Journal ofManagement Development 14,4 56 Business values, management and conflict handling: issues in contemporary Singapore Stephen McKenna and Julia Richardson Stansfield School of Bus
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Business values, management and conflict handling: issues
in contemporary Singapore
Stephen McKenna and Julia Richardson
Stansfield School of Business, Singapore
Introduction
This article reports the results of work being undertaken in Singapore with some 300 managers and future managers in the public and private sector As well as conflict handling the research has investigated the concepts of power, needs, assertiveness, personal and leadership styles and influencing styles in order to paint a picture of the Singaporean manager of the future in the context
of a society at the crossroads of development from an industrial to post-industrial one
Singaporean society and economy
The picture of Singapore often seen by the outside world is of a structured and well-ordered society, theoretically and politically democratic and economically extremely successful, with anticipated economic growth in 1994 of 6 to 8 per cent In many respects, however, Singapore is a society of considerable contradiction A recent book highlights these contradictions in persuasive detail[1]
Regardless of the political context of Dr Chee’s book a crucial theme within it
is the need for Singapore to develop socially in order to maintain its important position economically in Asia-Pacific As well as this need to become a more sophisticated and cultured society, there is the need to develop the psyche of the individuals who comprise it For example, Chee points to the need for
“contentious debate” rather than “forced consensus” He argues that in Singapore contention is frowned on and cites politics where, he argues, debate
is absent as the government seeks to maintain control over the country, as it has done since independence
Singaporeans have been, and to some extent still are, dependent on the State for their basic safety and social needs The government has committed itself to providing housing to all Singaporeans The Central Provident Fund (CPF) provides some security for all of the population, while the government is extremely visible in the community and “matchmaking” couples of equivalent educational and social standing through the Social Development Unit (SDU) which can best be described as a government matchmaking body for graduates
In order to maximize the effect of this service there is also the Social Development Section (SDS) which supplies the same service for non-graduates[2] Despite this seemingly universal assistance, to a larger extent,
Journal of Management
Development, Vol 14 No 4, 1995,
pp 56-70 © MCB University Press,
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higher level needs (self-esteem, actualization) are ignored There is a
materialistic ambiance about Singapore which is simultaneously promoted yet
held in disdain by the government, and reflects deeper uncertainty about the
clash of traditional and modern values
It would be wrong, however, to believe that, while in the opinion of some
debate is societally restricted, individuals within Singaporean society feel that
such consensus is positive Furthermore, they may have different inclinations
towards conflict or contentious situations In other words, the approach towards
handling conflict in the organizational world will reflect the individuals and
power structures within organizations as well as the societal context in which
those organizations operate Consequently, it is possible that, while the
government promotes consensus or compromise, individuals may reject it
The organizational context
The economy in Singapore is dominated by two types of business organization:
the multinational corporation (MNC), of which there are some 7,000 in
Singapore, and the government-linked companies (GLC) This organizational
infrastructure may have some important consequences for the organizational
experience of most individuals; in short, it is likely to be bureaucratic This is
important because of the manner in which bureaucratic structures typically
operate; creating conformity to rules and regulations, policies and procedures
leading to rigidity and inflexibility; employee alienation; concentration of power
and external user frustration Employee alienation and strict adherence to roles
often mean avoiding conflict by resorting to intransigence[3,4]
It might be suggested, then, that for the majority of Singaporeans work in
such organizations may restrict, structurally, the opportunity for debate, and,
therefore, the potential for creativity and innovation This situation may be
compounded by the nature of local management[5] and society itself which
emphasizes the maintenance of harmony or the appearance of value consensus
It is important to note, however, that this phenomenon is not peculiar to
Singaporean society or indeed the work environment, but may be found in other
Asian countries; for example, Japanese society with its concept of tate mai –
keeping up the appearance of socially approved behaviour and consensus – and
Indonesian society with its emphasis on avoiding conflict or making others feel
malu (shame/anger), and the concept of mai pen rai in Thailand, the desire to
keep things on an even keel In terms of organizational and economic activity,
then, the following data may also be relevant outside of Singaporean society
How are Singaporeans, particularly young future managers, inclined in
handling conflict? We might expect, if we are to believe the prevailing
stereotypes of Asians, that they seek to avoid all open conflict The rest of this
article outlines some of the prevailing Western thinking on conflict resolution
and the results of the Singapore survey on handling conflict Finally it makes
some comments about the implications for management and organizations in a
changing global and regional economic and social environment
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Conflict resolution strategies
Many societies and organizations attempt to promote the notion, far beyond what reality tells us, that harmony and consensus are both prevalent and positive Cursory experience of societies and organizations indicates that this is
a myth and that conflict is, in fact, the reality that all human beings experience
in their day-to-day lives Most of this conflict is dealt with easily, but in some situations it is of considerable importance and not so easy to resolve Thus a strategy for resolution is essential
In management, the ability to resolve conflicts successfully is a vital skill
which has two subskills: the cognitive (do I understand how conflict can be resolved?), and the behavioural (can I resolve specific conflicts?) It is vital that
the manager understands how he/she resolves conflict him/herself There are a number of approaches to discovering this, but many have elements in common [6-9]
