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Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Conflict Management: A Gap in Business Education
Curricula
Matthew Lang
To cite this article: Matthew Lang (2009) Conflict Management: A Gap in Business Education
Curricula, Journal of Education for Business, 84:4, 240-245, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.84.4.240-245
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.84.4.240-245

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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Conflict฀Management:฀A฀Gap฀in฀Business฀
Education฀Curricula
MATTHEW฀LANG
MORGAN฀STATE฀UNIVERSITY
BALTIMORE,฀MARYLAND

ABSTRACT.
ABSTRACT.฀Conflict฀management฀is฀
a฀significant฀and฀unavoidable฀part฀of฀a฀
manager’s฀role฀in฀an฀organization.฀Employees฀need฀conflict฀management฀skills฀to฀
manage฀themselves,฀make฀decisions,฀and฀
work฀effectively฀in฀the฀ever-increasing฀team฀

environment฀of฀today’s฀organizations.฀In฀
the฀present฀article,฀the฀author฀demonstrates฀
the฀disconnect฀between฀the฀importance฀of฀
conflict฀resolution฀skills฀in฀organizations฀
and฀their฀lack฀of฀emphasis฀in฀undergraduate฀
business฀curricula฀through฀a฀study฀of฀university฀Web฀sites฀from฀U.S.-฀and฀non-U.S.based฀schools.฀
Keywords:฀business฀education,฀conflict,฀
conflict฀management,฀conflict฀resolution,฀
management,฀undergraduate฀curriculum
Copyright฀©฀2009฀Heldref฀Publications

240฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

R
T

here฀ is฀ nothing฀ as฀ intertwined฀ in฀
the฀ relational฀ experience฀ of฀ people฀

than฀ conflict:฀ It฀ is฀ a฀ fundamental฀ basis฀
for฀ all฀ human฀ interaction,฀ and฀ yet฀ nothing฀ generates฀ more฀ fear฀ and฀ uncertainty฀
(Porter-O’Grady,฀2004).฀Conflict฀and฀controversy฀in฀organizations฀are฀an฀inevitable฀
part฀of฀the฀decision-making฀and฀problemsolving฀ processes.฀ Conflict฀ management฀
is฀ considered฀ an฀ important฀ part฀ of฀ any฀
supervisor’s฀role,฀sometimes฀taking฀more฀
than฀25%฀of฀his฀or฀her฀time฀(Mintzberg,฀
1975;฀Thomas฀&฀Schmidt,฀1976).฀In฀more฀
recent฀studies฀researchers฀have฀found฀that฀
managers฀ spend฀ more฀ than฀ 18%฀ of฀ their฀
time฀ on฀ employee฀ conflict,฀ a฀ figure฀ that฀
has฀ nearly฀ doubled฀ since฀ the฀ mid-1980s฀
(Hignite,฀Margavio,฀&฀Chin,฀2002).฀
Why฀ is฀ management฀ spending฀ more฀
time฀ managing฀ conflict?฀ The฀ growing฀
complexity฀ of฀ organizations,฀ use฀ of฀
teams฀ and฀ group฀ decision฀ making,฀ and฀
globalization฀ are฀ likely฀ culprits฀ (Jassawalla฀ &฀ Sashittal,฀ 1999;฀ Jehn,฀ 2000;฀
Kahai,฀ Sosik,฀ &฀ Avolio,฀ 2004;฀ Pfeffer฀
&฀ Veiga,฀ 1999;฀ Tjosvold,฀ 1985).฀ With฀

the฀prevalence฀of฀integrated฀systems฀and฀
processes,฀it฀is฀difficult฀to฀achieve฀success฀without฀the฀organizing฀component฀
of฀ teams฀ (Crawford,฀ 2002;฀ Sparrow,฀
1997).฀ Because฀ none฀ of฀ these฀ factors฀
is฀ likely฀ to฀ diminish฀ soon,฀ management฀will฀continue฀spending฀significant฀
amounts฀of฀time฀dealing฀with฀conflict.฀
Regardless฀of฀the฀specific฀definition฀of฀
conflict฀applied,฀firms฀have฀increasingly฀

moved฀from฀efforts฀to฀eliminate฀conflict฀
to฀effectively฀managing฀conflict,฀thereby฀
acknowledging฀that฀conflict฀is฀simply฀an฀
expected฀(and฀sometimes฀even฀desirable)฀
byproduct฀ of฀ organizational฀ processes฀
(Hignite฀et฀al.,฀2002).฀As฀a฀result,฀acquiring฀ people-related฀ skills฀ such฀ as฀ negotiation,฀ conflict฀ resolution,฀ interpersonal฀
communication,฀ and฀ problem฀ resolution฀
is฀ critical฀ for฀ all฀ levels฀ of฀ an฀ organization฀ (Analoui,฀ 1995).฀ Employees฀ need฀
conflict฀ management฀ skills฀ to฀ manage฀
their฀ internal฀ functioning,฀ make฀ decisions,฀ and฀ work฀ effectively฀ in฀ the฀ everincreasing฀ team฀ environment฀ of฀ today’s฀
organizations฀ (Jassawalla฀ &฀ Sashittal,฀

