Inter-group conflicts over authority, jurisdiction and resources are exceedingly common. Every group is in at least partial conflict with every other group it interacts with. Most of the departments in the organization compete for the allocation of scarce resources and power. They differ in goals, act, work activities, power and prestige. The seeds of inter-group conflict are shown in these differences. Imagine about a recent announcement of a government owned insurance company to privatize it. The dynamics of inter-group conflict is related to understanding of emotions, attitudes and behaviors of different group members who are divided because of their interest and preferences. Finally, understanding such dynamics helps to find strategic opinions to solve problems. Following are the dynamics of inter-group conflict.
Related Topic: Meaning and Concept of Conflicts
1. Incompatible Goals
Differences in group goals can easily lead to group conflict. Goal compatibility implies goals attainment by one or more other groups. The achievement of one department's goal often interferes with another department's goal. Quite often this is due to high horizontal differentiation and task specialization. The production department might perceive its goals as being potentially incompatible with those of marketing. Production department may pose such questions.
- Why do not we have accurate sales forecasts?
- Is it possible to keep everything in inventory?
- Why don't we have enough capacity?
- Why don't we ever have the right merchandise in inventory?
Therefore, in the modern organization, goals are to be compatibly stated or defined for the purpose of reducing the size of conflict.
2. Changes within Each Group
With the formation of inter-group conflict, there will be changes in the behavior like perceptions, attitudes, personality, values, customs and ethical issues of the participants belonging to groups in the following ways:
- Autocracy in leadership
- Increase in group think and cohesiveness
- Increased concern for task accomplishment
- Loyalty to the group becomes more important
- Organization and structure will become more rigid
3. Resource Allocation
Resources symbolize power and influence and are the means of accomplishing goals. As such, most of the departments in an organization exercise for resources and power. In their anxiety to achieve goals, groups try out a bigger slice out of the common pool. When the more parties compete, the more intense is the conflict. Conflict may be minimized if the organization is prospering and new resources are growing by allowing greater share to each and every department.
4. Changes in Relations between Groups
Relations between groups will also be disrupted with the increase in inter-group conflict. For each group involved in conflict, goals become extremely important to achieve, they start violating rules and procedures and a situation of open antagonism will arise because of the following reasons:
- Shift from problem-solving to win-lose orientation
- Distortion in communication and interaction
- Increasing hostility toward the rival group
- Distortion in perception
5. Competitive Incentive and Reward system
When tasks are independent, competition can affect cooperation among members and performance may actually decline. For example, when all students in a group received the same grade regardless of individual contribution, coordination, communication and quality seem better. But when students are graded according to their personal contributions to the group, they try to succeed at the expense of others and seem more frequently in conflict. Similarly, inter-group conflict is more likely to occur when the reward plan is tied to individual group performance rather than to overall organizational performance. If departments are regarded only for departmental performance, managers are motivated to excel at the expense of others.
6. Strategy of Groups to Win Power
Strategy of groups to win power is another dynamic issue observed in inter-group conflict. Sometimes, groups show attitudes of co-operation and also try to share resources to win power. Some strategies for making gains are presented below:
- Attacking and blaming others
- Cultivating networks
- Contracting
- Forming coalitions
- Forcing and pressure
- Controlling information
- Managing impressions
7. Differences in Values and Perception
Sometimes, status in congruence also promotes conflicts. The differences in goals among members at the various departments in the organization are frequently accompanied by differences in attitudes, values and perceptions that can also lead to conflict. Engineering people may value sophisticated designs while manufacturing people may prefer simple designs. If members of particular department perceive themselves as having higher status than the others for one reason or other, conflicts results in. for example, conflict was found to result when low status industrial engineer directed the higher status engineers in the implementation of certain tasks.
8. Consequences of Winning or Losing Conflict
One another dynamic issue in inter-group conflict is consequences of winning or losing conflict. Normally, between two groups, own wins and another looses. In such a situation, conflict arises. There are following effects of success as well as failure.
a) Effect of success
- For the winning group, in the short run, concern for work and task accomplishment will decrease.
- Stronger belief in the negative stereotype of the losing group.
- Losing some of the spirit of fighting by the winning group.
- Increase in group cohesiveness and co-operation within the winning group.
- Concern of the winning group for its member's satisfaction and needs.
- Work atmosphere for the winning group will become more casual and complacent.
b) Effects of Failure
- Increase in tension among group members.
- They try to convince others that the other group was very strong.
- Put in more efforts for excuses for such failure.
- Decreasing cohesiveness and inter-group co-operation among the losing group members.
- The losing group attempts to distort the reality of their failure or simply denies losing.
- The group gets opportunity to re-evaluate its stereotypes.
- Although, initially, the group feels upset, later on, members realize their weaknesses and improve their work quality.
When conflicts takes place within inter group i.e. conflict between one group to another, the following dynamism can be seen in the group.
| 1. Changes within each group When there will be inter-group conflict, the following changes seen within each group. Each group now try to make the strong to meet the hurdles created, by other group. So, there will be the following five major changes within each group. The changes are: |
- Loyalty to the group becomes more important: In the face of an external threat, the group demands more loyalty from individual members. Not only is social interaction with people outside the group not encouraged; it is expressly discouraged. Such interaction could lend to inadvertent betrayal of group strategy and secrets. Deviance is more closely monitored and punished.
- There is increased concern for task accomplishment: When there will be inter conflict, the group member now becomes more concern for task accomplishment. There will be less informal relation among group members but high formal relation among group members.
- Leadership in the group becomes more autocratic: When inter group conflict is present, it is especially important for a group to be able to respond quickly and in a unified manner to the activities of other groups. A democratic work style can reduce the group’s capacity respond quickly.
- The organization and structure of the group becomes more rigid: After the inter-group conflict among the groups, each group is concerned of making the group more effective. There will be rigid organizational structure. They build up formal relation rather than informal relation. This makes them more task concern. Task will be highly valued first and then after people will be concerned.
- Group cohesiveness (degree of unity) increased: In the face of an external threat, past differences and difficulties between group members are forgotten. The group closes ranks to meet the challenge. Individual group members find both the group as whole and other group members more attractive.
2. Changes in Relations between groups
- Interaction and communication between group decreases.
- There are distortions of perception, both one’s own group and about the other group.
- There is a shift from a problem-solving orientation towards other groups to win lose orientation.
- There is increased hostility forwarded by the rival group.
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