How to Motivate a Millennial and a Baby Boomer

By: JUSTINE N. CASER

Divine Word College of Vigan, 2017

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the motivational triggers or drivers of Baby Boomers versus Millennials particularly in learning to love and enjoy their job, to accept responsibilities and perform their job with the best of their abilities, to appreciate the companies/employers they work for, and eventually to be satisfied and to settle permanently in their respective companies.  Based on the theories of motivation and the writer’s personal experiences and observations, having worked in various government and private companies, this paper shows the differences and similarities of the two generations.

Keywords

Motivation, Generation, Millennial, Baby Boomer

Introduction

The Motivation Proclamation[i]

By: Good Charlotte

I'm realistic and narcissistic. You say I'm selfish and absurd.
You try to change me. You try to save me. You say I'm gonna learn
I'm so blind. I'm out of time. You're so unkind sometimes.
I never lied. 'Cause I never said that everything would be okay
I never said that we would live to see another day

Motivate me
I want to get myself outta this bed
Captivate me
I want good thoughts inside of my head
When I fall down would you come around
Pick me right up off the ground?

Generation, particularly “generation gap”, is a very current issue. Generation is “a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, attitudes, etc” and the average age gap between generations is 20 to 30 years.[ii]  This is classified in to four (4) basic groups: the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials/Generation Y.  There are countless discussions regarding the generation gaps but mostly about Millennials defending their generation from misconceptions given by Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials themselves.

The “motivation” that prompted me to write this paper is identity-crisis. I would like to know what generation do I really belong – not based on the timetables established by various individuals/groups but by how each generation type is generally defined in terms of the culture and attitude towards life and work.

Basically, I identify myself as “born in the 80’s, raised in the 90’s” kid. There is a Facebook page dedicated to this age group – posting pictures of the games we played, the food we ate, the television programs and movies we watched, the songs we listened and danced (like crazy) to, the slang words we used, and even the various means of punishment we received.[iii] I can say that those were the good times… yes, THE good times.

The major drawback is making this paper as objective and as formal as possible (you may notice the “I”, “myself” and “me”). Looking at the definitions given to the generation types, one cannot help her/himself but to agree or strongly disagree, to the point of becoming in denial and defensive. The topic is very relatable and debatable. It is an argument stimulus that sometimes, instead of giving a positive impact by providing more understanding between people of different ages; it has become another form of type-casting which results to “bigger gaps” between people.

In the work place, there is no significant effect of generation gaps with regard to the relationship between employees based on my experience. One, employees have one goal inside the work place, that is to uphold the vision and mission of the company. Two, employees, especially those employed in the company for more than one (1) year have a deeper bond – having personal knowledge between each other, hence, the sympathy and empathy toward each other, and especially, the inside jokes. This somehow erases the generation gaps because employees are of the same wavelength.  In fact, most work-related conflicts occur between co-workers within the same age group.

The difference between generations shows when work interferes with personal life or vice versa. The priorities between baby boomers and millennials differ which affects their choices in settling in a company they work for. This has been one of the problems of many companies/employers/management – how to motivate employees in order to gain loyalty, reducing employee turnover rate. Just like the song above, how do companies/employers get baby boomers and millennials out of their bed to get to work and how to put good thoughts inside their head to stay?

“Millennials” versus “Baby Boomers”

The historical and social events, economic changes and development of technology are among the myriad factors that brought about the distinct culture and attitude of people, hence, the categorization of generations.

There are different generation timetables which are mostly, if not all, based on social generation studies in the United States of America. Generation Timetable A shows the birth years and influencers between generation types.

