A Study On Evolution Mechanism And Management Strategies Of The Conflict In Public Organizations

Conflict is a common phenomenon in public organization. We encounter conflict inpromoting task and completing organizational objectives. With a correct understanding ofthe evolution mechanism of conflict in public organizations and appropriate choice ofmanagement strategies, we can make good use of the positive impact of conflict andreduce the negative aspect of it. Only by doing so, can we promote the sounddevelopment of public organizations. Based on theories like Organizational BehaviorTheory and Conflict Management Theory, adopting a research methodology that is bothinductive and deductive, whose research is both experiential and empirical, and appliesWestern theory to the Chinese situation, this paper establishes the framework of theevolution mechanism of conflict in public organizations. First, conflict in publicorganizations is the product of the interaction of conflict elements, and the interactionmakes the development of conflict a dynamic evolution process. Second, conflict inpublic organizations is the outcome of the interaction of conflict elements. Third, theevolution of conflict in public organizations is through psychological changes of peopleinvolved. This paper then studies questions in terms of the type of conflict in publicorganizations, the cause of conflict, the method of diagnosing and dealing with conflict,and the management of the effect of conflict, in order to improve the theory of conflictmanagement in public organizations in China, and in doing so, to provide theoreticalguidance for the practice of promoting conflict management in public organizations.This paper includes the following four parts:The first enumerates types of conflict in public organizations. On the basis ofclassifications of the existing conflict, according to the characteristics of publicorganizations, this paper introduces seven kinds of three classes of conflict types throughanalysis. The first class includes active conflict and passive conflict in light of itsaffiliation; the second class refers to conflict caused by change and conflict caused byinaction according to the system state classification; the third class involves conflict indecision-making process, conflict in implementation process, and conflict in controlprocess according to the working process. Considering the fact that previous studies’various classifications of the types of conflict lead to a lack of correspondence betweenthe types of conflict and conflict diagnosis and management, this paper analyzes the above types of conflict, and proposes that all the types of conflict can be classifiedaccording to their evolution, and that the development of all types of conflict has toundergo three phases---potential conflict, conflict in the bud, and apparent conflict.Triangulation is done by analysis of the findings of the questionnaire and by laboratorystudies, thus laying a theoretical foundation for conflict diagnosis and treatment.The second part regards the cause of conflict in public organizations. From theperspective of Organizational Behavior, this paper analyzes conflict in organizations,groups, and individuals under Chinese context. Conflict in organizations is caused by thesystem, authority structure, politicalization of non-authorized organizations, and thedisposition of leaders. Conflict in groups is caused by vagueness of authority limits, thenucleus inclination, competition between groups, and the differences in individuals’personalities. Conflict in individuals is caused by distribution of interests, promotion ofpower and positions, interpersonal conflicts, and self-conflict. Besides the above internalfactors, external situation also plays a role in conflict in terms of atmosphere, conditionsand traditional culture, since all of which may lead to some degree of conflict. At thesame time, a theoretical hypothesis regarding the causes of conflict in publicorganizations was raised, and based on which, an empirical analysis was done in thesecond part.The third part is the study of strategy management of conflict in publicorganizations. According to the classification of three types of conflict in publicorganizations, this paper sorted22cases, and models of diagnosing and dealing withconflict were established on that basis. Starting from the diagnostic tool, this study putforward the diagnostic methods of conflicts in three phases: diagnosing potential conflictby conversion and syllogism, diagnosing conflict in the bud by the speculative method,diagnosing apparent conflict by observation and research. Since conflicts are different ineach phase in terms of internal structure, attributes, and causes, this study raises thefollowing proposals. First, potential conflicts can be addressed by eliminating thenecessary conditions of conflict, creating a balance of gains and losses, and establishingcommon values. Second, conflict in the bud can be solved by changing the cognition ofthe people concerned, changing conflict into something positive, putting off occurrenceof conflict, changing the site of conflict occurrence, and transforming the role of conflict.Third, controllable apparent conflict can be solved by persuasion, impacting, making thepeople concerned cool down, transferring, compromising, inspiring, dividing conflict into manageable parts, facing conflict either directly or indirectly, and taking advantageof the conflict itself. Four, uncontrolled apparent conflict can be solved by the third partyintervention, negotiations, and resorting to force. These four proposals help to establish asystematic management methodology of conflict in public organizations.Part four is the study of the effect of conflict in public organizations and the effectof conflict management. On the basis of the summarization of the research of the effectof conflict in public organizations both at home and abroad, this study analyzes the twosides of conflict in public organizations---destructive conflict and constructive conflict. Itpoints out that effects created by both destructive conflict and constructive conflict willchange with time or space to the point that constructive conflict and destructive conflictmay change into each other. Then, this paper defines the connotation of the effect ofconflict management in public organizations, classifies the types of the effect of conflictmanagement in public organizations, puts forward the econometric model of the effect ofconflict management in public organizations and cost-effective model of conflictmanagement, and proposes that conflict management costs and effectiveness controlshould follow these four principles:1) the principle of maximum reduction of costs,2)the principle of maximum increase in effectiveness,3) the principle that the currentbenefits must be greater than the cost, and4) the principle that amortization should bepracticed when cost is too much. An empirical analysis was conducted regarding thetheoretical hypothesis raised in this part.