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A Paper on Potential Sources of Conflicts in my Organization
and How They May Be Avoided
A Term Paper
Submitted to:
Prof. Maria Merlina Mariano
Graduate School
COLLEGE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPCION
Sumacab Este, Cabanatuan City
As Partial Fulfillment in the
Requirements in the Course
Management Behavior in Organization
(Educ. 307)
By
Yolanda Daga Cordova
March, 2015

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I. Introduction
An organization is a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a
need or to pursue collective goals. All organizations have a management structure that
determines relationships between the different activities and the members, and
subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different tasks.
Organizations are open systems--they affect and are affected by their environment
Also an organization is a group of individuals who are assembled to accomplish a
common goal, mission or objective. Organization members are diverse and often have
different social backgrounds, works ethics, communication styles and opinions. While
organizations are expected to work together as a team, there are many potential
sources of conflict within an organization that may at times hinder its progress.
The objectives of this term paper about the potential source of conflicts in my
organization and how they may be avoided are as follows: First, to identify the potential
sources of conflicts in my organization. Second, to give suggestions/recommendations
on how these conflicts may be avoided.
II. Description of My Own School/Organization
Our school is Batitang National high School , a rural high school in the town of
Zaragoza in the province of Nueva Ecija. Batitang is one of the barangays in Zaragoza
which is a fourth class municipality. It is located in the south –west portion of the
province of Nueva Ecija which is some 140 kilometers away from Manila. It is bounded
on the north by the Municipality of Licab, on the north-east by Aliaga, on the south by
Sta. rosa, on the south-east by Jaen, and on the south by San Antonio, on the western
portion it is bounded by the Municipality of Lapaz in the province of Tarlac. Zaragoza

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belongs to the first congressional district of Nueva Ecija. It consists of one principal in
the person of Dr. Elenita C. Sumait (Principal II), one Head Teacher III in the name of
Mrs.Cynthia A.Castillo sixteen (16) teachers ,one security guard and one clerk .
Fiscal Management
The Principal as the budget officer looks into the priorities and legalities of the
procurement, payments of claims and other matters, such as disbursements of funds,
request for procurement of school needs passed thru the property/supply officer for
approval of the principal.
Communication
Proper communication bridges the members of any organization. There are
many ways and instruments to this.
The common tools of communication in this school are: memorandum, letter, and
publication on bulletin boards, conferences, verbal announcements, and one on one
dialogue. The special form communication to all teachers and students is the school
publication.
Leadership Administrative
The principal, supported by all teachers, manages the school. The experience
teacher is also involved in giving instructional support to teachers who need assistance.
Decision-making is usually made through consultation process. A regular staff
conference is done monthly other conferences are made as need arises.

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Establishing Linkages
Partnership of the school and other stakeholders is a must in education. The
school has to establish good rapport and image with the different sectors and agencies
of the government.
Batitang National High School has a very good relationship with the local
government, as proven by the financial support it extends to us such as gravel, and
other construction materials. It also supports other programs of the school like sports,
arts, and culture and maintenance of peace and order during school programs. The
PTCA is very cooperative and is always willing to help for the improvement of the
school.
. Also, in providing our school needs like perimeter fence, parks, development of
school office and classrooms, repairs of buildings linkage to GO’s and NGO’s are very
important to realize these needs.
III. Potential Sources of Conflicts in my Organization
There are many causes or reasons for conflict in any work setting/organization.
Some of the primary causes are:
1. Different Values
Any workplace is made up of individuals who see the world differently. Conflict
occurs when there is a lack of acceptance and understanding of these differences.

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2. Different Interests
Conflict occurs when individual workers ‘fight’ for their personal goals, ignoring
organizational goals and organizational well-being.
3. Personality Clashes
All work environments are made up of differing personalities. Unless colleagues
understand and accept each other’s approach to work and problem-solving, conflict will
occur.
4. Poor Performance
When one or more individuals within a work unit are not performing - not working
up to potential – and this is not addressed, conflict is inevitable.
5. Scarce Resources
Too often, employees feel they have to compete for available resources in order to do
their job. In a resource scarce environment, this causes conflicts – despite awareness of
how scarce resources may be.
6. Poor Communication
Different communication styles can lead to misunderstandings between
employees or between employee and manager. Lack of communication drives conflict
‘underground’.

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IV. Recommendations
How Potential Sources of Conflicts May Be Avoided?
1. Every member of any organization must understand that every person has his/her
own values depending on his/her culture. Every one must respect every opinion, belief,
values or culture of other person so that organizational coonflict may be avoided.
2. It is very important to understand the individual differences of every person. Each one
of us is unique or peculiar. No two persons are exactly alike even the twins. So, every
member of an organization must respect and understand other persons’ interests even
the strengths and weaknesses of each one of us.
3. In every organization, there are different personalities. If there are 30 members in an
organization, there are also 30 different personalities because of what we call individual
differences. So, it is a need for the organization to determine the roles of each member
depending on their personalities to avoid problems. An organization must be very good
in role allocation.
4. The manager in an organization must see to it that all of his/her members are
performing in accordance to the goals and objectives of their organization. He/she must
frequently monitor and observe if his/her subordinates do their part. If this happens,
conflict will be avoided.
5. If an organization lacks of resources, immediate action must be done. If not, conflict
will arise because members may feel that the organization does not give importance to
the needs and welfare of the employees.

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6. Proper communication is very important in an organization. As we all know,
communication is a two-way process. There is a speaker and a listener. The manager
must listen to his/her employees and vice-versa. If there is proper communication,
misunderstandings and problems may be avoided. According to Peter Druker, “The
most important thing in communication is hearing what is not said”. So, every member
in an organization must be very sensitive and show empathy to every other persons’
feelings and emotions.