Hidden Conflict In Organizations

Book excerpt: Conflict is a persistent fact of organizational life. Much of it, however, rarely becomes public and instead is expressed `behind the scenes' in such forms as avoidance, toleration, gossip and vengence. This book takes examples from a number of organizational settings and makes the case that far from being an occasional occurrence, conflict is embedded in their very fabric. The authors go on to illustrate the frequency of conflict, show how conflicts are actually handled and suggest that these conflicts can be better managed for organizational effectiveness.