Management of organizational conflict by managers of selected Ethiopian private insurance companies

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the conflict management of Ethiopian Private Insurance managers working in Ethiopia. Its objectives were to know the perception of conflict in Private Insurance Managers, to determine causes of conflict and to investigate what roles of managers and their approaches to handle conflict at insurance workplaces. This has been done by both a literature study and an empirical investigation. The latter included both quantitative and qualitative research approaches using a questionnaire and interviews as data gathering techniques. 96 managers of different levels out of total 100 middle level & senior managerial employees returned questionnaires of the total population 316 managers from 14 private insurance companies. The study targeted five selected insurance companies. Namely, Awash insurance company, Nile insurance company, United Insurance company, NIB insurance Company& Nyala insurance company out of total 14 private insurance companies. It was found that Personality is the main sources of personal factors to create conflict; Misunderstanding is another sources of conflict of Structural factors; Information delivery is categories of spring of conflict of Communication factors. Integrating (collaborating, problem solving) was the highest self-perceived conflict management style chosen by Ethiopian private Insurance Managers. Insurance Managers are of all age groups shared similar conflict management style preferences. It would be better if Training designed to provide the critical skills and the knowledge needed to avoid and prevent conflict wherever it might occur. The researcher's view is that if those insurance companies were to develop proper and systematic policies on how Integrating(Coliaborating) could be used, this would go a long way in making this conflict management approach even more useful and more effective to their underwriting & claim management.