Definition of Symbols Theory of Symbols
13 “when members engage in activities that are incompatible with those of colleagues
within their network, members of other collectivities, or unaffiliated individuals who utilize the services or products of the organization as cited in Cahn Ruth,
2011, p.496. Rahim 2011 broadens the Rollof’s statement by saying that a conflict is “an interactive process manifested in incompatibility, disagreement, or
dissonance within or between social entities i.e., individual, group, organization, etc.” p.207. Rahim 2011 provides six points when there are any possibilities a
conflict may occur. First, is required to engage in an activity that is incongruent with his or her
needs or interests. Second, a party holds behavioral preferences, the satisfaction of which is incompatible with another persons implementation
of his or her preferences. Third, a party wants some mutually desirable resource that is in short supply, such that the wants of everyone may not be
satisfied fully. Fourth, a party possesses attitudes, values, skills, and goals that are salient in directing his or her behavior but are perceived to be
exclusive of the attitudes, values, skills, and goals held by the others. Fifth, two parties have partially exclusive behavioral preferences regarding their
joint actions. Sixth, two parties are interdependent in the performance of functions or activities p.207.
On the other hand, Bercovith 1983 conceptualizes that there are three “interrelated dimension of conflicts” which “are conflict situation, conflict
attitudes, and conflict behavior”. Conflict situation is when the “basic incompatibility occurs” between parties. Conflict attitudes relate with “the range of
psychological factor”. Then, conflict behavior concerns “the set of the related behavior” p.105. It can be concluded that a conflict can occur because of those
three elements. However, according to Fink 1986, the term conflict will be limited if the concentration of the conflict is focused only on its behavioral sign.
14 Conflict refers to more than just overt behaviour. Concentrating only upon
its behavioural manifestation is an extremely limiting exercise. The three- dimensional conception of conflict emphasizes the need to consider the
situation in which parties individuals, groups or organizations come to possess incompatible goals, their structure of interaction and the nature of
their goals. We have to consider emotional e.g. distrust and cognitive e.g. stereotyping orientations that accompany a conflict situation as well as the
range of action undertaken by any party in a situation of conflict. as cited in Rahim, 2011, p.163
Thus, a conflict is not only focus on behavior but more than that. A conflict
includes so many things which people cannot ignore, it involves the situation, interaction, emotional, and cognitive. Those things will lead us to know what sort
of encounter that both parties have.