Organizational Conflict: A Guide to Theory and Practice

Organizational Conflict: A Guide to Theory and Practice explores communication and conflict in contemporary organizations. The authors challenge readers to think critically about the role of conflict in organizational life and the ways in which conflict is enacted within organizations. The text begins by establishing a philosophy for organizational conflict that is paradoxical, complex, communication-centered, and contextual. This framework allows students and professors to begin with a concrete set of issues to apply as they explore each topic throughout the text. Case studies integrated into each chapter provide the concrete experiences from which to explore issues and theories and challenge readers to engage in their own analyses.Features &BAD: amp; Benefits: ‘You Make the Call’ case studies: Blend theory and practice to challenge readers to apply the concepts being discussed and to think critically about conflict-relevant communication processes Are integrated into each chapter with a ‘teaser’ introduction to the case at the beginning of each chapter. Discussion questions are provided that can be answered by integrating chapter information with the scenario.‘New’ topics: Full chapters on work-life conflict and on-line conflict reflect the contemporary nature of the text Unlike many books on the market that cast conflict in a solely negative light, this text explores that conflict can be not only dysfunctional but functional, not only disempowering but empowering Multicultural perspectives (e.g., race, gender, ethnicity, class, status) are embedded throughout the text and are not relegated to one stand-alone ‘diversity’ chapter