JOB SATISFACTION
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
MGT 502 - ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
WEEK 3
A. INTRODUCTION:
Individuals have a wide range of attitudes about their jobs. When people talk about
employee attitudes, they mean job satisfaction, which describes positive feelings about a
job, resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. A person with a high level of job
satisfaction has positive feelings about their job, while a person with a low level of job
satisfaction has negative feelings. Job satisfaction is one topic that has received a lot of
attention.1 Since some human roles were replaced by machines as a result of the industrial
revolution and the fragmentation of work.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the idea of a link between job satisfaction and productivity
developed, and managers focused on working conditions and the work environment to
make employees happier. 3 Work entails interacting with colleagues and superiors,
following organizational rules and policies, meeting performance standards, living with
less than ideal working conditions, and the like.4 Since 1976, job satisfaction has been the
topic of a large number of studies5 , and is still of interest today. Job satisfaction is one of
the most challenging subjects facing managers today regarding employee management.
B. DEFINITION OF JOB SATISFACTION
Job satisfaction is more than how much the person enjoys the tasks of the job, but also
depends on how important the job is to the person, and how well it matches their long-term
goals.8 More than three decades ago Locke (1976) captured the effective or emotional
aspect of job satisfaction when he defined job satisfaction as "a pleasant positive emotional
state resulting from an appraisal of one's job or work experience".9
Rivai and Mulyadi (2012) define job satisfaction as an assessment of the worker about
how far his overall job satisfies his needs. Job satisfaction is also a general attitude that is
the result of several specific attitudes towards work factors, self-adjustment, and individual
social relationships outside of work.10 In a concise but broad sense, Robbins et.al. (2018)
define job satisfaction as positive feelings about a job that result from an evaluation of its
characteristics.
1. Importance of job satisfaction:
An important reason for studying job satisfaction is the belief that increasing job
satisfaction will increase productivity and thus increase organizational profitability.12 Job
satisfaction is also considered important because of its link to positive behavior
(productivity, pro-social) and negative (absenteeism, theft, turnover).13 Job satisfaction is
important to avoid the emergence of negative behaviors: resigning and moving elsewhere,
being vocal in registering complaints, being reluctant to accept guidance or instructions
from supervisors and managers, deliberately not carrying out job responsibilities; crime
and sabotage; overall poor job performance with a high incidence of errors and waste.14
Another reason is that job satisfaction is seen as an indicator of psychological well-
being, or one's mental health. People who are unhappy at work are unlikely (though not
impossible) to be happy in general.15 People who are happy in general and satisfied with
life are also happy at work (and vice versa).16 Happy workers will experience a range of
positive psychological states at work.17
Job satisfaction is critical to a company's success. So it is important to pay attention
and build job satisfaction which can be done through various motivation methods, internal,
external, material, or non-material.18
Job satisfaction is a complex sum of many elements. Some of the highlights of research
on job satisfaction include employees being more satisfied with their job overall, with the
work itself, and with their supervisors and coworkers than with their salary and promotion
opportunities. Other research shows that people from collectivist cultures tend to focus on
harmonious teamwork as a driver of satisfaction, whereas people from more individualistic
cultures focus on work-life balance. Workers from cultures that tend to avoid uncertainty
are more satisfied when there is strong communication from managers, while workers from
countries that tend to be more comfortable with ambiguity place more importance on
training opportunities. Other research suggests that employees in western cultures have
higher levels of job satisfaction than those in eastern cultures.19 This suggests that there is a
need to explore job satisfaction from the point of view of eastern cultures20 with a religious
background.
