Page 1 of 11
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online:https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1508
Positive Organizational Culture: Conceptualizing Managerial Role in
Interpersonal Conflict
Sahiba Sharma1
, Kavita Singh2
1PhD Research Scholar, 2Associate Professor
SRM University, Delhi NCR, Sonepat, Haryana, India
Abstract
Present study aims to conceptualize manager’s role in stimulating positive conflict and
reducing negative conflict in organization in order to foster positive organizational culture.
The study proposes two conceptual models and has examined individual role in both
frameworks. To integrate research across individual, interpersonal and organizational level,
multilevel theorizing has been used. The study suggests that proactive management can act as
catalyst to instigate the positive conflict and individual role clarity may act as a moderating
variable. Conversely conflict management styles and individual resilience mediates the
relation between interpersonal conflict and its negative outcomes, acting as inhibitor. It aids
the managers to strategically promote positive conflict in the workplace such that it results in
positive employee outcomes and reduces the negative conflict. The study is first to
conceptually clear the role of managers in interpersonal conflict concerning positive
organizational scholarship.
Keywords: interpersonal conflict, conflict management styles, proactive management,
positive organization culture, positive organizational scholarship
1. INTRODUCTION
The word “conflict” itself have negative connotation associated to it (Baron, 1991). At
present, there are different views on conflict. Traditional view on conflict holds that every
conflict is bad and is assumed to be preventable problem that should be completely avoided
as it have negative affects on the individuals and consequences on organizations. The human
relation view on conflict supports that conflict has both negative and positive consequences
and whatever policies or steps taken by managers to avoid it will not be able to completely
reduce it effects. On the other hand, interactionist view on conflict is that some of the conflict
is absolutely necessary for the organizations. Hence, it encourages conflict on the grounds
that a harmonious, peaceful, tranquil and cooperative organization may be prone to becoming
static, apathetic and non-responsive to the needs of change and innovation (Robbins &
Coulter 1996). While there are negative consequences associated with conflict, Baron (1991)
noted that conflict leads to positive consequences such that it brings into notice the problems
being previously ignored or neglected out in open, it encourages and considers new ideas and
facilitate innovation. Additionally, the members of different groups experience increase
Page 2 of 11
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online:https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1509
loyalty and cohesiveness. Moreover, a manager’s true skill is assessed when they are able to
balance between destructive and constructive conflict (Van der Waldt and Du Toit, 1997).
This study has focused on both positive and negative outcomes of conflict. While
exploring the literature on conflict management, one of the major gap identified was that
work on positive conflict is relatively less. So, to bridge this gap and encourages positive
organizational behaviour “positive organizational scholarship” (Cameron et al, 2003) has
been used in this study. The objective of the study is to conceptualize the role of managers in
stimulating positive conflict and reducing negative conflict in order to foster positive
organizational culture. Hence, we aim to clarify and highlight the individual factors
(resilience, role clarity), interpersonal (conflict), and organizational (conflict management
styles, proactive management) factors that facilitate or obstruct positive organizational
culture (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Multilevel Factors leading to organizational culture
More precisely, this study builds an argument about the factors that contributes positive
organizational culture through positive consequences of interpersonal conflict and role of
proactive management. Conversely, we also conceptualize the factors that obstruct positive
organizational culture through negative consequences of interpersonal conflict and role of
manager’s conflict management styles and individual resilience to reduce its effects. So the
research questions that we aim to examine are: firstly, does proactive management
strategically facilitates the positive employee outcomes (increased performance, loyalty,
innovation and change, intragroup cohesiveness) of interpersonal conflict in the
organizations? Secondly, does conflict management styles increase individual resilience and
reduces the negative employee outcomes (reduced performance, psychological and physical
symptoms and high turnover intentions) of interpersonal conflict in the organization?
2. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS
2.1. Positive organizational scholarship (POS)
Organizational behaviour studies have focused on creating positive work cultures and
positive experiences. According to Cameron et al, (2003) POS is a newly-christened
Organi
zation
Individ
ual
Positiv
e
Organi
zationa
l
Culture
Interpe
rsonal
Page 3 of 11
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online:https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1510
approach that recognizes and studies exceptional individual and organizational performance.
It is also called as positive organizational behaviour (Wright, 2003; Luthans 2003). Currently,
literature of social science has been based on the disease model of human nature in which
people are seen as flawed and fragile, the victims of the cruel environments (Maddux, 2002).
So, it can be concluded that in general social sciences has neglected the study what can go
right with the people and has very little to say about the good life, hence it is time to correct
the imbalance in the literature and to challenge the assumptions of the disease model
(Peterson and Park, 2003). Positive psychology concerns three topics: positive subjective
experiences such as happiness, pleasure, satisfaction, well-being; positive individual traits
such as character strengths, interests, values that encourages positive experiences and the
study of institutions (families, business, communities, societies) that encourages positive
traits and ultimately positive experiences (Peterson, 2006). The field of POS is still naive and
no ground theory has emerged as of now. Park and Peterson (2003) encourage the approach
of positive traits that enables positive experiences. We used network management specifically
proactive management to answer the role of managers in positive consequences of
interpersonal conflict.
2.2. Interpersonal conflict
Research in organizational behaviour is divided into normative and descriptive wherein
normative research is concerned with how things should be while descriptive research
addresses that what is. Normative approach deals with the beliefs and attitudes that identify
all conflict as destructive and promote complete conflict elimination while descriptive
approaches accept conflict as unavoidable and can be properly managed for smooth working
in organizations. Research on conflict has been done since long though the construct
“interpersonal conflict” has been given a clear conceptualization and operationalization by
Barki and Hartwick (2004). There study provides a two dimensional framework in which
first dimension identifies three properties that are associated with conflict situations:
disagreement, interference and negative emotion. And the second dimension identifies two
targets of interpersonal conflict that are encountered in organizational settings: task
relationship and interpersonal relationship.
Interpersonal Conflict’s Focus
Task content or task process Interpersonal relationship
Interpersonal conflict properties
Cognition/Disagreement 1
Disagreement with the other about
what should be done in a task or
how a task should be done
2
Disagreement with the other’s
personal values, views,
preferences etc.
Behaviour/ Interference 3
Preventing the other from doing
what they think should be done in
a task or how a task should be
done
4
Preventing the other from doing
things unrelated to a task
Affect/ Negative Emotion 5
Anger and frustration directed to
the other about what should be
done in a task or how a task
should be done
6
Anger and frustration directed to
the other as a person
