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Conflict Resolution: Disagreement or hostility
Helms School of Government, Liberty University
Author’s Note
Abstract
Conflict is a disagreement or aggression amongst people or groups. The individuality of the
people and the department encompassed in the existing conflict have been altered to safeguard
the people and organization. Conflict initiates and develops in various situations. This paper will
emphasis an inter-group conflict and its consequences that a college campus law enforcement is
experiencing. The paper's first will offer a summary of the conflict disturbing the employees and
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leadership at the police department. The secondly a literature review is provided to expose the
source of the conflict and any useful information that may aid in a potential resolution to the
existing and problematic conflict the police depart is experiencing.
Keywords: Conflict, Social Exchange, Procedural Fairness, Culture, Leadership
Conflict Resolution: Disagreement or hostility
Introduction
00According to Ortmeier and Meese (2010), conflict is a disagreement or aggression
amongst people or groups. The individuality of the people and the department encompassed in
the existing conflict have been altered to safeguard the people and organization. Conflict initiates
and develops in various situations. This paper will emphasis an inter-group conflict and its
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consequences that a college campus law enforcement is experiencing. The paper's first will offer
a summary of the conflict disturbing the employees and leadership at the police department. The
secondly a literature review is provided to expose the source of the conflict and any useful
information that may aid in a potential resolution to the existing and problematic conflict the
police depart is experiencing.
Review of Conflict
The conflict within the police department at the college is taking place among the junior
patrol officers, a couple of middle management sergeants (SGTs) (SGT Sancho and SGT
Hamilton), and the senior leadership of the department. The conflict is grounded on SGT
Hamilton’s inability to lead the officer under his supervision. SGT Hamilton is an undeceive
leader that continuously seeks the advice and approval of other supervisors prior to deciding.
SGT Hamilton has resent been promoted to SGT and trained by SGT Sancho, who is also an
undeceive leader and does not provide the appropriate coaching, mentorship, and supervision to
the junior officers. SGT Sancho’s leadership approach is the result of the previous chief of
police, that has superannuated. The previous chief utilized a controlling method to lead the
workforce at the department. During the previous chief’s tenure, advancement to a leadership
role was not based on merit, but by fear.
Additionally, The previous chief only promoted officers that feared him, feared the
reprisal for making any decisions on their own, and speaking against the chief’s decisions. SGT
Hamilton was advanced to the rank of Sergeant by a newly appointed chief, trained by the
recently retire chief of police. The new chief was coached and mentored to adopt the same
leadership approach as the previous chief. However, the new chief claimed that he wanted to
create a positive work environment that promote job satisfaction for everyone. The new chief
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deemed it necessary to advocate for better communication across the workforce and promote
authority decision making among middle management personnel. Unfortunately, the new chief is
not aware of the new sergeants’ effectiveness and efficiency to serve as supervisors. Therefore,
the chief continues to lead the department as the previous chief, with an authoritarian leadership
style where he makes all the decisions. SGT Sancho trained SGT Hamilton prior to and upon his
recent advancement in rank and responsibilities. Unfortunately, SGT Sancho lacks confidence
and depends on other leaders to make decisions for him.
Theoretical Framework and Literature Review
Social Exchange Theory
According to Cook et al. (2013), exchange theory provides a comprehensive theoretical
method for numerous social singularities central to sociological studies at diverse echelons. Cook
et al. clarifies that according to social exchange theory, exchange methods consist of a vital
function at the micro level and often serve as the foundation of social framework and social
transformation. Social exchange theory elucidates the connections among individuals over a
period that creates a commitment among the individuals (Porter, 2018). Cook et al. emphasize
that one of the core influences of this hypothetical perspective to social psychology and
sociology is comprehending these relations and how they ascend, modify, and disturb the
association of people and relationship they belong to. According to Ko and Hur (2014), Social
exchange theory undertakes an optimistic connection among the organization and the workforce.
However, the organization offers excellent benefits and job satisfaction to the workforces.
