The study was set out to investigate the perception of academic staff, non-academic staff and students regarding forcing, smoothing, detraction, arbitration and changing the individual involved as effective intervention conflict management techniques. The investigators formulated five research hypotheses to guide the study. Effective intervention conflict management technique Questionnaire (EICMTQ) was used to collect data. The EICMTQ was made up of twenty items and respondents were asked to tick (√) the statement that represent their opinion, using a 5 point Likert Scale. A total of three thousand and fifteen respondents participated in the study. They all filled and returned their copies of the questionnaire showing one hundred percent return rate. The investigators added up the scores for the academic staff, non-academic staff and students and employed One Way Analysis of Variance to determine the difference among the academic staff, non-academic staff and students in their perception of forcing, smoothing, detraction, arbitration and changing the individuals involved as effective intervention conflict management strategies. The study found out that there is no significant difference among academic staff, non-academic staff and students in their perception of forcing, smoothing, detraction, arbitration and changing the individuals involved as effective intervention conflict management techniques. The study found out that arbitration had the highest F value of 19.1 and forcing had the least F. Value of 3.3. We concluded that forcing, smoothing, detraction, arbitration and changing the individuals involved were all found effective in resolving conflict in our universities even though the use of some of them were characterized with some problems. We however, recommended that forcing may only be used as last resort.Keywords: Conflict; intervention; Management techniques; academic staff; students
INTRODUCTIONConflict may be an inevitable thing in any organization. This is because people in the organization are made up of different background, needs value and aspiration. Ejiogu (1990) pointed out that conflict is bound to occur from time to time in all human interaction and organizational behaviour. Gordon (1996"375) stressed that conflict may have positive and negative outcomes, that is, functional and dysfunctional outcomes. Functional conflict may lead to a search for new approaches that may resolve disagreement on long standing problems. On the other hand, conflict may also be dysfunctional for organizations resulting in reduced production, lower morale, overwhelming, dissatisfaction, increased tension and stress. Donohue and Kolt (1992:3) maintained that conflict involves situations in which differences are expressed by interdependent people in the process of achieving their needs and goals, and it arises when a difference between two or more people necessitates change in at least one person in order for their engagement to continue and develop. Jordan (1990:4) however asserted that the differences ...
