International Journal of Global Business, 6 (1), June 2013 81-90 81
A Study on the Conflict Resolution Styles of Generation Y Students in Indian Context
Smarty Mukundan, Dhanya M, Dr. K P Saraswathyamma
FISAT Business School, Mookkannoor P.O, Angamaly, Ernakulam, Kerala, India.
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
Abstract
Generation Y, is probably the fastest growing workforce and the most recent cohorts to enter the
workforce in the world today. Unlike the erstwhile generation of theirs, they are an affluent
generation and raised in a time of economic prosperity and expansion .This generation is typified
by certain characteristics as they are highly techsavy, family centric , achievement oriented and
prefer to have meaningful careers . It is quite likely that conflict happen when the two generations
co exists under the same roof. The paper attempts to find out the conflict styles adopted by the Gen
Y students. Conflict styles has been measured using the conflict resolution Inventory (CRI)
instrument prepared by S Purohit, which measures the five dimensions namely confrontation,
compromise , negotiation, withdrawal and resignation. An attempt has been made to find out
whether Gen Y with their typical characteristics has a specific conflict style. Preference of conflict
styles across the gender and background and work experience has been looked into. The CRI
instrument was administered with around 136 respondents pursuing under graduate and post
graduate course in the city of Cochin to find out the conflict styles of these students. The study
revealed that a dominant conflict style was not associated with this generation.
The findings, implications, directions for further research and the limitations are discussed in the
paper
Key words: Conflict Styles, Approach Mode, Avoidance Mode, Generation X, Generation Y.
Introduction
Recently a senior HR professional in an article quoted of his experience of an “employee
impasse “ at his office as the impasse had to with a young group of campus hires who had decided
to protest against their manager’s lack of respect for “their space.” A chief trainer in her late 50’s
was angry because her phone calls were never answered back, instead found the response back as
text or emails in her inbox. This is where the outlook of generation varies- we term them as Gen
X & Gen y and perhaps more to come. Fortune Y Magazine has termed Gen y as the high
maintenance but potentially most high performing generation in history as they are entering the
workplace with more information greater technological skills and high expectation for themselves
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and others. Gen y is increasingly important now because of the fact that they are becoming part of
workforce and customer dynamics have changed drastically which beckon for creative ways of
handling these multi generations.
Generation defined
The term generation has been defined in numerous ways. One of the most accepted
definitions refers a generation as “a group of people or cohorts who share birth years and
experiences as they move through time together" (Kupperschmidt, 2000, p. 66). This definition,
as well as other definitions defines generation as a group of people with similar views, values, and
attitudes, as a result of common life experiences (Edmunds & Turner, 2005; Ryder, 1965). The
effects of these life experiences are seen as fairly stable over their lives (Smola & Sutton, 2002)
and can be used to distinguish one generation from another (Jurkiewicz & Brown, 1998).
The four generations
A review of the literature (Hammill, 2005; Dwyer,2008; Wynn,2011; Saxena & Jain,2012)
on the categorization of these generational cohorts shows that each cohort has been exposed to
certain specific economic factors, technological factors and socio-cultural factors that have shaped
up their values, beliefs and attitudes. It was found that they can be categorized as shown in the
Table 1. Very limited empirical research has been done as such in these generational differences
and hence the generalizations are subject to criticism too. Therefore the categorization of these
cohorts with their specific characteristics can be viewed in a superficial sense.
Type of
generation
Also known as Corresponding
Years
Events that shaped up their
values ,beliefs and attitudes
Veterans Seniors/traditionalists 1945 and earlier The great depression, two world
wars, threat of nuclear exchange
Baby
boomers
Boomer 1946-1966 Largest generation in numbers
,prolonged cold wars ,experienced
prosperity and affluence
Generation X Baby bust 1967-1980 Outsourcing ,rampant
downsizing, modernization
,energy crisis, new feminism
,personal computers
Generation Y The nexters
/millennial /echo
boomers
1980 -2000 Increased violence ,terrorist
attacks, celebrity scandals ,reality
shows, increase in nuclear family
Table 1: Categorization of Generational cohorts
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The changing demographics bring in the possibility of at least four generations of people
working together under the same roof. Gen y ‘s in the workforce are going to increase markedly
in the workspace. It is predicted that by 2020 the matures/ veterans in the workplaces will gradually
decrease to 1% and Boomers 15 percent. The Gen Xers will show the least change over the next
decade, remaining at approximately 25-30 percent of the workplace in 2020.Gen y will constitute
around 45 – 50 % of the workforce. A new generation of employees (Generation Z, born in the
late 1990s) is projected to begin entering the workplace by around 2020.This changing
demographic trends indicate that there would be four generations with distinct views, values &
attitudes and coexisting under the same roof . Creating a work environment that will reduce conflict
and misunderstanding and enhancing their productivity from both the newer (gen y) cohorts and
the older (gen x) cohorts would be greatest challenge for the HR managers and the supervisors
Gen y characteristics
This enormously powerful group in terms of sheer size brought up during the times of
economic prosperity believes in empowerment, are networked ,collaborative ,highly social and
team focused, (UN report 2010) need they demand workplace relationships that cater to the their
needs of social networking, work life balance and civic engagement. loyalty does not have the
same meaning as their earlier cohorts had as these millennial’s seek for instant gratification (Wynn
2012).These generational cohorts also known as the nexters can never be lured by distant pay
raises and promotions. They wouldn’t mind leaving their employer if they find a better opportunity
elsewhere for themselves. They expect to be included in intellectual talk and included in
management decision. They do not believe in hierarchies and rather expect a mentoring role from
the seniors than a supervisory role. To this generation, work is seen as an elective activity to
further one's personal goals rather than a necessity (Saxena & Jain 2012). Some researchers
connote them in negative manner as the "generation me" as they are sometimes described with
negative connotations such as being self-centered and unmotivated .However, this cohort has
emerged as the most educated, technology savvy generation ever. They have also been quoted as
ones who have strong work ethics when they have landed in the right job. Unlike their predecessor
gen y has seen the recession and how their parents lost their jobs and savings they value work life
balance and working for long hours never appeal to this generation.