Generation Timetable A:  Generational Differences Chart

	Traditionalists	Baby Boomers	Generation X	Millennials / Generation Y
Birth Years / Age	1900-1945 (63-86 years old)	1946-1964 (44-62 years old)	1965-1980 (28-43 years old)	1981-2000 (8-27 years old)
Influencers	WWII, Korean War, Great Depression, New Deal, Rise on Corporations, Space Age	Civil Rights, Vietnam War, Cold War/Russia, World War II, Space Travel	Energy Crisis, Dual Income families and single parents, First Generation of Latchkey Kids, Y2K, Energy Crisis, Activism, Corp. Downsizing, End of Cold War	Highest Technological Advancement, Digital/Social Media, Terrorist attacks, Economic expansion.

Baby Boomers were born in years 1946 to 1964. They are also called the Post-War Babies because of the increase in birth rate in the US after World War II. Generally, their characteristics include: ability to handle a crisis, competitive, ethical, good communication skills, idealistic, rebellious, hardworking, workaholic, and responsible. They are the most educated among the generations. Education is very important in order to land a good job. Having a good job is a status symbol[i].

Millennials or the Generation Y were born in years 1981 to 2000. This generation were born and raised during the booming technological advancements. They are generally: technologically knowledgeable, ambitious, adaptive, independent, family- and peer-oriented, educated, self-absorbed, and with strong sense of entitlement. [ii]

The above description of Baby Boomers and Millennials may not be fully applicable for Filipinos. However, the historical events that happened in the Philippines during those same periods are similar or related to the events that occurred in the US. Moreover, during those periods, the Philippines were already “westernized” so the Filipinos’ attitude and belief were greatly influenced with the American culture though still more conservative.

Filipino Baby Boomers were born after World War II and lived during the trying times of post-war era, and then the Martial Law era[iii]. Similar with the American Baby Boomers, they are also educated, idealistic, workaholic and handles crisis very well. This generation are the current leaders in the Philippines today.

Filipino Millennials are also technologically savvy, independent yet support-needing, family- and peer-oriented, and educated and aware because information is now just a touch of the fingertips.

“Motivation Proclamation”

Motivation is the process of stimulating people to act and accomplish goals. In relation to work, the factors stimulating the people’s behavior can be:  desire for money, success, recognition, job-satisfaction, team work, among others. In the workplace, the company/employer/management is responsible in motivating the employees to perform the best of their abilities.[iv]

There are three (3) basic content theories of motivation. These are also called needs theories which focus in determining what motivates a person.

1.      Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – This theory identifies five levels of needs which motivates human: Physiology (food, water, sleep), Safety/Security (shelter, health), Social/Belongingness (love, friendship), Self-Esteem (recognition, achievement), and Self Actualization (personal growth and fulfilment of personal potential). As each level is satisfied, a person is then motivated to satisfy the next level in the hierarchy.[v]

2.      Clayton Alderfer’s ERG Theory – Alderfer reduced the five levels of needs to three that is, Existence, Relatedness and Growth needs. Unlike Maslow’s theory, the order of the needs may be different depending on the need of a person. It also allows the different needs to be pursued simultaneously and if a higher level of need remains unfulfilled, the person may regress to the lower needs that are easier to satisfy.

3.      Frederick Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory – The theory differentiates factors that satisfy employees and factors that dissatisfy employees which Herzberg termed intrinsic and extrinsic factors, respectively. Intrinsic factors or satisfiers include: achievement, recognition and responsibility. Extrinsic or hygiene factors include: salary, job security and management style.  Herzberg explained that only the satisfiers can motivate, hence, the presence of intrinsic factors would cause satisfaction but their absence would not cause dissatisfaction. On the other hand, the presence of extrinsic factors would not cause satisfaction but their absence would cause dissatisfaction.