In a general sense there is the manner in which individuals deal with conflict situations as identified by Cornelius and Faire[10] These authors identify five possible reactions to circumstances of conflict:
(1) Withdrawal: the individual responds to conflict by ceasing to talk,
sulking, retiring hurt, becoming resentful, becoming depressed, saying nasty things behind another’s back, stopping caring about anybody, moving to a business only level
(2) Suppression: here the individual deals with conflict as if nothing is
wrong, carries on regardless, puts up with a difficult conflict situation for the sake of peace, uses charm to get his or her own way, says nothing at the time but is devious later on, keeps all bad feelings inside
(3) Compromise: an individual who compromises in dealing with conflict
attempts to maintain the friendship, tries to discover what is fair, divides the prize equally, avoids pulling rank or being authoritarian, gives something to preserve the relationship
(4) Win/lose: a person who seeks to win in conflict and not lose will set out
to show that the other person is wrong, get moody and sulk until they change their mind, shout them down, turn physically violent, refuse to take “no” for an answer
(5) Win/win: the individual who seeks win/win solutions to conflict will find
out what others need, find out where differences come together, design new options where people get more of what they need and work in partnership with others to find solutions
The Thomas-Kilmann approach
A well-known and widely-used approach to understanding the different ways in which people deal with conflict is the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument[11] Unlike the work of Cornelius and Faire[12], Thomas and Kilmann do not suggest that all conflict is best resolved by searching for a
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win/win situation Indeed, there are a number of different ways to deal with
conflict and each of these modes of conflict handling can be useful under
different sets of circumstances For example, following the five
conflict-handling modes identified by Thomas and Kilmann, each of the following may
be appropriate under divergent circumstances:
● “two heads are better than one” (collaborating);
● “kill your enemies with kindness” (accommodating);
● “split the difference” (compromising);
● “leave well enough alone” (avoiding);
● “might makes fight” (competing)
The extent to which a given conflict-handling mode is effective depends on the
requirements of the specific conflict situation and the skill with which it is used
In this sense in any given situation a particular mode of handling conflict may
be more suitable than others Furthermore, every individual is capable of using
all five conflict-handling modes; nobody can be characterized as having a
single, inflexible style of dealing with conflict, although some people will be
more inclined than others to use certain modes The conflict behaviours of
individuals, therefore, are a combination of their personal characteristics and
the requirements of the circumstances within which they find themselves This
is important and is the purpose of the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode
instrument
In addition to the conflict-handling modes, Thomas and Kilmann developed
their model further by indicating that all reactions to conflict stem from two
general impulses First, assertive behaviour, the desire to satisfy personal
concerns and, second, non-assertive behaviour, the desire to satisfy the
concerns of others Figure 1 represents the model
Competing
(domination)
Collaborating (integration)
Avoiding
(neglect)
Accommodating (appeasement)
Compromising (sharing)
Assertive
Non-assertive Unco-operative Co-operative
Figure 1.
Modes of handling
conflict
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The Singapore survey
The survey of managers and future managers in Singapore involved 303 respondents Some 51 per cent were male, 49 per cent female These figures are representative of the total population of Singapore, 50.6 per cent male and 49.3 per cent female (Census, 1992) The ethnic make-up of the group was 79 per cent Chinese, 8 per cent Indian, 5 per cent Malay and 3 per cent Eurasian The figures for Chinese, Indian, Eurasian/others are representative of figures for the Singaporean population as a whole – 77.61 per cent Chinese, 7.08 per cent Indian and 1.2 per cent Eurasian/other For Malays our sample of 5 per cent is not representative of the Malay population of Singapore (14.17 per cent ) but taking into account that all respondents were full-time or part-time students enrolled in an institute of higher education, the under-representation of Malays should be taken in the light of the fact that the average number of years of formal education of Malays (7.7) is lower than that of the Chinese (8.4), Indian (8.4) and Eurasian (8.0)[12] It may be suggested, therefore, that Malays are less likely to be taking part in higher education Of the respondents 10 per cent were
in management or administration, 12 per cent in public services and 14 per cent
in private services; some 13 per cent were in production, engineering and technology; 16 per cent were in clerical and secretarial jobs; 8 per cent were in the armed forces and 22 per cent were full-time students Of the respondents 97 per cent were in the age range 16 to 35, almost half in the 21 to 25 range The group, therefore, represented a young, upwardly mobile and ultimately well-educated group of people who would be very important to the future of Singapore and management in Singapore
Gender
Figure 2 indicates the dominant modes of handling conflict The two predominant modes of handling conflict for both men and women were compromising and avoiding, although the greatest tendency for men was compromising and, for women, avoiding
Figure 3 compares gender by the three main racial groups in Singapore Within the Chinese group the overall pattern is similar for men and women; men have a greater tendency to compromise when resolving conflict, and women have a greater tendency towards compromise, closely followed by avoidance In the Indian racial group men and women handled conflict differently; men tended to be more compromising, whereas women tended towards collaborating Both men and women have a tendency towards avoidance The Malay group show that men are compromisers while women are very clearly avoiders
We would expect there to be some difference in the way men and women handle conflict in any society Gender identity is primarily a social construction and as a consequence derives from processes of learned behaviour This socialization process tends to promote the view that women are biologically suited to the role of wife and mother By comparison, men, also by virtue of their
“biogrammar” are seen to be more suited to, and capable of, achievement
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8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Collaborating Compromising Avoiding Accommodating Competing
Key : Male Female
Figure 2.
