A constructive Approach to Managing Faculty Conflict: An Action Research Study

Qualitative data analysis interviews. The results of the qualitative analysis from the interviews revealed participants enjoyed the workshop and were better able to assess their own approaches to conflict after participating in the exercises and group discussions. The interviewees responded positively to the work done in the workshops while maintaining an understanding in order to manage conflict more has to be done on their part collectively with the support of the institution.
All four faculty and administrators agreed they would like to see the university invest in more conflict management strategies beyond the offerings available from the Office of Human Resources. It was mentioned on several occasions the value and necessity of managing conflict, being able to participate in workshops to assist in conflict management, and the institution recognizing conflict is a real issue on campus that needs to be seriously addressed. Three out of the four interviewees were currently experiencing situations of conflict and stated while the workshops indeed helped to view conflict differently, they still wanted and needed more support from the university to deal with the conflict informally.

The majority of those interviewed expressed conflict management could be provided in other forms informally, but again all four interviewees stated with urgency there is a necessity on the campus of Morehead State University to address the conflict that exists at every level between faculty and administrators.

Summary of Results

To summarize the results of the qualitative and quantitative data collected and analyzed, the implemented conflict management strategies workshop appeared to be an effective approach to managing conflict. The data analyzed indicated (1) conflict between faculty and administrators is a problem acknowledged and experienced by many participants, (2) the faculty and administrators who participated in the research study recognized and acknowledged the institution does not provide the necessary tools to manage conflict outside of formal reporting with the Office of Human Resources, (3) the participants expressed the desire for alternative methods for managing conflict suggesting a professional development similar to the implemented study as a possibility, and (4) the conflict management strategies workshop proved useful for a majority of the participants and substantiated the development and design of the implemented study.

Furthermore, it is important to note some repeated themes emerged from the analyzed data regarding the participants perceptions of the types of conflict they believe exists on Morehead State University’s campus. These themes included: (1) Hierarchical conflict (feelings of superiority between classifications of tenured faculty and administrators such as assistant vs. associate professors, associate vs. full professors, Chairs vs. Associate Deans and Associate Deans vs. Deans, etc.), (2) Gender conflict (male vs. female), (3) Race/ethnicity conflict, (4) cultural conflict (where someone is

from such as differing areas of rural Kentucky vs. urban Kentucky, different countries US vs. outside of the US and even southern states vs. northern states) and (5) Lack of trust in the institution.