Cultural Conflict and Management in Organizations

This article discusses the impact of cultural conflict on organizations and explores effective management strategies. It reviews various studies on the topic, highlighting strengths and research gaps. The article concludes by suggesting future research directions in the field of cultural conflict and management.

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Executive Summery

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction.....................................................................................................................3
2.0 Literature Review............................................................................................................3
3.0 Strengths and Research Gaps of Literature Review........................................................9
Strengths.................................................................................................................................9
Research Gaps........................................................................................................................9
4.0 Conclusion and Direction for Future Research.............................................................10
References................................................................................................................................12

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1.0 Introduction
In every organization, conflict is inevitable. Even in one’s personal life, conflicts
cannot be overlooked (Allen and Finkelstein 2014). According to Annor et al. (2015), the
existing research on the cultural dimensions related to national perspective has been done
majorly in the western countries. The issue of culture and conflict and the major implications
of this phenomenon in organizations have emerged in the last four decades due to the
increased involvement of women in work place. In this context, the cultural values and
beliefs that influence the organizational involvement are analyzed. In this paper, the different
aspects of organizational conflict and the cultural factors that affect them, have been
discussed. In this regard, Organizational Citizenship Behavior and the effect of
Individualism/Collectivism and Gender Egalitarianism have been analyzed. Finally, the paper
concludes that managers, leaders as well as any individuals can be trained to handle cultural
conflicts using the models and frameworks that have been presented in the following studies.
2.0 Literature Review
The idea of individualism and collectivism is predominant when it comes to
cultural conflict.. It is believed by Ollier-Malaterre et al. (2013), that the in individualistic
culture human is considered as an individual and thus have different sets of goals for different
parts of life. Focusing on any one part more is considered ignorance on the other. The
collective concept, rather, has a blurred line of this decision, where investing more time into
one part is considered a short time sacrifice for a long-term betterment. Billing et al. (2014),
also implicates that the conflict is lesser in collective cultures and thus, people lead happier
personal and professional life. Due to this the devotion and involvement towards the
organization is more and people contribute more than their job description asks them to. Li et

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al. (2015), connects this idea to the Human Resource Management in an organization as in
Collective culture. They argue that the relationship shared between the employer and the
employee is more holistic in collectivism and there is a familial bond among them, whereas
in Individualistic culture, this measurement is monetary and any personal relationship or
familial bond is deemed unprofessional and undesirable. Due to this cultural differences,
cross cultural organizations may face conflict amongst its employees as their basic values
will differ.
Allen and Finkelstein (2014), opines that gender roles vary across different
cultures which in response impacts the organizational culture. Most cultures have the core
belief that men are more materialistic whereas women are more subjective. Gender
Egalitarianism ensures equal commitment and participation in work irrespective of their
gender. In countries that have high egalitarian values, men and women engage in both
household and professional work, women are more likely to earn equally and placed at high
authority position. If any person is involved with too much familial duty, then it is difficult
for him or her to invest much time in their profession. This challenge leads to larger
complication in organizations as cultures where gender equality lacks, having women in
higher positions may create insubordination and disrespect from the employees.
Haar et al. (2014), is in support of this view and argues that
Individualism/Collectivism and Gender Egalitarianism has moderating effect on job
satisfaction. Both these studies trace the previous researches that have failed to incorporate
these ideas in cross-border context and their worldwide implication on job satisfaction. Even
according to Ott-Holland (2013), Gender egalitarianism plays a moderating role in cultural
conflict management. People living in high Gender Egalitarian culture are likely to
experience higher job satisfaction than those living in low Gender Egalitarian culture. The
author performs a quantitative research across seven countries regarding these factors to

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determine the relationship among them. 1416 employees from different organizations from
the seven countries. The implication of these studies are that they provide recommendations
that will ensure reduction in cultural conflict in multicultural organizations.
Tziner and Sharoni (2014), has provided two models for factors affecting
Organizational Citizenship Behavior or OCB. The models are constructed to determine
relationship between OCB and stress, OCB and organizational justice as well as its effect on
cultural conflict. Through these models, responses from 120 people residing in the Arab
countries, 22.5%male and 77.5% female, were included and it was found out that there is a
positive relationship between organizational justice whereas a negative relationship was
found between OCB and stress. Swaminathan and Jawahar (2013), too, argues that if the
employees feel that the organization is fair and just, it is likely that they will be more loyal
and giving towards the organization thus the positive relationship. The limitations that the
study indicates is the cross-sectional nature of the study. The author suggests that a
longitudinal study would be much more effective in finding the relationship changes and
trace the pattern of these factors. The sample size, too, is relatively small. In order to find a
much more universal relationship, researchers will need to include a much larger number of
people and that too from across the borders.
The previous discussion indicates that there is a great need for conflict management in
the organizations. In this context, Brett, Behfar and Sanchez-Burks (2014), provide a
comparative study on the direct versus indirect style of confrontations. The difference
between direct and indirect conflict depends on how people perceive and interpret meaning
during a conflict. The paper synthesizes the definitions and aspects of direct and indirect
conflict, compare the advantages and benefits of the two and dismisses the notion that eastern
countries are more indirect in their approach to conflict management whereas the western
culture is much more direct. There are also myths that indirect approach of conflict