These three theories are the most adapted theories in businesses. Among the three, Herzberg’s Two Factory theory is more closely related to the working environment because the factors identified are specifically job related which employees both need and want from their work. Extrinsic factors must be present in the job before intrinsic factors can be used to motivate an employee.[vi]

However, whichever theory the company is adapting, the process of motivation is always the same.  Though there are also various theories on the process of motivation, basically, the stages are similar which consist of the following:

1.      Identification of Need

2.      Fulfilling the need

3.      Accomplishment of goals

In the work environment, this is why it is very important for the company/management to know what the employees’ wants and needs so that it could create methods to motivate the employees which are often in the form of rewards.[vii] Consequently, when employees are satisfied, they would learn to love and enjoy their job, accept responsibilities and perform their job with the best of their abilities, appreciate the companies/employers they work for, and eventually settle permanently in their respective companies. A win-win situation for both employer and employee.

“Motivate me. I want to get myself outta this bed. I want good thoughts inside of my head.”

Looking at the general description of the generation types, most notably, Baby Boomers are workaholic while Millennials are family and peer-oriented.

According to studies, the major motivator for Baby Boomers is salary. They are very workaholic and career-oriented but with a strong work ethic. They work efficiently and favor team approach in accomplishing their job. They often work long hours to build a perfect career. They live to work. Baby Boomers prefer a work environment that is democratic, socially adaptable, and has no organizational hierarchy with equal opportunity to all employees. They are loyal and committed to the companies they work for.

Baby Boomers need motivations in terms of monetary rewards and appreciation with the good job they accomplished because they need to have a sense that they are making a contribution to the company with their hard work.  Hence, a company should give incentives or higher salary. It should also regularly give positive feedback and public recognition for a job-well-done. Further, rewarding Baby Boomers may be more effective after a certain period of time has gone by, e.g. those with perfect attendance and zero tardiness are rewarded at the end of the year.

Millennials are motivated by maintaining personal life. They are also efficient in work due to their knowledge in new technologies. They are goal-oriented and ambitious. They desire for meaningful work, stable careers, and long-term relationship with their employers but in their own terms.  They want balance between work, family and social life, but actually, they want more personal time than work so they often desire flexible work schedules in order to have time with their personal endeavors, yet expecting high wages. They are driven and obsessed with career development yet they would choose lifestyle over career growth if conflict between work and personal life occurs. They are independent yet they have high expectations on superiors to assist and mentor them to achieve their career goals. They are adaptable to change and prefer diversity, informality and pleasure. Millennials prefer a work environment that is collaborative, achievement-oriented, creative, positive, diverse, fun and flexible. They also want superiors to give them continuous mentoring and feedback with regard to their accomplished job.

To motivate Millennials, companies/management, therefore, should allow flexible schedules or at least not the employees to work overtime. Companies should create a friendly and fun environment, and provide technologically up-to-date or advanced facilities in the work place. They should provide trainings and good salary.[viii][ix][x]

Conclusion

It is truly difficult for companies/managements to motivate employees coming from different generations because a company cannot implement custom made policies for certain employees. Though various studies define Baby Boomers and Millennials very contrarily, at this age and time, these two generations are not that different in the work environment in the Philippines mainly because of culture.

Both Baby Boomers and Millennials are family-oriented so their goal is to have a balance between work and personal life. Both generations are hard-working; some may be more workaholic than the other, nevertheless, they work hard primarily for their families. They aim for a high paying and stable job that would provide career growth and tenure in their respective companies. Of course, they want a happy and friendly workplace – a company where their efforts and hard work are recognized and duly compensated.

Companies in the Philippines are already providing performance-based incentives, perfect attendance incentives, among others. They also provide trainings and seminars for career advancements of employees, and offer entrepreneurial trainings for starting a business. Some have sport facilities inside the office buildings for employees to enjoy and annual team-buildings to improve interrelationship among employees. However, companies tend to exploit their employees particularly in obliging employees to work overtime without pay. In fairness to companies, this type of exploitation often occurs in the lower divisions, which policy-making managements are unaware of. As mentioned, Baby Boomers are the current leaders of today. Majority of the officers/superiors in a company are exactly the epitome of the overly workaholic and non-family-oriented Baby Boomer who requires their employees to work like them, which is very unethical. Different people have different approach in doing their jobs. In this regard, companies/upper managements should regularly conduct discrete investigations in order to resolve such issues because employees are unable to report these cases in fear of losing their jobs.

