Conflict management and organizational cohesion in the selection of Vice Chancellors in federal universities, South-west Nigeria

Abstract

Conflict is inevitable in human interactions; thus, conflict management is essential in order to accomplish organisational cohesion which implies the extent to which personnel working within an organisation experience a feeling of unity with one another. Organisational cohesion during the selection process of university Vice Chancellors has now become a thing of interest with reference to cohesiveness of groups; an important asset for all interest groups. While there exist divergent interests and conflicts during the selection in Nigerian Southwest universities, conflict management is understood to be a major factor in dealing with the critical situations. There are various actors at play, such as the Visitor, governing council, the university senate and faculty members. The theory of collectivism was adopted to explain the research. Primary and secondary sources of data were used to gather information for the study. Interviews were conducted with various principal officers in the university environments. The study revealed that conflicts do arise as a result of different interests within the university stakeholders (the university senate, the trade unions and the faculty members). Also, majority of university staff instinctively respond with a negative attitude towards any issues that seem unfavourable to them. The research further found out that conflict management has fostered stakeholder involvement in decision-making at the universities of study. However, the research concluded that mechanisms that have the potential to promote organizational cohesion and heal wounds, should be deployed to foster a conducive environment for academic excellence and institutional advancement. Transparency, accountability, clear communication channels, consultation and involvement through input and feedback, harmonisation of concerns of university stakeholders, and mechanisms for addressing grievances in order to uphold fairness and trust among stakeholders are some of the recommendations made in the study.