Conflict Management

Conflict in organizations has received considerable attention in the business, psychology, and communication literatures. Nevertheless, a concise definition of conflict is lacking across studies and disciplines. In fact, researchers often provide definitions that differ from one study to another or fail to define conflict as it is measured in their studies. There is some agreement, however, that conflict takes place between two or more parties and constitutes a disagreement, an interference, and a negative emotional reaction. The literature differentiates among task, relationship, and nontask organizational conflict. Furthermore, conflict can occur at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup levels.

Research on interpersonal conflict, also known as dyadic conflict, can be classified into one of two streams focusing on the occurrence of the conflict or its management. Conflict ...