Multi generations and role of conflict
The shift in the demographics in terms of multi generations at workplaces brings in a lot
of diversity too. This brings in a lot of complexities as each generation have their own expectations
of the workplace and hence perspectives differ which brings in scope for conflicts at workplace.
While several generations are at the workplace they should be encouraged to deal with generational
differences and adopt the right conflict styles too. Failure to do so may cause misunderstandings,
mis communications and mixed signals (Smola & Sutton, 2002). Conflicts are likely to arise
between the baby boomers /Gen x and the Gen y as they would comprise a major portion of the
workforce. For instance the Gen Y’s are willing to work for longer hours but are more concerned
International Journal of Global Business, 6 (1), June 2013 81-90 84
about the conflict between work and family as compared to baby boomers. They are more likely
to embrace change within an organizational structure and be given opportunities for promotion
and validation. They do not like to be micro managed, and for them work should be interesting
and fun.
Conflict styles
Conflict has been defined as the process in which one party perceives that its interests are
being thwarted/ opposed or negatively affected by another party. The conflict process can be
triggered by differences in goals, values, tasks or due to inadequate resources, transparency,
communication etc. It is assumed that individuals generally adopt conflict styles that are
compatible to their individual goals and values in an organizational setting. As human beings
interact in organizations, differing values and situations create conflicts between people .Modern
theorists opine that when conflict is recognized, and managed in a proper manner, personal and
organizational benefits are seen (Silverthorne, 2005). Conflict when left unmanaged can lead to
diminished cohesiveness amongst employees, productivity and reduced organizational fitness.The
effect of conflict whether positive or negative depends on the person who manages it and the
adoption of the right conflict resolution style. In this context, we find ample scope for conflicts
between generations as each generational cohort have their own values, beliefs and attitudes.
Conflict styles can be defined as the style that an individual chooses to satisfy oneself or others
(Womack, 1988). Some of the styles of the persons involved in a conflict can play a critical role
(either be individuals, or as groups). Certain styles promote a search for solutions while some lead
to a deadlock and result in strained relations. Several styles have been identified by theorist – one
of the early theories of conflict style resolution was one-dimensional proposed by Mary P Follet
(1924) where three styles were proposed – domination compromise and integration and added two
more secondary styles namely avoidance and suppression. Later, Blake and Mouton (1964)
developed the managerial grid, which included two dimensions: concern for production and
concern for people with four styles–forcing (low-low for both, smoothing, compromising and
problem solving (high- high for both). Thomas and Kilmann (1974, 1977) based on the work of
Blake and Mouton labelled two components of conflict behavior as assertiveness and
cooperativeness. Assertiveness was a behavior that satisfies one’s own concern, and
cooperativeness was a behavior that satisfies another person’s concerns. These two dimensions
yield the five conflict management styles of competitiveness, accommodation, compromise,
avoiding, and collaboration. This model has been one of the popular models. Pruitt (1983)
suggested dual concern model with four styles –yielding, problem solving, contending and
inaction. Rahim & Bonomo (1979,1983) came with a differentiation with two dimensions namely
– concern for self and concern for others which basically portrays the motivational orientation of
an individual at the time of conflict. Rahim’s model is based on five conflict handling approaches
namely integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding and compromising. All the styles however
converge into the perceptions of the conflicting parties when conflicts arise between two parties it
may either lead to resignation to fate or a power struggle Pareekh & purohit (2010) proposed that
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the perception of the conflicting groups should be used to understand the modes of conflict
management. They suggested two modes of conflict management – approach and avoidance.
