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ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL

BEHAVIOUR

ISSN 2394-0409; DOI: 10.16962/EAPJHRMOB/issn.2394-0409; Volume 1 Issue 2 (2015)

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UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION IN SCOTTS GARMENTS LTD

ABSTRACT

Keywords: Collaboration, Competing, Conflict Resolution, Non-Productive, Organizational efficiency

1. Introduction

In this competitive business scenario,

organizations strive to achieve their goals,

they often meet with challenges that they

must overcome as a team. Conflict

management is one of the challenges faced

by all the organizations. Conflict can occur

in any situation in which two or more parties

feel themselves in opposition. Conflict is an

interpersonal process that arises from

disagreements over goals to attain or

methods to be used to accomplish those

goals.

Anjali Ganesh

Professor, Department of Business Administration

St. Joseph Engineering College,

Vamanjoor, Mangalore-575028

India

Conflict management is one of the challenges faced by all the organizations. Conflict tends to increase

with the level of task interdependence. Scares resources generates conflict because each person or unit that

requires the same resource necessarily undermines others who also need that resource to fulfil their goals. Since

conflicts are unproductive in any organizations the research has to move in the direction of understanding

conflict management and resolution techniques. Conflict when escalates lead to non-productive results in

organizations. However conflict can be beneficially resolved to come up with healthy relations. Therefore,

learning to manage conflict is integral to the success of the people. Since conflict comprises an emotional

component and irrational patterns the resolutions and the effective conflict management is missing in most of

the organizations. Unless the organization has effective conflict management and resolution in place, neither

the individuals nor the teams will be productive. Thus the study aims to understand Conflict Management and

Resolution in Scotts Garments Ltd, that helps in developing greater capacity in

analyzing organizational dimensions in conflict. Management uses collaborative bargaining technique to

resolve conflict among conflicting parties at Scott Garments Ltd. Misunderstanding and lack of communication

causes conflict at Scotts Garments Ltd. As majority of employees are of the age category of below 25, they are

aggressive and do not communicate with each other patiently and it has lead to conflict. Based on the findings

the study proposes conflict resolution model that can be applied in any manufacturing industry. The study also

intends to increase abilities in managing complex situations by developing interventions for conflict resolution.

Well managed conflicts stimulate competition and will be a source of powerful motivation. Accepting conflict

will enable top managers to deal more effectively with the problems of organizational efficiency, stability,

governance, change and effectiveness.

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Conflict can occur among employees,

between individuals or groups, and across

organizations as they compete. Interpersonal

conflicts are serious problem to many people

because they deeply affect an individual’s

emotions. Conflict tends to increase with the

level of task interdependence. Scares

resources generates conflict because each

person or unit that requires the same

resource necessarily undermines others who

also need that resource to fulfil their goals.

Ambiguous or the clarity in rules breeds

conflict. If one team interferes with the

other team’s goals uncertain situations

which crop up will lead to conflict. People

also hold different beliefs and adhere to

different value systems. Their philosophies

may diverge, or their ethical values may lead

them in different directions which also lead

to conflict in organizations. Since conflicts

are unproductive in any organizations the

research has to move in the direction of

understanding conflict management and

resolution techniques. The study aims to

understand Conflict Management and

Resolution in Scotts Garments Ltd which

helps in developing greater capacity in

analysing organizational dimensions in

conflict. The study also intends to

increase abilities in managing complex

situations by developing interventions for

conflict resolution.

2. Brief Literature Review

Interpersonal conflict is the most noticeable

form in the workplace which is expressed

through grapevine. Harassment and

discrimination are the most common

interpersonal conflicts. Donais, (2006) states

that stress arising from personal factors

including from home trickle into the office

causing interpersonal conflict between

employees due to work style clashes,

seniority and pay equity conflict. Conflict

can arise over resource allocation,

distribution of duties, workload and benefits,

tolerance for risk taking, and varying views

on accountability. The sources of workplace

conflict can flow into two directions, viz.,

interpersonal and organizational conflict.

Both need to be taken care of as they prove

to be more destructive rather than

constructive. Jehn and Mannix (2001) Dirks

and Parks (2003) and Guerra et al., (2005)

conducted the research in understanding the

varieties of conflicts in organizations. As per

them the conflict can be divided into three

categories. They are substantive or task,

affective or relationship, and process

conflicts. Organizational conflicts stem from

hierarchy and the inability to resolve

conflicting interests. Supervisor subordinate

tensions are heightened by a power

differential while differences in supervisory

styles between departments can also breed



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conflict. At different hierarchical levels

workplace conflicts arise due to the specific

features of conflict of different people in

organization (Wilhelm et al., 1993; Xin and

Pelled, 2003). People need to protect their

self image and self esteem from damage

caused by others. When self concept is

threatened, a relationship deteriorates (John

W Newstrom, 2007) and ultimately leads to

interpersonal conflict.

