The Management of Interdepartmental Conflict: A Model and Review

Abstract

A general model of interdepartmental conflict and its management is presented, together with a review of the relevant literature. The model integrates the contextual determinants of organizational conflict emphasized by sociologists and the dynamics of conflictful relationships studied by social psychologists. The general feedback linkage in the model is provided by the adaptive and maladaptive reactions of higher executives' to conflict and the consequences of conflict between units. Each of these several aspects of the model has implications for a strategy of modifying interdepartmental patterns.