Avoidance is based on fear and dysfunctional while approach is based on hope and functional.
Avoidance is typified by a tendency to deny ,rationalise or avoid the problem, to displace anger
or aggression or to use emotional appeals while approach orientation is characterised by making
efforts to find a solution by one’s own efforts or with the help of others .This dimension has been
used in understanding conflict styles of managers (Pareek 1987). The instrument used for this
study takes in this concept and has identified five styles
Resignation (Avoidance mode) – The extreme mode may turn to be fatal as it result in state
of helplessness due to hostility of the other group or ignoring the conflict by denying an
unpleasant situation and let the conflict resolve in its due course
Withdrawal (Avoidance mode) – This mode of conflict tries to get away from the conflict
situation by avoiding/withdraw from the conflict when it takes place /physical
separation/defining boundaries between the conflicting parties
Confrontation (Approach mode) - In this mode the parties fight out the issue to get a
solution which may result in the win-lose trap as both parties have opposing interest and
are unreasonable
Compromise (Approach mode) – This mode is the process of sharing the gains but with
little efforts to resolve the conflict
Negotiation (Approach mode) – The most satisfactory mode when both the groups jointly
confront the problem and explore the situation
Establishing research findings on multigenerational conflict styles is relatively at an early
stage. Since workplace diversity in terms of multigenerations would be an inevitable
phenomenon in the future, empirical studies are needed to establish the differences and to study
how these generations interact while at work and how organisations can be responsive enough to
understand these styles to make workplaces ready for these generations. This paper therefore is an
attempt to identify the styles that Gen y adopts while in conflict with others.
Research methodology
Conflict styles has been measured using the conflict resolution Inventory (CRI) instrument
prepared by S Purohit, which measures the five dimensions namely confrontation, compromise ,
negotiation, withdrawal and resignation. The instrument contains 20 items that measure the five
dimensions of conflict styles and the spilt half reliability for the instrument was found to be 0.516.
These five styles are using the approach avoidance mode of conflict management. The study
sample consisted of 136 respondents of whom 61 % were males and 39 % females. A cross section
of the sample was done in terms of the background of the students. Out of 137 respondents 35 %
hail from an urban background 23.5% from a rural background and 41.5 % from a semi-urban
background.
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Based on the review of literature the key objectives of this study were
1. To find the preferred conflict style of gen y students.
2. To find out the most dominant style followed
3. To assess whether male and females have the same style
4. To identify conflict style of students with work experience
5. To see whether the background of the students decide the conflict style of the students
Analysis of data
To verify the objectives of the study simple statistical tools like the mean and standard
deviation was used. Data was collected from around 136 respondents from the city of Cochin also
known as Ernakulam in the state of Kerala.
TABLE 2: Mean score and standard deviation of Conflict Styles of Gen y students
Conflict Styles Mean SD
Compromise 12.40 3.04
Resignation 12.25 3.09
Withdrawal 12.36 2.86
Negotiation 13.20 3.26
Confrontation 11.61 2.93
The five conflict styles and their preference by the students were noted using the CRI
instrument. The mean scores and the standard deviation of the respondents preference towards
each style is presented in Table 2. The study consisted of 136 college students undergoing
undergraduate, post graduate and technical course from Ernakulam. The most preferred conflict
style from the study was found to be negotiation followed by the compromise. Both are the
approach modes of conflict, while the least preference was given to the confrontation mode.
TABLE 3: Mean score and standard deviation of Conflict Styles across the gender
Conflict Styles Male Female
Mean SD Mean SD
Compromise 12.88 3.03 11.63 2.93
Resignation 12.38 2.84 12.02 3.47
Withdrawal 12.12 2.78 12.73 2.97
Negotiation 13.49 3.36 12.73 3.09
Confrontation 12.01 2.55 10.83 3.36
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Conflict styles of males and females were analyzed and the mean scores and standard
deviation of the two groups are presented in Table 3. This shows that males and females had a
marked difference in the conflict styles preferred. The highest mean score for males was for the
negotiation style (approach) and compromise (approach) respectively, while for the females
highest mean scores were for withdrawal and negotiation style. It can be inferred that males
preferred an approach style while females preferred both approach mode and avoidance approach
ie the withdrawal. Withdrawal mode means getting away from the conflict situation which could
be in different forms, either by avoiding conflict situations, physically separating one self, or
withdrawing from the situation of conflict. This difference across the gender could be because of
the nurturing in the society as females are groomed to be caring and sensitive while men are
groomed to be more aggressive and daring in their interpersonal relation.
