Organizational Trust as a Conflict Management Tool in Contemporary Work Organizations

Abstract

Conflict between management and employees or among employees is an irresistible phenomenon in contemporary work organizations. Evidences gathered from past and present studies revealed that a lot of conflict situations have occurred in work organizations which have significantly impacted organizational performance and its survival in recent times. Consequently, several conventional strategies and techniques have been deployed to constructively manage conflict situation in work organization however, realities show that managing conflict in work organizations remain a challenge to managers in today's world of work. This is partly due to the fact that conflict arises from different sources; hence it is inimical to subscribes to the idea of one-size-fit-all approach to management of conflict. Based on this momentum, this chapter examines organizational trust as a conflict management tool in contemporary work organizations using an explanatory design and a basic review of literature. The chapter therefore explains the concept of organizational conflict visa vis organizational trust within the context of work organization. It also discusses factors causing conflict situation. It examines the importance of trust and factors responsible for the development of trust in organizations. The chapter further examines some theories of trust and also develops a framework for dealing with conflict in work organization.

Impact of Trust on Employees' Engagement: The Mediating Role of Conflict Management Climate

“…The concept of trust has received considerable interest among scholars and has emerged as a leading field of research among businesses recently due to its connections with different individual and organisational outcomes (Jafri, 2012) like organisational commitment, organisational citizenship behaviours, employee loyalty, conflict management, employees' engagement, and organisational justice (Matzler and Renzl, 2006;Rhee, 2010;Ugwu Fabian et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2019;Solaja, 2018;Alshaabani et al, 2020). Thus, it can be observed that having a high level of trust matters for any organisation, and it is fundamental for its success (Brockner et al, 1997).…”

“…Another important outcome of trust is conflict management climate; previous studies indicated that low levels of trust can create feelings of non-corporations inside an organisation which may result in organisational conflict (Solaja, 2018). According to Coleman et al (2013), trust is a direct and powerful way of enhancing a positive climate for managing conflict within organisations.…”

“…According to Einarsen et al (2018), CMC refers to the employees' perceptions towards procedures and practices of their organisation, and how the interactions between managers and subordinates are perceived as fair and conventional (Einarsen et al, 2018). It is reported that trust can positively influence CMC through creating a positive workplace climate where the relationships between the organisation and the employees and the employees with their supervisors are built on the basis of characteristics like openness, transparency, confidence, clear understanding of the issues, risk-taking, being accommodating, and agreeableness (Tjosvold et al, 2016;Solaja, 2018). On the other hand, conflict management climate (CMC) was found to positively affect employees' engagement (Jung and Yoon, 2018;Einarsen et al, 2018), and it manifests that trust can indirectly affect employees' engagement as well.…”

“…Despite that, some studies were conducted to understand the relationship between the combination of these variables (e.g. Macey and Schneider, 2008;Solaja, 2018); however, only very few studies have explored these three variables together. Therefore, to fill the research gap, the current study attempts to explore the effect of trust on employees' engagement and the role of CMC in this relationship.…”

Educators' self-esteem: the effect of perceived occupational stress and the role of organizational support

“…The support need not be always of monetary values; factors like appreciable physical working conditions and the total working hours are part of organizational support (Richardson and Watt, 2010). Perceived organizational support also includes the perception of the employees that the management is supportive and promotes positive behaviors to circumvent conflict and ensure fairness in the workplace (Solaja, 2018). Further, when any vital change is proposed, management should discuss that with the employees upfront and should provide assistance and training where required to align with those changes (Anderson and Ackerman‐Anderson, 2010).…”