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1 – 10 of over 60000The purpose of this paper is to explore the current management perceptions regarding conflict within teams, specifically looking at capital investment appraisals, with the aim of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the current management perceptions regarding conflict within teams, specifically looking at capital investment appraisals, with the aim of improving team performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was undertaken in two stages. The first stage is based on a postal questionnaire survey relating to the appraisal of capital investments, addressed to large UK organisations. The second stage was conducted through semi-structured interviews, which were followed by a short-questionnaire sent out by e-mail, and designed from the information obtained from the interviews. The research is both qualitative and quantitative.
Findings
From the exploratory study, the author was able to identify and further investigate what the author’s respondents termed “personal” and “departmental” conflicts, as well as what the author perceived to be “good” (positive) conflict and “bad” (negative) conflict. The author finds that controlled “departmental” conflict may lead to enhanced decision making, while “personal” conflict may be destructive and lead to non-optimal decision making. The author also identified the importance of the investment appraisal “procedure” as distinct from the individual models used, and suggests that this is one way of controlling conflict within teams.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited by the fact that it is based on individual perceptions of a small sample number. However, the sample consists of some of the most senior executives from the largest UK organisations whose views are usually difficult to obtain by academics.
Practical implications
It provides senior managers with a comprehensive view, by their peers, and a better understanding of team conflict, especially with regard to “personal” and “departmental” conflicts; thus, allowing them to manage teams more efficiently in the future.
Originality/value
The research is unique in that it focusses on conflict within teams that are given the specific task of appraising capital projects and it theorises on what the respondents’ terms “departmental” and “personal” conflict. It brings up-to-date, managements’ current perception of team conflict and contributes to the ongoing search for a better understanding of conflict within business teams, and ultimately to an enhanced team performance and improved decision making.
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Atif Saleem Butt and Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad
The purpose of this paper is to understand conflicts that emerge between managers of buying and supplying firms when a personal relationship (friendship, etc.) is present between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand conflicts that emerge between managers of buying and supplying firms when a personal relationship (friendship, etc.) is present between them in the supply chain context.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a case study methodology and relies on data obtained from 30 qualitative interviews with managers of buying and supplying firms, having a personal relationship within inter-firm relationships to promote the interest of the firm.
Findings
Results from this study reveal conflicts between managers of buying and supplying firms due to the presence of a personal relationship between them. Specifically, results suggest that managers face ego conflict, supplier’s selection conflict and conflict on accepting late deliveries when they rely on personal relationships, which are themselves embedded within inter-firm relationship.
Research limitations/implications
This study has some limitations. First, this study examines behavioural patterns in Australian cultural context. Second, results of this study are not generalizable to a broader population.
Practical implications
Firms can use the findings to understand conflicts, which arise between managers of buying and supplying firms, as a result of a personal relationship between them in the supply chain.
Originality/value
This is, perhaps, the first study contributing to the supply chain relationship literature by unveiling conflicts between managers of buying and supplying firms, when a personal relationship is present between them.
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Babak Panahi, Elena Moezzi, Christopher Nigel Preece and Wan Normeza Wan Zakaria
The possible effect of conflicts as the consequence of differences between personal and organizational values (OV) on organizational commitment (OC) of internal construction…
Abstract
Purpose
The possible effect of conflicts as the consequence of differences between personal and organizational values (OV) on organizational commitment (OC) of internal construction stakeholders was an unclear issue in the areas of organizational behaviour in the construction industry, especially in Malaysia. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to focus on this issue in the Malaysian construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper targeted professional project consultants, who are identified as architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors, as the internal construction stakeholders. The personal-OV and the level of OC of the stakeholders were evaluated through a questionnaire survey. To achieve the research objective, comparative and hierarchical regression analyses were performed.
Findings
The results generated by the analyses indicated a high level of value conflicts in the construction organizations which significantly and negatively affected commitment of the internal stakeholders.
Originality/value
Value conflicts in construction organizations are the agenda of this paper while not many empirical studies have been conducted on this issue in Malaysia. This paper through investigating the potential effect of value conflicts on the stakeholders’ commitment reveals the importance of interaction between personal and OV in construction organizations which contributes to the extant literature of organizational behaviour as to the construction literature.
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The purpose of this paper is to understand conflicts that develop between managers and their respective firms when a personal relationship is present between managers of buying…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand conflicts that develop between managers and their respective firms when a personal relationship is present between managers of buying and supplying firms in the Chinese logistics industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a case study methodology to allow for an assessment of the conflicts that emerge between managers and their respective firms when a personal relationship is present between them.