TABLE: 4 Mean score and standard deviation Experience and Conflict Styles of students
Conflict Styles Experienced Inexperienced
Mean SD Mean SD
Compromise 12.23 3.55 12.47 2.79
Resignation 12.0 3.05 12.36 3.12
Withdrawal 12.41 2.0 12.33 3.19
Negotiation 13.74 2.96 12.94 3.39
Confrontation 11.82 2.63 11.43 3.07
To identify the conflict style of respondents with experience, they were categorized into
experienced and inexperienced and mean scores were taken. Table 4 shows the mean and standard
deviation scores of the preferred conflict style of experienced and the inexperienced category. Of
the study sample 68% had no work experience and 32 % had prior work experience of which 94%
had only up to two years of experience. It was found that students with prior work experience had
a greater tendency to use the approach mode of conflict ie the negotiation style. This style tries to
explore a solution by both the conflicting parties trying to confront the problem jointly. Withdrawal
is also used by this group, which indicates that they do have a tendency to withdraw from the
conflict situation too. When conflict is involved individuals will be concerned about the actual
conflict but also with the aftermath of the conflict as to what actions the superiors might take and
to what extent they will be protected at the workplace. Preference to the withdrawal style could be
because of these reasons. In the case of students who do not have prior work experience, the most
favored conflict style is the approach modes of conflict ie negotiation & compromise. A seemingly
evident difference was not observed in the conflict style preference based on the factor called
experience, as the mean scores were closer.
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TABLE : 5 Mean score and standard deviation of the background of the students and
Conflict Styles
Conflict
Styles
Rural Semi Urban Urban
Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
Compromise 13.68 2.53 11.95 2.62 12.05 3.61
Resignation 12.04 2.92 12.52 3.09 12.05 3.25
Withdrawal 11.8 2.89 12.55 3.44 12.51 1.95
Negotiation 13.12 3.38 13 3.38 13.49 3.11
Confrontation 12.56 2.83 11.05 2.83 11.49 3.02
An analysis as to the conflict style preferences on the students based on the background from which
they hail was done to assess whether there existed any difference. The students were categorized
as urban, semi urban and rural. Table 5 presents the mean & SD scores of each of these categories
based on their background. In Indian context individual from the rural background has a
collectivist orientation- which means they are more concerned about others feelings and
accommodate accordingly and try to maintain interpersonal relations and hence have a greater
inclination towards the approach modes. In our analysis too, students from the rural background
prefer compromise and then negotiation style. In these two styles bargaining takes place as the
parties share gains as the intent is to continue relationships but need not result in a win-win
situation always. India has a collectivist culture, but individuals hailing from a urban /semi urban
are technologically advanced and connected to the world and would have a western influence in
their orientation though not highly individualistic as seen in the US counterparts. This group has
given preference to the negotiation mode and then the withdrawal style of conflict handling.
Conclusion and limitations of the study
From the study we can conclude that the male students prefer the approach modes of
conflict and the females have a mixed preference of both approach and avoidance. It was observed
that an extreme mode of approach/avoidance ie the confrontation/resignation was not much
preferred by this group. This could be partly attributed to the collectivist culture that Indians have.
The conflict styles and the experience factor were studied and the study revealed that students who
had prior work experience had a tendency to use the negotiation and withdrawal mode, while the
inexperienced students favored the approach modes of conflict handling. This shift could be
because the experienced category surveyed in this study were relatively novices in the field and
more concerned about making the superiors satisfied so that they need not face the aftermath of
the conflict and therefore preferred the withdrawal style too. The background of the individuals
seems to be a factor in deciding the conflict style adopted as it is seen in the study that individual
from rural backgrounds have higher mean score for the approach mode of conflict handling.
Students from the semi urban and urban backgrounds had a mixed approach where they are more
International Journal of Global Business, 6 (1), June 2013 81-90 89
inclined to negotiation and withdrawal style. An understanding of the conflict styles that the gen
y is likely to adopt while in conflict situations would be of immense use for the superiors and
human resource professionals as this knowledge on how gen y are likely resolve conflicts would
be of great advantage. Though differences exist, how each generation try to resolve the conflict is
important. It is seen in the study that the gen y students in the Indian context do not prefer a
confrontation mode in resolving conflicts, rather prefer to negotiate or withdraw while in conflict.
The area researched is extremely relevant in the coming years anywhere across the globe
and this study was done in one country and in a small city ,therefore more empirical research
needs to be done on a wider population. The conflict styles of only a homogenous group of young
college students’ were assessed; therefore it cannot be generalized to a non student sample. A
comparative study of conflict styles both gen x and geny could be done to see whether there is any
marked difference as portrayed in the literature review while at workplace. Limited research work
has been done in this direction. Researchers can extend the study by including other variables like
cultural orientation, gender role, organizational status, importance of conflict situations etc with a
wider group for a generalization of conflict styles.
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