EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF ORGANISATIONAL CONFLICT ON STAFF PERFORMANCE IN TAMALE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

Conflicts are generally inevitable and are found in daily human interactions. However, there seems to be paucity of studies on the effects of organisational conflict on staff performance in public institutions in Ghana in general and Tamale Technical University in particular. This research seeks to bridge this knowledge gap by examining the effects of organisational conflict on the performance of Tamale Technical University staff. The research gathered data from both secondary and primary sources and used the case study approach. The key instruments used for the data collection were interview guides and focus group discussion guide. A total of 120 participants (40 senior members, 40 senior staff and 40 junior staff) who took part in this study were purposively selected. The study found out that ineffective organisational system, unpredictable policies, tribalism, incompatible goals, poor communication, poor resource allocation, distribution of duties, lack of benefits, varying views on accountability, cutting of position of employees, poor relations between management and workers, disagreement between employees and employers, clashing of one’s role, selfishness among employers and employees, politics and difference in educational background, personal experiences, religion and gender are the factors causing conflict at Tamale Technical University. It was realized that interpersonal conflict, intergroup conflict, intragroup conflict, differences in leadership, task role and departmental conflict are the types of conflict that have occurred at Tamale Technical University. Again, the study revealed that conflict have resulted in lack of interest on some staff members to work, mistrust, disunity, threats, fear, division, and increase in abseentism among some staff members. It is recommended that the management of Tamale Technical University design a system where grievances can be tackled easily when there are problems and senior members and senior staff in charge should listen to their junior staff and address their needs.