Role Conflict Theory: Analysis of a Personal Experience Example

This essay delves into the concept of role conflict theory, examining how conflicting roles and responsibilities within an organization can impact individual behavior and team dynamics. It begins by defining role conflict and its origins in sociology, explaining how it arises when individuals are expected to fulfill multiple, potentially opposing, obligations. The essay then applies this theory to a personal experience of the author during a group assignment, illustrating how unclear roles, overlapping responsibilities, and a lack of leadership led to intra-role and inter-role conflicts. The author reflects on the challenges faced, such as difficulties in prioritizing tasks and the resulting impact on the project's progress and deadlines. The essay concludes by suggesting strategies for mitigating role conflict, such as clearly defining roles, establishing boundaries, and recognizing individual limitations, emphasizing the importance of understanding organizational behavior theories for effective teamwork and professional success. The essay references several academic sources to support its arguments.

Running head: ROLE CONFLICT THEORY
Role conflict theory
Name of student
Name of university

1ROLE CONFLICT THEORY
At an organization, there are various factors which could influence a person’s behavior or
attitude in professional environments. Accordingly, several theories and models exist, which
determine the factors and the causes behind organization behaviors (Miner, 2015). One such
theory is the role conflict theory. According to the role conflict theory, a person in any kind of
professional environment is expected to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of his or her
respective roles. When a person is overburdened with numerous roles, there are bound to
conflicts between them. The following essay attempts to delve deep into role conflict theory,
which has then been applied to a personal experience.
Role conflict theory dictates that imposing a number of roles and responsibilities to a
person would make it impossible for him or her to comply with all of them (Johannessen, Tynes
& Sterud, 2013). For instance, every individual is expected to perform a number of roles and
duties as part of their everyday life. However, if a person feels themselves being pulled in
multiple directions, it could lead to conflict between the roles. This could be because the various
roles that a person is expected to fulfill often has opposing obligations, which results in tension
or friction between them. The concept of role conflict has its roots in sociology, and was first
coined by Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist. The very term role refers to the set of
expected behavioral patterns and obligations which a person has to follow, especially when it is
relative to others. A role, in any context, thus may be explained as a kind of blueprint. A role
dictates the goals a person has to carry out, the goals they are to pursue and the way to achieve
these tasks. According to the role theory, a person’s social behavioral patterns and interactions
depend on roles. However, in pursuit of fulfilling all these goals, an individual may experience
role conflict (Biddle, 2013).

2ROLE CONFLICT THEORY
In fact, role conflict theory is one of the most important aspects of professional life as
well. In organizations and other similar environments, role conflict may also be experienced with
regards to opinions on what duties and responsibilities a particular role may entail (Schulz,
2013). For instance, intra role conflicts are common in organizations. If two senior employees
ask a junior employee to execute a particular task, it would be impossible for the latter to carry
out at the same time. The main foundational principle of role conflict theory is that every
individual is driven by an innate desire to attain success (Schmidt et al., 2014). As a result, there
is added pressure on individuals due to various roles which place incompatible and opposing
demands resulting in a conflict.
I have personally experienced the conflict of roles as well. As part of our course, we were
asked to partake in a group assignment. The class was divided into teams of five, and a separate
assignment was assigned to each time. I was in a team, which consisted of five members, and we
had to complete the assignment within 3 weeks. Keeping in mind the numerous team building
theories, it took us some time before we could get used to working in a team. We did not appoint
a leader at the very beginning. Instead, the tasks were distributed and allotted based on interests
and expertise. For instance, I was in charge of the research portion and the concluding part of the
assignment. This was because the assignment topic was my area of expertise, and I had
previously done significant research on the topic. However, this proved to be both an advantage
and disadvantage. It was beneficial because it allowed our team to progress on the right track,
and provided sufficient background information that each team member would require.
However, this also meant that I would have to take responsibility for a majority portion of the
assignment, which was beyond my immediate role. For instance, there were situations where I
had to delay my own work in order to help a fellow team member. I prefer to work in an