2. Determinants of job satisfaction:
Satisfaction is a function of dispositional factors, the difference between desired and
received job outcomes, and mood and emotions. People experience greater satisfaction
when they are fulfilled or get outcomes that exceed their expectations, perceive the job
outcomes they receive as fair, and believe that the determination procedures are fair. The
outcomes people expect from a job are a function of their personal value system, which is
moderated by equity considerations. The outcomes people receive from work determine
their beliefs about the nature of that work.21
3. Factors affecting job satisfaction:
Job satisfaction needs to be grown and maintained in the organization, through giving
attention to factors that can cause job satisfaction. Factors that need to be considered are
not only limited to salaries and material facilities, but also a touch of human values, moral
values, or even spiritual values.22 Some organizational factors that are suspected to be the
cause of job satisfaction include:23
a. Fair salary and benefits
b. Promotion (career opportunities)
c. The work itself
d. Leadership
e. Teamwork
f. Working conditions
g. Personality and job fit
The personality characteristics related to job satisfaction include age, gender, race,
cognitive ability, work experience, skill use, job suitability, personality, job level.24
Meanwhile, job characteristic factors that contribute to job satisfaction are challenging
work and meaningful work. Meaningful work is work that has a positive and substantial
impact on others, for example a professor who teaches as a "calling" that allows him to
change the lives of students. This social impact contributes greatly to job satisfaction as
well as performance.25 Factors that seem to act as major contributors to job satisfaction for
most workers are mentally challenging work, meaningful work, adequate compensation,
career opportunities, and friendly or helpful colleagues.26
These factors can have major, minor or moderating effects on job satisfaction. The
factors causing job satisfaction can also be categorized into three different groups,
namely:27
a. Organizational policies and procedures: This concerns things like reward systems
(perceptions of pay equity and promotions), practices supervision and decision-making,
and perceived supervisory quality
b. Specific aspects of the job, such as overall workload, skill, variety, autonomy,
feedback, and the physical nature of the work environment
c. Personal characteristics, such as self-esteem, ability to tolerate stress and general life
satisfaction
4. Impact of job satisfaction:
Many leading companies have maintained a competitive advantage by paying special
attention to employee satisfaction.28 Conversely, if the company does not successfully
manage employee job satisfaction, it will face unintended consequences, such as decreased
productivity, increased employee turnover and absenteeism, and decreased morale.29
C. JOB DISSATISFACTION AND DEVIANCE:
Symptoms of deviance or counterproductive behavior syndrome can be indicated by
antagonistic attitudes/relationships towards various behaviors desired by the organization,
such as incivility and bullying, misuse of tools, theft, unreasonable socialization, passive
resistance to new initiatives, and tardiness. In short, dislike can be compensated in various
ways that leave the root cause untouched. Treatment must target the source of the problem,
which is dissatisfaction.
1. Job Dissatisfaction and Absenteeism:
There is a negative relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism. dissatisfied
employees are more likely to miss work.31 Although high levels of job satisfaction also do
not guarantee low levels of absenteeism, as absenteeism can be moderated by other factors,
such as the importance of the job to the employee, the opportunity to use a variety of skills
in a job where there are clear goals, and the presence of good relationships with superiors
and peers.32
2. Job Dissatisfaction and Turnover:
Job satisfaction is a likely predictor of intention to leave. The relationship between job
satisfaction and turnover is stronger than between satisfaction and absenteeism. Managers
can predict who is likely to leave by looking at employees' job satisfaction levels over
time. Job satisfaction is related to the environment too, If the climate within the workplace
has one employee with low job satisfaction, there will be a "contagion effect".33
3. Job Satisfaction and Performance:
Job satisfaction is linked to improved performance. In general, research shows that
organizations with more satisfied employees tend to be more effective than organizations
with fewer satisfied employees.34 However, the relationship between satisfaction and
performance is complicated because many factors other than job satisfaction that affect
motivation and performance.35 Here are six possible relationships between job satisfaction
and performance:36
Each aspect of satisfaction is not the same in terms of stimulating performance. The
most important facet relates to the content of the work itself. Thus, work that is interesting,
challenging and meaningful is most likely to stimulate performance. The relationship
between job satisfaction and performance is stronger for complex, high-tech jobs in
science, engineering and computers, and less strong for more routine labor jobs. This is
partly because people doing complex work have more control over their level of
performance.37 On the other hand, performance can also contribute to job satisfaction,
when followed by rewards.
4. Job satisfaction and OCB (organizational citizen behavior):
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is informal and voluntary behavior that
contributes to organizational effectiveness. Job satisfaction contributes greatly to OCB,
actually more so than regular task performance.39 Satisfied employees are more likely to
speak positively about their organization, help others, and go beyond normal expectations,
passing on positive experiences. Research shows that when employees are in a good mood,
they are more likely to engage in OCB.40 Sometimes there is a progression of withdrawal
in response to job dissatisfaction (and reduced commitment), a subsequent reduction in
OCB, late attendance, then absenteeism, and finally turnover.
