ABSTRACT
Sociologists see conflicts existing and occurring in the context of societal, occupational and organisational structures. These structures reflect to a large degree the greater success of some social groups compared to others in the securing of control over their own lives and over parts of the lives of others and hence in their gaining of access to scarce and generally desirable rewards. The emphasis of this chapter will be on various reactions to
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CONFLICT
A phenomenon that occurs at two levels. Conflict at the level of interests exists where there is a difference between different parties (employers and employees, say, or workers and customers) over desired outcomes; and conflict at the level of behaviour comes about when parties seeking different outcomes either directly clash over those differences and engage in open dispute or indirectly express their differences through such gestures as acting destructively or co-operating in a sullen or grudging manner.