Findings
The findings reveal conflicts between managers and their respective firms as a result of personal relationship between managers buying and selling logistics services in China.
Research limitations/implications
This study uses semi-structured interviews with Chinese senior managers to explore intra-organizational conflicts, which develop as a result of personal relationships embedded within buyer–supplier relationships. The generalizability of the findings will have to be empirically examined in future research.
Practical implications
Chinese firms can use the findings to understand conflicts, which arise between managers and their respective firms when a personal relationship is present between managers engaged in the process of buying and selling logistics services.
Originality/value
A notable gap in buyer–supplier relationship literature, specifically in Chinese business culture, is an unfulfilled need for research examining intra-organizational conflicts, when a personal relationship is present between managers of buying and supplying firms in the logistics industry. This paper addresses this gap.
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The purpose of this paper was to examine knowledge hiding behaviours with perceived conflict types, competition and personal values of employees.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to examine knowledge hiding behaviours with perceived conflict types, competition and personal values of employees.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies were carried out and structural equation modelling and moderated regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Study I, with employees from software development companies, revealed that task conflict and relationship conflict have additive effect on knowledge hiding behaviour. Additionally, task conflict is positively related to employees’ perceived competition. However, no mediation role of perceived competition was found between conflict types and knowledge hiding. Study II, with employees from the banking sector, indicated that employees’ individualistic or collectivistic values play a moderating role between perceived task conflict and knowledge hiding behaviours. The negative effect of task conflict on knowledge hiding behaviour is higher if the individuals have individualistic personal values.
Practical implications
This study contributes to managers by offering some guidance on what can be the results of conflict and competition between employees and how employees’ personal values can affect conflict and knowledge hiding relation.
Originality/value
To the challenges of knowledge hiding behaviour outcomes for businesses, many managers should first consider the predictors of knowledge hiding and then find some solutions against the negative consequences. This study is one of the first to examine knowledge hiding with regard to conflict types, perceived competition between employees and personal values of employees.
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This conceptual paper aims to offer a theoretical contribution that explicates the “blind spot” cultural diversity and reward diversity team conflict contingencies, and personal…
Abstract
Purpose
This conceptual paper aims to offer a theoretical contribution that explicates the “blind spot” cultural diversity and reward diversity team conflict contingencies, and personal audit as a mechanism for managing the consequences.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper suggests a framework for analysing and managing diversity (cultural and reward) driven team conflicts. Given the theoretical foundation, personal audit among team members is recommended as a tool for managing the consequences of such conflict factors.
Findings
This paper underlines the team building intervention utility for team effectiveness. It reinforces theoretical foundation that highlights conflict as a determinant of team effectiveness, and reviews two diversity dimensions of team conflicts. Finally, it suggests and explains an “active learning” personal audit model for achieving the conceptualised team effectiveness perspective.
Practical implications
The paper highlights critical but usually overlooked team conflict intricacies in football team management. This framework offers practical relevance in enabling understanding of “attitudes and behaviours” of team members and human resource management in football marketing. Managers would benefit from this perspective and improve team effectiveness, performance and organisation's performance.
Originality/value
The paper offers valuable conceptual insight for development, one that serves the interest of management of football clubs and academia.
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Felix Ballesteros-Leiva, Gwénaëlle Poilpot-Rocaboy and Sylvie St-Onge
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between the life-domain interactions (i.e. interactions between the personal and professional lives) of internationally…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between the life-domain interactions (i.e. interactions between the personal and professional lives) of internationally mobile employees (IMEs) and their well-being and to examine whether these links are different for assigned expatriates (AEs) and self-initiated expatriates (SIEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire data were collected from 284 IMEs including 182 SIEs, and 102 AEs. Two measures of IMEs’ well-being were used: subjective, namely satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being (PWB), which refers to self-acceptance, personal growth, and reaching for life goals. Life-domain interactions were measured from a conflict and an enrichment perspective, each in two directions: Work Life → Personal Life (WL → PL) and Personal Life → Work Life (PL → WL).
Findings
Regression analyses confirm that IMEs’ life-domain conflicts (WL → PL and PL → WL) have an adverse impact on their subjective and PWB, IMEs’ life-domain enrichments account for their subjective well-being over and above what is explained by their life-domain conflicts, the relationship between WL → PL conflicts and subjective well-being is more negative among SIEs than among AEs.