Resulting in the workforce providing effective and efficient productive work for the
organization. Therefore, the workforce and employer are providing each other with job
satisfaction. According to Porter (2018), Social exchange theory is supple in the modernization
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of work requirements, job sight and the requirements of the organization. Moreover, Porter
claims that Social Exchange Theory is an influential theory in the social sciences, describe by
three features which stand as directives of exchange or the negotiated relationships of the
exchange; resources exchanged, the transfer of property from person to person, for example
funds and food; and the associations of exchange, which consist of the continuous relations
among people where they mutually agree to exchange possessions.
Procedural Fairness Theory
People desire to be respected, treated equally, and feel that justice is unbiased. Police
officers have like desires of being treated with respect, with fairness, and unbiased by the people
they interact with. When mutual feeling and desires are met in conjunction with a mild or critical
event, for example, a robbery or murder, the police and the local populace work together to
detect, deter, and if possible prevent a criminal or accidental event from occurring. Positive
community policing and interactions with the residents of a community forms trust, confidence,
and partnerships of law abiding citizen and law enforcement officer respectfully working
together. Law enforcement officers at all levels of duty position have the ability to for the same
partnership centered on positive leadership, communication, and trust within a police
department. According to Donner et al. (2015), procedural fairness is described as the
impartiality of decisions implemented by senior leaders when directing and enforcing policies
and procedures. To rephrase, procedural fairness is the point of view of the officers declaring that
the leadership of the organization is taking the workforce feelings into consideration during the
decision making process and treating the workforce with dignity, equally, and respect throughout
the process. According to the Procedural Fairness Theory, a worker's viewpoint is induced by the
officer’s implication of how practical the guidelines and decision making process within the
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department (Donner et al., 2015). The workforce assess the organization’s decision-making
process and procedures to evaluate if fairness is employed during the process and if interaction
with the local populace consist of the same impartial treatment. Donner et al. (2015) asserts that
the workforce assess the procedural fairness of an organization by observing the patterns of
advancement in duty position, salary, and responsibilities. For example, police officer receive
promotions based on merit or promotion is achieved through nepotism.
Additionally, the workforce assess the level of trust, patriotism, and confidence by
observing the interaction amongst the juniors employees, middle and senior management.
Moreover, the workforce assess the level of toxicity throughout the organization in the same
manner. Ko and Hur (2014) research revealed various factors influence employees to remain
with an organization and achieve positive job satisfaction. For example, a diverse benefit
package consisting of allotted personal time off, healthcare, and the like. Moreover, Ko and Hur
(2014) research focused on the correlation amongst the workforce, leadership, and attrition rate.
Ko and Hur (2014) study revealed that procedural fairness and positive interaction amongst
employees and the organizational leadership builds on achieving self and organizational job
satisfaction. However, negative interactions increase attrition rates (Ko & Hur, 2014).
Organizational Culture
Susan Raines (2020) described organizational culture as the theories and procedures that
form an organization's collective and psychosomatic atmosphere. Raines assert that the
assumptions, encounters, and beliefs that encompass an organization, characterized by its
reputation, inner energetic, collaboration with the public, and long term outlook. Warrick (2017)
illustrates organizational culture as the job sight venue and its influence on the workforce
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opinions, conduct, and interactions while employed. Warrick contends that organizational culture
Can either elevate or exacerbate someone's character. Warrick claims that organizational culture
is an important aspect in organizational accomplishments and effects on an organization's
capability to increase employment and retention, morale, effectiveness and efficiency, therefore,
increase an organization’s productivity and job satisfaction. Bijaang et al. (2018) assert that
organizational culture is the workforces viewpoint of an organization centered on norms,
expectations, and treatment of the workforce employed by the organization. Raines (2020)
declares that a leader’s failure to preserve the positive culture of an organization will lead to
hardship, mistrust, and a negative perception of the employees and organization, which will
further lead to an increase in attrition rates. Organizational culture is attributed by a central
practice to achieve organizational success. Raines (2020) asserts that the workforce acquire the
rule, practices, and decision making process of an organization through published or verbally
communicated means. Beijing et al. (2018) calms that the workforce will read or listen to the
rule, practices, and decision making process as communicated to them, but will most likely
conduct themselves according to what was communicated based on how the individual
interpreted the communication.
