The role of a school head in resolving organizational conflict
A school head is the person whose prime function is to create and nurture an organizational culture which is designed with the vision of the school and expectation of all interested parties in mind. (Thungu et. al 2008).
Conflict may involve individual or group disagreements, struggles, disputes, quarrels, or even physical fighting and wars. It ranges from work issues of responsibility, power, authority, and ethics to interpersonal matters like misunderstandings, difference of opinion and poor communication between two persons. Conflict can be harmful to employee satisfaction and job performance if it becomes excessive and unmanageable. Conflict also rampantly occurs at school. School head has experienced with many problems of school administration such as financial problem, school climate and school facilities (Johdi, 2012).
Organization conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of need, values and interests between people working together. (Montana, 2008).
Conflict resolution is the positive process whereby individual resolve issues in an informal or formal atmosphere or where issues are resolved as the part of ongoing interaction between individuals. (Coleman, 2001).
Generally, conflict are occurs due to individual difference within the organization. All leaders are responsible to ensure he or she resolve all the conflict that may face the organization.
TYPES OF ORGANISATION CONFLICT
Conflict in organization it appear in five different types.
The first type is Intra-personal conflict; this conflict takes place within an individual himself or herself. For example if the person has family problems, this can cause conflict within him or herself.
Second type is Inter-personal conflict; this occurs when an individual has the conflict with another individual within the same organization. For example if a certain teacher will have a conflict with another teacher due to difference in goals, interest, background and personality this will be the interpersonal conflict.
The third type is Intra-group conflict; this is a conflict which occurs within the group itself. In the school context this can happen within the department. For example in mathematic department, conflict may rise during the construction of examination, one teacher may want certain question to appear in the examination but other teacher may reject it, so this may rise conflict between themselves in the department.
The forth type is Inter-group conflict; this is the conflict which occurs between one group and other group within the organization. For example in education context the school may divided into two groups, the first group may support school head interest and goals and other group which do not support the interest and goals of school head. So, due to this differences conflict may rise between these two groups.
The fifth conflict is the inter organization conflict, this happen when one organization to have conflict with other organization. For example, a school can have a conflict with other school due to competing of a certain good teacher. (Johdi, 2012).
ORIGIN OF ORGANIZATION CONFLICT
Conflict in organization can be originated from different factors. Spaho (2013) divided the causes of conflict in two types which are personal and organization.
In personal conflict, conflict may occur through bad estimation of a person, this happens because of bad perception of the other side, the side in conflict are not objective and understand the behavior of opposite side, as they wish to hurt the other side and its interests. Error in communication; this come from people inability to listen to each other, also error come from information lost in upward and downside communication, due to inadequate understanding or from one emotional status in the moment of communication. Personal characteristic; some people conflict because of their personal disliking when people with completely different personalities need to work together, conflict cannot be avoided. Distrust among people in the organization; trust is the foundations of good inter personal relations as it develops and consolidate the system of values and confidence to each other. Distrust creates good foundation for potential conflict.
Organization itself can cause the conflict by sharing limited resources, when each department tries to obtain a large share of financial and human resource, these insufficiencies of resources can be the foundation of conflict. Differentiation of organizational units and incompatibility in operating goals, the specialization of organizational units manifests in every day work as differences in working manners, goals and culture and the differences in their operative goals create a potential for emergence of horizontal conflict. Organizational indistinctiveness and neglect, also unclear delegation of authority can cause conflict. If obligations and responsibilities of employees are not clearly determined, conflicts are unavoidable. Also issues like religious difference, struggle for power, stress, anger, past failures to reach agreement, past conflict and locked in conflict behavior. All of these may cause the organizational conflict.
CONFLICT IN THE SCHOOL CONTEXT
Conflict is an essential and unavoidable human phenomenon because where there is human interaction conflict is unavoidable. Schools, like other human organizations may face different conflicts that are either constructive or disruptive.
The following are examples of conflict that are likely to occur in schools
- Delayed orders or information from the school head to teacher or parents, this can lead to conflict when a receiver fail to accomplish the work concerning the order or information as a result a head may assume penalty to employee or parents. So this may cause conflict between teacher and school head.
- Use of abusive language or action in explaining a concept also may cause conflict, for example a head may say in front of students that ‘no service for a prostitute like you, are you a real teacher, look at your dress it seems that you have not slept at home tonight. A teacher will feel shame as a result conflict may arise between them.
- Struggle for scarce resources, also may cause conflict due to the fact that, if the schools has few accommodation teacher houses and teachers share sitting rooms, toilets, kitchen due to different teacher behavior one teacher may disturbing other teacher which result to conflict.
- Also conflict may rise between school head and community when school head prohibit the people to cross pass the school campus, so the community may raise conflict with school head.
- Conflict also may rise between one school to another school due to pressure of sports and games, academic and school achievements between nearby schools also competing of a teacher.
