To What Extent Is The Employment Relationship Based On The Expression Of Conflicting Interests?

Alberto Saviolo Greggio
University of Salford Manchester UK
People management

Essay assignment 2012



To what extent is the employment relationship based on the expression of conflicting interests?



Gapper (2011) argued that conflict of interest is a situation that an internal auditor which consists in two or more parties feels itself in opposition. It is a competingprofessional or personal interest and a process that arises from disagreements, which people or organisations use in different methods to accomplish their goals without thinking about others. Although conflicts can take place due to the task they have been given, such as inter - independence, ambiguity of roles, policies, and rules, personality differences, ineffective communications, competition overscare resources, and underlying differences in attitudes, beliefs, and experiences.

Conflicts either private or governmental can be defined as situations in which an individual or corporation is in the position of exploiting a professional or official capacity in some way for their personal or corporate benefit. According to Colby Vorland (2011) “A conflict of interest exists even if nounethical or improper act results.” A conflict of interest can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in the internal auditor, the internal audit activity, and the profession. A conflict of interest could impair an individual's ability to perform his/her duties and responsibilities objectively.
The main causes of conflict are people’s different values and beliefswhich can lead to conflicts. People’s ethical value may lead them into various directions and this can be difficult to resolve. In the organisation people might have dissimilar views over the direction they go, as technological, political and social changes are increasing. Making assumptions, can lead to conflict; people have different expectations and perceive things in their own ways, thereforepersonality itself can cause conflicts. The way that people grown up can result in conflict of interest as it is when people have different thoughts, feelings, perspectives and acts. The lack of trust or the capacity to depend on each other word will cause the conflict. Although knowledge, misunderstanding and ability position of power or authority itself can result in contest and it is consideredto be a conflict.


Levels of conflict can occur between employees, individually or by groups across the organization as they compete. Some conflicts can be constructive as they bring or provide a clue to solution. However, the issues need to be brought on the table so that everyone understands and analyses the problem. (Rosemary Thomson (1997))
There are many types of conflicts.Firstly, there is the intrapersonal conflict which starts when an employee or supervisors send conflicting expectation to employees. Secondly, it is the inter personal conflict that arises from a variety of resources (organisational modification, contrasting perceptions, different sets of principles, threats to states, lack of trust and personality clashes). These will end in two types ofconflictual perception such as constructive and destructive. Although, the intergroup conflict, which occurs between different departments, can cause big problems. Conflicts raised from such causes have another point of view, groups, loyalties and computations for resources.
Industrial conflict is common and has been institutionalised and therefore became less violent. Mostly society is relativelystable and suggested but not a static one, allows accommodation of conflicting pressure groups with own differing values and aims. So that social and political change can take place constitutionally. This would occur within organisations and unlike unitary theory where trade unions have a representative and regulatory function. Collective bargain is therefore seen as the method for resolving...