1999;฀ Pfeffer฀ &฀Veiga,฀ 1999;฀ Tjosvold,฀
1985,฀1987).฀
The฀ present฀ study฀ demonstrates฀ that฀
conflict฀ is฀ a฀ significant฀ and฀ unavoidable฀ factor฀ in฀ organizations฀ and฀ that฀
dealing฀ with฀ it฀ effectively฀ is฀ important฀
to฀ individual฀ managers฀ and฀ organizational฀ success.฀ In฀ studying฀ U.S.-฀ and฀
non-U.S.-based฀ universities,฀ I฀ found฀ a฀
lack฀of฀emphasis฀on฀conflict฀resolution฀
education฀in฀the฀business฀curricula฀and฀
provide฀a฀course฀for฀future฀research฀into฀
conflict฀resolution฀education.
Literature฀Review
Conflict฀ may฀ significantly฀ affect฀
employee฀ morale฀ and฀ turnover฀ rate.฀ It฀
may฀ also฀ result฀ in฀ litigation,฀ affecting฀
the฀ overall฀ health฀ of฀ the฀ organization฀฀

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:52 11 January 2016

(Hirschman,฀ 2001;฀ McKenzie,฀ 2002).฀

Conflict฀ can฀ have฀ constructive฀ or฀
destructive฀ results฀ for฀ the฀ organization,฀
depending฀on฀how฀individuals฀approach฀
and฀ manage฀ it฀ (Lovelace,฀ Shapiro,฀ &฀
Weingart,฀ 2001).฀Although฀ conflict฀ has฀
been฀a฀topic฀of฀much฀research,฀little฀has฀
been฀ done฀ to฀ study฀ how฀ much฀ conflict฀
management฀ education฀ currently฀ exists฀
in฀undergraduate฀universities.฀
To฀date,฀research฀has฀focused฀on฀the฀
multidimensional฀ aspects฀ of฀ conflict฀
(Pinkley,฀ 1990;฀ Pondy,฀ 1969;฀ Rahim,฀
1992;฀ Wall฀ &฀ Nolan,฀ 1987),฀ various฀
types฀ of฀ conflict฀ (Aritzeta,฀ Ayestaran,฀
&฀ Swailes,฀ 2005;฀ Jehn,฀ 1995;฀ Jehn฀ &฀
Mannix,฀ 2001),฀ its฀ impact฀ on฀ teams฀
and฀ group฀ decision฀ making฀ (Cohen฀
&฀ Ledford,฀ 1994;฀ Kirkman฀ &฀ Rosen,฀
1999;฀ Schweiger,฀ Sandberg,฀ &฀ Ragen,฀
1986;฀ Spreitzer,฀ 1995),฀ organizational฀

effectiveness฀ (Luthans,฀ Welsh,฀ &฀ Taylor,฀ 1988;฀ Tjosvold฀ &฀ Field,฀ 1984),฀
and฀ multicultural฀ and฀ multigenerational฀ causes฀ of฀ conflict฀ (Chen,฀ Liu,฀ &฀
Tjosvold,฀ 2005;฀ Glass,฀ 2007;฀ Godfrey,฀
1995;฀Graham,฀Mintu,฀&฀Rogers,฀1994;฀
Inkeles฀ &฀ Levinson,฀ 1969;฀ Puffer฀ &฀
McCarthy,฀ 1995;฀ Stewart฀ &฀ Barrick,฀
2000;฀ Tjosvold,฀ Poon,฀ &฀ Yu,฀ 2005;฀
Volkema,฀1998;฀West,฀2002).฀From฀this฀
list,฀ I฀ reviewed฀ the฀ use฀ of฀ teams฀ and฀
cultural฀diversity฀because฀these฀are฀two฀
increasing฀sources฀of฀conflict฀in฀today’s฀
organizations.฀
Teams
Organizations฀use฀teams฀to฀cope฀with฀
the฀ highly฀ competitive฀ marketplace,฀
develop฀ new฀ products,฀ improve฀ quality,฀ reduce฀ costs,฀ and฀ deal฀ with฀ restrictive฀government฀funding฀(Jassawalla฀&฀
Sashittal,฀1999;฀Pfeffer฀&฀Veiga,฀1999).฀
Diverse฀ teams฀ generate฀ conflict,฀ and฀
the฀ approach฀ that฀ teams฀ take฀ toward฀
dealing฀ with฀ the฀ conflict฀ is฀ critical฀ to฀

their฀ success฀ (Edmondson,฀ Roberto,฀
&฀ Watkins,฀ 2003;฀ Pelled,฀ Eisenhardt,฀
&฀ Xin,฀ 1999).฀ Organizational฀ teams฀
cannot฀ be฀ expected฀ to฀ instantly฀ feel฀
empowered฀ and฀ confident฀ in฀ dealing฀
with฀ their฀ conflict฀ (Kirkman฀ &฀ Rosen,฀
1999).฀ However,฀ these฀ teams฀ must฀ be฀
able฀to฀deal฀with฀conflict฀effectively฀as฀
they฀confront฀many฀issues฀and฀divisions฀
throughout฀the฀problem-solving฀process฀
(Ilgen,฀1999;฀Sims,฀1995).
฀