The general definition of the two generations may be true at some point in their life, however, as people mature, their priorities change. Baby Boomers may be more career-oriented than family-oriented during their younger years; now that they are older, they have become more family-oriented.

On the other hand, Millennials, with their me-against-the-world and I-can-do-anything attitude, are the generation that are mostly misunderstood. This is why they are always trying to prove themselves and projecting to be independent. It is true that Millennials give more importance in their personal life than career but it does not mean that they consider their career insignificant.

The following verse of the song “Motivation Proclamation” by the Good Charlotte perfectly captures the general description slash misconceptions of Baby Boomers and Millennials.

I'm realistic and narcissistic. You say I'm selfish and absurd.

You try to change me. You try to save me. You say I'm gonna learn

I'm so blind. I'm out of time. You're so unkind sometimes.

I never lied. 'Cause I never said that everything would be okay

I never said that we would live to see another day

Today, in this work-to-live age, the motivation that Baby Boomers and Millennials need is personal time. It has been proven many times by social and scientific studies that overwork, resulting to restlessness, negatively affects the quality of work hence decreasing an employee’s productivity.

“The quality of an organization depends on the quality of the people.”[xi]

I still identify myself as “born in the 80’s, raised in the 90’s” kid – the product of Baby Boomers, influenced by the culture of Generation X, and living in the Generation of Millennials, who is lucky enough to experience the age when there were no cellphone and now with the touch-screen and finger print/retina-scanning cellphone…and flat-screen televisions.

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[i] Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Powerpoint Presentation: Generation Gap in Workplace. Retrieved from http://www.picpa.com.ph

[ii] West Midland Family Center. Generational Differences Chart. Retrieved from: www.wmfc.org

[iii] Tan, M.L. (2013, June 27). Pinoy Generations. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Retrieved from http://www.inquirer.net

[iv] Management Study Guide. What is motivation?, Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com

[v] The Content Theories of Motivation, Retrieved from https://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MBA/9791F/ BusinessServices/LO/1207_020138_605F_02_wi/1207_020138_605F_0204_wi.htm

[vi] School of Open Learning. University of New Delhi. Organisation Theory & Behaviour, Retrieved from https://sol.du.ac.in

[vii] Management Study Guide. What is motivation?, Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com

[viii] West Midland Family Center. Generational Differences Chart. Retrieved from: www.wmfc.org

[ix] San Agustin, B. (2013, January 17).  Understanding and Managing the Gen Y, Gen X, Baby Boomers and Traditionalists in Your Organization, Retrived from http://www.ourknowledge.asia

[x] Villanueva, J.P. (2017, March 23). Villanueva: Generation Gap, Retrived from http://www.sunstar.com.ph

[xi] Mr. Jesse Rebustillo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in his speech during seminar organized by the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP). Retrieved from http://www.sunstar.com.ph

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Managing organizational conflicts

            By Lea Ann B. Piano

           Divine Word College of Vigan, 2017

Abstract

This article discusses the conflicts that arise in every organization, its pros and cons, and how to manage them. There are several conditions leading to conflicts in an organization. However, there are also ways on how to deal with conflict situations, response styles and conflict resolution behavior. Managing conflict is a key management competency. All members of the organization especially managers should study and practice effective conflict management skills. This article presents previous discussions taken from various authors which enable us understand the reasons why conflict arise in organizations, and the effects of conflicts and ways of managing organizational conflicts.  

Keywords

Conflict, Conflict Management, Dispute, Complaint

Introduction

Conflict is inevitable in our daily life and may happen at any time for various reasons. Generally, conflict was defined as a competitive or opposing action of incompatibles, antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons). One of the popular definitions of conflict, provided by Coser (1967) is that conflict is a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power, and resources, in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure, or eliminate the rivals. In 1973, Deutsch asserts that a conflict exists whenever incompatible activities occur…one party is interfering, disrupting, obstructing, or in some other way making another party’s actions less effective. 

