ABSTRACT
Conflict is part of the fabric of organizational life. In our daily round of interactions, we are more than likely to be involved in some form of conflict, even if we do not label it as such. Some nice examples in the context of escalation include failing to help, to return phone calls, to give out information, or talking behind another’s back and refusing requests (chapter 8). Indeed, we now widely accept that conflict is embedded in the very structures of today’s organizations, making the possibilities for conflict and its management almost infinite. And because it is potentially ever present, it has been an elusive phenomenon to frame and conceptualize in a systematic way. As the editors note, the absence of comprehensive treatments of the subject is striking. Certainly, there have been efforts to focus on particular dimensions-the management of conflict (De Dreu & van de Vliert, 1997), the hidden or less formal dimensions (D. M. Kolb & Bartunek, 1992), and the processes of constructive conflict (Kreisberg, 2003).
