Even when people recognise the importance of working together, the

Even when people recognise the importance of working together, the nature of any given job often combines contradictory elements that create various kinds of role conflict Morgan, G., Images of organisation, 1997, Sage Some writers suggest that various form of "conflict" in organisation is not only inevitable but desirable. What are your experiences, observations and theories of conflict in groups and organisations? Do these theories support or contradict the literature.

I was assigned a group to conduct a presentation and explanation of Maslow's theories on motivation. Even though this presentation was marked as a group effort the completion of the task was not tackled as a group. Every member was asked to do a bit of preparation before the first group meeting, but what was done was of little relevance as most of the group took a passive stands towards the work. The oldest of the group who had a lot of experience in the working field, was without chosen as organiser rather than leader.

English: Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs Itali...

p. 314, "Classroom Group Behavior: Group Dynamics ...

Group of Western Tiger Swallowtail

This meant that the group in general took his ideas as the plan we would follow. I did not believe that this was because his ideas were the best to execute the task but because the rest of the group lacked incentive and were apathetic towards the assignment at hand. I questioned his suggestions as some seemed not to do with the fulfilment of the assignment. I also brought forward my own suggestions, as I did not agree with proceeding to do a presentation wear I had no control over what and how things would be done. I was criticized because of this behaviour, as it seemed to the other members of my group to be a waste of time. If "Beanne and Shents 27 roles commonly played by members of a group", were to be used in this example, I would say that the oldest in the group showed the characteristics of the initiator - contributor information seeker and coordinator. I was the evaluator, critic, aggressor and blocker. The others of the team took the role of the followers. The others were unenthusiastic when it came to my input, as they wanted to finish this assignment as soon as possible.

Will Maslow, Circa 1940's

Will Maslow, Circa 1960's

English: logo of the Conservative Europe Group, de...