Conflict Management in the Non-profit Sphere. Mapping the Conflict Management Practices of an Organization Providing Social Services

Abstract

The present study, which focuses on conflict analysis and management, examines the causes and types of major conflicts in social service organizations through semi-structured interviews. Through in-depth interviews with ten employees at a Romanian nonprofit organization’s headquarters and by consulting on studies of key challenges of Romanian NGOs, I sought to find answers to how workplace conflicts affect nonprofits, how employees handle disagreements, and what types of conflicts are most common among employees of civil society organizations. In-depth interviews were conducted with four executives, two coordinators, and four members of the executive teams within the organization. Based on these interviews, it was revealed that the roots of the conflicts lie in the overload of bureaucratic tasks in the human resource department, the lack of motivation in the workplace and the lack of transparency of institutional decisions. These problems are most likely caused by the lack of resources in non-profit organizations in Romania. At the same time, despite the uncertainty, financial burden and bureaucracy related to the implementation of funding projects, the activities affecting the target groups are successful and based on the feedback of the employees, the reactions of the target groups are a great motivating force. Keywords: conflict, human resources, decision-making, performance, consequences, employee perspective