Influence of Conflict Management Strategies on Employee Productivity: a case of Rift Valley institute of Science and Technology, Kenya

Abstract

Conflicts are an everyday phenomenon in organizations around the world. In higher education institutions, especially in Kenya, conflicts have become so rampant. Conflicts in these institutions can have a constructive or destructive effect that have a causal sequence on the productivity of employees and the institutions as a whole. The intent of any organisation should be to manage the conflict so that it is constructive for the organisation. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of conflict management strategies on employee productivity. The research was conducted at the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology (RVIST) and the specific objectives were to: examine the influence of collaborating strategy on employee productivity at RVIST; assess the influence of competing strategy on employees productivity at the RVIST, establish the influence of compromising strategy on employees productivity at the RVIST, analyze the influence of accommodating strategy on employees productivity at the RVIST and examine the influence of avoidance strategy at the RVIST. The study was guided by Thomas-Kilmann Model and the Social Exchange Theory. The study employed descriptive survey design. The target population consisted of 293 teaching and non-teaching employees out of which a sample of 166 participants was selected using the stratified random sampling method. Purposive sampling was used to sample managers who participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data was obtained from the participants using survey questionnaires and interviews respectively. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPPS) version 21. Qualitative data was categorised into themes and presented in form of narratives and themes. Out of the 166 questionnaires that were distributed, 134 were duly completed and returned to the researcher. Findings show that interpersonal and intergroup are the main types of conflict at the organization. Pearson correlation test showed that collaborative, compromising, and accommodating strategies had a significant and positive influence on employee productivity while competing and avoiding strategies had a significant and negative influence on employees’ productivity. The correlation coefficient, avoidance strategy had the greatest influence on productivity followed by the compromising strategy. organization leadership focus on addressing interpersonal and intergroup conflicts. Equally, to improve employee productivity, leaders at the institution should promote the use of collaborative, compromising, and accommodating strategies of managing conflict and discourage the use of avoiding and competing strategies.