Although฀ developing฀ conflict฀ management฀ skills฀ would฀ appear฀ to฀ be฀
useful฀ for฀ organizational฀ teams,฀ they฀
may฀ be฀ even฀ more฀ critical฀ for฀ employees฀ in฀ empowered฀ and฀ self-managed฀
work฀ teams฀ (Alper,฀ Tjosvold,฀ &฀ Law,฀
2000).฀They฀must฀resolve฀issues฀associated฀with฀their฀personalities,฀work฀roles฀
and฀habits,฀quality฀of฀work,฀scheduling,฀
and฀ conflicts฀ with฀ other฀ teams.฀ This฀

is฀ especially฀ true฀ for฀ top฀ management฀
teams,฀in฀which฀cooperative฀conflict฀has฀
been฀ shown฀ to฀ lead฀ to฀ more฀ innovative฀
and฀effective฀organizations฀by฀fostering฀
deeper฀exploration฀of฀issues฀(Chen฀et฀al.,฀
2005).฀This฀deeper฀exploration฀of฀issues฀
leads฀ to฀ higher฀ quality฀ solutions฀ and฀ a฀
strategic฀advantage฀for฀the฀organization฀
(Amason,฀ 1996;฀ Chen฀ et฀ al.;฀ Mooney,฀
Amason,฀&฀Sonnenfeld,฀2001).
Impact฀of฀Culture
National฀culture฀is฀a฀learned฀trait฀that฀
is฀ reflected฀ in฀ the฀ designs฀ of฀ organizations,฀influencing฀a฀person’s฀conception฀
of฀self,฀relation฀to฀authority,฀and฀ways฀of฀
dealing฀with฀conflict฀(Inkeles฀&฀Levinson,฀1969).฀As฀organizations฀continue฀to฀
expand฀globally,฀culture฀has฀added฀even฀
more฀ complexity฀ to฀ the฀ organization,฀
and,฀as฀a฀result,฀firms฀are฀making฀teams฀
and฀groups฀increasingly฀more฀important฀
in฀ solving฀ complex฀ issues฀ (Stewart฀ &฀

Barrick,฀ 2000;฀ West,฀ 2002).฀ Cross-cultural฀ negotiations฀ between฀ individuals฀
in฀ the฀ same฀ organization฀ or฀ from฀ different฀ organizations฀ have฀ the฀ potential฀
to฀be฀more฀complex฀and฀confusing฀than฀
in-culture฀ negotiations฀ (Godfrey,฀ 1995;฀
Puffer฀&฀McCarthy,฀1995).฀
The฀emotional฀intelligence฀of฀group฀
members฀is฀an฀important฀conflict-handling฀component฀of฀multicultural฀teams.฀
By฀ improving฀ the฀ emotional฀ intelligence฀ of฀ managers,฀ Rahim,฀ Psenicka,฀
Polychroniou,฀ and฀ Zhao฀ (2002)฀ found฀
that฀ subordinates฀ were฀ likely฀ to฀ use฀
more฀ problem-solving฀ and฀ fewer฀ bargaining฀ strategies฀ when฀ dealing฀ with฀
conflict.฀ Managers฀ can฀ be฀ trained฀ to฀
enhance฀ their฀ emotional฀ intelligence,฀
but฀ the฀ higher฀ their฀ emotional฀ intelligence฀ entering฀ the฀ organization,฀ the฀
more฀ effective฀ the฀ training฀ can฀ be฀
(Cherniss฀ &฀ Adler,฀ 2000).฀ Providing฀
more฀ conflict฀ management฀ training฀ in฀
undergraduate฀business฀programs฀could฀

