EFFECTS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AMONGST CHURCH WORKERS ON CHURCH PERFORMANCE IN KENYA

Abstract

Conflict management among church workers by the clergy and lay workers is generally ineffective in the Church. This requires to be addressed since the ineffective management of conflict may have negative effects on the role of the Church in development and guidance of humanity. It may also result to lack of confidence in the Church’s ability to create harmony and peace in the disintegrating society. It is therefore against this backdrop that our study was undertaken to assess effects of conflict management systems amongst church workers on Church performance in Kenya - A case study of the Anglican Church Diocese of Nairobi. The overall objective of the study was to assess the effect of conflict management system amongst church workers on Church performance. The key findings from the literature review was that organizational conflict as it stands now is considered legitimate and inevitable and a positive indicator of effective organizational management. It is now recognized that conflict within certain limits is essential to productivity. This study was guided by Organizational Development (OD) theories in conflict management in the workplace. The study made a critical analysis of conflict resolution in workplace theories; and organizational climate and culture theories. This study sheds light on how best to handle conflict transformation in the work place specifically in the church and ACK Diocese of Nairobi. The study used a conceptual framework to show the relationship between the major research concepts that were measured in order to determine the conflict management system amongst church workers on church performance. The study applied descriptive research design and the target population comprised of a total of 112 members working at various sections of the church under the Anglican Church Diocese of Nairobi. The study applied probability sampling design where stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 56 respondents. Questionnaires were used as the data collection instruments and they were issued to all the respondents in the sample. The data collected was analyzed through the use of quantitative and qualitative analyses and presented in form of tables, charts and narratives. The key findings of the study revealed that there were many conflicts in most of the Anglican churches in the Diocese of Nairobi, that most of the staff lacked capacity in conflict management at the work place, that the leadership in most of the churches was not people oriented and finally, the study findings showed that there were no strategies put in place to tackle conflict. Therefore, the study recommendations for the church are: training of church workers on conflict resolution, building church leadership capacity on methods of conflict resolutions, setting of organizational strategies and conflict management systems. The Church should also enforce effective organizational guidelines that enhance high level of resolution in conflict management and these impacts positively on successful conflict management in the Church institution.