An Assessment of the Impact of Organizational Conflict on its Performance - A Case Study of United Shipping Company Limited

Abstract

Businesses nowadays are operating in a turbulent environment where organizations are searching for measures that allow them to improve their performance and competitiveness. Social, Political, Technological environments at a global level coupled with ever changing Micro and Macro- environment driven by the Information Technology has provided fertile ground for conflicts within private and public organisations. The onset of conflict has taken a dynamic level with ever changing affirmative action programmes, competition for scarce resources, organizational change and regular changes in management. The aim of this study was to find out the causes of conflicts, effects and conflict types, Management styles and Management strategies on how conflict impact on organisational performance. The study was guided by the following research objectives: To determine the impact of the type of conflict on organizational performance in Kenya, to establish the influence of the conflict management strategies on organizational performance in Kenya and to determine the impact of conflict management systems on organizational performance in Kenya.Managers should develop appropriate strategies to resolve conflicts as they arise in their organizations (Adomi and Annie, 2005) Management should put in place the procedures in place to resolve any conflict which might arise in organization and should be communicated to all employees. The results of the study made pertinent contributions to existing literature of organisational conflict. The findings from this study inspired managers in various organizations to develop best strategies on how to resolve conflicts in their organizations; specifically managers should be in a position to understand the causes of organisational conflicts in their sphere of management to enhance organization performance. The study employed a descriptive research design targeting 150 employees from United Shipping Company in Kenya. The study employed simple random sampling to select 47 respondents for the study which constituted 30% of the population at United Shipping Company in Kenya. Data was collected from the respondents using structured questionnaires. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. This involves use of frequency tables, percentages, rank ordering and mean scores. Frequencies tables were used for arraying data obtained to facilitate working out percentages in order to address the objective of the study. Responses in the questionnaires were tabulated, coded and processed by use of a computer Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21 programme to analyze the data. The findings were presented in tables, graphs, pie charts and inferential statistics to derive meanings from numerical values. Archival records such as service records, agendas, progress reports, organizational charts and budgets, published and unpublished materials including journals and the internet also acted as source of secondary data.