3ROLE CONFLICT THEORY
organized fashion, by setting personal goals for myself. I had chalked out a plan according to
which I would work and complete my assigned portion within the given time frame. However,
going out of my way to help my team mates proved to be detrimental to my own work.
Moreover, there were several conflicts within the team as to the responsibilities and duties of
each member. Since we had failed to appoint a leader at the very beginning, we found it difficult
to navigate effectively through the project. This led to numerous conflicts within the group, since
we were not clear as to what our individual responsibilities and duties were. For example,
although I had specified that I would be in charge of two aspects, I was also asked to weigh in on
others’ portions. This took a toll on the project itself as we were progressing in a haphazard
manner, without any clear sense of direction. At one point, we were unsure of whether we would
be able to meet the deadlines.
The role conflict theory can be applied in this case. As mentioned earlier, a role may be
defined as a blueprint which guides and directs how a person should act and behave in a specific
situation. However, the role conflict theory also suggests that the roles and responsibilities of the
people should be clearly identified and communicated. Yet, we had failed to do so in our group
task. I personally felt the consequences of such a situation, owing to the role conflict theory.
Since I was unsure of my exact duties and responsibilities, it was difficult for me to work on the
assignment in an efficient manner. Additionally, I had way too much on my plate, which was
owing to the excessive demands that had been placed on me. The demands of my team members
were often conflicting and opposing in nature. As a result, this led to various intra role conflicts.
Our team also witnessed a number of inter role conflicts, which occurred due to a lack of clarity
within the team.

4ROLE CONFLICT THEORY
Although we were finally able to complete our work on time, there were quite a few
obstacles that got in our way. I believe that there are certain things which could have been done
so as to avoid such a situation. For instance, I believe that the most important step in resolving
role conflict is first clearly defining the roles. During our group assignment, none of the team
members were exactly aware of what our individual roles were and what we were expected to
do. It is important to understand the boundaries between each role, so as to prevent any form of
overlapping between them. This would also enable me to define my priorities at the beginning. It
is also important to recognize that a single individual is not capable of fulfilling a range of tasks
and duties, and therefore, he or she should stick to a definite role which has been decided upon
on the basis of expertise and strengths and weaknesses. I believe that organizational behavioral
theories like role conflict theory can help one understand the dynamics of team work, group
building or other aspects of professional life. At our places of work, we will be required to work
in association with others or placed in various unfavorable situations. In such cases, it is
imperative to have a sound knowledge of organization behavior theories, so as to understand the
behavioral patterns and attitudes of others and ourselves.
To conclude, role conflict is one of the most important aspects of professional life. Role
conflict can be of two types – inter role and intra role. Irrespective of the type, conflict arises due
to a lack of adherence to the boundaries that a role dictates. If there is overlapping between the
roles and responsibilities of a person, it may lead to conflict. Defining the roles at the very
beginning is one of the most crucial steps to reduce or resolve role conflict.

5ROLE CONFLICT THEORY
References:
Anazodo, K.S (2018). Chapter 3: Perceiving ourselves and others in organizations, Slide 7.
Biddle, B. J. (2013). Role theory: Expectations, identities, and behaviors. Academic Press.
Johannessen, H. A., Tynes, T., & Sterud, T. (2013). Effects of occupational role conflict and
emotional demands on subsequent psychological distress: a 3-year follow-up study of the
general working population in Norway. Journal of occupational and environmental
medicine, 55(6), 605-613.
Miner, J. B. (2015). Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership.
Routledge.
Schmidt, S., Roesler, U., Kusserow, T., & Rau, R. (2014). Uncertainty in the workplace:
Examining role ambiguity and role conflict, and their link to depression—a meta-
analysis. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23(1), 91-106.
Schulz, J. (2013). The impact of role conflict, role ambiguity and organizational climate on the
job satisfaction of academic staff in research-intensive universities in the UK. Higher
Education Research & Development, 32(3), 464-478.