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management is non-confrontational and is means to avoid the situation. This culturally driven
idea of confrontational style is largely dependent upon the origin of those culture and how
people perceive them. It is seen through the study that the choice of direct or indirect
confrontation largely depends on the leadership style of the leader, his personality and the
situation at hand. In direct confrontation, if the parties are already at conflict, or there is a
larger problem, then direct confrontation is mostly successful. Indirect information on the
other hand, is more subtle and tactical. In business environment, there are many situations
where confronting the problem directly will make the situation worse. In these cases indirect
confrontation is used.
As per Saeed et al. (2014), there are three methods of confrontation, Verbal, non-
verbal and third party. It is seen that verbal communication is most effective in direct
confrontation while non-verbal indirect confrontation is much more likely to work. The
involvement of the third party in any conflict is helpful as in both cases they help in solving
problems that the two parties that were involved were unable. It is believed by many that
third party intervention is different in direct and indirect confrontation. The authors negates
this idea as they believe that if used properly as a mediator, in both these styles, third party
involvement could become an effective way to handle conflict.
Husemann, Ladstaetter and Luedicke (2015), explores the factors that lead to conflict
in consumption communities. The literature gap that this study has covered are the dynamic
and distinct behavior of the consumer communities and cultural differences in a conflict. The
authors have conducted a four-year extensive research in relation to Premium Cola
consumption community to determine the formal as well as the informal elements of conflict
culture. It is observed in the study that cultural identity and values direct the sense of right
and wrong and the decision making of an individual. In this case, Nico viewed the situation
as negative and while Carlos voice the opinion that if the decision is taken regarding an

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intern, it should be taken together. The study finds out that conflicts in consumption
communities tend to make stronger identities and decision-making attitude.
Gonçalves et al. (2016), also suggests that there is a relationship between cultural
intelligence and conflict management. The study aims to find out the effect that cultural
intelligence as well as self-monitoring can have on conflict management styles. The study
was conducted using 399 individuals where it was found that while cultural intelligence was a
valid and effective factor of conflict management self-monitoring did not prove to be so. It is
believed that training the individuals with multicultural skills will lead them to understand
cultural conflict better and find out ways that they can manage that problem (Väyrynen,
2018).
Tjosvold, Wong and Feng Chen (2014), discusses the effective methods that
managers can adopt in an organization to manage conflict. The reason for cultural conflict is
the problem in understanding values and morals of other cultures. The model and method that
this study proposes, will help the managers to keep an open mind and manage conflict
situations better. The authors argue that in a world where all the cultural boundaries have
become blurred, it is necessary for the managers to hold open minded discussions to ensure
mitigation of cross-cultural conflict. Mor, Morris and Joh (2013), voice the same opinion and
claims that cultural cognition is the pathway to effectively manage cultural conflict in an
organization. The suggested method is the cultural perspective taking. The study finds that
there is a close relationship between cultural perspective and conflict resolution. The method
that surfaces is applicable for all global companies and will be useful for training the
managers and leaders in cultural competence (Schlaerth, Ensari and Christian 2013). It is
suggested that in most cases a mutually benefitting relationship ensures better conflict
management.

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The study conducted by Podsiadlowski et al. (2013), explores the factors like
Fairness, Reinforcements, Access and learning might have in managing conflict. The
Diversified Perspective Questionnaire is an effective tool that enables the managers and
leaders to understand the perspectives that vary in an organization due to culture. Gbadamosi,
Baghestan, and Al-Mabrouk (2014), performs a study that takes university students as
samples to determine the effect of age, gender and nationality on the styles that people use to
manage conflicts. The mode of instrument that was adopted was the Thomas-Kilmann
instrument, ANOVA and t-test were conducted on the samples to determine the effect these
factors have. The gender demographics show that there are no significance difference in
conflict management style when it comes to nationality. The gender demographics whereas
show that females are more likely to engage in direct conflict while men generally avoid
conflicts.
3.0 Strengths and Research Gaps of Literature Review
Strengths
The strength of the literature study conducted above is in the research. All the researches
are extensive and focused on specific topics. The studies on work-family conflict and gender
roles are based on primary and secondary sources of information. In most cases, the authors
have taken study samples and past researches that contribute to the richness of the study. The
authors have used both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods that have made the
researches reliable. In most cases, the authors have been able to remain on focus and have
been able to come to a specific conclusion regarding the hypothesis of the paper. The
research by Gbadamosi, Baghestan, and Al-Mabrouk (2014), applies frameworks for conflict
management that is another strength of the literature. Other researchers too suggest methods
and recommendations for the organizations to reduce conflict.

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Research Gaps
The limitations of these studies are the homogenous nature and the size of the sample
that was taken to conduct the study. Further research consisting respondents from across
nationality borders and culture will give a universal view of the issue. The limitations that
these studies posits are the nature of conflict present in the native consumption communities
and how the encounters between community members affects the conflict culture of the
community. The moral ambitions, conditions of structure and backgrounds of consumers and
their effect on conflict is also another aspect that needs further research. The sample sizes
considered in these studies are small and limited in nature. The results thus shown are
specific to geographical locations and culture.
4.0 Conclusion and Direction for Future Research
From the above discussion it can be concluded that the field of cultural conflict and
management has great scope for research and development. The future researchers can
consider those and conduct further studies to make further contribution. Future studies need
to concentrate on the dynamics that will create mutually benefitting relationship, deepen the
knowledge of open-minded discussion and so on. The model that the authors offer through
the study for open-minded discussion will benefit both the employees and the managers and
in turn the organization to manage the cross-cultural conflicts. The scope for future research
that these papers propose is the consideration of both individual and cultural context in the
research of work-life balance. There is also research scope in this field regarding power-
distance, uncertainty avoidance, humane orientation and specificity or diffusion dimensions
as no empirical study has been conducted in this field. Due to the limited nature of the sample
size, researchers should also consider including a larger sample or inclusion of nationality
aspects into future research. With the inclusion of opinions of people belonging to different

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nationality and culture, the impact of Individualism/Collectivism, OCB and gender
demographics can be understood better.

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References
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