Dysfunctional Conflicts Research Articles

The impact of cognitive machines on complex decisions and organizational change

Humans and organizations have limitations of computational capacity and information management. Such constraints are synonymous with bounded rationality. Therefore, in order to extend the human and organizational boundaries to more advanced models of cognition, this research proposes concepts of cognitive machines in organizations. From a micro point of view, what makes this research distinct is that, beyond people, it includes in the list of participants of the organization the cognitive machines. From a macro point of view, this paper relies on the premise that cognitive machines can improve the cognitive abilities of the organization. From such perspectives, it presents rationale and principles of a class of cognitive machines with capabilities to carry out complex cognitive tasks in organizations. It also introduces analyses of the cognitive machines in organizations through theories of bounded rationality, economic decision-making, and conflict resolution. The analyses indicate that these machines can solve or reduce intra-individual and group dysfunctional conflicts which arise from decision-making processes in the organization, and thus they can improve the degree of organizational cognition. From all these backgrounds, this research outlines implications of cognitive machines for organizations.

Factors affecting a partner's perceived effectiveness of strategic business alliance: some Singaporean evidence

Given functional specialisation and a scarcity of resources, organisations would seek to reduce environmental uncertainty by entering into strategic alliances with other organisations for exchanging resources for mutual benefit. This paper investigates the factors affecting a partner's perceptions about the effectiveness of their strategic business alliances. The factors investigated were inter-organisational trust, commitment to alliance, inter-organisational communication, dysfunctional conflict and power imbalances. Data was collected from a representative sample of Singapore-based companies that were involved in some form of strategic business alliances. The study found that the factors “commitment to alliance”, “inter-organisational communication” and “inter-organisational trust” were positively related to a partner's perceived effectiveness of their alliances. On the other hand, the factors “dysfunctional conflicts” and “power imbalances” were found to have a negative relationship with the partner's perceived effectiveness of their alliance. The five factors together explained 54% of the variance in the perceived effectiveness of alliance. The implications for managers are outlined.

Conflict in Small- and Medium-Sized Projects: Case of Partnering to the Rescue

It is well known that project and other temporary organizations have special characteristics that can result in a higher incidence of dysfunctional conflict than their ongoing organizational counterparts. In this paper, qualitative data collected from a selection of ret­ rospective UK-based construction projects of between approximately $2,000,000 and $8,000,000 show that the occurrence and effect of dysfunctional conflicts in projects remain a cause for concern despite changes in project management organization design. This paper provides a brief review of the more important mechanisms leading to dysfunctional conflict within these projects and illustrates the important role of people rather than procedures or systems in this process. In a later section of the paper, examples are drawn from one case in particular where interorganizational team building was included as a component of project organization design. The outcome of this case is consistent with the hypothesis that interor­ ganizational team building, whether acknowledged as part of a formal partnering arrangement or not, can be used at the start of small- and medium-sized construction projects to reduce conditions of latent conflict and help engender a culture of cooperation and conflict resolution between the client, designers, utilities, and construction organizations.