Conflict can be constructive and destructive.

According to Johnson et al., (2000)

constructive conflict is defined as situations

when one person’s ideas, theories,

information, conclusions and opinions are

incompatible with those of another, and the

two seek to reach an agreement. It leads to

easier transitions in change, increased

productivity and improved problem solving

quality (Haas, 1999; and Tjosvold, 2000).

According to Joyce Hocket and William

Wilmot (1985) destructive conflicts are

those where the parties are unhappy with the

outcomes and feel that they have lost. The

authors stated that destructive conflicts often

escalate and destroy relationships in the

organizations for the smooth flow of system.

According to Pace (1983), people handle

conflict in habitual ways. Conflict

management styles, are a result of an

individual’s concern for accomplishing one's

goals and one's concern about the other

person's accomplishing goals. In handling

conflict, they see themselves and others as

competing for a share of scarce resources.

The studies in conflict management

(Thomas, 1992; Cloke and Goldsmith, 2000;

Eisaguirre’s, 2002 ;) have interpreted that

employees are unable to handle conflict on

their own and must be told how to manage it

in a positive way. Weiss and Hughes (2005)

suggested that people lack an innate

understanding of how to deal with conflict

effectively. Therefore they suggested that

organizational conflict should focus on

strategies that aid managers in embracing

positive conflict and effectively managing

negative conflict situations.

Conflict might escalate and lead to non-

productive results, or conflict can be

beneficially resolved and lead to quality

final products. Therefore, learning to

manage conflict is integral to a high

performance team. All conflicts cannot

necessarily be resolved, but learning how to

manage conflicts can decrease the odds of

non-productive escalation. Conflict

management involves acquiring skills

related to conflict resolution, self-awareness

about conflict modes, conflict

communication skills, and establishing a

structure for management of conflict in the

environment. According to Steven L et al.,

(2008) people respond to conflict by using



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one of five modes such as Compromising,

Accommodating, Avoiding, Collaborating

and Competing. Each of these modes can be

characterized by two scales: assertiveness

and cooperation. None of these modes is

wrong to use, but there are right and wrong

times to use each. Choosing a preferred

conflict management style, but the best style

varies with the situation. The problem-

solving style is the preferred approached to

resolving conflict in many situations

because it is the only one that actively tries

to optimize the value for both parties.

However, this style works well only when

the parties do not have perfectly opposing

interests and when they have trust and

openness to share information. In the

management of conflict, the style of those

involved in a conflict play a critical role.

Some style may promote a search for

solution whereas others may lead to

deadlock. Several approaches to conflict

management have been proposed. Two of

these are quite well known: one by Likert

and Likert (1976). Using the famous grid

model of bake and Mouton, which has

proposed five styles of conflict management,

showing different degrees of concern for

both dimensions, personal goal and the

relationship: 1,1(low concern for both);

9,1(high concern for personal goals and low

concern for the relationship); 1,9(low

concern for personal goals and high concern

for the relationship); 9,9(high concern for

both); and 5,5 ( moderate concern for both).

Carnevale et al.,(1981) have suggested two

ways of resolving differences: bargaining

and norm-following. These imply two types

of conflict management styles. In

bargaining, each party endeavours to coerce

or lure its adversary into making maximum

concessions while conceding as little as

possible. In norm-following, both parties

attempt to locate and follow rules that are

appropriate to the issue in question. The

essence of conflict resolution and conflict

management is the ability to communicate

effectively. People who have and use

effective communication will resolve their

conflicts with greater ease and success.

(Udai Pareek, 2004).

As per Kahn et al., (1964) Conflict among

managers and employees are common in all

organizations (Kwahk and Kim, 1998).

Floyd and Lane (2000) stated that managing

role conflict is a big issue in the

organizations. Due to the stressful nature of

the problems, conflicts arise out of the

decisions that are made and the relationships

among team members. Top managers are

relied upon to address corrupt strategic

problems. Top managers must work as a

group to anticipate, define, and solve

problems that are too complex, dynamic,



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and ambiguous for a single executive to

handle alone (Schweiger et al., 1986,

Schweiger, Sandberg, &Rechner, 1989).

When handling these situations, top

management teams face complicated

relationships between the organization and

outside world, uncertain environments, and

inadequate information. Blending the

research of Hall (1969), Blake and Mouton

(1970), and Kilmann and Thomas (1975),

generates five conflict management styles.

The first conflict management style is that of

the competitor. To the competitor, losing

indicates weakness, while winning is

indicative of strength. Winning is the

competitor's only goal. The second conflict

management style is that of the collaborator

or problem solver. This style de-emphasizes

the significance of winning and losing. The

collaborators goal is to help find mutually

acceptable solutions to group member’s

problems. The third conflict management

style is that of the compromiser or

maneuvering conciliator. This person works

to help the group at the expense of the

individual, as the person sees everyone as

standing to lose in a conflict. A situation of

giving up frequently evolves. The fourth

conflict management style is called that of

the accommodator or friendly helper. The

possessor of this style is non-assertive. An

individual neglects personal needs and goals

to maintain an atmosphere of harmony

within the group. Lastly, the fifth conflict

management style is that of the avoider or

impersonal complier. This person Sees

conflict as a totally negative entity and

therefore, reduces involvement in the

conflict by refusing to get involved.