D. JOB SATISFACTION AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING:
Subjective well-being (how people feel about their current life) has a substantial impact
on job satisfaction. A relatively strong relationship is often found between job satisfaction
and subjective well-being. The two appear to influence each other. Job satisfaction is
sometimes referred to as a measure of affective well-being.42
1. Customer satisfaction
Reduced absenteeism and turnover contribute to good service delivery, just as OCB
stimulates good teamwork. In addition, a good mood among employees can be contagious
for customers.43
2. Job Satisfaction Measurement
There are various measures of job satisfaction in the workplace. They all involve
questions or statements that ask respondents to indicate what they think and/or feel about
their job as a whole (called global satisfaction) and/or specific aspects of it, such as pay,
work activities, working conditions, career prospects, relationships with superiors and
relationships with colleagues (facet-level satisfaction), using Likert scaling. 44 The
quantification tools for measuring job satisfaction are:45
a. The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) is a questionnaire that covers nine dimensions of job
satisfaction. Participants are asked to answer 36 items or 4 items for each of the nine
subscales. For each item, there is a choice between "strong disagreement" and "strong
agreement" (Spector, 1997).
b. The Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) was created by Hackman and Oldham in 1975
(Hackman & Oldham, 1975). This survey measures overall and specific facets of job
satisfaction. General satisfaction, internal work motivation, and growth satisfaction are
three dimensions of overall job satisfaction combined into one measure.
c. The Job Satisfaction Index was developed by Schriescheim and Tsue in 1980. The
index consists of six items that make up and index what determines overall job
satisfaction, namely promotion opportunities, supervision, work, pay, coworkers, and
work in general (Fields, 2002).
d. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire measures ability, achievement, action,
growth, authority, company policies and practices, creativity, independence, moral
values, recognition, responsibility, security, social status, supervision-human relations,
working conditions and more (Fields, 2002).
e. Job Satisfaction Relative to Expectations was developed by Bacharach, Bamberger,
and Conley. The scale measures the perceived quality of the workplace and employee
expectations (Bacharach, et. Al., 1991). This scale is most effective in determining how
work pressure, role conflict, or role ambiguity may prevent employees from meeting
job expectations (Fields, 2002).
f. Global Job Satisfaction, developed by Warr, Cook, and Wall in 1979 measures overall
job satisfaction (Warr, Cook, & Wall, 1979).
g. The Job Descriptive Index was first created in 1969 by Smith, Kendall, and Hulin. It
contains 72 items that assess five aspects of job satisfaction including: coworkers, job,
promotion, pay, and supervision. A composite measure of job satisfaction is found by
relating the aspects to satisfaction ratings (Smith, Kendall, & Hulin, 1969).
Measuring job satisfaction can also use critical incident techniques and interviews:
a. Use of the critical incident technique. Employees are asked to focus their attention on
some situation or incident related to job satisfaction. For example, employees are asked
to relate what they like or dislike about their job. The next step is to have the content of
this specific job - related information analyzed to identify factors that may cause job
satisfaction or prevent it. With the critical incident technique, respondents experience
greater freedom to express themselves, unlike situations with rating scales.
b. Interviews. As a more open approach than critical incidents, an interview with an
interviewee has a wider scope in terms of responses. In addition, the interviewer can be
probing as he or she has the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification on
unclear responses or observations. The drawback of this technique is that it is time-
consuming; there is also the possibility of interview bias, which can arise when the
interviewer's preconceptions about the issues raised, and misconceptions about the
responses, contaminate the results.
E. SUMMARY MATERIAL:
1. Job satisfaction as positive feelings about work; includes the meaning of a job for a
worker, compatibility with long-term life goals, enjoying their job duties, good
relationships with coworkers and superiors, and rewards and opportunities for self-
development.
2. Understanding employee job satisfaction and fostering it is important for the
development of positive feelings and behaviors that will lead to improved individual,
team and organizational performance; which will strengthen competitiveness.
3. Factors that can cause job satisfaction include aspects of personality, aspects of work
(challenging, meaningful from spiritual, moral, social values), aspects of job suitability,
aspects of organizational policies (leadership, colleagues, working conditions, career
opportunities, reward and benefit systems).
4. Job satisfaction can have a positive impact in the form of avoiding a culture of
deviance and fraud, reducing absenteeism, eroding the intention to move, increasing
individual achievement and organizational performance, fertilizing organizational
citizenship behavior (OCB), contributing to work happiness and subjective well-being,
supporting customer satisfaction and organizational profits.
