Unveiling the Causes of Conflict Emergence in Organizations and Conflict Management Styles of Employees

Purpose: Conflict is inevitable and tends to occur, though it can be constructive if tackled and resolved tactically, however, it can be very destructive if prolonged and exacerbated. This study delves into reasons for conflicts in organizations and the conflict management style adopted by employees. Design/Methodology/Approach: Literature about the reasons for conflict and conflict management styles was reviewed, 16 reasons were determined as causes of conflict in organizations, whereas five conflict management styles were investigated about their correspondence to different causes of conflict. The sample of the study was composed of 107 teachers of private schools functioning in Hyderabad, Pakistan. Findings: Findings revealed that unjustified treatment and lack of resources are the frequent causes of conflict while competing style is commonly used to manage conflict. Employees accommodate or avoid conflict when conflict is caused by personal factors. Whereas, when structural factors cause conflict, the conflict is managed by competing, compromising, and collaborating styles. Implications/Originality/Value: Organizations should educate employees on conflict management along with evaluation and improvement in the structural factors that lead to conflicts. This is a novel study as it analyzed the nexus between the causes of conflicts and conflict management styles.