CHAPTER ONE  

INTRODUCTION                 

1.1    Background to the study   

Conflict in an organization is a state of discord by the actual and opposing power which arise from the pursuit of divergent interests, goals and aspirations by individuals and groups in the organization or social environment. This is so because changes in the social environment, such as different ideologies, beliefs, principles and social status which develop a sense of tussle and disagreement with each other and when this happens, the productivity of such organization is undermined Owoseni (2012). The researcher is looking at the effective conflict management strategies that can be adopted in the tertiary institutions to manage conflict situations without rendering the organization porous for incessant conflicts. Otite and Albert (1999) submitted that the most quoted traditional definitions regarding conflict as a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power and resources in which the aims of the opponents are neutralized, injured or eliminated by their rivals.   In this sense, conflict may be seen as a way of settling problem originating from the opposing interest and also attributable to an enduring power struggle between workers and their employers.    Contrary to the prevailing perception, conflict indeed had played quite a positive role in several respect for progressive and good governance of the universities. After reconciliation from the conflicting parties better ideas are produced, clarification of individual views, people willingly search for new approaches ,and long standing problems brought to the surface and resolved.

          Alper, Tjosvold and Law (2000) assert that conflict occurs when the actions or beliefs of one or more members of a group are unacceptable to others and hence are resisted by one or more members of the group just like the crisis that came up in the University of Calabar in the year 2011 between students and the school management over sudden increments of school fees which led to loss of properties, goodwill as well as loss of opportunity, this issues would have been averted if proper conflict management strategies were adopted.  Karl Marx (1818) agreed that conflict is a clash, confrontation, battle or struggle that could come up in any organization. Eventually, Park and Bourgess in Otite (1999) has the same view that conflict is truly designed to resolve any divergent dualism and achieve some kind of unity even if it is through the annihilation of one of the conflict parties.

Alper, Tjosvold, and Law (2000) also confirmed that conflict occurs at all levels of organic existence and it is pervasively ubiquitous and most destructive. It has a capacity to severally constrain development and endeavor by destroying infrastructure, interrupting the production process and diverting resources away from product users. Workers who are the owners of labour the world over have been known to organize themselves into associations or unions with the primary objective of promoting and protecting themselves from unnecessary abuse of their human rights by their employers as well as by fellow workers. In essence, workplace conflict can arise among the workers themselves because people disagree for a number of reasons such as follows: Alper, Tjosvold, and Law (2000).