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

Results Evaluation Phase

First stage of the study. The ten participants in the study were asked to complete a pre-questionnaire (see Appendix C) which was generated and delivered via Qualtrics, an online survey system. The survey used dichotomous questions of yes, no

and maybe for responses. These questions were derived from the first research question, how do faculty and administrators currently handle conflict? The researcher collected the responses from the pre-questionnaire which resulted in all ten participants completing the survey.

Responses from the pre-questionnaire were extracted and imported into an Excel spreadsheet for easier reading and organization. The researcher also utilized Qualtrics for analyzing the data which provided an overall report of the findings. The pre- questionnaire did not collect any identifying information and all responses were anonymous. Overall, the pre-questionnaire revealed: (1) participants were aware of conflict on campus, (2) they were involved in conflict as both participants and observers, (3) most were familiar with some type of conflict management strategy to manage conflict, (4) some reported the conflict to an immediate supervisor or Human Resources, (5) some tried to avoid the conflict hoping it would go away, while others

6. 
   addressed the conflict head-on and (7) all reported they were responsible for managing conflict on their own. In Table 4, the three most prominent responses from the pre-questionnaire addressed the first research question and addressed participants’ knowledge of conflict management strategies.
   

Table 4-Pre-Questionnaire Results-Conflict

Field Answer % Count

Have you experienced conflict at MSU within your Yes 100.00% 10 academic unit? No 0.0% 0 Total 100% 10 Were you able to resolve the conflict? Yes 50.00% 5 Maybe 10.00% 1 No 40.00% 4 Total 100.00% 10 Are you familiar with any conflict Yes 60.00% 6 Management strategies? No 40.00% 4 Total 100.00% 10

Overall, the results of the pre-questionnaire established most participants had been involved in a situation of conflict and they were in direct conflict with another faculty member or an administrator. In these situations of conflict, four out of the ten participants felt they were equipped to handle the conflict and four out of ten stated they were not equipped to handle the conflict, with two participants undecided on whether or not they felt equipped to handle conflict even as it arises.

While the above table 4 demonstrates participants prior knowledge of conflict management strategies, the pre-questionnaire revealed seven out of ten participants were not aware of the institution offering any conflict management strategies to assist in managing conflict while three were aware the institution offered strategies to manage conflict. In conclusion, the pre-questionnaire results showed all ten participants collectively expressed interest in participating in the conflict management strategies workshop conducted by the researcher.