The five levels of conflict They are intrapersonal (within an individual), interpersonal (between individuals), intragroup (within a group), intergroup (between groups), and intraorganizational (within organizations). Intrapersonal conflictwhich occurs within an individual, often involves some type of goal conflict or cognitive conflict. Goal conflict exists for people when their behavior will result in outcomes that are mutually exclusive or have compatible elements (both positive and negative outcomes).
Competition, conflicting interests and conflict
Some authors have pointed out the similarity between competition and conflict. Faced with this position, Touzard qualifies and clarifies the differences between both concepts through the concept of power:
- Competition only becomes conflict if the goal implies the need to control the opponent’s behavior, that is, neutralize or eliminate it.
- Competition is understood to be subject to extrinsic or agreed rules by the opponents and conflict is not.
We must differentiate between conflict and conflict of interest:
- Conflict of interest refers to the existence of incompatible needs or preferences for action between the parties.
- For it to cause conflict, a certain degree of interdependence of activities and the need to share resources must occur together.
In summary:
- Conflict of interestsrefers to the incompatibility of preferences or needs.
- Competitiondescribes those situations in which activities are incompatible in relation to a certain objective.
- Conflictcharacterizes those situations with incompatible interactions.
Conflict levels
In the organization, conflict can originate at different levels depending on the characteristics of the parties involved. There are four types of conflicts:
- Conflict intrapersonalinternal psychological process of the individual in which various psychic forces oppose each other.
- Conflict interpersonalconfrontation between various individuals within the organization (whether passive or active).
It can be divided into three:
- Conflict intragroupwithin the same group or department.
- Conflict intergroupbetween departments.
- Conflict interorganizationalbetween organizations.
He intergroup and departmental conflict It is one of the most frequent and the most studied. Its origin may be due to the division of functions and tasks, the differentiation of objectives, the allocation of resources between departments, the level of professionalism and differentiated responsibilities.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.