Conflict may occur internally or externally between individuals or groups. It may happen in school, in our own organization, in our society, within families and even in the middle of our most personal relationships. A relationship without conflict is boring, and so with an organization or a group without any conflicting ideas come up with a “not the best” output. Imagine a corporation with too much agreement among top management, wherein they view matters the same way.  They always agree to certain conditions without them wanting to do better.  In a study of business failures done by Argenti (1976), it was observed that absence of disagreement is often viewed by managers as a sign of good leadership, when in reality it is a leading indicator of being out of touch with significant changes in the marketplace.

While conflict may occur in different circumstances, this article focuses only on the conflicts that arise in every organization. It is essential to understand organizational conflicts to help is limit the negative aspects of conflicts while increasing the positive aspects of it. Conflict management skills in organizational setting are important for many reasons. As an employee, you can learn how to get along with fellow employees, your supervisors, and to the public. As supervisor, you can begin to see upcoming conflicts, learn productive responses, get more cooperation from employees, help employees resolve their disputes from one another, and keep interpersonal conflicts from spreading to another parts of the organization.

Why do we need to study conflict? Conflict is unavoidable. If we don’t pay attention to it, we are more likely to repeat the damaging patterns we see in our jobs. Examining the dynamics of conflict will allow us to unpack those dynamics and to be more productive in our job.

  

Conflict in Organizations

In discussing organizational conflicts, it is important to have a consistent definition of the term “organization”. For Katz and Kahn (1976), organization is defined as living system consisting units performing a task in a mutually dependent manner within a structure of scarce resources. Organization may be a company, firm, institution, corporation, agency, association, consortium or group.

Organizational conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values, and interests between people working together. There is inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those individuals and groups affected.  Conflict in the workplace is a clash of interest, values, actions, views or directions. These are disagreements that cause a negative reaction. People disagree because they see things differently, want different things, have thinking styles which encourage them to disagree, or are predisposed to disagree. It is a painful reality that leads to poor productivity and frustration.

Understanding Organizational Conflict

Conflict situations arise because of fear, force, fair or funds. Fear is an imaginary concern for future. Force of any kind initiates and concludes conflict. Fair is the sense of fairness, which determines the moral values of an individual. Tangible as well as intangible costs may provoke conflict, and also help towards its resolution. Interpersonal conflicts arise because of differences in personality, perceptions, status and ideological and philosophical outlooks. Other causes of conflict can be communication gaps; personality differences; substandard performance; disputes over approaches, responsibility and authority; lack of cooperation; or competition for limited sources.

According to Roloff (1987), organizational conflict occurs when members engage in activities that are incompatible with those of colleagues within their network, members of other collectivities, or unaffiliated individuals who utilize the service or products of the organization. To explain further, workplace conflicts happen between employee to employee, employee to supervisor, and customer to employee. Employee to employee conflicts arise when there is difference on perception over a subject matter, personality differences, lack of respect on other’s culture, and rivalry over a certain position or monetary reward. Bullying is also considered as one of the causes of employee conflicts. On the other hand, employees to supervisor conflicts happen when employees feel like they are mistreated. Discrimination, for example, can also be the cause of conflicts, wherein a minority employee in a team setting feels that he is consistently assigned the most menial tasks in the group and not being promoted for a very long time. This employee may begin to harbour resentment against team members and managers, eventually lashing out through decreased productivity or outright verbal conflict. Customer-employee conflicts occur when customers’ expectations are not met. It may be through the service that the employee has given or the product itself that the business is offering to the public. Complaint is an indication poor customer service. A customer may have a genuine cause for complaint, although some complaints may be made as a result of a misunderstanding or an unreasonable expectation of a product or service. How a customer complaint is handled will affect the overall level of customer satisfaction and may affect long-term customer loyalty. It is important to have clear procedures for dealing promptly and effectively with any customer complaints, to come up with a fair conclusion, and explain the reasons for what may be perceived by the customer as a negative response.

