Abstract

Conflict between management and employees or among employees is an irresistible phenomenon in contemporary work organizations. Evidences gathered from past and present studies revealed that a lot of conflict situations have occurred in work organizations which have significantly impacted organizational performance and its survival in recent times. Consequently, several conventional strategies and techniques have been deployed to constructively manage conflict situation in work organization however, realities show that managing conflict in work organizations remain a challenge to managers in today’s world of work. This is partly due to the fact that conflict arises from different sources; hence it is inimical to subscribes to the idea of one-size-fit-all approach to management of conflict. Based on this momentum, this chapter examines organizational trust as a conflict management tool in contemporary work organizations using an explanatory design and a basic review of literature. The chapter therefore explains the concept of organizational conflict vis-a vis organizational trust within the context of work organization. It also discusses factors causing conflict situation. It examines the importance of trust and factors responsible for the development of trust in organizations. The chapter further examines some theories of trust and also develops a framework for dealing with conflict in work organization.

Highlights

  • Until recently, organizational trust has been one of the under-researched concepts in scholarly investigations [1–3]

  • This chapter dwelled on analysis of organizational trust as a conflict management tool in contemporary work organizations from various perspectives

  • The introduction of the chapter was followed by discussions of substantive issues such as meaning of organizational conflict, organizational trust, importance of trust and factors responsible for the development of trust in organization

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Summary

Introduction

Organizational trust has been one of the under-researched concepts in scholarly investigations [1–3]. 38 Organizational Conflict woven around the term, available evidence shows that the field of organizational trust is still very fallow and it requires extensive exploration for its essentiality in fostering productive work performance and competiveness in the private and public organizations [4] It is very essential factor for promoting cooperative behavior among employees [5], sales and profits margins as well as employee retention in organizations [6]. Organizational trust has been recognized to be a crucial component of conflict management process in work organizations [7, 8] This is essential because no organization can achieve cooperation between management and employees or among employees or even succeed without the availability of trust. The chapter further develops an Organizational Trust and Conflict Management Framework (OTCMF) for effective conflict management in work organizations

What is organizational conflict?
What is organizational trust?
The importance of trust in an organization
Factors responsible for the development of organizational trust in an organization
Openness
Autonomy
Organizational Justice
Clarification of concepts concerning organizational trust
The Lewicki and Bunker model of interpersonal trust
Theoretical perspectives
Contract failure perspective of organizational trust
Cognitive sociology perspective of organizational trust
Social capital perspective of organizational trust
Conclusion
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