Additionally, organizational culture functions in unisons to achieve organizational
success. Meng and Bruce (2019) asserts that organizational culture influences the conduct and
performance of the workforce. To increase productivity the organizational culture must
encompass the values, beliefs, and respect of the workforce and leadership, which will boost
morale and confidence in self, co-workers, and leaders (Meng & Bruce, 2019). Moreover, a
positive organizational culture aids in elevation of an effective and efficient workforce that
produce to achieve self and organizational job satisfaction. However, a negative organizational
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culture will create an absence of job satisfaction for the workforce and the organization. Job
satisfaction increase productivity and workforce retention. Unfortunately, an absence of Job
satisfaction decrease productivity and the retention.
Subculture
Badia et al. (2020) claim that culture in an organization is not comprised of a specific
philosophies or ideologies. Culture is comprised of various factors within the organization that
collectively network together as a group, forming varying encounters, feelings, and conducts.
Various organizations lack a linear culture that every member of the organization has gained or
possess similar experiences and principles; as a substitute, organizations form subcultures, which
are comprised of clusters of people who share analogous opinions, which does not reflect the
consistency of the overall organizational culture. Schein (2010) asserts that subcultures "share
many assumptions of the total organizations but also hold assumptions beyond those of the total
organization, usually reflecting their functional tasks, the occupation of the members, or their
unique experiences" (p. 55). Therefore, subcultures form as a result of parallel work experience,
philosophies, and ideologies amongst the workforce of an organization.
Police Subculture
Police officers form or preserve an existing subculture from their initial date of
employment. Officer receive standard law enforcement training during the course of their career,
commencing upon employment. The officer learn published and verbally communicated norms
of the police department, for example, the organization’s mission, purpose, and values (Karaffa
& Tochkov, 2013). Throughout a police officer’s career, they will experience a form of
psychological or physical strains, for example, stress or fatigue. Medical and mental health
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concerns develop as the subcultures within the department or out in the community. To overcome
those concerns police officers, establish bonds centered on respect and trust with people that
have experience parallel medical and mental trauma or with unjudgmental personnel within their
professional and personal life (White et al., 2016).
Police Leadership Traits
As community policing evolve, law enforcement agency require effective and efficient
leaders to make on the spot decisions, training, and mentor their subordinates to gain and
maintain a level of readiness to execute the duties and responsibilities they have been entrusted
with. Pearson-Goff and Herrington (2014) guided a methodical assessment of existing literature
regarding law enforcement leadership in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United
Kingdom, and New Zealand. The assessment focused on defining what attributes make a police
officer in a supervisory role effective. Pearson-Goff and Herrington evaluated 57 publications
that assessed police officers leadership traits and identified seven effective leadership attributes.
1. Ethics – Pearson-Goff and Herrington illustrated that an officer's insight regard leaders
possess morals, integrity, and trustworthy.
2. Trustworthiness – This trait corresponds with ethics; the workforce perceive the leader to
possess integrity and morals.
3. Legitimacy – A leader leads by example; lives by the belief ‘do as I do, not as I say to
do, follow-me I will lead from the front’(Pearson-Goff & Herrington, 2014).
4. Role Model – A leader that coach, teach, and mentors their subordinates. Builds the team
to pursue advance responsibilities (Peto arson-Goff & Herrington, 2014).
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5. Communication – A leader that receives the information, disseminates the information to
the subordinates, and supervises; make on the spot corrects for errors conducted by the
subordinates (Pearson-Goff & Herrington, 2014).