The conflicts might arise due to faulty

systems and technologies. H. Erzberger,

et.al, (2012) described a unified solution to

three types of separation-assurance problems

that can occur in en-route airspace:

separation conflicts, arrival sequencing, and

weather-cell avoidance. They stated that

algorithms for solving these problems

played a key role in the design of future air

traffic management systems such as the US's

NextGen. Because these problems could

arise simultaneously in any combination, it

was necessary to develop integrated

algorithms for solving them. A unified and

comprehensive solution to these problems

provided the foundation for a future air

traffic management system that required a

high level of automation in separation

assurance. The authors described the three

algorithms developed for solving each

problem and then showed how they were

used sequentially to solve any combination

of those problems. The first set of

algorithms resolved loss-of-separation

conflicts. It generated multiple resolutions



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for each conflict and then selected the one

giving the least delay. Two new algorithms,

one for sequencing and merging of arrival

traffic, referred to as the arrival manager,

and the other for weather-cell avoidance

were presented.

The book reviews also reveal interesting

conflict resolution and management styles.

Oksamytna (2014) reviewed three volumes

which represented different perspectives on

international conflict management and

resolution. Two of them, International

Conflict Management and Conflict

Resolution in the Twenty-First Century,

were explicitly designed as textbooks for

undergraduate or graduate students. They

were less well-known than, for instance,

Contemporary Conflict Resolution by Oliver

Ramsbotham, Tom Woodhouse and Hugh

Miall, which was among the most frequently

assigned texts for British students. It should

not however be seen as a judgement on their

quality since they had a slightly different

focus. Unlike Contemporary Conflict

Resolution, which provided a broad

overview of the philosophical and

theoretical debates on conflicts and the ways

to address them, International Conflict

Management and Conflict Resolution in the

Twenty-First Century offered detailed

accounts of various strategies and

techniques available to the international

community. Butler’s book on International

Conflict Management and Conflict

Resolution in the Twenty-First Century

explained four types of international conflict

management – peacekeeping, mediation,

peace enforcement and adjudication – and

the challenges posed to them by the post-

Cold War security environment. It defined

international conflict management as, any

effort by a third party at preventing a

conflict from getting worse.

The countries also get involved in serious

conflicts. Justwan (2015) explained under

which circumstances two democracies

involved in a dispute decided to pursue

binding conflict management? Autoor

argued that the existing literature was

incomplete. In order to fully understand why

democratic decision makers chose

arbitration or adjudication over alternative

strategies, it was necessary to consider the

social trust levels of the general populations

in both states. During arbitration and

adjudication, states gave up sovereignty in a

crucial domain of foreign policy. This loss

of control should be less problematic for

high-trusting societies than their low-

trusting counterparts. If citizens were

generally optimistic about the behavior of

strangers, they were more likely to place

their country’s interests under the control of



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others. Furthermore, since the general

population posed smaller constraints on

decision makers in nondemocratic settings,

author expected the effect of trust to be

strongest in democratic dyads. An empirical

analysis with a new data set of social trust

provided support for the hypothesis.

Bercovitch and Foulkes (2012) stated the

importance of culture in organizational

behavior with the concept and its

implications. They wrote that traditional

approaches to conflict emphasized the

supremacy of the state while ignoring many

of the unique internal features which

differed between states. They also argued

that it was a mistaken approach and that one

feature in particular, namely culture, indeed

had a profound effect on how states

perceived the world, behaved in it, and

managed their conflicts. Culture had become

more important in the current environment,

where much conflict takes place not just

between states, but mostly between groups,

divided along cultural or religious lines,

within a state. Authors developed a

theoretical framework to examine culture, its

dimensions, and how these might impact on

mediation and found that cultural variation

did indeed have a significant impact on

mediation and conflict resolution. Authors

concluded by suggesting that greater

attention be paid to cross-cultural factors in

international conflict management.

Apart from the general conflicting

situations organizational conflict is mainly

pertinent to the present study. According to

Saundry et.al, (2013) the workplace conflict

has become increasingly manifest in

individual employment disputes as

collective labour regulation has been eroded.

Accordingly, attention has been focused on

finding ways to facilitate the early resolution

of such disputes. As per the authors policy-

makers have placed a particular emphasis on

workplace mediation. However, the broader

impact of mediation on conventional

grievance and disciplinary processes and on

the workplace relations that underpin them

has been largely ignored. The authors

reported on research into the introduction of

an in-house mediation scheme within a

primary care trust. The study explored the

implications of the scheme for workplace

relations within the organization, the

dynamics of conflict management and trade

union influence. They argued that the

introduction of mediation provided a conduit

through which positive workplace relations

were rebuilt which in turn facilitated

informal processes of dispute resolution.

