Write 8 pages with APA style on Conflict and Negotiation in Organisations. Researchers have widely studied the topic of conflict to give a clear understanding of what it is and its implication on business, thus the many definitions. Robbins and Judge (2013) define it as a process triggered by the perception by one party that the other party could negatively affect what the former cares about. Basically, conflict refers to that context where interaction becomes an interparty conflict. These could range from the subtle disagreements to violent and overt acts. It would be important to appreciate from the definition that conflict bases on the interplay of perception, incompatibility, and interaction. The idea of conflict has transitioned over three phases – the traditional, interactionist and resolution-focused views. The early approach to conflict, referred to as the traditional view of conflict by Robbins and Judge (2013), postulated all conflicts to be bad and had to be avoided. It was negatively reinforced by negative terms like destruction, irrationality, and violence. This was a result of poor communication, insensitivity of the management to employee needs and lack of trust and openness among people. It provided a simple approach in consideration of the behavior of those creating conflict. Thus, improving organizational performance just required to fix the causes of conflict and undertake corrective measures for the malfunctions. However, this approach has been rendered obsolete with studies revealing the inevitability of some conflicts. The interactionist view of conflict thus sought to support conflict. According to Robbins and Judge (2013), this was informed by the argument that harmony, peace, tranquillity, and cooperation make a group prone to being unresponsive, apathetic and static. Thus, some form of conflict would help a group become creative, self-critical and viable. Specifically, functional conflict enables a group to achieve its goals and improve performance, thus constructive.
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