An Investigation into the Causes of Organizational Conflict in the Zambian Civil Service: A case Study of the Ministry of Health Headquarters

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the major causes of organizational conflict in the Zambian Civil Service (ZCS) with the Ministry of Health Headquarters in Zambia as the case study. The paper analyzes the causes of conflict in order to address inefficiencies and ineffectiveness because if not addressed conflict can lead to low productivity, thereby affecting service delivery. The research will add to the existing knowledge on identifying the causes of conflict in organizations. The convenience sample of one hundred was selected from officers in senior supervisor, supervisor and below supervisor positions. However, to determine the causes, the research only continued with ninety-two respondents as eight of them indicated that they were not aware of conflict in the organization. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. The findings indicated that the major cause of conflict was poor communication. The other causes were role ambiguity, difference in values, poor motivation, lack of recognition, unfair treatment, lack of consultation and lack of respect. This paper recommends that responsible officers should proactively identify conflict and address it before productivity is negatively affected.