help฀raise฀the฀emotional฀intelligence฀of฀

future฀managers.฀
Hypotheses
Conflict฀ resolution฀ skills฀ are฀ critical฀
to฀ individual฀ employees,฀ organizational฀ teams,฀ top฀ management฀ decisions,฀
and฀effective฀organizational฀leadership.฀
The฀ volume฀ of฀ research฀ that฀ has฀ been฀
conducted,฀ in฀ the฀ United฀ States฀ and฀
internationally,฀ on฀ conflict฀ resolution฀
is฀ a฀ good฀ indicator฀ of฀ its฀ importance฀
in฀the฀study฀of฀any฀organization฀and฀its฀
effectiveness.฀The฀purpose฀of฀the฀present฀exploratory฀study฀was฀to฀determine฀
the฀extent฀to฀which฀current฀undergraduate฀business฀and฀management฀programs฀
emphasize฀conflict฀resolution฀education฀
or฀ training.฀ Given฀ conflict฀ resolution’s฀
importance฀in฀theory฀and฀practice,฀it฀is฀
imperative฀that฀conflict฀resolution฀skills฀
be฀an฀integral฀part฀of฀management฀and฀
business฀ education฀ in฀ undergraduate฀
schools.฀ Our฀ discussion฀ suggests฀ the฀
following฀hypotheses:
Hypothesis฀ 1฀ (H1):฀ The฀ curricula฀ of฀
U.S.฀ undergraduate฀ business฀ and฀ management฀schools฀do฀not฀emphasize฀conflict฀resolution฀education฀or฀training.
H2:฀ The฀ curricula฀ of฀ non-U.S.-based฀
undergraduate฀ business฀ and฀ management฀schools฀do฀not฀emphasize฀conflict฀
resolution฀education฀or฀training.
METHOD
Participants
I฀reviewed฀the฀top฀U.S.฀and฀non-U.S.based฀undergraduate฀schools.฀I฀identified฀
the฀U.S.-based฀schools฀by฀using฀the฀U.S.฀
News฀&฀World฀Report฀(2005)฀rankings,฀
which฀ranked฀schools฀according฀to฀data฀
collected฀in฀the฀spring฀of฀2005.฀To฀rank฀
colleges฀ and฀ universities,฀ U.S.฀ News฀ &฀
World฀ Report฀ assigned฀ schools฀ on฀ the฀
basis฀ of฀ categories฀ developed฀ by฀ the฀
Carnegie฀ Foundation฀ for฀ the฀ Advancement฀of฀Teaching.฀The฀124฀school฀Web฀
sites฀ I฀ reviewed฀ represent฀ the฀ top฀ two฀
tiers฀(of฀four฀tiers฀in฀U.S.฀News฀&฀World฀
Report)฀ of฀ the฀ 248฀American฀ universities฀ (162฀ public,฀ 86฀ private)฀ that฀ offer฀
a฀ wide฀ range฀ of฀ undergraduate฀ majors.฀
U.S.฀ News฀ &฀ World฀ Report฀ surveyed฀
deans฀and฀senior฀faculty฀at฀undergraduate฀ business฀ programs฀ accredited฀ by฀
the฀ Association฀ to฀ Advance฀ Collegiate฀
March/April฀2009฀

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Schools฀of฀Business.฀Deans฀and฀faculty฀
were฀ surveyed฀ in฀ the฀ spring฀ of฀ 2005฀
and฀ were฀ asked฀ to฀ rate฀ the฀ quality฀ of฀
all฀ programs฀ they฀ were฀ familiar฀ with฀
on฀ a฀ scale฀ ranging฀ from฀ 1฀ (marginal)฀
to฀5฀(distinguished).฀The฀rankings฀were฀
solely฀based฀on฀this฀survey,฀which฀had฀a฀
45%฀response฀rate.฀
The฀ list฀ of฀ non-U.S.-based฀ schools฀
was฀ derived฀ using฀ The฀ Times฀ Higher฀ Education฀ Supplement:฀ University฀ Rankings฀ (2006),฀ which฀ ranked฀
schools฀ according฀ to฀ data฀ collected฀
in฀ the฀ spring฀ of฀ 2005.฀ To฀ rank฀ colleges฀and฀universities,฀The฀Times฀used฀
qualitative฀ and฀ quantitative฀ criteria,฀
making฀ extensive฀ use฀ of฀ peer฀ review฀
as฀ a฀ key฀ criterion.฀ Research฀ quality฀ was฀ also฀ evaluated฀ on฀ 5฀ years฀ of฀
citations.฀ Qualitative฀ and฀ quantitative฀
forms฀of฀data฀each฀accounted฀for฀half฀
the฀ total฀ score.฀ The฀ 100฀ school฀ Web฀
sites฀ I฀ reviewed฀ for฀ the฀ present฀ study฀
represent฀ a฀ compilation฀ of฀ the฀ top฀
50฀ European฀ and฀ non-European฀ (and฀
non-U.S.-based)฀schools฀identified฀by฀
The฀ Times฀ rankings.฀The฀ peer-review฀
portion฀of฀the฀score฀was฀derived฀from฀
the฀ opinion฀ of฀ graduate฀ recruiters,฀
especially฀ those฀ who฀ work฀ internationally฀ or฀ on฀ a฀ substantial฀ national฀
scale.฀This฀group฀of฀recruiters฀included฀individuals฀representing฀companies฀
in฀ manufacturing,฀ services,฀ finance,฀
transportation,฀ and฀ the฀ public฀ sector.฀
There฀ were฀ a฀ total฀ of฀ 736฀ recruiters฀
in฀ the฀ group,฀ and฀ they฀ were฀ asked฀ a฀
simple฀ question:฀ Which฀ universities฀
do฀they฀like฀to฀recruit฀from?฀
The฀actual฀ranking฀of฀the฀schools฀was฀
not฀ important฀ for฀ the฀ present฀ exploratory฀study,฀but฀the฀rankings฀did฀provide฀
a฀ recognized฀ sample฀ of฀ well-regarded฀
universities฀ to฀ evaluate.฀ Because฀ many฀
universities฀mimic฀or฀try฀to฀emulate฀the฀
best฀aspects฀of฀top฀universities,฀the฀universities฀identified฀in฀both฀of฀these฀rankings฀provided฀a฀convenient฀sample.
Procedure
Data฀were฀collected฀using฀only฀what฀
was฀ self-reported฀ on฀ each฀ university’s฀
Web฀site฀during฀March฀and฀April฀of฀2006฀
for฀U.S.-based฀schools฀and฀during฀October฀of฀2006฀for฀non-U.S.-based฀schools.฀
U.S.-based฀ schools฀ were฀ included฀ in฀
the฀ final฀ sample฀ as฀ long฀ as฀ their฀ Web฀
242฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