Gent and Shannon (2011) uncovered the

relationship between bias and effective

conflict resolution by exploring the bias of



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third parties. Authors found that bias

increased the likelihood that a third party

would engage in unobtrusive techniques like

good offices and decreased its propensity to

pursue involved mechanisms like

arbitration. Additionally, bias was inversely

related to the range of issues addressed at a

settlement attempt. As such, unbiased third

parties were more effective because they

were used for the management techniques

that had the most potential to resolve

conflicts. Effects of diversity in team

members’ rational and intuitive cognitive

styles on team outcomes were investigated

by Mello and Lisa A. Delise (2015) in a

moderated-mediation model, exploring

conflict management as a moderator and

cohesion as a mediator. The negative effects

of diversity on cohesion were moderated by

conflict management, such that diversity

harmed cohesion when conflict management

was low but had no effect when conflict

management was high. Cohesion mediated

the relationship between the interaction of

cognitive diversity and conflict management

on team viability but not task performance.

Implications for practice included promoting

cognitive diversity and conflict management

training in diverse teams.

No organization is free of conflicts. Nor

should they be. Conflicts are an integral part

of the functions of the service workers like

other organizations because clash of interest

is virtually built in the jobs they are

expected to perform. Nischal and G.

S.Bhalla (2014) attempted to explore

conflict management mechanism that

prevailed in public and private sector

banking organizations in a comparative

form. For this purpose, a total of 20

commercial banks (10 banks each from

public and private sectors) were selected on

the basis of highest number of employees’

database from three prosperous regions of

Punjab that is, Amritsar, Jalandhar and

Ludhiana. Overall 181 bank managers from

the public sector and 184 bank managers

from the private sector had been surveyed

with the help of pretested structured

questionnaire based upon Udai Pareek’s

model, that is, Opinion Survey on Conflict

Management (OSCM). Results indicated

that managers of public and private sector

banks both preferred to negotiate first to

resolve conflict and were least concerned to

follow the withdrawal strategy and defusion

strategy to handle conflict in their relative

concerns. Independent sample t-test

demonstrated statistically significant

differences in the opinion of managers

employed of these public sector and private

sector commercial banks selected under

study concerning various conflict

management strategies. Conflict is an



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inevitable part of living because it is related

to situations of scarce resources, division of

functions, power relations and role-

differentiation. In the organizational

environment, awareness of each employee’s

nature is critical to success. When such

employees are self-aware, workplace

conflict can be minimized and can become

productive to the organization. Theories of

interpersonal conflict analysis and resolution

originate from sociology, social psychology

and political science. As per Modh (2014)

these theories took shape during twentieth

century after World War I and World War

II. Some of the prominent conflict resolution

theories are Burton’s ‘human needs theory’,

Roger Fisher’s ‘principled-negotiation’ and

Lederach’s ‘Conflict transformation’. The

author developed a new three energy

framework of personality for conflict

analysis and resolution. This framework is

based on the ‘guna’ concept of Bhagavad

Gita, an ancient Hindu scripture. The term

‘guna’ indicates the ‘inherent energy’ with

which the human mind functions. The three

energies identified by the author were

Positive Energy (sattva), Dynamic Energy

(rajas) and Potential Energy (tamas). People

work under influence of these three energies

all the time and go through various physical,

emotional and intellectual experiences. The

quality and quantity of these experiences

determined their personality, pattern of

behaviours and conduct.

Not many studies have been done to find

out the Conflict Management and

Resolution in export oriented garment

industry which is one of the important

manufacturing industries. Thus in order to

fill the gap in the relevant area the present

study on ‘Understanding Conflict

Management and Resolution in Scotts

Garments Ltd.’ was taken up.

3. Scotts Garments Ltd.-a brief

background

Scotts Garments Limited was established

in 1994 in Peenya Bangalore which is one

of the largest industries zones, in South

Asia under the visionary leadership of Mr.

Naseer Ahmed, Managing Director, a

sitting member of legislative council of

state of Karnataka and Joint Vice

Chairman of M/s. Bombay Rayon Fashions

Limited. Scotts Garments Processing Unit

has earned good will in the international

business community due to its reputation

as a garments exporter with global brands.

The company continues to evolve as a

major industry player commanding an

annual turnover of 140 Million USD. It has

15 factories and state of the art textile mills

based in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Scotts

Garments Ltd is committed towards

maintaining industry standards in customer



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social compliance and safety standards. All

the units of Scotts Garments Ltd are

socially compliant and meet highest safety

standards. Scotts Garments Ltd (SGL) is a

Government-recognized export house

having manufacturing facility for woven

and knitted garments that includes shirts,

tops, skirts, trouser (cotton/denim), shorts,

cargos, T-shirts (basic and embroidered)

jerseys supported by in-house facilities of

embroidery, printing, dyeing and washing

(HR Department Scotts Garments Ltd,

Peenya, Bangalore). They began their

operations in fiscal 1993 with one

manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India.

