, that resulted in his disadvantages the worker has the right to
complain.
The machine for labour dispute in Nigeria is twofold, according to ABEL GBEKO (1983), there
are
(1) Internally negotiated machinery
(2) There is statutory established machinery and according him when a dispute arises, it is normal
to apply internal machinery and when this fails external machinery will take over, the further agree
that in case of an individual grievance, the workers is expected to take his grievance directly to his
or her supervise and if the worker concerned is not satisfied with the way the grievance is handled
her or he/she can take the matter further to his or her manager the matter is still personal at this
stage and no other person is involved if however, the issue will be referred to the personnel
manager and local union secretary, if however at this stage a satisfactory solution is not found in
that the matter is badly handle and individual grievance may become a collective grievance
involving all the workers in the organization and may result in a strike, at this stage the joint
machinery starts to function and the matter may become a national issue involving the whole
organization or industry and national officials of the union. It is also important to know that should
effort and settlement fail, the matter is referred to the minister of labour and productivity and at
this stage, the statutory machinery takes over.
With regard to collective disputes attempts are made to settlement the matter at local level by the
two parties by involving a mediator, the MEDIATOR is anybody considered to have experience
in industrial relation matters and who is acceptable to both parties (management and labour)
If however, there is a breakdown in negotiation the matter will be refer to minister of labour and
productivity and an impotent aspect of settlement negotiation procedure is that when a dispute is
being dealt with or negotiation are under way, the parties must not resort to strikes or lockout to
do this will mean breaking the law, when the matter is reported to the minister of labour and
productivity, the minister may take the following steps

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 1) Appoint a “fit” person to act as conciliation for the purpose of affecting a settlement of
dispute.
2) Constitute a board of enquiry if there are difficulties in the way of conciliation or arbitration
and if the considers that the public interest is involved.
3) Where conciliation fails, the minister may refer the matter to industrial Arbitration panel
(IAP), Finally may refer certain dispute to National industrial court NIC differently
In essence the four stages in the statutory for resolution of disputes are
1. Conciliation
2. Arbitration
3. Enquiry
4. National industrial court
It is important to emphasize a note that a dispute need not go through all the four stages mentioned.
For the purpose of emphasis, let us elaborate on at least three (3) stages
1. Conciliation
2. Arbitration
3. National industrial court (NIC)

Conciliation
The law assures that before a dispute is refer to minister labour and productivity the parties
concerned most have exhausted the voluntary machinery for dispute settlement. If the attempt to
settle the dispute under the voluntary machinery (internal ) fails or if no such machinery exist in
the particular organization, the parties shall within 7days of the failure to agree meet together by
themselves under the chairmanship of mediator mutually agreed upon and appointed by or un-
behalf of parties with a view to the amicable settlement of dispute, it is important to note that the
concept of mediator is an innovation in the settlement of industrial dispute in Nigeria and more
importantly reflects the African or native approach to dispute settlement. If for instances two
people are fighting in the street according to UBEED (1983) the passes by do not immediately
starts calling for a policeman, they constitute themselves into mediation apportioning blame after
listen to both parties, ensuring that they do not fight again it within 14days of the appointment of
a mediator dispute is not settled, the matter shall be reported to the minister of labour by or
unbehalf of the parties with 14days (two weeks), the report must be in writing and should indicate

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the point on which the parties disagreed and the steps already taken to effect settlement. The
minister may then, if satisfy that all reasonable steps to settle the matter had failed refer to the
matter to a conciliation.
The duty of the conciliator is to inquire into the cases and circumstances of the dispute and
negotiate with the parties, to the dispute in other to arrive at a settlement. In doing so, the
conciliation should be patient and guide the parties in resolving the issue at strike, where a
resolution is reached between 14days of appointment the conciliator must report the fact to the
minister of labour by forwarding to him the memorandum of terms of settlement signed by
representative of the both parties. Such terms as agreed will be binding on both parties with the
effect of from the date of the agreement is signed where settlement of dispute is not reached within
14days of this appointment or if after attempting negotiation with both parties the conciliator is
deeply satisfy that he will not be able to bring about settlement, he must report to Minister of
labour. The minister will within 14days of the resist receive of such report oblige by law to refer
the disputer to Arbration.

Arbration
Arbitration into industrial dispute in Nigeria is undertaking by industrial arbitration panel (IAP) in
Nigeria, an arbitration tribunal must make its award within 42days of his composition except where
the minister in a particular case allows for a longer period, on the resist receive of award of tribunal,
the minister must publish the details of the award and allow some time (not more than 21days)
within which any of the parties to the dispute who may not be satisfy with awards may raise
objection, if no notice of objection is giving to the minister within the time limit and in the manner
specify into regional original publication. The minister will then publish in the public gazzette or
notice conforming the award and the award will be binding or the employer and workers (parties
to dispute), if however a party to the dispute raises an objection with the award made by tribunal,
the minister in his capacity as the chief labour officer will refer the dispute for determination to
National Industrial Court (NIC)
National Industrial Court (NIC)
The member of national industrial court is appointed by federal executive council. The court
jurisdiction of NIC is mainly appellant, that is issues that cannot be resolve at the industrial
arbitration panel an refer it for ruling, the ruling of the court his final in all industrial and labour

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relations issues or matters, in essence we can consider NIC as the supreme court of all matter
relating to industrial relation in Nigeria.

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