Managing conflict in engineering projects: New Zealand experiences

Abstract

here is a wealth of knowledge concerning conflict management and its resolution in the workplace, howeverthere is a dearth of information relating to conflict management and its resolution in engineering project management. This paper set out to examine the reality of conflict management in engineering project management in New Zealand. This was achieved through a review of credible literature sources and the completion of a pilot study to gain subject matter expert perspectives. The research suggests that conflicts can be destructive, resulting in anxiety and strong emotional responses leading to reflexive reactions including avoidance, aggression, fight, hostility and a breakdown in communications and relationships. Findings indicate that managing a project structure is synonymous with handling conflict and these disagreements can be detrimental to the success of a project. The initial results suggest that a number of factors act as drivers of conflict in engineering projectsin New Zealand. These drivers are: power, personality, group dynamics and organisationculture. The conflict resolution tools cited as being widely used forengineering projectsare collaboration and negotiation. The paper also offers recommendations for future research

Conflict resolution practice in public procurement: evidence from Russia

“…The specific focus of the paper was on the postcontracting conflict resolution strategies when the parties could apply to the court or resolve the conflict through negotiations with the procurer. The revealed preference for out-of-court methods of conflict resolution correlates with the results obtained in previous studies (Bigsten et al, 2000;Hendley et al, 2000;El-Haddad, 2008;Chong and Mohamad Zin, 2012;Naismith et al, 2016). One of the possible explanations for the obtained results in relation to the public procurement field is that the negotiation mechanism is more rational due to the presence of significant time and material costs of accessing the judicial system (Spier, 2007) and a higher level of mistrust toward the judicial system especially in countries with imperfect institution environment (Frye and Shleifer, 1997;Djankov et al, 2003).…”

“…This paper makes an important contribution by presenting for the first time a quantitative assessment of the prevalence of mechanisms for resolving conflicts in public procurement. While some studies analyzing conflict resolution practices between companies and state exist in Russia (Hendley et al, 2000;Dolgopyatova et al, 2004;Yakovlev, 2008) and some studies exist globally reviewing conflict resolution practices in contractual relations in different sectors (Bigsten et al, 2000;Chong and Mohamad Zin, 2012;Naismith et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2016), the literature reviewed failed to identify any specific studies in conflict resolution practice in public procurement in developing countries and countries with imperfect institution environment. In addition, the analysis of the factors that influence the choice of conflict resolution mechanism is of great significance for understanding the conflict-handling strategies of business and government.…”

“…In the Malaysian construction industry, the participants were found to prefer alternate conflict resolution methods (negotiation and mediation) (Chong and Mohamad Zin, 2012). The main conflict resolution tools widely used for engineering projects in New Zealand are collaboration and negotiation for both internal and external conflicts (Naismith et al, 2016). Hendley et al (2000) showed that Russian companies do not refuse to use the court system for conflict resolution purposes, but they prefer to settle conflicts without the involvement of third parties (public or private).…”

“…Previous studies revealed that Russian companies do not refuse the possibility of going to court but prefer out-of-court conflict resolution methods (Hendley et al, 2000;Dolgopyatova et al, 2004;Yakovlev, 2008). However, although there are studies identifying conflict and dispute resolution practices in contractual relations in various industrial sectors (Bigsten et al, 2000;Chong and Mohamad Zin, 2012;Naismith et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2016), it was not possible to find any research on conflict resolution practices in public procurement or empirical proof of any relation between the types of suppliers' behavior patterns and their behavior strategies in conflict situations.…”

Conflict Resolution Strategy Training through Third Party Intervention: Investigating its Impact on Enhancing Faculty of Education English Majors' Social Perspective Taking Skills

“…The techniques that depend on a third party intervention for resolving a conflict or settling a dispute are known as "alternative dispute resolution." These techniques include mediation, conciliation, arbitration and ombudsperson (Naismith et al, 2016).…”