Over the years they expanded their

operations in India. Further in fiscal 2007,

their company Scotts Clothing Private

Limited, engaged in business of

manufacture of knitted garments, was

amalgamated with the company, with

effect from April 1, 2006, they believe that

their business model positions them to take

advantage of synergies in product design

development, manufacturing distribution

and sourcing of ready to wear fashion

apparel products. They seek to leverage the

competitive, advantages of their locations

to optimize value margins. They also seek

to cater to their customer needs of

competitive pricing quality on time

delivery and compliance with global

labour practices. Their brood spectrum of

customers includes, value retailers as well

as higher end fashion brand retailers.

4. Statement of the problem

Conflict when escalates lead to

non-productive results in organizations.

However conflict can be beneficially

resolved to come up with healthy relations.

Therefore, learning to manage conflict is

integral to the success of the people. Since

conflict comprises an emotional

component and irrational patterns the

resolutions and the effective conflict

management is missing in most of the

organizations. Unless the organization has

effective conflict management and

resolution in place, neither the individuals

nor the teams will be productive. Thus in

order to understand the intricacies of

conflict management and resolution the

present study has been taken up with the

following objectives.

5. Objectives of the study

1. To understand conflict management

and resolution in Scotts Garments

Ltd.

2. To understand effect of experience

of the employee on conflict

management in an organization.



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3. To understand the influence of

gender on conflict management in

the organization.

4. To understand the correlation

between availability of abundant

resources and conflict resolution at

Scotts Garments Ltd

5. To understand the influence of

designation of the employees in


6. To understand the importance of

working environment in resolving

the conflict at Scotts Garments Ltd.

7. To suggest appropriate conflict

resolution model based on the

findings.

6. Research Methodology:

The Scott Garments Ltd has total

21 subsidiaries located all over India. The

present study is limited to Scott Garments

Ltd, Bangalore. This study intends to find

out interpersonal conflict, the conflict

management and conflict resolution

approaches to formulate suitable strategies

which would help all the employees to

create a healthy working environment at

Scott Garments Ltd. The total population

at Scott Garments Ltd, Bangalore was

3600 in the year 2014-15. There were 600

white collar employees and 3000 blue

collar employees. The sample of 10 per

cent from both the strata of the employees,

i.e. 300 blue collar and 60 white collar

employees were chosen. Thus total sample

size of 360 was considered as optimum

size which was helpful to fulfill the

necessary requirements of efficiency,

reliability and flexibility. In order to get

the necessary data a well structured

questionnaire was prepared and the data

was collected from the employees who

were working at different levels at Scott

Garments Ltd. Data was analyzed by

applying chi-square test, t-test, ANOVA,

correlation and regression.

7. Findings

The following are the important findings

in the study, Understanding Conflict

Management and Resolution in Scotts

Garments Ltd.

7.1 Demographic Characteristics:

The study shows that there are more

employees who are below the age group of

below 25 years (156) than the employees

who belong to the age category of above

35 years. There are more female

employees (251) than male employees

(109) working in Scotts Garments Ltd.

This is because the nature work

environment is more suitable to the female

employees. Majority (215) of the

respondents are married. The study shows



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that most of the blue collar respondents

(188) are below SSLC and some are SSLC

(147) and higher and very few respondents

(25) who are of white collar are graduates.

The majority of the respondents (296) have

less than 5 years of experience. The study

also identifies that majority (276) of the

employees are in the Income level of less

than Rs 10,000 when compared to the

other groups that have higher income than

Rs 10000.

7.2 Conflict management and resolution

at Scott Garments Limited

At Scott Garments Limited the

management is fully committed to identify

and redress the conflict of all its

employees. The rights of all the workers

shall be respected. The organisation is

committed to provide, achieve and sustain

high standards of working environment for

all its employees. Scotts is committed to

ensure employee’s satisfaction by

identifying and redressing the conflict of

employees if any.

As per the conflict policy of the company:

Conflict is an argument affecting one or

more persons and the complaint can be

either oral or written dissatisfaction,

which is mostly related to work and is

brought to the notice of the management.

The management must treat every

employee with respect and dignity. The

management must strive to foster an

environment where a worker is free to

express the employee’s conflict.

The management must communicate this

policy during the new employee’s

induction/orientation and at ongoing

management meetings.

The management should ensure that no

employee will be punished for reporting

their conflict

The management should ensure that the

personal conflict cases should be kept

confidential.

