Question

Write minimum 400 word paper about a time when you experienced or witnessed intergroup conflict? How did it develop? What was done or could have been done about it? How might you have used one of the interventions described in Chapter 11 to address it? If you haven't experienced/witnessed intergroup conflict, interview someone who has.

Answer 1

Intergroup conflicts are very sensitive and can become catastrophic in a way that it could completely derail the project's path. It arises between two groups which can be formal as well as informal and political. If a project is sub divided and groups are formed in an organisation to control the progress of the project, conflicts are very often encountered. There is a situation when I experienced an intergroup conflict and I was member of one of the two groups.

I worked in a power plant, and production of electricity requires a lot of stages or groups to work coherently. Every group of the organisation works hard to be efficient and effective. The conflict had taken place because the coal that must be supplied by the previous group was not pulverised enough so that my group could produce effective steam. So we contacted them and intimated them about the issue and the reply stated that the economics were considered. They tried to reduce the cost of the production. But our group tried to give the quality of electricity higher preference. So this conflict of reduction of cost versus quality was produced unintentionally. This caused a lot of problems because both the heads of the groups are well experienced and their experience was in question at that time. This caused a lot of delay in proceedings. This was resolved by the higher concerned authority by assigning one of the heads to other group so that he could satisfactorily work. Here, both of them knew how to get the work done, but their approaches differed. So the only thing that proved the solution had been done.