What significance does systems theory carry in managing communication behaviors in a workplace conflict?

Significance in Managing Communication Behaviors in Workplace Conflicts
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Research question
The degree to which the systems theory can influence the management of communication behaviors during workplace conflicts has not yet been fully explored. Thus, exploration of the role of systems theory in directing communication tendencies particularly during conflicts that occur in the organizational settings is imperative. Accordingly, study of the interaction of communication behaviors, systems theory, and workplace place will be guided by the research question: What significance does systems theory carry in managing communication behaviors in a workplace conflict?
Influence of Systems Theory on Workplace Conflict Communication
Contemporary conflicts are generally more interconnected and complex in nature than they previously were. Societies, communities, and individuals require more effective models of comprehending and addressing increasingly revitalized conflicts. According to Chambers (2009), the systems theory offers one such avenue of comprehending and reacting to conflict across different settings. At the workplace, the systems theory utilizes the systemic thinking lens to help organizations expose and act upon any conflict that may be threatening the stability of the agency regardless of the complexity of its nature. The impact of the systems theory on workplace conflict communication can also not be ignored. During conflict, workplace communication is often stifled by certain behavioral elements that render it impractical for various sections of the organization to communicate effectively or engage in any form of productive exchange. By employing the systems theory, the relationship and interaction between various elements that trigger, support, maintain, or dampen down conflicts at the workplace can be better understood. The systems theory also facilitates recognition of patterns which cause workplace conflicts and communications to assume or deviate from dimensions that may prove difficult manage. The systems approach perceive organizations as comprised of distinct but interconnected components whose functionality rely on how smoothly the different parts communicate. Workplace conflict upsets communication with an organization by causing distress within the links, thereby rendering meaningful exchange between the different organizational components difficult. Nevertheless, adoption of the systems theory helps streamline communication between various workplace components revealing and influencing any underlying forces which may be stifling communication or causing conflict within the organization CITATION Ayo08 \l 1033 (Ayoko & Pekerti, 2008).
In the light of the above outlined influences of the systems approach on workplace conflict and communication, this paper will explore the extent to which the theory helps manage communication behaviors with regard to workplace conflict. The paper will also examine how the systems theory helps manage workplace emotions, communication patterns, workplace power imbalances, and office politics, besides examines such relationship patterns as distancing and triangling that manifest communication anxieties during workplace conflicts. A critical examination of these aspects will help illustrate the significance that the systems theory carries in the management of communication behaviors during workplace conflicts.
Systems theory's significance in managing communication behaviors in workplace conflicts
Workplaces constitute some of the most intense relationship structures or systems. According to Chambers (2009), the intense relationship structure renders the smooth functioning of organizations vulnerable to the damaging effects of conflicts. Any form of conflict among employees strain the interrelationship of the structures in a work environment, thereby giving rise to communication breakdown between various sections of an organization. Application of the systems theory in such a tense environment helps the management perceive the workplace as an open, and interlinked social system that is comprised of individual employees who partake in patterned but independent activities to produce outputs CITATION Ayo08 \l 1033 (Ayoko & Pekerti, 2008). Consequently, the management is able to streamline communication behaviors among the individual employees within their organization, thereby helping address conflicts by promoting productive exchanges between the members of the workplace as a social system.
