CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0     BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Conflict is inevitable. The dominant rum of management is to maximize profits, while labour’s main concern is to secure and maintain the highest level of wages with the best condition”.  Obisi (1996) argued that despite this fact, peace forms one of the fundamental factors to enhance productivity with .resultant benefit both to labour and management as well as for the economic development of the country. It will not be out of place therefore, to consider conflict as an inevitable and desirable factor in the work place.

Conflict could be viewed as a situation of competition in which the parties are aware of the incomparability of potential future position in which each party wishes to occupy a position that is incompatible with the wishes of the other.

Oxford Dictionary. (2000) sees conflict as a situation in which people, group or countries are involved in a serious disagreement or argument.

Since industrial relations basically rums at the relationship among various actors in the workplace, it then becomes necessary to examine the causes and effects of conflict and to provide insights into how such relationship could be adequately performed.

Programmed or non programmed decision, a programmed decision follows standard operating procedures. There is no need to explore alternatives solutions because the optimal solution has been identified and documented in the past. In contrast, new, complex, or ill-defined problems require non programmed decisions.  In these cases, decision makers must search for alternatives and possibly develop a unique solution. As problems reappear, however, programmed decision routine are formed. In this respect, programmed decisions drive out non programmed decisions because we strive for predicable, routine situation. Conflict could arise because of the employee quest to maximize profit while workers representatives are out to ensure continuous improved condition of living for their member. Conflict could also arise as a result of failure to honour agreed items on collective bargaining.

Damachi (1999), emphasized that if those workers rights and employee prerogative are trampled upon, could also cause conflict. These include pay condition of service, etc.

Indirect participation is used to refer to those forms of participation where representatives or delegates to the main body of employees participate in a variety of ways in the decision making process within the organization. Indirect forms, such as joint consultation, widening the content of collective bargaining and worker; are associated with the boarder’s notion of ‘industrial democracy’ (Barman et., 1976; Bullock, 1977).