>I don't think that conclusion fits, but I could be wrong. A quick scan of the
>three LO books I own ("The Fifth Discipline," "The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook,"
>and "Learning Organizations") reveals surprisingly little attention to
>conflict.
While there may be little in Senge on the word conflict, there are related
concepts that he does address on his section on within team alignment and
defensive strategies. Also, intergroup conflict (horizontal and vertical)
is recognized in organizational psychology and management systems
engineering as an important consideration. However, I have found little in
pursuing my own research in the way of prescribed methods to resolve
conflict between groups. There is plenty on individual conflict
management, but I haven't determined how transferable that is to groups and
the entire organization.
>Could you perhaps
>ask a more specific question or two? Or maybe offer some of your thoughts to
>get us started?
My assertion is that in beginning, we need to clarify:
-Conflict between whom?
-Conflict over what?
Conflict, for me a state of "being in negative alignment", is an issue of
relationships between two "groups" over a particular "content" (such as
improvement effort coordination/contribution). When two groups are "in
conflict", there are factors of awareness, interdependence, relationship
management and group intention that, when not managed, create the
opportunity to be in conflict. Awareness is the intial stage. Being in
conflict is easier when my group doesn't understand your point of view.
I assert being in conflict is a symptom, not a root problem. So what are
the situations that create the opportunity for conflict?
--scypher@perform.vt.edu (Scott Cypher)
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>