6. Decision Making – Leaders not afraid to assume the risk and makes a decision in the
absence of orders. Making a right or wrong decision demonstrates courage and the results of
the decision serves as a learning tool for future endeavors (Pearson-Goff & Herrington, 2014).
7. The ability to think – Analytical, Imaginative, and calculated thinking is a fundamental
attribute of a successful leader (Pearson-Goff & Herrington, 2014).
Types of Leadership
Swid (2014) explored how police officers react to the various leadership styles, for
example, the transformational, transactional, and Laissez-faire leadership. A transformational
leader encourage and mentors their subordinate to adopt a selfservice method of work and to
utilize the organization’s mission statement, purpose, and vision to work effectively and
efficiently as a member of a team to achieve self and organizational job satisfaction (Swid,
2014). Transactional leadership is characterized as the relationship amongst leaders and
subordinate. The transaction approach to leadership centers on the method the leader utilize to
influence their subordinates to become effective and efficient for the benefit of the organization,
for example, offering a reward or threatening retribution (Sarver & Miller, 2014). Laissez-faire
leaders are not leaders, but followers because they do everything possible to avoid accepting any
risk, responsibilities, or deciding on anything that requires attention. The Laissez-faire leaders
lack in coaching, teaching, and mentoring their subordinates. Sadly, the subordinates lead by a
Laissez-faire supervisor conduct organizational function or task without guidance or direct
supervision to ensure the task is conducted correctly (Swid, 2014). The conclusion of Swid
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(2014) exploration revealed that transformational leaders gains a group of loyal, effective, and
efficient subordinates. The transactional leaders slightly mirrors to a reduces scale compared to a
transformational leaders success. Unfortunately, laissez-faire leaders does not develop effective
and efficient subordinates, nor contribute to the overall success to an organization (Swid, 2014).
Laissez-faire Leadership
Aasland et al. (2010) identified that 21 percent of the employees where under the
supervision of a person with a laissez-faire trait within six months. Aasland et al. claimed that the
overwhelming proportion brands Laissez-faire leadership a negative leadership approach.
According to Avolio and Bass (2004), Laissez-faire leaders, do not take responsibility and
accountability for their decisions, supervise, make decisions, acknowledge subordinates effective
and efficient job performance, or provide feedback to subordinates (Robert & Vandenberghe,
2020). Laissez-faire leaders order their subordinates to complete a task without training,
guidance or supervision (Swid, 2014). Laissez-faire leader will not concern themselves with
concerning situations until an issue has happened and escalated beyond the leader’s control
(Avolio and Bass, 2004). Deliberately disregarding a leader’s responsibilities is disadvantageous
to the organization and subordinates. Laissez-faire leadership is not unproductive and damaging
(Skogstad et al., 2007; Robert & Vandenberghe, 2020). However, according to verifiable proof,
laissez-faire leadership is associated to lackadaisical conduct displayed by workers, job
performance and satisfaction, the ineffectiveness of the leader and poor job satisfaction of the
employee; increase stress, personal conflicts, and increased indistinctness and positional conflict
(Skogstad et al., 2007; Aasland et al., 2010; Klasmeier et al., 2021; Robert & Vandenberghe,
2020).
Summary
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Conflict occurs when less expected and in any venue. This paper focused on identifying
the source of the conflict and to offer insightful information intended to resolve or reduce the
existing conflict to the concerning personnel. The literature review aided in developing the
theoretical framework. Social Exchange theory functions as the foundation for the theoretical
framework. According to Porter (2018), Social exchange theory rationalizes the collaboration
amongst leaders and subordinates, which forms an agreement amongst them. Ko and Hur (2014)
assess that social exchange theory hypothesize an encouraging relationship amongst the
organization’s leaders and subordinate by the exchange of time or increased wages. Porter (2018)
further asserts that the social exchange theory is illustrated by three factors: exchange norms,
assets, and interactions. According to Donner et al. (2015), procedural fairness is defined as the
balance of decisions communicated by the leadership. Therefore, procedural fairness is the
officer's opinion that the leadership considers the entire workforce during the decision making
process. Donner et al. (2015) claims that the workforce assess organizational procedural fairness
by observing if advancement in duty, responsibility, and wages is earned by merit or if nepotism
determines the promotion process in an organization. Ko and Hur (2014) revealed that an
absence of a positive work relationship amongst leaders and subordinates lead to a reduction in
employee and organizational job satisfaction and increase the attrition rate.