A large number of worker’s conflict

arises due to bad and unhealthy working

condition in the factory and difference of

opinion on any particular point between

the management and workers

7.2.1 Reporting Procedures:

The management will provide a procedure

for employees to report their conflict.

Normal procedures through direct

supervisors are not adequate for

reporting conflicts. The management has

also established an upstream

communication system or suggestion

box where workers can raise their

conflict.

The factory has formed a conflict

committee consisting of male and female

workers as worker’s representative.



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The conflict committee should follow

the conflict redress procedure for

problem solving.

The conflict system enables the

management to detect any defect or

flaws in the working conditions and

undertake suitable corrective measures.

7.2.2 Investigation:

If a conflict is received, the management

immediately investigates the allegation.

The investigation will be conducted

discretely by a qualified people

representing a committee. Conflict

resolving committee will handle a conflict

in the following manner:

Defining the nature of the conflict

Getting all relevant facts about the

conflict

Analysing the facts

Taking an appropriate decision after a

careful study and consideration of the

facts

Communicating the decision to the

aggrieved workers

7.2.3 Documentation to be maintained:

Every conflict investigation and any

disciplinary action taken should be

properly documented.

The management keeps records of

disciplinary actions taken including

written acknowledgement from

employees that they were informed of

the disciplinary action and any

consequences that may result from

further rule infractions.

No employee of the organisation is

exempted from this policy as it applies

to workers, staff and all others.

7.3 Association between gender and their

response to supportive work

environment in conflict resolution: Chi

square test was applied to understand the

association between gender and their

response to supportive work environment

and the results are depicted in Table 1.Chi-

Square Tests it is observed that ‘p’ values

for the variables selected under Pearson’s

Chi square test stands at 0.063. P value is

0.063 is greater than 0.05. Thus it is

understood that there is no significant

relationship between the gender of the

respondent and their responses to

supportive conflict resolution environment.

7.4 Association between designation and

their response to supportive work

environment in conflict resolution: Chi

square test was applied to understand the

association between designation and their

response to supportive work environment

and the results are depicted in Table 2.

Table 2 shows the results generated from

Chi-Square Tests. It is observed that ‘p’



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values for the variables selected under

Pearson’s Chi square test is 0.284. P value

is greater than 0.05 it is understood that

there is no significant relationship between

the designation of the respondent and their

responses to supportive conflict resolution

environment.

7.5 Association between experience and

their response to conflict resolution

environment:

ANOVA test was applied to understand the

association between experience and their

response to conflict resolution environment

and the results are depicted in Table 3.

Table 3 shows that F=0.529, DF= 2 and P

value = 0.590 since p value is more than α

0.05, the results are not significant, Post Hoc

(LSD) results in Table 4 shows that there is

no significant difference between the

responses of the employees of less than 5

years of experience and more than 10 years

of experience in Scott Garments Ltd.

7.6 Correlations between expansion of

resources and effective conflict resolution

at Scotts Garments Ltd: The Pearson

correlation was applied to understand the

correlation between the expansion of

resources and effective conflict resolution at

Scotts Garments Ltd and the results are

depicted in Table 5, Table 6 and Table 7.

The interpretation of the correlation test

reveals that P=0.024 is lesser than 0.05 and

the Pearson’s r=0.119 and α = 0.05 which

shows that there is a positive correlation

between expansion of resources and

effective conflict resolution. However, the

correlation is considered to be weak and

thus to understand the influence of

independent variable on dependent variable

(conflict resolution is effective). Regression

analysis is also used. The test states that R

squared is 0.014 which indicates that 1.4%

of the conflict resolution has been explained

and adjusted R squared value is .011 which

is close to the R squared value 0.014. This

level of predictability is low as conflict

resolution is affected by many other

variables. There could be 0.060 variability

of data response around its mean. The test

shows that the equation Y= a+bx is

interpreted as conflict retention

2.663+0.146 times of expansion of resources

which indicates that the level of customer

retention is influenced by Expansion of

resources to the extent of 2.663+0.146

times. It means that there is a significant

relationship between expansion of resources

and effective conflict resolution at Scotts

Garments Ltd.

7.7 The importance of working

environment in resolving the conflict at

Scotts Garments Ltd:



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56

Open discussion: There is face to

face meeting of the conflicting

parties and resolving it through open

discussion as agreed by the 68 per

cent of respondents out of 360

respondents. It is necessary to have

open discussion between the

conflicting parties so that they can

express their feelings and the

moderator will understand the

problem better which helps in

finding out various solutions to the

problem. The study says that

sometimes there will be withdrawal

or avoidance of conflict as agreed by

most of the respondents. Most of the

conflicts that are personal in nature

are avoided by the management. If

the issue is not important and the

situation has a potential to escalate to

violence then avoiding the conflict

becomes the best choice by the

management. Out of 360

respondents most of the respondents

agreed that the management uses its

formal authority to resolve the

conflict. When a leader who has

authority subordinates will

automatically obey the leader’s

command though it does not solve

the cause of the conflict.

