Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Theses

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    Superior-subordinate conflict management: predicting process and outcomes
    Gaylard, Adele ( 1994)
    This study explores the use of five styles (integrating, compromising, dominating, obliging and avoiding) for managing superior-subordinate conflict in a sample of 147 middle managers and supervisors employed by a large Australian communications organisation. Subjects completed the Rahim Organisational Conflict Inventory-II (ROCI-II) and a second questionnaire designed for use in this research. Subjects used these two questionnaire measures to report on each of two recent workplace conflicts, one with a superior and one with a subordinate. Differences in use of the conflict management styles as a function of subjects' tenure and sex, the sex of the other party, and the hierarchical level of the other party (ie. superior or subordinate) were of particular interest, as was the influence of the styles on a range of conflict outcomes. These variables were incorporated into a hypothesised model of superior-subordinate conflict management, which was subsequently tested. Subjects were more dominating and integrating with subordinates, but more obliging with superiors. Furthermore, subjects were more likely to use the active styles (dominating, integrating, compromising) than the passive styles (obliging, avoiding) to manage conflicts with both superiors and subordinates. Subjects' own sex and tenure were not found to be important determinants of conflict management style. However, subjects were more dominating with male subordinates and more compromising with female subordinates. Finally, all five styles, with the exception of avoiding, were found to be beneficial for different conflict outcomes. Results therefore provide support for a situational approach to conflict management. However, the hypothesised model of superior-subordinate conflict management was not found to predict conflict outcomes particularly well. Implications for conflict management theory and research are discussed.