ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT AND MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER INSTITUTION A CASE STUDY OF USMAN DANFODIGO UNIVERSITY SOKOTO STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

University worldwide is regarded as the citadel of knowledge, the fountain of intellectualism and the most appropriate ground for the incubation of leaders of tomorrow. Organization as a university with a structure that allows two or more units or groups to share functional boundaries in achieving its set objectives, thus, there is every tendency conflicts might generate which is inevitable in any organization. Organization by their nature such as the university, bring together people of different and desire orientations and background – students, lecturers and administrative staff have to work harmoniously together in their bid to achieve stated objectives.  Hence, the organizational structure is organized such that staff and staff, students and students, and staff and students share functional boundaries of exchange of knowledge.

The goal of University education is pursued through its main functions and activities of teaching, research, dissemination of existing and new information, service to the community, and being a store house or knowledge (Adewimi: 1992).  As such, in carry out these functions, there is always conflicts within and among the categories of people within and among the categories of people within the University community, namely students, academics, administrators, non-academics and their unions due to different in purposes and expectation from the university.  As noted by Adewimi (1992:1) a conflict situation is one in which there are differences and divergence of opinions, attitude, disposition, views and positions on particular issues or development. In other words, conflict is a situation which characterized by the inability of those concerned to iron out their differences and reach an agreement on issues of common interest.  This inability manifests in one form of protest or the other such as strikes and other work-disruption (slow-downs, sabotage and planned absenteeism). Which often results to disruption of university programmes and closing down of institutions.

However, this is not the case because conflict at times properly managed can be contrastive-that is, it can be beneficial because it may cause an issue to be presented in different perspectives. According (Knootz: 1983), he explained that one top executive of a major company maintained that when there was no conflict on an issues, it could not have been sufficiently analyzed and proponed until all aspect of the issue were critically evaluated. Thus, some level of conflict is necessary from time to time if only to help in bringing “life” to a rather monotonous situation and bring social life in any organization. Consequently, a higher institution like Usman Danfodigo University, Sokoto state, is an institution know in the world of literates as a citadels of knowledge that produce intelligent men and women into the labour market folds. Often conflicts have occurred in the noble institution either between or within the top echelon or the institution and the non-academics staff; the students and sometimes between the state government and the institution itself. However, in Usman Danfodigo University, Sokoto state, conflict occur and re-occur but at each occasion, such conflicts are dealt with totally with an incredible equanimity by these at the helm of affairs in the institution as if nothing has happened. Sometimes many other higher intuitions have been able to handle such phenomena without any external ambiter.  The researcher believes that the secret behind their ability to achieve such remarkable facts depends to a large extent on their expertise in conflict management. The ability to manage conflict has been a major source of success for many institutions in this country. Hence, the question in the study is how conflict is being managed in organization especially in higher institutions.

It is as a result of the above analogy and in response to the questions posed that the study looked critically at the issue of management of organizational conflicts in higher institutions with special reference to Usman Danfodigo University, Sokoto state

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Over the last thirty years in Nigeria, the educational system has witnessed an unprecedented industrial unrest and so many official assaults than any other social institutions. The manifestations are in form of cultism, brain drain, under funding by government, erosion of academic freedom, general insecurity, dilapidated structures, non-payment of university staff salaries. The incessant strikes and boycotts of lecturers or work by academic and non-academic staff in our Universities are also evidences that there is strained industrial relations in the Nigerian university system.  Hence, it was on the basis of the above problems that the researcher was motivated to conduct this research work to find out the causes of industrial conflict and ways of managing them if not totally eradicating them is the main purpose of this study.