TASKS AND EVALUATION
1. Explain the meaning and importance of employee job satisfaction!
2. Give examples of work that is meaningful to you. Try to explain it from several
aspects.
3. Explain that an organization's leadership style can impact employee satisfaction or
dissatisfaction.
4. Explain that job dissatisfaction can lead to negative behaviors that are detrimental to
the organization.
5. Explain the positive impact of job satisfaction on team performance in organizations.
WORK CONFLICT AND HOW TO MANAGE CONFLICT:
The presence of conflict in an organization is an important thing to note. This causes
management to need to do the right handling, even before the conflict actually occurs.
Conflict is not only the responsibility of Public Relations practitioners in the company (PR
organization) as a communication officer, but it is the responsibility and obligation of all
members of the organization within it to manage and minimize the potential for destructive
conflict.
Conflict comes from the Latin verb "configere" which means to strike each other.
Sociologically, conflict is defined as a social process between two or more people (or
groups) in which one party tries to get rid of the other party by making it powerless.
De Dreu (Amir, 2017: 126) defines that conflict is a process in which one party
considers that its interests are opposed or negatively perceived by another party. It is
further explained that conflict It can happen when one party interferes with another's plans.
Or, it can also happen when there is a certain way that is not liked.
Robbins (1996: 428), defines that: "conflict is a process in which an effort is purposely
made by A to offset the efforts of B by some form of blocking that will result in frustrating
B in attaining his or her goals or furthering his or her interests."
In addition, Mangkunegara (2008: 21) explains that conflict is an opposition that occurs
between what a person expects of himself, others, the organization and the reality he
expects.
Based on the definition of the experts above, it can be concluded that conflict is a
conflict that occurs due to a difference in views between the intentions and expectations of
the parties who have an interest.
The occurrence of conflict is due to the interaction of two or more parties with mutual
interests and then differences in the perception of the parties in addressing a problem. Each
party maintains its perception (ego) and tends to attack the perception of the other party. In
addition, the potential for conflict is due to a sense of dissatisfaction experienced by one
party towards the other. Conflict is a natural thing that must occur in an organization,
unless the organization has disappeared along with the individuals or groups in it.
Each party's perception defense pattern can lead to their inability to control their
emotions. When the problem is getting heated, there will be supporting factors that will
increase their emotions, so that one party will take initial action and then be followed by
the other party in providing negative feedback. It may lead to verbal violence and so on
which causes the irritation on both sides to be shown.
A. TYPES OF CONFLICT:
Several management experts have divided and described the types of conflicts from
various points of view. Some descriptions of these experts are described in Umam (2012:
327) as follows:
1. Conflict based on its function, this is stated by Robbins, who divides conflict into two
types, namely:
a. Functional Conflict, is conflict that supports the achievement of group goals and
improves group performance. This conflict improves group performance, even if it
results in certain individual dissatisfaction.
b. Dysfunctional Conflict, which is conflict that hinders the achievement of group
goals. This means that this conflict only satisfies one individual and sacrifices the
performance of the group.
2. Conflict based on the parties involved, this conflict was proposed by Stoner and
Freeman who divided conflict into six types, including:
a. Conflict within the individual, this conflict occurs when a person must choose
conflicting goals or because the demands of the task are beyond their ability.
b. Conflict between individuals, which is due to personality differences between one
individual and another.
c. Conflict between individuals and groups, which is a conflict that occurs because
individuals fail or are unable to adapt to the norms of the group in which they work.
d. Intergroup conflict within the same organization, which is a conflict that occurs
because of the different goals of each group and each group seeks to achieve them.
e. Inter-organizational conflict, this conflict occurs when actions taken by one
organization negatively impact another.
f. Conflicts between individuals in different organizations, namely conflicts that
occur over an attitude and actions of individuals (members) of an organization that
have a negative impact on other members of the organization.
3. Conflict based on one's position in the organizational structure, this type of conflict was
proposed by Winardi who divided this conflict into four types, among others:
a. Vertical conflict, which is a conflict that occurs between members of the
organization who have different positions such as conflicts that occur between
leaders and their staff.
b. Horizontal conflict, which is a conflict that occurs between those who have parallel
or equal positions in the organization, such as conflicts between employees or
between departments at the same level.
c. Line-staff conflict, which is a conflict that occurs between line employees, who
usually hold command positions, and staff officers who usually serve as advisors in
the organization.
d. Role conflict, which is a conflict that occurs because a person assumes more than
one conflicting role.
