An investigation of conflict management in public and private sector universities

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to gain an insight into the conflict management in public and private sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. To achieve the earlier mentioned purpose, survey method was used with the help of questionnaire. In this research, impact of university type (public and private sector) was examined on the conflict management strategies of the teachers in higher education. Moreover, a systematic approach was adopted to discover existence of conflict, its intensity, types and sources in these two types of universities. Results indicate that conflict was intense in the public sector universities; interpersonal conflict was more prevalent in public sector while task conflict was high in the private sector universities. Findings indicated that faculty in both types of universities used integrating, compromising and avoiding styles simultaneously in case of conflict. There was no significant difference in the conflict management strategies of both types of universities. Finally, it was revealed that there was no formal system in both types of universities to manage conflict. Key words: Conflict, conflict management, conflict management strategies, public and private sector universities.