sites฀provided฀information฀on฀a฀business฀
department,฀management฀department฀or฀
business฀ concentration฀ degree฀ option,฀
and฀ course฀ descriptions฀ and฀ titles.฀ In฀
all,฀ 27฀ schools฀ were฀ dropped฀ from฀ the฀
original฀ 124฀ for฀ not฀ meeting฀ either฀ the฀
criteria,฀which฀left฀a฀final฀sample฀of฀97฀
schools.฀ Non-U.S.-based฀ schools฀ were฀
not฀ included฀ in฀ the฀ final฀ sample฀ for฀
one฀ of฀ three฀ reasons:฀ (a)฀ they฀ did฀ not฀
identify฀ a฀ business฀ department฀ or฀ business฀concentration฀option฀on฀their฀Web฀
site฀to฀evaluate;฀(b)฀they฀did฀not฀display฀
course฀ descriptions฀ on฀ their฀ Web฀ site,฀
and฀ course฀ titles,฀ when฀ displayed,฀ did฀
not฀explicitly฀include฀the฀word฀conflict฀
in฀their฀title;฀and฀(c)฀the฀course฀descriptions฀could฀not฀be฀translated.฀In฀all,฀31฀
schools฀were฀dropped฀from฀the฀original฀
100฀ for฀ one฀ or฀ more฀ of฀ these฀ three฀
reasons,฀ which฀ left฀ a฀ final฀ sample฀ of฀฀
69฀schools.
A฀three-step฀process฀was฀used฀to฀evaluate฀ each฀ university’s฀ Web฀ site.฀ First,฀
the฀Web฀site฀was฀assessed฀to฀determine฀
whether฀a฀business฀school,฀department,฀
or฀ concentration฀ was฀ identified.฀ Many฀
non-U.S.-based฀schools฀placed฀business฀
or฀management฀departments฀(or฀majors)฀
in฀ economic,฀ commerce,฀ or฀ humanity฀
divisions,฀often฀labeled฀faculties.฀If฀one฀
was฀ not฀ identified,฀ the฀ university฀ was฀
dropped฀ from฀ the฀ sample.฀ Second,฀ all฀
university฀ Web฀ sites฀ containing฀ course฀
descriptions฀ were฀ reviewed฀ to฀ determine฀ the฀ existence฀ of฀ conflict฀ resolution฀content฀in฀their฀curricula.฀The฀present฀ study฀ focused฀ on฀ universities฀ that฀
emphasized฀conflict฀resolution฀skills฀in฀
their฀ curricula.฀ Therefore,฀ I฀ concluded฀
that฀a฀school฀possessed฀conflict฀resolution฀ content฀ in฀ their฀ business฀ curriculum฀ only฀ if฀ the฀ course฀ description฀ or฀

title฀included฀the฀word฀conflict฀in฀some฀
form,฀including฀conflict฀resolution,฀conflict฀ management,฀ conflict฀ assessment,฀
or฀ interpersonal฀ conflict.฀ Third,฀ course฀
descriptions฀ were฀ evaluated฀ to฀ determine฀ whether฀ conflict฀ resolution฀ was฀
simply฀a฀small฀part฀of฀the฀overall฀course฀
content฀or฀the฀primary฀focus.฀
RESULTS
The฀ U.S.-based฀ school฀ sample฀ was฀
demographically฀diverse,฀including฀private฀institutions฀(secular฀and฀religiously฀
affiliated)฀ and฀ public฀ institutions฀ from฀
various฀ regions฀ throughout฀ the฀ United฀
States.฀Table฀1฀identifies฀the฀number฀of฀
schools฀included฀in฀the฀final฀sample฀per฀
their฀U.S.฀News฀&฀World฀Report฀(2006)฀
ranking฀and฀those฀that฀included฀conflict฀
management฀content฀in฀a฀course.฀
Table฀ 2฀ provides฀ further฀ details฀ for฀
those฀schools฀that฀identified฀conflict฀in฀a฀
course.฀ Those฀ schools฀ that฀ emphasized฀
conflict฀ management฀ typically฀ had฀ a฀
course฀ dedicated฀ to฀ the฀ subject,฀ and฀
Table฀ 2฀ identifies฀ those฀ in฀ the฀ last฀ column.฀ Schools฀ that฀ possessed฀ conflict฀
management฀in฀their฀curriculum฀but฀did฀
not฀ emphasize฀ it฀ are฀ identified฀ in฀ the฀
third฀column.฀
Of฀ the฀ 97฀ schools฀ in฀ the฀ study,฀ only฀
44฀ (45.4%)฀ clearly฀ identified฀ the฀ topic฀
of฀conflict฀management฀or฀dealing฀with฀
conflict฀as฀part฀of฀a฀course฀in฀the฀business฀ management฀ curriculum฀ and฀ of฀
those฀44,฀only฀18฀(or฀18.6%฀of฀the฀total)฀
had฀ a฀ course฀ dedicated฀ to฀ the฀ subject.฀
The฀ universities฀ that฀ had฀ a฀ dedicated฀
conflict฀ management฀ course฀ varied฀ in฀
their฀requirements฀for฀it.฀For฀example,฀4฀
of฀18฀(22.2%)฀universities฀identified฀the฀
course฀as฀an฀elective฀and฀did฀not฀require฀