B. CONFLICT PARADOX:
From the various explanations previously described, conflict is always viewed from the
angle of bad perceptions that must be avoided. Conflict has a negative connotation as
something that can hinder organizational goals. Is this always the case? In reality, conflict
can be managed into a strategy that is beneficial to the organization improving
performance efficiency and effectiveness, increasing competitiveness, integrated quality
management, and so on. But all cannot be separated from the support of leaders who are
oriented towards improvement and quality improvement.
Starting from the explanation above, conflict can be divided into two types, namely
destructive conflict and constructive conflict. The following is an explanation of each type
of conflict.
a. Destructive conflict, which is conflict that is destructive, detrimental, and must be
avoided. This conflict is the result of poor communication, loss of trust, and failure of
leaders to manage their members as organizational assets.
b. Constructive conflict, which is conflict that can encourage individuals or groups to
increase competitiveness, resilience, motivation, and improve performance in making a
positive contribution to both themselves and their organization. Constructive conflict is
in line with the interactional view which emphasizes that conflict occurs as a stimulus
to achieve goals with better effort than before.
C. SOURCES AND IMPACTS OF CONFLICT IN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT :
Similar to dealing with work stress, organizational management must know where the
source of conflict comes from. Analysis, identification and continuous monitoring need to
be done to address conflicts that have the potential to damage performance and the
conduciveness of the work environment.
From the above statement, a question arises, "is there any conflict that does not result
in potential damage? " Therefore, can conflict be avoided or even created? To answer this,
we first need to know the sources of conflict. Based on the previous definition of conflict,
it is known that conflict occurs due to differences in opinions or perspectives of interested
parties. Some aspects that trigger
The occurrence of conflict includes:
1. Resources:
What commonly happens is the limited resources available. The resources in question
can be in the form of work facilities and infrastructure, budget, number of personnel in one
department, and so on. For example; the use of an office car that cannot be used at the
same time. Part of the marketing team wants to go to the field to do prospecting and
promotion. However, the car is also to be used to take the leader to meet business partners
outside. Another example of conflict that occurs is due to the issue of limiting the number
of personnel and work budgets allowed in each department, even though the current
workload and personnel skills are considered inadequate. These things have the potential to
cause performance to be hampered, while all departments are required to produce
predetermined target achievements.
2. Communication:
Various communication problems that occur have been described in the previous
chapters and subchapters. errors in sending or receiving messages can lead to differences in
perceptions that ultimately trigger conflict. Inadequate communication skills can also lead
parties to interpret information or messages differently. In addition, the style of speech in
communication also tends to cause conflict.
3. Job dependence (interdependence):
Interdependence in addressing work is the beginning of unhealthy working conditions.
When each individual or group relies on each other's performance, it can cause delays in a
job that should have been done. Of course, work effectiveness decreases because there is
no proactive attitude to immediately complete the work. The potential for conflict that
occurs is like shifting the blame to each other because the work is not done properly.
4. Departmental structure and differentiation:
Different tasks and authorities in each department have the potential to create different
perspectives in handling a problem. Structure also means rank, meaning that vertical
relationships can be a trigger for conflict. When staff may have ideas for the progress of
company projects, but their ideas do not get enough response from the leadership. It can be
due to differences in values, experience, seniority, even to the understanding of a system
such as devices and the use of technology applications.
5. Personal variables:
This conflict occurs as a result of individual or group characteristics. These
characteristics can come from the understanding of values, culture, and the environment
that shapes their personality. These characteristics include perfectionism, authoritarianism,
self-righteousness, demandingness, and so on, which are considered right by the individual
but contradictory to the perspectives and beliefs of others.
6. Ambiguous role:
One of the purposes of a job description is so that each individual (employee) can carry
out their respective duties and obligations in accordance with what is their position. But
often the additional tasks given outside the job description obscure the main task. So that
the unclear role will be increasingly visible with the throwing of inappropriate tasks and
authority. It is not impossible that the source of conflict in point c above (interdependence)
is triggered because of the unclear role of the implementation of the main tasks and
functions of the employees.
7. Regulations and policies in the work environment:
It is no secret that the types of rules and policies issued by the company are not fully
agreed upon by the members in it. Certain things that do not match the perspective of each
member will cause conflict if not addressed. Keep in mind that regulations and policies in
the work environment are a reflection of the values and culture adopted. Because not all
individuals in it have the same perception, so if it is imposed, it will cause certain conflicts
in the future. Examples are restrictions on the use of office facilities, working hours and
wages that are not in accordance with laws and regulations, inadequate compensation
policies, and so on.
