Cognitive Conflict And Affective Conflict

1013 Words5 Pages

Cognitive conflict and Affective conflict
Allen C. Amason (1996) distinguishes between two different kinds of conflicts, i.e. cognitive conflict and affective conflict. His study examines the paradoxical effects of conflicts on strategic decision making. Top management teams make strategic decisions by combining their diverse cognitive capabilities with some sort of interaction process. According to him “decision quality, consensus, and affective acceptance are by-products of those decisions and together are all equally necessary for sustainable high organizational performance. Conflict appears to be important for high-quality decisions. Yet, conflict also appears to be an impediment to consensus and affective acceptance” (Amason, 1996). Further, …show more content…

Precisely, process conflict concerns issues, like who should do what and how much responsibility different people should get (Jehn & Mannix, The Dynamic Nature of Conflict: a Longitudinal Study of Intragroup Conflict and Group Performance, 2001). In earlier studies it was argued that process conflict can lead to a lower level of group moral, due to dissatisfaction with the uncertainty caused by process conflict and the desire to leave the group (Jenner, 1997). Process conflicts are easily observed in large groups, where disputes and frustrations over responsibilities and assignments are …show more content…

Yet, task conflict is believed to be the most beneficial type of organizational conflict in comparison to the other two types. Precisely, it refers to the conflicts and disagreements among individuals related to a certain task, its content, direction and goal. Different opinions as well as different viewpoints, decisions and proposed changes are the main reasons for task conflicts. However, as mentioned earlier task conflicts can also be beneficial. A low to medium level of ongoing task conflict is considered healthy for the organization because it stimulates creativity, healthy competition and provides the possibility of a better outcome through constant discussions and different perspectives (de Wit, Jehn, & Greer, 2012). Another advantage of task conflict is that individuals can present their views and opinions within a group, which leads to better self-esteem, recognition and job