Modes of handling conflict in relation to
gender
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Chinese
(male)
Chinese (female)
Indian (male)
Indian (female)
Malay (male)
Malay (female) Competing
Collaborating
Compromising Avoiding
Accommodating Key :
Figure 3.
Modes of handling conflict in relation to race and gender
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outside the domestic sphere Men have been associated more closely with, and given increased access to, extra-domestic and public domains[13] In Asian cultures, this separation, though not necessarily as clear cut as popular stereotypes might suggest, is significant The significance is best demonstrated
by the marked increase in research by South-east Asian behavioural scientists particularly relating to women’s marginalization from decision making in rural development programmes, training in technology and mechanization, which renders them incapable of advancing further[14]
The general conclusion in relation to the gender dimension is that there is a tendency for men to be relatively unassertive and relatively unco-operative in the way they deal with conflict Women have a greater tendency towards unassertiveness but less of a tendency towards unco-operativeness In terms of conflict resolution, then, we can see a difference between males and females which is a function of gender differentiation In Singaporean society the difference in behaviour is a function of attributed, socially expected, and therefore significantly influential modes of behaviour According to a survey carried out by government matchmaking agencies (SDU and SDS) certain characteristics are seen as specifically desirable in either males or females Key attributes in men are self-confidence and assertiveness, while for women it is more positive to demonstrate “gentleness and fondness for home life as well as respect for her husband as head of the household”[15]
The conflict resolution strategies adopted by males and females in Singapore are influenced by societal gender-behaviour expectations, promoted openly by male political leaders[16] This is particularly so in the predominant Chinese group The implications of this are quite clear for women in relation to employment and management As with women in the West, the force of societal, patriarchal norms operates against their success A few of our female respondents may break through the glass ceiling and reach the top; however, for the majority the structural and psychological constraints on choice and achievement will prove too great in the foreseeable future
Race
Much of the literature dealing with cross-cultural issues in organizations and management often makes the mistake of packaging all countries in the continent of Asia as Asian, suggesting there is a set of values and attitudes common to all Asians This tendency is evident even in the work of some Asian writers and comments of Singaporean politicians[1,17,18] This is clearly absurd If we look at the results of the survey as they relate to the four main racial groups in Singapore we perceive some interesting differences
Of the four groups the Indian racial category is the most competitive This may indicate the need of a minority group to be extra competitive to compensate for their numerical disadvantage Malays and Eurasians are relatively less competitive and Dr Mahathir Mohammed, Prime Minister of Malaysia, has himself offered some interesting insights into this aspect of the Malay character[19] As we would expect, the Indian racial group are less
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avoiding and accommodating than any other racial group, while the Malays
and Eurasians are more so The extent to which Malays adopt a strategy of
avoidance is particularly high In the case of Malays this must be taken in the
light of the fact that unity and resistance to division are a particularly
important aspect of Malaysian society[20] All four groups are relatively high
on compromising which is likely to be a feature of most societies
The findings in relation to the racial dimension suggest that the Chinese have
a tendency towards unassertiveness and co-operativeness in dealing with
conflict, indicating a desire to retain a sense of harmony and order which is
probably linked to the popularity of Confucian and Buddhist beliefs among the
Singaporean Chinese community The potential influence of these beliefs is an
important issue of debate in Singapore led by current Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew[21,22] The Indian group have only a
slight tendency towards unassertiveness and towards co-operativeness In
comparison the Malay group has a strong tendency towards unassertiveness
and a tendency towards unco-operativeness That Malays have a strong
tendency towards unco-operativeness should not be taken as indicative of
aggressive unco-operativeness but perhaps more of conflict withdrawal, which
is more in keeping with Malay culture, i.e the avoidance of disturbing social
harmony and balance[20]
It is interesting to consider the differences by gender and by race (Figure 3)
Male and female Chinese have quite similar profiles in relation to resolving
conflicts However, the Indian group shows that, while both men and women are
similar in terms of assertiveness, women tend to be more co-operative than men
Among Malays this situation is reversed, with women tending to be more
unco-operative than men This is a function of the cultural and religious constitution
of Malay women which evokes a particular psychological response to work
stress and gender hierarchy[23]
While the concept of order and harmony appears to exist in many Asian
cultures, rendering the open manifestation of conflict virtually impossible, the