8. Unilateral decision-making:
One of the things that annoys some groups of members or employees in the company is
the issuance of unilateral decisions regarding work procedures, policies, or other
regulations without prior discussion or meetings. This is common in organizations with a
centralized management system. But in addition to unilateral decisions made by the
leadership element, these incidents can also occur with fellow coworkers or teams that are
supposed to work together.
9. Competition:
Competition can occur because of the desire to show self-existence in the work
environment. Unhealthy competition can lead to conflict, because with it fellow employees
can bring down the positive image of each other and damage working relationships, not
just individuals or groups, if it persists it can damage relationships within the organization
as a whole.
10. Previous conflicts:
Often conflicts are deliberately left unresolved. The reasons vary, one of which is the
indifference of fellow members, both superiors and subordinates, to resolve conflicts in a
family manner. Usually, each of them will think that the other will just forget about an
incident. But without good conflict resolution communication, then one day the unresolved
conflict will be brought up again, so that the conflict will be resolved again unfinished
problems are exacerbated by new problems.
Based on the explanation of the sources of conflict above, we can conclude that conflict
is inevitable. Conflict will occur if there are at least two parties interacting with each other.
But rather than that, conflict can be minimized, and if managed properly, then conflict can
actually increase employee motivation, competitiveness and performance.
For example, by knowing the limited resources owned, management knows what
factors have the potential to hinder performance. For this reason, management is expected
to be able to provide the necessary resources. The ability of management to procure and
manage its resources makes the company have a superior capacity in its business.
A good conflict is a conflict that is able to make management and members in it (both
leaders and employees) to improve each other and improve the shortcomings that occur in
their organization. The existence of unclear roles requires the HR department (HRD) to
reaffirm the job description according to the position and position of the employee.
The problem of competition in the work environment should be managed to increase
employee morale and motivation. With healthy competition, management can direct
employees or departments to achieve realization in accordance with predetermined work
targets. A simple example is to give rewards to the marketing team that wins the challenge
with the highest sales turnover value in a certain period. Meanwhile, the losing group will
be included in a special training program with a fun curriculum, so that they do not feel
stressed and are even more motivated to win the next challenge because they have attended
the training.
D. ORGANIZATIONAL (COMPANY) STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING
CONFLICT :
Conflict is inevitable but conflict can be minimized. The members of the organization
should be able to address every situation that has the potential to lead to conflict in a wise,
rational and mature way. The habit of rashly following emotions in acting and taking a
stand, tends to cause problems to be prolonged. In addition to being self-defeating, this can
certainly be detrimental to one individual and even other groups.
In conflict management, management needs to understand how to look at conflicts, for
example, the public relations division approaches communication both internally and
externally in accordance with the problems being faced through managerial perspectives,
so that potential problems can be found. These approaches include:
1. Interest-based frame, which is an approach that focuses on problem solving by
identifying the causes of conflict and finding solutions to these problems. In this case,
as much as possible, the parties feel won from the decision taken (win-win solution) so
that it can fulfill the interests of each party. This approach makes the parties hold back
and reduce their emotions by the mediator providing various assumptions and beliefs.
But even so, it is up to the parties to manage their constructive awareness. If they are
unable to hold their constructive level, then the conflict approach will lead to a more
assertive and powerful level.
2. Right-based frame, which is an approach to conflict resolution in accordance with the
values and obligations of a contractual reference. The conflicting parties have
arguments for their respective opinions in assessing a case. Their opinions are correct
but need to be reconciled with existing contractual interpretations.
3. Power-based frame, which is a conflict resolution approach that occurs because of the
strong power factor. Parties who have power tend to dominate other parties to conform
to their perceptions. It is not uncommon for conflict resolution solutions to be carried
out with the ability to intimidate to get agreement from the other party.
If the conflict progresses to an alarming and potentially destructive stage, then the
conflict is no longer healthy. Conflicts that occur cannot lead employees to increased
motivation and performance. For this reason, management needs to take serious steps and
actions through the implementation of strategies to resolve conflicts that occur.