Practical implications
This study underscores the need for both employers and IMEs to take action not only to reduce conflicts but also to promote enrichments between their personal and their professional lives. It is of particular importance to reduce the WL → PL conflict of SIEs, often left to fend for themselves, because it has a significant negative impact on their subjective well-being.
Originality/value
This study innovates in using conservation of resources theory and recent theoretical work linking this theory with the interplay between personal and professional lives to understanding SIEs’ and AEs’ well-being.
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A.G. Sheard and A.P. Kakabadse
This monograph seeks to summarise the key influences of a role‐based perspective on leadership when making decisions as to how organisational resources can best be deployed.
Abstract
Purpose
This monograph seeks to summarise the key influences of a role‐based perspective on leadership when making decisions as to how organisational resources can best be deployed.
Design/methodology/approach
Application of new frameworks provides insight into the leadership roles executives can adopt when part of formal, informal and temporary groups within the organisation's senior management team and those parts of the organisation for which they are responsible. The methodology adopted is qualitative, focusing on application of previously developed frameworks.
Findings
Adoption of an appropriate leadership role, and the timely switch from one role to another as circumstances change, are found to facilitate improvement in the ability of executives to mobilise organisational resources, and in so doing effectively address those challenges with which the organisation is faced.
Research limitations/implications
A one‐organisation intensive case study of a multinational engineering company engaged in the design, development and manufacture of rotating turbomachinery provides the platform for the research. The research intent is to validate two frameworks in a different organisation of a similar demographic profile to those in which the frameworks were developed. The frameworks will require validating in organisations of different demographic profiles.
Practical implications
The concepts advanced, and implications discussed, provide an insight into the role‐based nature of leadership. The practical steps individual executives can take to develop their ability to adopt different leadership roles are highlighted.
Originality/value
This monograph is an investigation into, and study of the contribution of theory that provides insight into, the process by which executives effectively mobilise organisational resources. This differs from the original contributions to theory, which focused on methodology, data gathering and validation in contrast with the current study that is focused on practical application.
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Robert Zacca, Mumin Dayan and Said Elbanna
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of conflict and intuition on explorative new products and performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of conflict and intuition on explorative new products and performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The study proposes a theoretical model that was tested using two survey instruments: one instrument was administered to the owners of 150 SMEs within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the second was administered to senior managers within the same SMEs.
Findings
The results show that within the decision-making process both objective and personal conflicts drive decision makers to the use of intuition, with high levels of market turbulence strengthening the effect of objective conflict on the use of intuition. Furthermore, the use of intuition was found to have an adverse effect on explorative new products, negating the positive effectiveness of explorative new products on SME performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study’s conceptual model may not completely represent the perspective it aims to elucidate. An alternative model with equally well-conceived explanatory variables could provide further interesting results.
Practical implications
Drawing on the perspective of the decision-making process, an interpretation of the model results and some practical implications are discussed.
Originality/value
The primary contribution of this study is the introduction of a model investigating the influence of conflict on the use of intuition in strategic decisions. Furthermore, the study collected empirical evidence from SMEs operating in the dynamic economy of the UAE, which is a less studied setting.
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Taking a cognitive perspective of internal auditor independence, the purpose of this study is to develop measures for the concepts of commitment to independence, role conflict and…
Abstract
Purpose
Taking a cognitive perspective of internal auditor independence, the purpose of this study is to develop measures for the concepts of commitment to independence, role conflict and role ambiguity in the context of the internal auditor's work environment, in order to provide evidence of the effects of role conflict and ambiguity, and their sub‐dimensions, on the internal auditor's commitment to independence.
Design/methodology/approach
To measure these concepts, scales are developed for a questionnaire by drawing on measures established in the organizational behavior literature and adapting these to the internal auditor's context. The questionnaire is sent to a sample of internal auditors drawn from the database of the Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia in which listed companies with an in‐house internal audit function are extracted. There are 101 useable responses.
Findings
The results reveal that both role ambiguity and role conflict are significantly negatively related to commitment to independence. The underlying dimensions found to have the greatest impact on commitment to independence are: first, ambiguity in both the exercise of authority by the internal auditor and time pressure faced by the internal auditor; and second, conflict between the internal auditor's personal values and both management's and their profession's expectations and requirements.
Originality/value
The results extend the literature on internal auditor independence and provide insights for auditing standards setters and corporate governance designers.
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