In ‘Managing through the kaleidoscope: Diverse perspectives on conflict and decision making in organizations’ in the Journal of Business and Management 2000, Michael A. Gross speaks of the notion that managers and decision-makers face a multitude of complex organizational and managerial challenges.
If we look at this special issue as a contribution to the dialogue on conflict and decision-making in groups as if gazing through a kaleidoscope, we discover that we confront different images of diversity. These images come most prominently into focus in a conflict and decision-making frame. As the article suggests, when diversity increases in organizations, managing conflict and improving decision-making become both more important and more difficult.
There are various levels of diversity, or individual differences in teams, as well as ethnic/gender differences, and cultural/national differences. Difference can become a source for conflict, as well as decision-making and the means for adjusting it. Diversity is key to managing the contemporary workplace, but it can also be quite problematic depending on the perspective.
Clark Amundson, and R. L. Cardy’s 2002 article in the Journal of Business and Management entitled ‘Cross-functional team decision-making and learning outcomes: A qualitative illustration,’ aims to provide a clear understanding of the team decision processes that facilitates knowledge creation and learning by examining cross-functional team decision-making.
Their field study may lead to applications that will foster improvement and organizational performance. In addition, their study further delineates the notion that functional diversity on team performance within groups requires members with highly developed group processing skills, like engaging in functional, task-related conflict.
Their contribution generates greater insight into the organizational learning process by focusing on specific outcomes produced through cross-functional teams such as improved organizational knowledge structures, new knowledge creation, routines and individual learning.
From functional diversity in teams and organizations, Broom, DeTurk, Kristjansdottir, Kanata, and Ganesan’s 2002 article in the same Journal of Business and Management entitled ‘Giving voice to diversity: An interactive approach to conflict management and decision-making in culturally diverse work environments’ presents a process aimed at increasing the chances that cultural diversity will result in more creative decision-making rather than in more intense conflict by giving voice to the wide variety of perspectives that exist in a culturally diverse organization.
Their process, Interactive Management, is a problem solving and design process developed to assist groups in dealing with complex issues. In this case study, the authors argue that Interactive Management addresses the complexity of work environments which usually involve multiple areas of expertise and significant differences in viewpoints and which often arrive with challenges to the basic assumptions underlying a given context.
Their contribution promotes the development of a relational empathy and what they call a third-culture perspective. This perspective integrates conflicting viewpoints and provides a shared set of norms for operating successfully in workgroups within organizations.
Via work911
