A Study on Application of Conflict Management Styles Within Organizational Hierarchies: The Case of Debre Markos University, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate Conflict Management styles used by debremarkos University leaders. Specifically, the intent of the study was to compare the application of conflict management styles (avoiding, Forcing, accommodation, compromising and collaboration) across four organizational hierarchies of university leaders (Directorate, Faculty Deans, Officers and Department heads), in order to determine if individual’s status of responsibility differences would make varies the individual’s extent to apply conflict management styles when to solve problems at work place. Position holders were considered purposively from university staffs and the standardized self-report questionnaire instrument by Rahim (1983a) was utilized to assess the conflict management styles of 50 leaders in Debremarkos University, who were randomly selected from university leaders. One way ANOVA test was utilized to investigate the use of conflict management styles variation across four organizational hierarchy levels in University. Results of this study indicated the significance difference in use of avoiding and collaboration but not for forcing, accommodation and compromising styles. At directorate levels, collaboration is highly used as best style to manage conflict whereas avoiding is rarely used at this position but more likely used by department heads.

Keywords:Conflict management styles, Organizational hierarchies