Conflict resolution style:

Management uses different conflict

resolution style at different situation.

Out of 360 respondents 41 per cent

of respondents agreed for

collaborating style, 20 per cent of

respondents agreed for Avoiding

style, 18 per cent of respondents

agreed for compromising style,

13per cent agreed for competing

style, 8 per cent of respondents

agreed for accommodating style.

The cooperation of the conflicting

parties facilitates super ordinate

goals was agreed by 47 per cent of

respondents and 35 per cent of

respondents were neutral. These

goals must be highly valued,

unattainable without the help of all

parties involved in the conflict, as

two or more parties or team of

people are involved in achieving

specific goal. Expansion of resources

can create win-win situation. Out

of 360 respondents 153 respondents

strongly agreed and 166 respondents

agreed because the main cause of

scarcity of resources was poor

distribution of resources. 207

respondents out of 360 respondents

agreed that conflicting parties use

compromise approach to resolve



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57

conflict, 83 respondents were

neutral, 65 respondents disagreed

and 5 strongly disagreed.

Compromise sends a message of

tolerance, understanding, and

sympathy for both parties leaving

integrity and dignity intact. The

study interprets that the management

uses collaborative bargaining

technique to resolve conflict among

conflicting parties at Scott Garments

Ltd and majority of the respondents

agreed this. The parties

cooperatively work together until a

mutually agreeable solution is found.

It helps people attain satisfaction of

their needs in a constructive

manner. Through this process

conflicts can become opportunities

for positive growth and change.

Training: The management does not

have behavioural change technique

such as human relations training to

alter attitudes and behaviours that

cause conflict at Scotts Garments Ltd

and it is agreed by majority of the

employees.

Supportive Work Environment:

Interpersonal communication among

employees is effective and the work

environment is supportive to conflict

resolution at Scotts Garments Ltd.

This interprets that employees are

working with harmony and cooperate

with each other. Conflict arises from

differences, both large and small. It

occurs whenever people disagree over

their values, motivations, perceptions,

ideas, or desires. Sometimes these

differences appear trivial, but when a

conflict triggers strong feelings, a deep

personal need is often at the core of

the problem. Therefore the needs of

both parties play important roles in the

long-term success of most

relationships, and each deserves

respect and consideration. Research

shows that healthy people working in

a healthy environment is key to

business success. That is because a

healthy workplace improves

productivity and reduces employers’

costs.

Lack of communication:

Misunderstanding and lack of

communication causes conflict at

Scotts Garments Ltd. As majority of

employees are of the age category of

below 25, they are aggressive and

don’t communicate with each other

patiently and it has lead to conflict.

Miscommunication and no

communication can contribute to intra-

office conflict. When colleagues work



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58

with different sets of information and

have conflicting personalities and

work approaches, it can create tension

and lead to misunderstanding and

anger.

Based on the findings the study

proposes the conflict resolution

model in Chart I.

The conflict resolution model can be

expressed in the following stages.

Identify: identify that there is a conflict.

For solving any problem one must be

aware that something is not right which

needs to be fixed. If a mediator doesn’t

know that a problem exists then the

mediator need not do anything about it.

Action: Once identified, the two parties

acknowledge that they need to do

something, and they can engage in

meaningful discussion to discover, a

means to resolve the issue. The

discussion can take one of several

directions, depending on the

assertiveness versus cooperativeness the

following conflict resolution styles can

be adopted by the conflicting parties.

I. Competing: Each party insisting

their way. The conflict will escalate

with no resolution possible.

II. Accommodation: One side gives in

to the others demands, but the

problem is not solved as the needs of

the party giving in are not met.

III. Avoidance/ Withdrawal: Both

parties walk away from the problem.

Again the conflict is not resolved,

just deferred and will come back

again.

IV. Compromise: Both the parties will

come to some agreement by each

giving in half way. It is a partial

solution as not all issues are dealt

with, only put aside as a bargaining

chip.

V. Collaboration: This is win-win

solution as both the parties face the

issues equally and work together to

find a mutually satisfactory way out.

Not only issues resolved, but the

relationship is also resolved.

Finding solution: Assuming that parties

collaborate, come up with all possible

solutions as both the parties are needed

into consideration. One sided, self

serving solutions are dropped.

Declare: Declare the merits of both the

parties, focus on the common aspects.

This will align the attitude with the

behaviour to facilitate reconciliation.

Many interpersonal relationships are

damaged not because the action was



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59

wrong, but because the attitude was not

right.

Incorporate Behaviour: Once a

mutually agreeable solution is reached,

then implement it and incorporate it into

the behaviour. Some good plans never

produce the desired results, because they

are not properly implemented. Both

attitude and behaviour need to be

consistent.

Risk: Realise the risk involved. The

higher the risk, the greater is the reward.

