A Case Study of the Communication Strategies that a Filipino Organization Uses in Managing Organizational Conflicts

Abstract

This research study is about the communication strategies that a Filipino organization uses in managing organizational conflicts. In this study, conflict is defined as a process and which is further described as an expressed struggle between interdependent parties over perceived limited resources, scarce rewards, incompatible goals or interference. In brief, the study was conducted to identify the communication strategies that leaders and/or managers in a Filipino organization use in handling conflicts. The Immaculate Conception Parish Youth Council (IC-PYC), a non-profit youth organization that is seriously involved in parochial services and socio-civic activities, was referred in this study as a Filipino organization that was composed of Filipino leaders and members. The adoption of Western theories in Filipino management was, in fact, a jump-off point for this study to address the need to be familiar with the conflict management strategies more attuned to Filipino values. One significant contribution of this study fell on the issue on cultural sensitivity and productive conflict management in the Philippine organization and on intercultural communication. The score and limitations of the study were discussed in greater detail in the first part of this paper. The causes and forms of conflicts were discussed to provide valuable concepts to this study. Also, this tackled discussions about the Filipino culture and how Filipinos, in particular, handle conflict situation. Here, the intervention of culture in the management of conflicts was realized. A case study design was used to gain an in-depth analysis of how certain conflicts were managed the Filipino way. The study population, the sampling procedure, the instrument, and the method of statistical analysis were described in this study. Briefly, the respondents comprised of the 30 leaders at IC-PYC – the figure corresponds to 20% of the entire population. The samples were chosen purposively. As a means for collecting data, observations, interview and survey questionnaires were used. Frequency distribution tables and percentage served to measure the variables of the study. The Buchanan Huczynski model of conflict, which explains how a conflict episode occurs and is managed, was used as the theoretical framework for analysis. The conceptual framework showed the integration of the various concepts and theories relevant in the study. Operationalization of the concepts took its form in the operational framework. Testimonies of key informants, personal narration of the researcher, frequency distribution tables and percentage tables supported the data gathered from the study. The following set of data were presented and analyzed in this chapter: demographic profile of respondents, the IC-PYC leaders’ definitions of conflict and their perspectives on conflict, causes of conflict at IC-PYC, devices that prevent conflicts from occurring at IC-PYC, manifestations of conflict at IC-PYC, the culture at IC-PYC and the values, attitudes, and behavior of the leaders, and the conflict management strategies that the leaders at IC-PYC uses. This study revealed the significant findings and the conclusions and recommendations of the researcher at the last part of this paper. To answer the researcher problem, this research study exposed that the leaders at IC-PYC use collaborative strategies in managing conflicts – a management strategy that maintains the prevailing culture at IC-PYC, which was Filipino.