Systems theory also plays a significant role in the promotion and management of workplace functioning. According to Chambers (2009), Bowen concepts of the systems theory impact on the functioning of both the system and the individual. Chambers (2009) perceives an organization as an organism comprising of different parts each of which cannot operate independently but rely on the contribution of the other constituent parts. For the entire system to function properly, each of its constituent components must effectively execute its assigned role. However, in the event of a communication breakdown within the system, proper functioning of the system cannot be realized. Accordingly, scrutinizing the functioning of the system through the systemic thinking lens facilitates identification of communication patterns informed by conflict between different parts and that render it difficult for the different components of the system to engage in any meaningful exchange. A systemic approach is also significant in influencing the functioning of individuals within a workplace. As earlier observed, from a systemic viewpoint an organization is basically an open social system in which individuals within it engage in social exchanges. Meaningful social exchanges are heavily dependent on effective communication between the individuals within a system. Consequently, development of negative communication tendencies among individuals within such a social system as a workplace due to conflict upsets the effective function of individuals leading to a significant decline in their productivity CITATION Jam093 \l 1033 (O'Rourke & Collins, 2009). Nevertheless, application of the systems theory in workplace conflict facilitates an understanding of the relationships between various individuals within the system as well as the specific elements that informs and promotes conflicts and which may be addressed to dampen ineffective communication among the individual employees, thereby impacting positively on their productivity CITATION Jeh13 \l 1033 (Jehn, Rispens, Jonsen, & Greer, 2013). Thus, use of the systems theory during workplace conflicts help restructure and stimulate positive communication behaviors among the affected entities, thereby enhancing the functioning of both the system and the individuals.
The systems theory is also critical in emphasizing the values, norms, and roles within a workplace as a social system CITATION Jam093 \l 1033 (O'Rourke & Collins, 2009). Organizations place different behavioral expectations on their employees. During communication individual employees are expected to exhibit behaviors consistent with their roles within the organization. Organization norms also place certain expectations on individuals within a system with regard to the manner in which they are supposed to communicate with one another. Devoid of the systems approach focus on such components of an organizational system as values, roles, and norms would be impossible, thereby rendering it difficult to establish how undirected behaviors disrupt communication leading to escalation of workplace conflicts. Accordingly, with the systems approach, it is possible to examine how the roles, values and norms of an organization influence communication tendencies between various departments. Roles highlight the communication behaviors employees within a workplace are supposed to engage in based on their positions within the system. From the same angle, organizational norms underline the organizational expectations on how communication ought to be handled within the firm, while values emphasize ideals that should be observed within the system. As a result, organizational norms, values and roles with regard to social exchanges ensure communication activities within the system are patterned and replicable CITATION Jam093 \l 1033 (O'Rourke & Collins, 2009). Thus, by ensuring that individuals are aware of what is expected of them, the systems approach helps manage communication behaviors of different players within a system, thereby facilitating diffusion of the existing workplace conflicts.
The significance of the systems theory in helping address communication behavior during workplace conflict is also illustrated by the ability of the approach to elaborate the emotional patterns associated with conflict. According to Chambers (2009), emotions constitute irrational feelings by individuals within a conflict which if properly redirected and restructured may help facilitate conflict management within an organization. In workplace conflicts, emotions are regarded as neither positive nor negative; the only source of concern is the duration the emotions remain in play and their intensity levels. To ameliorate the potentially damaging effects of emotions on communications behaviors, the systems theory facilitates examination of the duration of the emotions and their intensity levels. Based on the systems approach, the emotions experienced by various individuals within a system are assessed to determine their intensity levels, the length of time they have been in existent, and the effects they may be having on the communication behaviors within the firm, thereby enabling workplace consultants to prevent the identified emotions from informing deleterious communication behaviors among the affected parties CITATION Ayo08 \l 1033 (Ayoko & Pekerti, 2008).
The systems approach is also critical in highlighting how emotions are generated, routed, and rerouted throughout the workplace during conflict CITATION Ayo08 \l 1033 (Ayoko & Pekerti, 2008). Regardless of whether a workplace conflict has been expressed publicly or not, the anxiety that emanates from intense emotions necessitates immediate attention to conflict resolution. According to Taylor (2006), the systems approach facilitates identification and expression of the cause of the intense emotions, thereby promoting a clearer systemic thinking and equipping workplace consultants with better ways of resolving the ensuing conflict. In the absence of the systems theory, it would be difficult to understand how workplace cause intense emotions to emerge and the role they play in inhibiting meaningful communication between various components of the organization. In addition, the theory facilitates conception of the manner in which anxieties are channeled and rechanneled through various parts of the organization. Thus, the systems theory plays a significant role in helping how workplace conflicts inform intense emotions among the employees and how they impact on communication patterns within an organization, thereby disrupting or promoting the normal functioning of the entire system CITATION Ayo08 \l 103...