One might find the solution to be

difficult or one may think that the other

party is not holding up to their part of

bargain. Stay still at the decision and see

the result in due time.

Conclusion:

Well managed conflicts stimulate

competition and will be a source of

powerful motivation. Handled properly

through an appropriate conflict

management style, conflict can enhance a

manager’s efforts in reaching

organizational goals. Conflicts are

unavoidable within an organization. In

order to deal with it as inspired resource,

top management or managers must identify

that conflict exists, and bring it out into the

open so that the issue can be effectively

dealt with. Accepting conflict will enable

top managers to deal more effectively with

the problems of organizational efficiency,

stability, governance, change and

effectiveness. Not only managers should

endeavour to understand conflict, but they

must also be careful not to fall into the trap

of viewing it from a negative perspective.

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List of Tables and Chart

Table 1: Chi-Square Test showing association between Gender and their response to supportive

work environment in conflict resolution

Value df Asymp.

Sig. (2-

sided)

Monte Carlo Sig. (2-

sided)


sided)

Sig. 95% Confidence

Interval

Sig. 95% Confidence

Interval

Lower

Bound

Upper

Bound

Lower

Bound

Upper

Bound

Pearson Chi-

Square

8.909a 4 .063 .053b .030 .076

Likelihood Ratio 10.081 4 .039 .028b .011 .045

Fisher's Exact

Test

8.426 .053b .030 .076

Linear-by-Linear

Association

.883c 1 .347 .400b .349 .451 .219b .177 .262

N of Valid Cases 360

a. 2 cells (20.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .91.



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Table 2: Chi-Square Test showing association between designation and their response to

supportive work environment in conflict resolution

Value df Asymp.

Sig. (2-

sided)


sided)

Monte Carlo Sig. (1-sided)

Sig. 99% Confidence

Interval

Sig. 99% Confidence

Interval

Lower

Bound

Upper

Bound

Lower

Bound

Upper

Bound

Pearson Chi-

Square

5.034a 4 .284 .274b .262 .285

Likelihood Ratio 6.676 4 .154 .175b .165 .185

Fisher's Exact

Test

4.499 .312b .300 .324

Linear-by-

Linear

Association

3.973c 1 .046 .051b .045 .057 .026b .022 .031

N of Valid Cases 360

a. 2 cells (20.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.50.

Table 3: ANOVA showing an association between experience and their response to conflict

resolution environment:

Sum of

Squares

Df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups .857 2 .428 .529 .590

Within Groups 289.099 357 .810

Total 289.956 359



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66

Table 4: Multiple Comparisons: LSD Dependent Variable: Conflict resolution is effective

(I) Experience

of the

respondent

(J) Experience

of the

respondent

Mean

Difference

(I-J)

Std. Error Sig. 95% Confidence

Interval

Lower

Bound

Upper

Bound

Less than 5

years

5 to 10 years -.116441 .127407 .361 -.36700 .13412

More than 10

years

-.233108 .452975 .607 -

1.12394

.65773

5 to 10 years

Less than 5

years

.116441 .127407 .361 -.13412 .36700

More than 10

years

-.116667 .464701 .802 -

1.03056

.79723

More than 10

years

Less than 5

years

.233108 .452975 .607 -.65773 1.12394

5 to 10 years .116667 .464701 .802 -.79723 1.03056



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Table 5: The Correlations between expansion of resources and effective conflict resolution

at Scotts Garments Ltd.

Conflict resolution is

effective

Expansion of

resources can

create win-win

solution under

the

circumstances

of scarcity of

resources

Conflict resolution is effective

Pearson

Correlation

1 .119*

Sig. (2-tailed) .024

N 360 360

Expansion of resourses can create win

win solution under the circumstances of

scarcity of resources

Pearson

Correlation

.119* 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .024

N 360 360

Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

Table 6:Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the

Estimate

1 .119a .014 .011 .893542

Table 7: ANOVA showing the relationship between expansion of resources and effective


Model Sum of

Squares

Df Mean Square F Sig.

1

Regression 4.122 1 4.122 5.163 .024b

Residual 285.833 358 .798

Total 289.956 359

a. Dependent Variable: Conflict resolution is effective

b. Predictors: (Constant), Expansion of resources can create win-win solution under the

circumstances of scarcity of resources

Table 8:Coefficients

Model Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig.



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B Std.

Error

Beta

1

(Constant) 2.663 .279 9.536 .000

Expansion of resourses can create

win win solution under the

circumstances of scarcity of

resources

.146 .064 .119 2.272 .024

a. Dependent Variable: Conflict resolution

Chart I: The Conflict Resolution Model

Collaboration

Avoiding

Competing

Accommodation

Compromise

Conflict Resolution

Misunderstanding

Work style Clashes

Personal Conflict

Completion of

Goals

Reaching Targets

Diversified

Thinking

Lack of Rules

Pay in Equity

conflicts

Needs and

Aspirations

Employees


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