Emerging Management Concept

Concept of Conflict management

Conflict refers to all kinds of opposition interaction between or among individuals and groups. It exists whenever one party perceives that another party has obstructed or is about to obstruct, the accomplishment of goals. Conflict can stimulate emotions and anxiety, lower satisfaction, and decrease performance of the employees

According to Griffins, “Conflict is disagreement among two or more individuals, groups or organizations.” Conflict management includes skillful encouragement and handling of constructive conflict on one hand and resolving or limiting dysfunctional conflict on the other.

Features of conflict

Conflict is the outcome of interaction among individuals or groups of individuals. The common features of conflict are the involvement of the parties. Creation of struggle, outcome of poor coordination, change according to situation, positive and negative impact, and unavoidable.

Views about conflict in organization: There are three different views of conflict in organization

1. The traditional view stresses that all conflicts are harmful and creates destruction in performance
2. The human relation view argues that conflict is natural where groups of people works together to meet common goals.
3. The international view argues that conflict is not only inevitable but useful.

Types of conflict

Conflict may broadly be classified into the following categories.

1. Intra-personal conflict arises inside an individual due to divergent goals and multiple roles
2. Interpersonal conflict occurs when two or more persons interact with one another
3. Inter-group conflict occurs when two or more groups interact with one another.
4. Inter-organizational conflict occurs when two or more organizations interact with one another.

Managing conflict

There are three techniques for handling conflict.

1. Conflict stimulation: The methods of conflict stimulation involve reorganizing communication, encourage competition, and bringing in outsiders.
2. Conflict prevention: The methods of conflict prevention involve superordinate goals, reducing interdependence, exchange of personnel, liaison group or integrators, and appeal to higher authority.
3. Conflict resolution: The methods of conflict resolution involve problem-solving accommodating compromising, and avoidance.

Conflict Management Process

For systematic resolution conflict management needs to consider the following five processes

1. Preparation and planning
2. Definition of ground rules
3. Clarification and Justification
4. Bargaining and Problems Solving
5. Closure and Implementation

Knowledge management

Knowledge management is a process that helps organization to identify select, organize, disseminate, and transfer important information and expertise for organizational prosperity. According to Albert “Knowledge management is the process of collecting organizing, classifying, and disseminating information throughout an organization, so as to make it purposeful to those who need it.”

For organizational success, knowledge, as a form of capital, must be exchangeable among persons, and it must be able to grow. Knowledge about problem solving must be captured, so that knowledge management can promote organizational learning leading to further knowledge creation.

Features of Knowledge Management

The features of knowledge management are

1. Identification and collection of knowledge
2. Communication of knowledge.
3. Listening and learning of knowledge
4. Natural sharing and uses to creating value

Types of knowledge

The following are the two types of knowledge:

1. Tacit knowledge: Tacit knowledge is personal, context-specific and is difficult to transmit because it is not formalized into written or documented forms.
2. Explicit knowledge: Explicit knowledge can be thought of as ‘book knowledge available in a spoken or written form. It involves the ordering of data and information according to well-defined, formalized procedures or rules

Knowledge Management Cycles

The knowledge management cycles involve some procedures consisting of creating knowledge, capturing knowledge, refining knowledge, storing knowledge, Managing knowledge, and disseminating knowledge

Benefits of Knowledge Management

The common benefits of knowledge management involve:

1. awareness to employees,
2. accessibility of information,
3. availability of usable knowledge,
4. timely availability of information,
5. improve decision making,
6. reducing cost and risk,
7. improve strategic planning,
8. and increase versatility of the workforce

Participative Management

Participative management is a process in which subordinates are involved in decision-making functions with their immediate superiors. In this system, employees are empowered to assume greater control of the workplace. According to Stephen P Robbins, “Participative management is a process where subordinates share a significant degree of decision making power with their immediate superior“

Participative management empowers the subordinates who know the actual problems and can contribute in making better decisions. Similarly, it is necessary consult the employees of different inter-dependent departments to bring uniformity in their performance.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Participative Management

Advantages: The common advantages of participative management involve:

1. better decision,
2. improve efficiency,
3. promote team work,
4. job satisfaction,
5. practice of self control,
6. improve employee relation,
7. emphasis human creativity,
8. and overcome resistance to change

Disadvantages: The common disadvantages of participative management involve

1. delay in decision making,
2. fear of loss of power,
3. change of conflict,
4. incompetent subordinates,
5. loss of control, and
6. mutual distrust