Susan Raines (2020) describes organizational culture as the values and practices that form
an organization’s shared and psychosomatic workplace atmosphere. Raines (2020) declares that a
leader’s failure to preserve the positive culture of an organization will lead to hardship, mistrust,
and a negative perception of the employees and organization, which will further lead to an
increase in attrition rates. Organizational culture is attributed by a central practice to achieve
organizational success. Raines (2020) asserts that the workforce acquire the rule, practices, and
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decision making process of an organization through published or verbally communicated means.
Beijing et al. (2018) calms that the workforce will read or listen to the rule, practices, and
decision making process as communicated to them, but will most likely conduct themselves
according to what was communicated based on how the individual interpreted the
communication.
In organization, various cultures and subcultures exist. The culture or subculture may
consist of various believes and ideologies consistent or inconsistence with the organization or
other people. In a law enforcement organization, various subcultures exist. Although police
officers are equally trained the same, not everyone think, perform, or make decisions equally the
same. The principal subcultures encompassing the conflict at the college police department
consist of the junior officers, middle management officers, and the senior level law enforcement
officer. Efficiently cope with the altering atmosphere in law enforcement work, persuasive
leaders form an optimistic outlook in the organization. Pearson-Goff and Herrington (2014)
steered a methodical appraisal of the existing literature regarding leadership of law enforcement
officials throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New
Zealand. The review was intended to identify what qualities makes an effective law enforcement
leader. The researchers identified seven characteristics comprising an effective leader: morals,
trust, validity, sets effective and efficient standards for others to follow, effective communicator,
assess every situation, and decision on a course of action. An assessment of leadership styles
identified that laissez-faire leadership is associated to minimal effort and job satisfaction
amongst the workforces, futility of a supervisor, unsatisfaction of the workforce, and senior level
management tension and relational conflicts (Skogstad et al., 2007; Aasland et al., 2010;
Klasmeier et al., 2021; Robert & Vandenberghe, 2020).
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Putting All Together
The literature review revealed that the conflict among the patrol police officers was most
possibly triggered by the unprofessional communication amid middle management staff and
senior level staff in the organization. Because of the toxic behavior and leadership expressed by
the senior level staff created a stressful and toxic work environment consumed by a lack of trust,
confidence, and effective communication amongst junior officers, middle, and senior level
management. The new senior and middle management in place had every opportunity to plan,
implement and enforce new policies and procedures to correct the existing toxic work
environment. Unfortunately, the two new managers continued the method of leadership and
control as their predecessor. The new SGT displayed a laissez-faire leadership style, which
created an environment of minimal effectiveness and efficiency amongst the officers under his
supervision. As an in effective supervisor the SGT created a culture lacking job satisfaction.
Christian Worldview
Proverbs 15:18 states, “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient
calms a quarrel.” Some conflict may be unavoidable, but erratic responses increase the tension.
Therefore, deciding to be "slow to anger"—to moderate one's response to a situation—allows
more control and defuses a great deal of strife (Andrew, 2022).
1 Peter 5:1-3, states “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of
Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock
that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing,
as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those
entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (The Holy Bible: New International Version
[NIV], 1978/1983, 1 Peter 5:1-3). Therefore, elders must serve only out of a sincere desire to
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guide others in their Christian walk. In this verse, Peter concludes the thought by revealing
that0good church leadership is about showing, not merely telling. An elder's primary
responsibility is to be an example to other believers of how to follow Jesus.
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