- Also due to poor provision of social service especially in boarding school, boycotting, burning of school resources, beating teachers, rapping, stealing and sometimes killing may happen. So the school head are responsible to make sure that all of these conflicts are resolved to ensure conducive environment in a school.
THE ROLE OF A SCHOOL HEAD IN RESOLVING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT
Some conflicts may harm an organization if not well handled or managed, for the best achievement of organizational goals, the school head should play various roles to resolve the existing conflicts in the school as follows:-
The dominating responses (approach); this is an approach that leads effective desirable outcomes for many conflicts situation occurs in an organization. This applies especially when stakes are high for different or both parties in an organization or acts in different opposing ideas such staff members and students pertaining academic matters. In this approach the head teacher intensively involves in using force and aggressive behavior in attaining consensus. Head teacher regards two opposition sides and display hostility and forcing one’s feeling, beliefs, ideas, and decision on others and often shift responsibility from one’s own actions by blaming others. Furthermore head teacher take party to disagree with the poor strategies and tactics that could be done among the member of organization like attacking others ideas and belief, nonverbal behavior includes glaring or condescending eye contact, an attacking body posture and hostile facial expressions. (Rahim,1992).
To facilitate proper communication with conflicting parties, Communication is the basic element in organization structure and functioning. It is the key mechanism for achieving integration and coordinating of the activities, a head of the school should communicate and collect information about the conflict and find out a suitable way to eliminate conflict. Browarys and Price (2008) believe that conflicts could be eliminated or avoided by recruiting the right people, carefully specifying job descriptions, structuring the organization in such a way as to establish a clear chain of command and establish a clear rules and procedures to meet various contingences.
Integrating responses; this is a best outcomes of conflicts resolutions, by considering this methods all parties regarded as important in a solution, under this approach a head teacher responsible to listening openly and honestly an ideas, beliefs, expressing feelings without in negative or positive sides of two conflicting parties and starting in responding to their comments in a clear, firm voice. With this approach a school head maintain nonverbal behavior such as eye contact, a pleasant, and relaxed and natural body posture, as well as letting the situation cool down by taking same time out, not blaming or calling names, starting both sides conflicts, accepting blame when appropriate and exploring various solutions and selecting the one both sides like best. Finally head teacher ensure peaceful agreement among the members who involves in a conflicts situation. This approach is mostly applicable when a there are conflicts between a two opposing parties like one school to another, one class to another or head teacher to staff pertaining to an interest. (Rahim, 1992).
The school head has the role of forming or creating compromising between the conflicting parties whereby he resolve conflict issues by requiring each party to give up some desired outcomes in order to get mutually desired outcomes. He also encourage and administer the bargaining between the conflicting parties and generally requires a situation that offers both parties the chance to be in a better position or at least in no worse position after the conflict is resolved. With compromise each person wins some major issues and loses others. The school head apply this role or style when two parties involved have equal power or when he/she wants to achieve a temporary settlement in complex conflicts. Jonkman, (2006).
Physical separation; in this strategy the school heads plays the role of separating conflicting groups physically apart from each other by either suspending one part of conflict that is students to stay home for some days so as to weaken the conflict hence resolve it, the rationale being that if the groups cannot interact the conflict tends to diminish. Sometime conflicting parties are permitted to interact on a limited basis.
Not only that but also a school head has a role to Integrate and collaborate to resolve an existing conflict whereby he or she creates a condition of mutual differences which requires sharing of views and ideas between parties involved with an objective of searching for a common solution to the problem. In this role a school head integrate various conflicting viewpoints in a new and improved viewpoint. It is one of cooperation since the educational leader plays a great management role in creating cooperative environment, and training people in communication skills and group relationships within the school (Jonkman, (2006) as cited from Saddler, 1998:25). School head apply this role when he or she wants to resolve a long term conflict, which may have a negative effect on the working relationship, when he or she expects the staff to be bring creative solutions for specific problems. ( Jonkman, 2006).
The school Head may also play the role of obliging response described as “I lose and you win” whereby he or she ignore his or herself interest to satisfy the others and organizational affairs. He may use the tactics and strategies such as to apologies and make excuses, be silent, use a soft, hesitant voice, and conform to ideas of the opposing party. The head of school often apply this role when the relationship with the staff is more important when the issue is not as important to him or her as it is to the other person, people or school organization and when he or she want to encourage the other party to express their point of view. (Jonkman, 2006) as cited from (Johnson,2005).
Change organization system in school, the school head has an authority to change his organization in term of department, student government in order to avoid reoccurrence of conflict, for example strike of students in school, can be raised by the prefect within student organization. Soon after a school head realizing that the source of conflict was caused by the prefect he or she must change the student’s organization by electing other students who can lead well in order to avoid other conflict to occur in school.
