| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to determine whether one's own position, the position of the person with whom one is in conflict, or the content of the conflict situation significantly affects people's choice of conflict management styles (cms) in voluntary organizations. Subjects were 54 staff members, 54 board members, and 54 volunteers randomly selected from 18 organizations with a variety of missions. Subjects were sent a copy of the Organizational Communication Conflict Instrument (OCCI) which lists 30 typical behaviors for dealing with conflict and the description of a conflict situation. Subjects received one of nine situations, each specifying the content of a conflict--a misinterpreted message, an organizational concern, or a personality problem--and the position of a person with whom one was to envision being in conflict--a staff member, board member, or volunteer. Subjects' responses on the OCCI were summed on three subscales--nonconfrontation, solution--orientation, and control--to obtain a profile of their preferred cms. No significant differences in cms are attributed to position, sex, or length of tenure in an organization. The content of a conflict situation does not affect the choice of cms. Nonconfrontation strategies are selected by people in voluntaries significantly more often when organizational concerns rather than personality differences are the source of the conflict (F (2,157) = 3.46, p < .05). When conflict centers on organizational concerns and one is in conflict with volunteers, solution-orientated behaviors are used significantly more often than when the conflict is with staff members (t (153) = 3.13, p < .01). When volunteers are in conflict with other volunteers they use significantly more controlling behaviors than do staff members (t (153) = 6.04, p < .01) or board members (t (153) = 3.90, p < .01) involved in similar conflicts with volunteers. These findings contradict earlier findings generated in profit-oriented organizations, suggesting that research results are not generalizeable between settings. People in voluntaries appear to put the needs of the organization before their own needs. Also, volunteers' contributions are both solicited and appreciated by others working in voluntaries. | en_US |
