ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on social structural and social interactional factors, only mentioning intrapsychic variables if they are relevant to our understanding of the ways in which social interactional and social structural factors contribute to organizational conflict. Conflict is extremely common within organizations. A sample of managers surveyed indicated that they spend approximately a quarter of their time dealing with various forms of organizational conflict. Organizational conflict may occur at different levels; that is, it may be interpersonal, inter group of interdivisional, or interorganizational. There is a tendency for many people, including managers, to attribute organizational conflict to personality factors and clashes among members of the organization. The personality and attitudinal transformations that occur are the result of a combination of organizational and subcultural variables, role demands, and experiences on the job. Motorola is an international leader in the design, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular phones, pagers, two-way radios, and microprocessors.