Consider the individual differences or problem or interest of their subordinate in school. The member of organization or subordinate come from the society, so as the school head should accept the problems facing his subordinate in an organization or outside the organization and find the means to solve them in order to avoid the occurrence of conflict between him and his subordinate. The problem is like economic crisis to some of individual how do not have money for buying family need. As the school head should find the means to help them, lent them some money of which should be turned back after salary pay.
A school head may also play a role of avoidance or withdrawal from the conflict when he or she recognizes that both conflicting parties involved regard the conflict as a minor one. The role needs the school head to take a decision to do nothing. In this aspect it is assumed that if the conflict situation is ignored, the conflict may resolve itself without requiring any personal involvement. It is the useful technique for cooling down conflicting parties and resolving conflict which is mainly about unimportant matters. (Jonkman, 2006. As cited from Truter, 2003).
The role of dominating response; it is I win and you lose role where by a school head plays the role to dominate power and aggressive behavior in attaining organizational objectives. It is the last resolve role which the school head play in order to make an important decision mainly in an emergency conflicting situation, when all other methods have failed, when quick decision and action is required and when he or she has to implement unpopular changes in the school.
THE EFFECTS OF CONFLICT WITHIN A SCHOOL
Organizational conflicts can cause various problems. According to Deutsch (1973), Conflicts often has negative connotation, the conflict within an organization can be positive and negative. Some of the problems identified in most of the schools which are the result of conflicts are:-
Mental health concerns, conflict within an organization can cause members to become frustrated if they feel as if there is no solution in sight or if they feel that their opinions go unrecognized by other group members. As a result, members become stressed, which adversely affect their professional and personal lives organization members may have problems sleeping, loss appetite or overeating, headaches and become unapproachable. For instance, organization members may avoid meeting to prevent themselves from experiencing stress and stress related symptoms.
Decrease in productivity, when an organization spend much of its time dealing with conflict members take time away from focusing on the core goals they are tasked with achieving. Conflict causes members to focus less on the project at hand and more on gossiping about conflict or venting about frustrations. As a result organizations can lose money, donors and access to essential resources.
Members leave organization; members in organization who are increasingly frustrated with the level of conflict within an organization may decide to end their membership. This is especially detrimental when members are part of the executive board or heads of committees. Once members begin to leave, the organization has to recruit new members and appoint acting board members.
Violence, when conflict escalates without mediation, intense situations may arise between organization members. It is unfortunate but organizational conflicts may cause violence among members, resulting in legal problems for members and possibly the organization.
Inspire creativity; fortunately, some organization members view conflict as an opportunity for finding creative solutions to solve problems. Conflict an inspire members to brainstorm ideas, while examining problems from various perspectives.
Share and respect opinions, as organization members’ work together to solve conflict, they are more willing to share their opinions with the group. Conflict can also cause members to actively listen to each as they work to accomplish the organizations goals.
Improve future communication, conflict can bring group members together and help them learn more about each other. From learning each other’s opinions on topics relevant to the organization’s growth to understanding each member’s preferred communication style, conflict within an organization can give members the tools necessary to easily solve conflicts in the future.
CONCLUSION
Conflict can be harmful to group but may also serve some potential positive functions depending upon the type of group within and among which it occur (Robinson, 1972). Conflict may help to build up a new structure of an organization if the head of school will view conflicts as opportunities rather than problems. Conflicts can help a group to gain recognition, sometimes are responsible for group reconstructing, they define and Sharpe mind of community agenda, improve the decision making and strengthen group cohesion.
RECOMMENDATION
After we see the effect of conflict in school, a school head are responsible to make sure a conducive school climate to avoid conflicts through avoiding unfulfilled promises so that students do not regularly feel that their freedom is being broken down leading to strike.
Also, school heads should try the best to minimize if not remove those conflicting situations that would cause parents, guardians and even teachers to be disappointed and lose confidence and trust to the school leadership. In this aspect the school head should insure that he listen and observe as much as possible from other teachers’ views and ideas, student opinions and parent decisions.
A school head should also make clear decisions and actions so that all educational stakeholders would feel confident to contribute to help make schools to serve as right agents of positive social change and individual as well as national development at large.
The head of school should also provide Guidance and Counseling to both students and teachers on the negative effects of conflict situation as well as enhance seminars training and workshops to teachers basing on identification and management of conflicts to enable schools become or remain healthy and conducive learning environment
Also the Teachers should be trained on conflict management, as the head of the school this is another important role to play ensuring the conflict management in school where by all teachers should be allowed to attend different seminars and workshops on how to solve conflicts arise among themselves this will enable to reduce the possible ways for the occurrences of conflicts among the staff members.
REFERENCES
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Deutsch, M. (1973). The Resolution of Conflict. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Johdi, M. S. & Apitree, A. (2012). Causes of Conflict and Effective Methods to Conflict
Jonkman, N. (2006). Management of Conflict by Principals in Selected Soshanguve Secondary Schools. Tshwane University of Technology.
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