TABLE฀1.฀Conflict฀Management฀in฀Curricula:฀U.S.฀Ranking฀Subsets
฀
Ranking฀range฀
1–25฀
26–50฀
51–75฀
76–100฀
101–124฀
Total฀

Number฀of฀schools฀
Number฀of฀schools฀including฀conflict
included฀in฀final฀survey฀sample฀ management฀content฀in฀a฀course
14฀
19฀
21฀
21฀
22฀
97฀

11
5
8
6
18
44

Note.฀Ranking฀range฀identified฀using฀2005฀rankings฀from฀U.S. News & World Report.

TABLE฀2.฀Conflict฀Management฀Emphasis฀in฀Curricula:฀U.S.-Based฀Universities
฀
Number฀of฀schools฀
฀
including฀conflict฀
฀
management฀content฀
Ranking฀range฀
in฀a฀course฀
1–25฀
26–50฀
51–75฀
76–100฀
101–124฀
Total฀

7฀
5฀
8฀
6฀
18฀
44฀

Number฀of฀schools฀
Number฀of฀schools
not฀emphasizing฀
emphasizing฀conflict
conflict฀management฀
management฀in
in฀course฀content฀
course฀content
7฀
2฀
4฀
4฀
13฀
30฀

4
3
4
2
5
18

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Note.฀Ranking฀range฀identified฀using฀2005฀rankings฀from฀U.S. News & World Report.

it฀ of฀ all฀ business฀ students,฀ resulting฀ in฀
only฀ 14฀ schools฀ possessing฀ a฀ required฀
course฀ that฀ primarily฀ focused฀ on฀ conflict฀ management.฀ The฀ remaining฀ 26฀
school฀Web฀sites฀that฀identified฀conflict฀
as฀part฀of฀their฀curriculum฀(59%฀of฀the฀
44)฀ combined฀ it฀ with฀ various฀ content,฀
including฀ but฀ not฀ limited฀ to฀ organizational฀ behavior,฀ communications,฀ or฀
management฀and฀leadership.฀
The฀ non-U.S.-based฀ school฀ sample฀
was฀ also฀ demographically฀ diverse,฀
including฀ private฀ institutions฀ (secular฀
and฀ religiously฀ affiliated)฀ and฀ public฀ institutions฀ from฀ various฀ regions฀
throughout฀ the฀ world.฀ Table฀ 3฀ summarizes฀results฀of฀the฀survey.
Of฀the฀69฀schools฀in฀the฀study,฀only฀14฀
(20.3%฀of฀the฀total)฀clearly฀identified฀the฀
topic฀of฀conflict฀management฀or฀dealing฀
with฀conflict฀as฀part฀of฀a฀course฀in฀their฀
business฀management฀curriculum,฀and฀of฀
those฀14,฀only฀7฀(or฀10.1%฀of฀the฀total)฀
had฀ a฀ required฀ course฀ dedicated฀ to฀ the฀
subject.฀The฀universities฀that฀had฀a฀standalone฀conflict฀management฀course฀varied฀

in฀their฀requirements฀for฀it.฀For฀example,฀
one฀ of฀ the฀ seven฀ schools฀ identified฀ the฀
course฀as฀an฀elective฀and฀did฀not฀require฀
it฀of฀all฀business฀students.฀The฀remaining฀
seven฀ schools฀ (of฀ the฀ 14฀ that฀ identified฀
conflict฀ management฀ in฀ their฀ curricula)฀
identified฀conflict฀management฀or฀interpersonal฀ skills฀ training฀ as฀ a฀ subset฀ of฀ a฀
course,฀ representing฀ 10.1%฀ of฀ the฀ total.฀
This฀course฀was฀part฀of฀the฀required฀curriculum,฀and฀it฀usually฀combined฀conflict฀
or฀interpersonal฀skills฀training฀with฀various฀content,฀including฀but฀not฀limited฀to฀
organizational฀behavior,฀communications฀
(e.g.,฀groups,฀teams,฀interpersonal),฀or฀a฀
management฀and฀leadership฀course.฀
DISCUSSION
Conflict฀is฀an฀inevitable฀part฀of฀every฀
organization฀ and฀ conflict฀ resolution฀
skills฀ have฀ proven฀ to฀ be฀ important฀ for฀
managers.฀ However,฀ the฀ results฀ of฀ the฀
present฀ study฀ demonstrate฀ that฀ the฀ current฀undergraduate฀curricula฀of฀U.S.฀and฀
non-U.S.-based฀schools฀do฀not฀reflect฀the฀