Organizational conflict has several causes. Katz (1964) identified three sources of conflict. These are: (1) structural conflict (conflict arising out of the need to manage the interdependence between different organizational sub-units); (2) role conflict  (conflict arising from sets of prescribed behaviour) ; and (3) resource conflict (conflict stemming from interests groups competing for organizational resources). For Robbins (1974), the three main factors which serves as sources of organizational conflict are: (1) communicational (conflicts arising from misunderstanding);  (2) structural (conflicts related to organizational roles; and (3) personal (conflicts stemming from individual differences). In different perspective, Jacob Bercovitch suggested in his citation published in Hong Kong Journal of Public Administration that conflicts may be described as (1) intrapersonal conflict, (2) interpersonal conflict, and (3) interdepartmental conflict.  Intrapersonal conflict is internal to the individual and is perhaps the most difficult form of conflict to analyze and manage. Interpersonal conflict emphasizes the interaction of human factors in an organization. While, interdepartmental conflict arises when two sub-units in an organizational system have differentiated goals and are functionally interdependent, conditions exist for conflict.

Conflict may be constructive or destructive. The view of conflict created by Deutsch (1969) states that negative or positive nature of conflict really is determined by people’s behaviours; it is not an inherent quality of conflict itself. Some behaviors produce dysfunctional, destructive and unproductive responses; other behaviors produce functional, constructive and productive responses.  Conflict can be destructive if parties involved forget the substantive issues and transform their purposes to getting even, retaliating or hurting the other person. On the other hand, conflict can be constructive if parties involved adapt to the situation, person and issues of the moment are functional  and constructive. Constructive conflicts appropriately balance the interests of both parties to maximize the opportunities for mutual gains.

Although managers are required to deal with different conflict situations almost routinely, there is little way of explicit guidelines to help them do their job ethically (Rahim,Garette & Butzman, 1992). In the study of moral development by Rahim (2001) showed that the three stages of moral development are associated with four styles of handling conflict: integrating, dominating, avoiding, and compromising. The highest stage is associated with the use of integrating style, the moderate stage is associated with the compromising style, and the lowest stage is associated with the dominating and avoiding styles.

  

The advantage and disadvantage of organizational conflict

We used to think conflict as a negative factor and mistakenly noted as always a disadvantage in the organization. This is not true in all situations. There are conflicts that can be constructive or advantageous and of course there are those destructive or disadvantageous. On the job, conflict is a stubborn fact of organizational life (Kolb and Putnam, 1992). Rather than seeing conflict as abnormal, Pondy  (1992) suggests we view organizations as arenas for staging conflicts, and managers as both fight promoters who organize bouts and as referees who regulate them.

  

Interpersonal conflict is an essential, ubiquitous part of organizational life. Organizations in which there is a little disagreement regarding important matters tends fail in a competitive environment. This is because without others speaking what they think is right, or by not hearing conflicting sides, people in the organization may not think more carefully about issues and eventually make poor decisions. Likewise, disagreements about a certain procedure on how to achieve organizational goal may come up with new and better procedure.

On the other hand, conflict can have adverse effects in an organization. It may be harmful to individuals, weaken or destroy an organization, increase tension between members of the group, creates climate of distress, disrupt normal channels of cooperation, or worse can lead to violence. Conflict can also lead to poor productivity caused by members of the organization who turned out of focus on their respective tasks or goals. High employee turnover can also be the effect of organizational conflict. When employees always feel dissatisfied and distressed on their job, they let go of their jobs and look for something better. High employee turnover is an indicator business failure especially when the organization is losing their best talent.

