Change and Conflict

We live in constant change. Businesses have to continue to evolve and change in order to compete, keep up with new technologies, to recruit and retain the best employees. Individuals have to change, learn and grow professionally just to stay current with the requirements of their jobs, let alone move up in their organizations and chosen careers. One of the inevitable facts of being in a transition is that it invokes conflict. This is as much the case for individuals as it is for organizations. Change and transition creates friction and conflict. Ironically, conflict is a wonderful gift too as it is the engine that drives evolution.

Change can either be proactive or reactive. Proactive change involves actively attempting to make alterations to the work place and its practices. Organizations that take a proactive approach to change are often trying to avoid a potential future threat or to capitalize on a potential future opportunity. Reactive change on the other hand occurs when an organization makes changes in its practices after some threat or opportunity has already occurred. Respectively, the proactive and reactive responses to the changes are what lead to conflict.

So, what do we mean by "conflict"? The term is widely used to describe important differences between individual humans or a group of humans. If the existing differences are not somehow adequately handled, the involved individuals or groups are unable to come together in understanding and cooperation. Conflicts take place in many forms in organizations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those individuals and groups affected