importance฀ of฀ conflict฀ resolution฀ skills.฀
Because฀most฀college฀graduates฀work฀in฀
one฀ form฀ of฀ an฀ organization฀ or฀ another,฀
it฀ is฀ essential฀ that฀ conflict฀ management฀
training฀ be฀ emphasized,฀ especially฀ in฀
business฀ programs.฀ In฀ fact,฀ many฀ academic฀programs฀attempt฀to฀model฀industry฀practice฀and฀assign฀group฀projects฀to฀
facilitate฀the฀teamwork฀and฀conflict฀resolution฀ skills฀ of฀ their฀ students.฀ However,฀
projects฀ are฀ often฀ assigned฀ with฀ limited฀
information฀ regarding฀ how฀ individuals฀
or฀groups฀should฀deal฀with฀conflicts฀that฀
may฀arise.฀
The฀ link฀ between฀ effective฀ conflict฀ resolution฀ skills฀ and฀ the฀ success฀
of฀ interpersonal฀ relationships,฀ task฀
achievement,฀organizational฀teams,฀top฀
management฀ decisions,฀ and฀ effective฀
organizational฀ leadership฀ has฀ already฀
been฀ established.฀ If฀ effective฀ conflict฀
skills฀contribute฀significantly฀to฀management฀and฀organizational฀effectiveness,฀ then฀ providing฀ thorough฀ and฀
meaningful฀ conflict฀ resolution฀ skills฀
to฀college฀undergraduates฀would฀contribute฀to฀their฀individual฀effectiveness฀
and฀the฀effectiveness฀of฀organizations฀
that฀hire฀them.฀The฀literature฀supports฀
the฀ need฀ for฀ a฀ formal฀ and฀ required฀
conflict฀resolution฀course฀to฀be฀established฀for฀all฀accredited฀undergraduate฀
business฀schools.
The฀non-U.S.฀study฀had฀to฀be฀completed฀in฀3฀months฀for฀a฀PhD฀course.฀Because฀
of฀ time฀ and฀ resource฀ constraints,฀ I฀ used฀
only฀publicly฀available฀Web฀site฀information.฀I฀reviewed฀only฀Web฀sites฀published฀
in฀English,฀Spanish,฀or฀French.฀Many฀university฀ Web฀ sites฀ not฀ originally฀ written฀
in฀English,฀Spanish,฀or฀French฀contained฀
basic฀and฀overview฀information฀translated฀

TABLE฀3.฀Conflict฀Management฀Emphasis฀in฀Curricula:฀Non-U.S.-Based฀Universities
฀
฀
฀
Ranking฀range฀
1–20฀
21–40฀
41–60฀
61–80฀
81–100฀
Total฀

฀
Number฀of฀
schools฀included฀in฀
final฀survey฀sample฀

Number฀of฀schools฀
that฀identified฀
conflict฀management฀
in฀their฀curriculum฀

฀
Sample฀grouping฀
that฀had฀a฀
course฀(%)฀

Number฀of฀schools฀in฀
which฀a฀conflict฀
course฀is฀a฀subset฀to฀
another฀course฀

Number฀of฀schools
with฀a฀stand-alone
conflict฀course

14฀
16฀
14฀
16฀
9฀
69฀

4฀
4฀
2฀
1฀
3฀
14฀

28.60฀
25.00฀
14.30฀
0.06฀
33.30฀
20.30฀

2฀
2฀
1฀
0฀
2฀
7฀

2
2
1
1
1
7

Note.฀Ranking฀range฀identified฀using฀The฀Times฀Higher฀Education฀Supplement:฀World฀University฀Rankings฀(2006).

฀

March/April฀2009฀

243

into฀ English,฀ but฀ some฀ did฀ not฀ publish฀
course-specific฀ information฀ in฀ English,฀
which฀limited฀the฀sample฀size.฀A฀followup฀ study฀ should฀ be฀ conducted฀ in฀ which฀
each฀university฀in฀this฀study฀is฀contacted฀
directly฀so฀that฀a฀full฀and฀accurate฀disclosure฀of฀the฀curricula฀can฀be฀reviewed฀and฀
analyzed.฀In฀addition,฀a฀team฀of฀translators฀
should฀be฀used฀to฀interpret฀the฀curricula฀to฀
increase฀the฀sample฀size฀and฀the฀accuracy฀
of฀the฀findings.฀

