IMPACT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ON EMPLOYEES PRODUCTIVITY IN NASARAWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA COUNCIL

IMPACT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ON EMPLOYEES PRODUCTIVITY IN NASARAWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA COUNCIL

ABSTRACT

The study examines the effect of conflict management on employees productivity in Nasarawa local government area council. The specific objectives are to examine the effect of collaboration strategy on employees’ productivity, ascertain the effect of compromise strategy on employees’ productivity and determine the effect of avoidance strategy on employees’ productivity in Nasarawa local government area council. The study employed survey design and make use of simple random sampling technique in order to get adequate response from the respondents.  The data obtained were analyzed using tables and percentages while the hypotheses were tested using Chi-Square. The findings of the study shows that conflict management have significant impact on employee’s productivity in an organization if properly managed. Finally the study recommends that the organization should create an enabling environment where employees can openly communicate and discuss issues affecting them.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the study

In every aspect of human society and endeavor, conflict is seen as a natural phenomenon that is, inevitable as long as human relationships are involved. It is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about (Robbins, Judge & Vohra, 2015). At home and at work, conflict is very common and in some cases unavoidable (Mughal & Khan, 2016). As a result of people interacting with each other, friction, disagreements or arguments may arise resulting from actual or perceived differences or incompatibilities, thereby escalating to conflict. Thus, conflicts in organisations can take many formssuch as interpersonal conflict, task conflict and process conflict which give rise to diverse approaches to conflict management (Budd & Colvin, 2017).

Nigerian Government over the years however has set up various techniques that will guide organisations in the management of conflicts. Some of these management techniques are available in the provision of Labour/Employment Act, 1971; Workmen’s Compensation Act, 2010, Trade Dispute Amendment Decree, 1988, No 39 and Trade Dispute Act 18, 2004 which provided five steps for legal management of conflict in organisations in the country (Akinwale, 2011).

Nasarawa Local government area council is often faced with the issue of employees’ welfare, non-payment or percentage payment of salary and other issue of interest to the employees. Employee welfare is an important source of motivation to employees and the lack of it has led to employees having grievances against management which has most times resulted into conflict between both parties and the resulting effect has affected not only the employees productivity but the organization at large, thus managing the organisational conflict became necessary so as to improve its performance.

Conflict management involves doing things to limit the negative aspects of conflict and to increase the positive aspects of conflict with the aim of enhancing learning and group outcomes, including effectiveness or performance in organisational settings (Rahim, 2017). Robbins, Judge, and Vohra (2018) identified five major strategies for managing conflict in organisations based on assertiveness and cooperativeness which include: collaboration, compromise, accommodation, competition/domination and avoidance.

Employees productivity is seen as the result of an activity which has been carried out by an employee in relation to authority and responsibility in achieving the goal legally, not against the law, and conforming to the morale and ethics of the organisation (Almajali, Alamro & Al-Soub, 2012). Employee productivity or organisational performance can either be measured financially (earnings per share, return on equity, return on asset) or non-financially (market share, customer satisfaction, employee morale). The appropriate measure selected to assess organisational performance (financial or non-financial) is considered to depend on the type of organisation to be evaluated, and the objectives to be achieved through that evaluation.  It is against this background that this study seek to examine the impact of conflict management on employee productivity in Nasarawa Local Government Area Council.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

Managers spend approximately twenty percent of their time dealing with conflict situations due to the growing complexity of organisations, use of teams and group decision making, and globalization (Mullins, 2015). This proved the fact that conflict cannot be totally eliminated within an organisation because wherever you find human beings interacting at whatever levels, there is bound to be conflict. What is however important is the way conflicts are managed to forestall future occurrence.  The existence of conflict is an issue of concern in Nasarawa Local Government Area Council, the organisation is confronted with the issue of non payment of salary as at when due, promotions and allowances. The lingering issue results into conflict between management and employees of the organisation which manifested in form of employees nursing grievances against management, change of attitude or behaviuor, decrease in effort towards work, physical confrontation between both parties and stoppage of production activities as employees refuse to work. This affected the effectiveness and performance of the individual employees and the organisation as a whole. Attempt by management to resolve the conflict has only led to conflict suppression. This is because management made use of domination strategy which is of benefit to them at the expense of the employees. Several studies have been carried out on conflict management; however, most of these studies are qualitative in nature (Fatile & Adejuwon, 2011; Garcia, 2013; Kazimoto, 2013; Nwosu & Makinde, 2014; Ebhote & Monday, 2015). They cannot be generalised in all aspects of organisations, because conflict management has to do with human intentions. While some empirical studies in this area were carried out using some or all the major conflict management strategies on other dependent variables such as job stress, organisational effectiveness and turnover intention (El Dahshan & Keshk, 2014; Kanani & Farahani, 2014; Lazarus, 2014; Sima, Gbolamabbas, & Saeed, 2012); others were on organisational performance (Ongori, 2009;Hotepo, Asokere, Abdulazeez, &Ajemunigbohun, 2010; Obasan, 2011; Mughal & Khan, 2013), none were able to examined the impact of conflict management on employees productivity. Therefore, this study seeks to bridge the gap in literature by examining the impact of conflict management on employees productivity in Nasarawa local government area of Nasarawa state.