The strategies that can be implemented by company management include the
following:
1. Problem solving
Although this strategy has a weakness in the length of time for settlement, at least this
strategy is oriented towards the benefits of each party. This means that in this strategy
the parties jointly identify the problem and find a solution on the basis of consideration
of various alternatives that have been agreed upon. This strategy is synonymous with
the provision of a win-win solution.
2. Forcing
This strategy is often used when there is limited time to make decisions. This strategy
requires the legality of certain powers and authorities. In addition, dominance is also
reinforced by irrefutable arguments. This strategy is identical to the provisions of win-
lose orientation, causing irritation for those who actually disagree with the results of
the decisions that have been made. So as to avoid prolonged conflict, the party must be
heartened to accept the decision in question.
3. Yielding
This conflict resolution strategy is oriented by paying attention to the interests of the
opposing parties. The surrender made aims to reduce the tension of the conflict that
occurs. In addition, this method also emphasizes equality and togetherness. However, it
should be noted that sometimes this strategy does not touch the problem to be solved
because the goal is to relieve tension, so the solution tends to be temporary.
4. Avoiding
Similar to yielding, this strategy refers to avoiding conflict. The parties respect each
other and behave well. Its weakness is that the problem is pent up and protracted. For
this reason, this strategy is used when dealing with small problems that do not have a
significant impact on social relations. For this reason, each party must be able to
tolerate each other and there is no need to invade areas that intersect with the
personality of individuals or groups such as; religion, race, political views, and so on.
5. Compromised
This strategy refers to a balanced orientation of both one's own interests and those of
the other party. This model is considered democratic because it accommodates the
aspirations of both parties. In it, there is a formulation of promises or agreements to
find common ground and common goals, so that no party feels disadvantaged.
Mangkunegara (2008: 26-28), concluded that there are three ways to manage conflict,
namely by:
1. Encouraging conflict:
a. Bring in someone from the outside.
b. Change the current.
c. Organizational realignment.
d. Encourage competition.
e. Looking for a new, more suitable manager
2. Reducing conflict:
a. Cooling the temperature of the dispute.
b. Uniting disparate groups by finding a "scapegoat" and trying to defeat a common
enemy.
3. Resolving conflicts:
The explanation of the conflict resolution strategy is as follows:
a. Domination and pressure.
Domination and pressure are usually exercised in a way:
- Suppress conflict, not resolve conflict by forcing it to stop.
- Win-lose, the loser usually has to give way to the more powerful, is dissatisfied
and will always fight back.
- There are many ways to do this, including:
- Forcing completion.
- Diplomacy.
- Dodge.
- Majority.
b. Compromise
There are several forms of compromise, namely:
- Separation.
- Peace.
- The rules decide.
- Bribery/compensation.
c. Integral Solving
There are several forms of integral solutions, namely:
- Musyawarah mufakat (consensus).
- Confrontation.
- Achievement of higher goals.
Of the various strategies described above, all of them are again adjusted to the situation
that occurs in the organizational environment. For this reason, it requires the expertise of
management, as well as other stakeholders in it to manage conflicts that occur. Conflict
analysis starts from knowing the initial potential that occurs, knowing the source, and
immediately determining what strategic steps to take.
E. SUMMARY MATERIAL:
1. Conflict is an opposition that occurs due to a difference in views between the intentions
and expectations of the parties who have an interest.
2. There are three types of conflict that can be seen from:
a. Conflict by function;
b. Conflict based on the parties involved;
c. Conflict based on position in the organizational structure.
3. Conflict does not always have a bad connotation. In paradox theory, conflict is divided
into two traits: destructive conflict and constructive conflict.
4. Conflict is inevitable. Conflict will still occur if there are at least two parties interacting
with each other. But rather than that, conflict can be minimized, and if managed
properly, then conflict can actually increase employee motivation, competitiveness and
performance.
5. Some examples of strategies that can be implemented in overcoming conflict are as
follows,
a. Problem solving
b. Forcing;
c. Yielding;
d. Avoiding;
e. Compromised.
TASKS AND EVALUATION
1. Name and explain the types of conflicts you have experienced in your work
environment or organization?
2. In times of conflict, what role and contribution can you make in resolving or managing
the conflict?
3. Has your strategy been effective? If not, what are the obstacles?
4. What solutions and suggestions can you convey to the management or authorities in
your organization related to conflict management?
5. Discuss various case studies on conflict management strategies through approaches:
a. Interest based frame.
b. Right based frame.
c. Power based frame.