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CONCLUSION
Current฀ research฀ identifies฀ several฀
causes฀ and฀ types฀ of฀ conflict,฀ predicts฀
that฀the฀increasing฀globalization฀of฀firms฀
would฀lead฀to฀more฀organizational฀conflict,฀ agrees฀ that฀ conflict฀ management฀
skills฀can฀be฀taught,฀and฀acknowledges฀
that฀ firms฀ are฀ actively฀ implementing฀
conflict฀management฀programs฀through฀
their฀ human฀ resources฀ departments.฀
However,฀ there฀ is฀ little฀ in฀ the฀ literature฀ about฀ how฀ universities,฀ and฀ more฀
specifically,฀ undergraduate฀ business฀
schools,฀ deal฀ with฀ this฀ knowledge฀ and฀
what฀ steps฀ they฀ are฀ taking฀ to฀ prepare฀
their฀ undergraduate฀ students฀ for฀ the฀
inevitable฀conflict฀that฀awaits฀them.฀
If฀ managers฀ spend฀ up฀ to฀ one฀ quarter฀ of฀ their฀ time฀ dealing฀ with฀ conflict,฀
then฀ undergraduate฀ business฀ schools฀
should฀ emphasize฀ conflict฀ management฀skills฀in฀their฀curricula.฀Are฀more฀
courses฀ devoted฀ to฀ the฀ subject฀ or฀ is฀
there฀ an฀ emphasis฀ on฀ conflict฀ management฀ skills,฀ skills฀ that฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀
the฀literature฀are฀an฀essential฀element฀to฀
individual,฀ management,฀ and฀ organizational฀success?฀On฀the฀basis฀of฀the฀present฀study,฀the฀answer฀is฀an฀unequivocal฀
no,฀ not฀ much฀ is฀ currently฀ being฀ done.฀
The฀present฀study฀reveals฀that฀less฀than฀
half฀of฀the฀U.S.-based฀schools฀surveyed฀
clearly฀identified฀conflict฀as฀part฀of฀their฀
business฀curriculum,฀and฀only฀14฀of฀the฀
97฀ schools฀ in฀ the฀ survey฀ emphasized฀
it฀ in฀ a฀ required฀ course.฀ Approximately฀
one฀fifth฀of฀the฀non-U.S.-based฀schools฀
surveyed฀ clearly฀ identified฀ conflict฀ as฀
part฀ of฀ their฀ business฀ curriculum,฀ and฀
only฀7฀of฀the฀69฀schools฀had฀a฀required฀
course฀ dedicated฀ to฀ the฀ subject.฀ It฀ is฀
apparent฀that฀a฀large฀amount฀of฀research฀
indicating฀ the฀ importance฀ and฀ need฀ for฀
effective฀ conflict฀ management฀ skills฀
is฀ insufficient฀ to฀ influence฀ a฀ majority฀
244฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

of฀ undergraduate฀ business฀ schools฀ to฀
include฀it฀in฀their฀curricula฀to฀any฀meaningful฀degree.
The฀ prevalence฀ of฀ conflict฀ in฀ organizations,฀ combined฀ with฀ the฀ proven฀
benefits฀ of฀ conflict฀ training฀ and฀ the฀
lack฀of฀emphasis฀for฀this฀training฀in฀the฀
undergraduate฀ curricula,฀ points฀ to฀ the฀
need฀ for฀ more฀ to฀ be฀ done฀ in฀ this฀ area.฀
There฀ is฀ sufficient฀ evidence฀ to฀ require,฀
at฀a฀minimum,฀conflict฀resolution฀training฀for฀all฀business฀school฀students฀and,฀
more฀appropriately,฀for฀all฀undergraduate฀ students.฀ Completion฀ of฀ a฀ required฀
conflict฀ resolution฀ course฀ should฀ result฀
in฀ better฀ group฀ and฀ team฀ performance,฀
improving฀ management฀ effectiveness฀
for฀graduates฀as฀they฀move฀into฀organizations฀abundant฀in฀conflict.฀
FUTURE฀RESEARCH
I฀ recommended฀ that฀ more฀ data฀ be฀
gathered฀ to฀ identify฀ those฀ undergraduate฀
business฀ programs฀ that฀ emphasize฀ conflict฀resolution฀skills฀training.฀When฀these฀
schools฀are฀identified,฀a฀longitudinal฀study฀
of฀graduates฀should฀take฀place฀to฀compare฀
the฀ success฀ of฀ students฀ in฀ undergraduate฀
programs฀that฀emphasize฀conflict฀resolution฀ training฀ with฀ those฀ that฀ do฀ not.฀ On฀
the฀basis฀of฀the฀results฀of฀the฀present฀longitudinal฀ study,฀ a฀ consortium฀ of฀ subjectmatter฀ experts฀ and฀ industry฀ executives฀
should฀convene฀to฀develop฀recommended฀
standards฀for฀conflict฀resolution฀training.฀
This฀ could฀ establish฀ a฀ continuity฀ bridge฀
between฀ foundational฀ conflict฀ education฀
in฀ business฀ schools฀ and฀ more฀ role฀ and฀
task-specific฀ conflict฀ skills฀ training฀ conducted฀in฀organizations.
NOTE
Matthew฀Lang฀is฀the฀dean฀of฀Continuing฀Education฀Administration฀at฀the฀Community฀College฀
of฀Baltimore฀County฀and฀is฀currently฀a฀PhD฀student฀at฀Morgan฀State฀University.฀He฀is฀researching฀
how฀the฀use฀of฀online฀social฀networks฀may฀affect฀
the฀ entrepreneurial฀ opportunity-recognition฀ process฀for฀his฀dissertation.฀
Correspondence฀ concerning฀ this฀ article฀ should฀
be฀addressed฀to฀Matthew฀Lang,฀Morgan฀State฀University,฀ Business฀ Management,฀ 1700฀ East฀ Cold฀
Spring฀Lane,฀Baltimore,฀MD฀21251,฀USA.
E-mail:฀mlang@ccbcmd.edu
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