How to manage organizational conflict

Conflict management is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. Te aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes, including effectiveness or performance in organizational setting (Rahim, 2002).

Conflict is common to all organization.  The challenge to managers is how to manage them. When conflicts go unaddressed or poorly managed, they create negative impact on productivity and teamwork. Using conflict resolution strategies in the organization will help maintain a healthy work environment. Conflict resolution requires specific leadership skills, problem solving abilities and decision making skills.

Conflict resolution involves the reduction, elimination, or termination of all forms and types of conflict. Five styles for conflict management are identified by Thomas and Kilmann (2007). These are competing, compromising, collaborating, avoiding, and accommodating.

1. Competing. Competition operates as a zero-sum game, in which one side wins and other loses. Highly assertive personalities often fall back on completion as a conflict management strategy. The competitive strategy works best in a limited number of conflicts, such as emergency situations. In general, business owners benefit from holding the competitive strategy in reserve for crisis situations and decisions that generate ill-will, such as pay cuts or layoffs. In a corporation, for example, it is a struggle for the CEO to decide whether to implement pay cuts or layoff just to survive.
2. Compronising.  The compromising strategy typically calls for both sides of a conflict to give up elements of their position in order to establish an acceptable, if not agreeable solution.  This strategy prevails most often in conflicts where the parties hold approximately equivalent power. Business owners frequently employ compromise during contract negotiations with other businesses when each party stands to lose something valuable, such as a customer or necessary service.
3. Collaborating. Collaboration works by integrating ideas set out by multiple people. The object is to find a creative solution acceptable to everyone. Collaboration, though useful, calls for a significant time commitment not appropriate to all conflicts. For example, a business owner should work collaboratively with the manager to establish policies, but collaborative decision-making regarding office supplies wastes time better spent on other activities.
4. Avoiding. The avoidance strategy seeks to put off conflict indefinitely. By delaying or ignoring the conflict, the avoider hopes the problem resolves itself without confrontation. Those who actively avoid conflict frequently have low esteem or hold a position of low power. In some circumstances, avoiding can serve as a profitable conflict management strategy, such as after the dismissal of a popular but unproductive employee. The hiring of a more productive replacement for the position soothes much of the conflict.
5. Accommodation. The accommodating strategy essentially entails giving the opposing side what it wants. The use of accommodation often occurs when one of the parties wishes to keep peace or perceives the issue as minor. For example, a business that requires formal dress may institute a “casual Friday” policy as a low-stakes means of keeping the peace with the rank and file. Employees who use accommodation as a primary conflict management strategy, however, may keep track and develop resentment.

Conclusion

Conflict is normal and form part of our organizational life. It is just a matter of handling of conflict situations. It can be helpful in making necessary changes within our work or home or even in our society. However, unresolved conflict can result in feelings of dissatisfaction, unhappiness, hopelessness, depression, destruction of interpersonal relationships and creation of problems within organization. Since conflict is inevitable in our daily life, it is very important for us to understand the cause of every conflict we encounter in order to resolve it. Having a positive perspective over situation, proper grievance procedure, getting the cause of conflict, having equal voices in the organization and establishing resolution participation of all parties involved are the things that need to be done in order to resolve conflicts in our organization.

References:

Rahim, M.A. (2001). Managing Conflict in Organizations. Quorum Books

Rahim, M.A (2002). Toward A Theory of Managing Organizational Conflict. The International Journal of Conflict Management,2002, Vol.13, No.3

Bercovitch, J. (1983). Conflict and Conflict Management in Organizations:A Framework for Analysis. Hong Kong Journal of Public Administration, Volume 5, 1983

Zafar, F., et. al. (2014). Conflict Resolution in Organization through Strategic Management. Retrieved from http://gssrr.org/index.php?journal=JournalOfBasicandApplied

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McCorkle, S. (2002). Conflict Management. Retrieved from http://www.cios.org

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