Integrated Conflict Management Systems as Cure and Cause: How Leaders Address Cultural Change and Conflict in Their Organizations

Organizations experience the bottom line impact of internal conflicts daily. Conflicts between employees simply drain organizational resources. The idea of Integrated Conflict Management Systems (ICMS) has been introduced to help minimize the impact of these conflicts. ICMS, through the development of policies and procedures to address conflicts, are actually attempting to change the organization\u27s culture, and when organizations attempt cultural changes, conflicts are likely to occur. The primary component of cultural change is the organizational leader. The study interviews organizational leaders about the conflicts that occur when organizations change cultures and the methods that leaders use to work through those conflicts. One finding was that though leaders viewed most conflicts as relational, they may in fact be values conflicts requiring different interventions. The study found that leaders identified three primary components for dealing with conflict during change. They are dialogue, one-on-one conversations, and direct and consistent messaging