Integrated Conflict Management Research Articles

Integrating school-based and therapeutic conflict management models at schools.

Including children with emotional and behavioral needs in mainstream school systems leads to growing concern about the increasing number of violent and nonviolent conflicts. Schools must adapt to this evolution and adopt a more therapeutic dimension. This paper explores the possibility of integrating school-based and therapeutic conflict management models and compares two management models: a school-based conflict management program. Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers; and a therapeutic conflict management program, Life Space Crisis Intervention. The authors conclude that integration might be possible, but depends on establishing a positive school atmosphere, the central position of the teacher, and collaborative and social learning for pupils. Further implementation of integrated conflict management models can be considered but must be underpinned by appropriate scientific research.

Conflict Management in Work Teams: The Role of Social Self-Efficacy and Group Identification

The current study examined the relationships between conflict management patterns within work teams and individuals' group identification, and social and global self-efficacy. Four hypotheses were tested: 1. The individual's level of group identification is positively correlated with constructive behaviors in conflict situations. 2. The level of global and social self-efficacy is positively linked with active modes of conflict management. Hypotheses 3 and 4 proposed interaction effects of group identification and social self-efficacy on patterns of intra-group conflict management. Sixty seven members of scouts', pre-military communes, 48 females and 19 males, representing 13 work teams, participated in the study. Rahim's (1983) conflict inventory was used to assess the subjects' conflict management patterns. The social self-efficacy was measured by an adapted version of Muris' (2001) instrument, and global self-efficacy by Chen & Gully (1997) questionnaire. Group-identification was assessed by Henry et al. (1999) questionnaire. The results indicated positive association of group identification with the integrative conflict management pattern and negative association with the dominance pattern. The findings lend support to the hypothesis about positive association between self-efficacy and active conflict management modes. An interaction effect of group identification and social self efficacy was found on three out of five conflict management patterns: compromising, dominance and avoidance.

Integrated conflict management programs emerge as an organization development strategy

AbstractConflict management systems … [are] apparently an emerging phenomenon in American corporations. … In many companies with strong ADR policies, ADR isn't simply a set of techniques added to others the company uses but represents a change in the company's mindset about how it needs to manage conflict.”

Do conflict management styles affect group decision making? Evidence from a longitudinal field study

This study examined the relationship between group conflict management styles and effectiveness of group decision making in 11 ongoing, naturally occurring workgroups from 2 large U.S. organizations. The major postulate of the study was that groups develop norms regarding how they will manage conflicts that carry over to affect other activities, such as decision making, even when these activities do not involve open conflict. To determine the impact of conflict management style on decision effectiveness, a longitudinal design was used that identified conflict management styles in the initial portion of each team's series of meetings and then analyzed a group decision taken in a meeting near the end of that series. Group conflict management styles were determined using observational methods, and decision effectiveness was measured using multiple indices that tapped member, facilitator, and external observer viewpoints. Task complexity also was considered as a possible moderating variable. The findings suggest that groups that developed integrative conflict management styles made more effective decisions than groups that utilized confrontation and avoidance styles. Groups that never developed a stable style were also less effective than groups with integrative styles.

Do conflict management styles affect group decision making? Evidence from a longitudinal field study

This study examined the relationship between group conflict management styles and effectiveness of group decision making in 11 ongoing, naturally occurring workgroups from 2 large U.S. organizations. The major postulate of the study was that groups develop norms regarding how they will manage conflicts that carry over to affect other activities, such as decision making, even when these activities do not involve open conflict. To determine the impact of conflict management style on decision effectiveness, a longitudinal design was used that identified conflict management styles in the initial portion of each team's series of meetings and then analyzed a group decision taken in a meeting near the end of that series. Group conflict management styles were determined using observational methods, and decision effectiveness was measured using multiple indices that tapped member, facilitator, and external observer viewpoints. Task complexity also was considered as a possible moderating variable. The findings suggest that groups that developed integrative conflict management styles made more effective decisions than groups that utilized confrontation and avoidance styles. Groups that never developed a stable style were also less effective than groups with integrative styles.

MANAGING THE HEADQUARTERS‐FOREIGN SUBSIDIARY RELATIONSHIP: THE ROLES OF STRATEGY, CONFLICT, AND INTEGRATION

This study examined the relationship between the headquarters and the foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs). Hypotheses concerning the strategies pursued by each MNC, intergroup conflict, conflict management styles, integrating mechanisms, and the effectiveness of the headquarters‐subsidiary relationship are developed and tested. There were no significant differences in the intergroup conflict experienced by subsidiaries pursuing different international strategies. However, effectiveness of the headquarters‐subsidiary relationship was negatively related to intergroup conflict. The use of the avoiding style of conflict management was negatively related to the effectiveness of the headquarters‐subsidiary relationship, as hypothesized. For MNCs pursuing global integration strategies, the use of personal integrating mechanisms and integrating conflict management styles were negatively related to intergroup conflict. For MNCs pursuing local responsiveness strategies, the use of bureaucratic integrating mechanisms and dominating conflict management styles were not negatively related to inter‐group conflict. This ran counter to expectations. MNCs pursuing multi‐focal strategies did not fit neatly into either strategy camp—global integration or local responsiveness.