origin of these beliefs is somewhat different The prevalent Western view of a
conflict situation is that it can be resolved openly, rationally and systematically,
leading to benefits for the organization and the individuals, groups,
departments involved This view is unlikely to prevail in many Asian cultures
In turn, this will have considerable implications for the management style
adopted in these cultures, which remains largely hierarchical and patriarchal,
although with distinctive manifestations of such hierarchy and patriarchy[24]
There is nothing in our survey which indicates any movement towards the
Western notion of collaboration in dealing with conflict among any of the racial
groups in the survey The extent to which this may be significant in the context
of economic development is considered in the summary and conclusion
Age
Of those surveyed 97 per cent were in the age range 16 to 35 Figure 4
represents the details of this group separated into four segments In all age
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groups there is a tendency towards compromising as a conflict resolution strategy, as we would expect There is a tendency towards unassertiveness among all age groups except those in the 31-35 age range This suggests that, while compromising represents the middle way, most respondents would combine unassertiveness with either co-operative or unco-operative behaviours resulting in avoidance or accommodation as a conflict-resolving strategy With increasing age respondents have a clear tendency to become more assertive Indeed, the 31-35 age group do indicate a collaborative style (a combination of assertive and co-operative behaviour) This is an interesting trend which may indicate the importance of experience in the working environment in changing perceptions of how to resolve conflict Maturity, then,
as measured by age, may be significant in the adoption of a more collaborative style of conflict resolution To show this to be the case, however, further work would need to be undertaken It could be that age, as it does, correlates more closely with position in occupational hierarchies
Occupation
The survey distinguished eight occupational categories; administrative and management; students; armed forces; clerical; private services; production and engineering; information systems; and public services With the exception of administrative and management, public services, and clerical staff, all categories had a tendency towards compromising as a mode of conflict
8 7 6
5 4 3
2 1
0 Competing Collaborating Compromising Avoiding Accommodating Key : 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35
Figure 4.
Modes of handling
conflict in relation
to age
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resolution (Figure 5) Administrative and management staff were
predominantly collaborative, while public services and clerical staff were
predominantly avoiding
While collaboration is the dominant mode for administrative and
management staff, a closer look at the results indicates a tendency towards
assertive yet unco-operative behaviour Those respondents already in positions
with some authority and responsibility tend to operate in an authoritative
manner Conversely those respondents in public services and clerical work have
a tendency towards avoidance as their dominant mode of dealing with conflict
Clerical workers tended to be unassertive and unco-operative, while public
service employees were co-operative but unassertive Such results are
interesting in that they suggest a correlation between personality and job,
although further analysis would need to be undertaken to conclude that certain
personality types are attracted to certain types of employment It is interesting
to note also that gender is not an important variable in either the public service
or clerical work, and so although women dominate clerical and public service
employment they are no more avoiding than men in these jobs
With the exception of the administrative/management group, all categories
have a tendency towards unassertiveness, and all groups with the exception of
students and public services have a tendency towards unco-operativeness In
most types of occupation the majority of respondents appear to be adopting a
style of conflict resolution which produces all outcomes with the exception of
win/win
The results in relation to occupation are interesting Up to this point it has
been suggested that culture may be the dominant variable in determining
approaches to resolving conflict among our respondents However, it might be
that the roles and responsibilities that people perform in largely bureaucratic
organizations may have a logic of their own when combined with personality
characteristics which construct power relationships within the organizational
structure Certainly the results of this research indicate such a link Moreover,
the classical organization and management approaches of Weber and Fayol fit
well with the Confucianist concept of wu lun As Hofstede[25] points out, this
concept suggests that “the stability of society rests on unequal relationships
between people” Managers might expect to give “protection and
consideration”, in exchange for “respect and obedience”[25] This might
explain, in a predominantly Chinese society, the relative competitiveness of
managers and the relative avoidance of lower level personnel in organizations
towards resolving conflict
Summary and conclusions
The results of the survey on the conflict resolution styles of present and future
managers and executives in Singapore suggest that, while there is a general
tendency towards compromise as the most adopted strategy in conflict