A Systemic Model for Managing and Evaluating Conflicts in Organizational Change

Abstract

Change or innovation diffusion is a key issue for most business organizations but is yet difficult to implement as the change management process is often complex as it relies on an organized methodology to complement an organization's commitment and participation. An ambiguous environment surrounding change mechanism tends to develop unintended attitudes, resulting in resistance and conflict. The study proposes a model for the management of such conflicts among change participants (involved and affected) in the context of organizational change. The authors consider organizational change process as an innovation project that treats change and conflicts holistically with the Ulrich's notion of boundary considerations (boundary critique). A social network setting of multiple stakeholders is considered to effectively help in resolving problematic situations that hinder organizational learning and change. The proposed model provides a theoretical foundation based on concepts governing Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH), change theory, stakeholder theory and conflict management.

Interpersonal Justice, Relational Conflict, and Commitment to Change: The Moderating Role of Social Interaction

“…The effect of interpersonal justice disappeared when we accounted for the role of relational conflict. The threat of interpersonal conflict looms large in change situations (Raza & Standing, ) and is particularly likely when employees cannot draw from relevant relational resources in their relationships with their supervisor, such as when they experience unfair treatment (Hobfoll, ). Our study has shown that reducing this threat is critical to building positive attitudes toward organisational change.…”

“…4 In all, this study highlights the role of hitherto underexplored facets of relationship quality-interpersonal justice, social interaction, and relational conflict-when it comes to employees' ability to cope with the stress and anxiety that accompany organisational change. In the process of change implementation, interpersonal disagreements inevitably arise between change recipients and their supervisors (Raza & Standing, 2011); we pinpoint such relational conflict as a critical conduit through which fair treatments, or the lack thereof, inform commitment to change. Yet the greatest insight of this study may be our identification of the dual role of social interaction.…”

“…Organisational change literature has devoted surprisingly little attention to the role of relational conflict. Yet interpersonal clashes and disagreements are typical elements of any radical change (Armenakis & Harris, 2002;Raza & Standing, 2011;Robinson & Griffiths, 2005), particularly when employees and supervisors have different ideas about how to achieve the goals of the change project (Bacharach, Bamberger, & Sonnenstuhl, 1996;Huy, 2002;Robinson & Griffiths, 2005).…”

“…We also consider the extent to which employee-supervisor relationships are characterised by relational conflict (Raza & Standing, 2011;Rispens, Greer, Jehn, & Thatcher, 2011;Robinson & Griffiths, 2005). Relational conflict warrants additional inquiry, because disagreements and clashes that stem from interpersonal issues can deplete employees' energy, prevent them from coping effectively with change, and undermine effective change implementation (Amason, 1996;Jehn, 1995Jehn, , 1997.…”

The Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Matrix Organizational Structures

“…Often this either does not fully happen or means additional stretch for their managers (Atkinson, 2003). The fourth point refers to the fact that the conflict might be rooted in the change which is inscribed into matrix management (Joyce, 1986;Raza and Standing, 2011). Projects are started and come to a close, responsibilities are often shifted as the initiatives progress.…”