1.3     Objectives of the Study.

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of conflict management on employees productivity in Nasarawa local government area council. The specific objectives are to:

1. Examine the effect of collaboration strategy on employees’ productivity in Nasarawa local government area council.
2. Ascertain the effect of compromise strategy on employees’ productivity in Nasarawa local government area council.
3. Determine the effect of avoidance strategy on employees’ productivity in Nasarawa local government area council.

1.4     Research Questions 

The following research questions are addressed in this study:

1. To what extent does collaboration strategy affect employees’ productivity in Nasarawa local government area council?
2. To what extent does compromise strategy affect employee’s productivity in Nasarawa Local government area council?
3. To what extent does avoidance strategy affect employee’s productivity in Nasarawa Local government area council?

1.5     Statement of Hypotheses.

In line with the research objectives of the study, the following hypotheses are formulated.

H01: Collaboration strategy has no significant effect on employee’s productivity in Nasarawa Local government area council?

H02: Compromise strategy has no significant effect on employee’s on productivity in Nasarawa Local government area council?

H03: Avoidance strategy has no significant effect on employee’s on productivity in Nasarawa Local government area council?

1.6     Scope and limitation of the Study

This study was carried out on the impact of conflict management on employee performance in Nasarawa Local Government area council. The study was carried out on a cross-sectional basis and focus was on the conflict management strategies that contributed to employee productivity and overall organisational performance. Conflict management being the independent construct was operationalised by the following dimensions: collaboration strategy, compromise strategy and avoidance strategy; while the dependent variable was employees productivity.

Limitations

The following are the limitations of the study;

1. Uncooperative attitude of some of the staff of Nasarawa Local Government Area Council who refused to complete the questionnaires given to them or to be interviewed for fear of official reprisal. Their refusal to cooperate adversely affected the amount of data collected through primary sources.
2. Financial Constraint: The study could have been very extensive if more organizations were included. But the researcher could not afford the cost involved. Thus, the study is restricted to only one corporate organization.
3. Time Constraint: The researcher could not complete the study within a record time because of the pressure of other academic works on her.

1.7     Significance of the Study

The study is of great benefit to the management of Nasarawa Local Government area council, other researchers, general public and lastly, it contributes to the existing body of knowledge on conflict management.

This study is of importance to the management of Nasarawa Local Government area council in understanding conflict management strategies which have an important role in determining the success and failure of the organisation and also enlighten them on the strategies to adopt in the management of conflict so as to improve the performance of the organisation.

The research findings and recommendations of this study formed a base to be consulted by other researchers who may wish to make further inquiries into the subject matter. The study is of benefit to the general public as it provides them with adequate information concerning the activities of the organisation as it relates to conflict management in the private sector. This study also contributes to the existing body of knowledge on conflict management by examining the effect of conflict management strategies on organisational performance.

1.8     Historical Background of the Case Study

Nasarawa Local Government Area is a local government in Nasarawa State, Nigeria with its headquarter in the town of Nasarawa, located at 8°32’N 7°42’E, with a population of 30,949 (2016). The local government area has an area of 5,704 km² and a population of 189,835 at the 2006 census.

Nasarawa local government area was created in 1976 during the regime of General Olesegun Obasanjo, it shared boundaries with Karu local government, Keffi, Toto, FCT and Benue State.

The major tribes in Nasarawa local government are Hausa, Fulani, Afo, Gbagyi, Gade, while other minority tribes include mada, agatu etc. the main economic activity in Nasarawa local government is agriculture with cash crops such as yam, cassava, beniseed and egusi (melon). Production of minerals such as salt is also another major economic activity in the local government.

The local government has the following departments: personnel management department, finance department, works department, primary health care, agricultural department, social services and budget planning, research and statistics department.

1.9     Definition of Terms

Conflict: This refers to a situation of disharmony and grievance.

Organization: This refers to a combination or group of people who work together to achieve a goal.

Idiosyncrasy: This refers to a set of attitudes, behaviors and values which characterize an individual.

Goal: This refers to a set objective.

Goal congruency: This is a situation of overlapping personal interests.

Strategy: This is an approach or measure adopted in order to achieve a goal.

Corporate Organization: This refers to a business entity.

Disharmony: This refers to a situation of absence of togetherness.

Management: This refers to the art of planning, organizing, directing and controlling. It also refers to decision-makers in a corporate organization.