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An Exploratory Study on Work Conflict Experience (직장 내 갈등경험의 과정에 대한 탐색적 연구)

Dawon Rhee;Sunhee Lee;Min Han
- Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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- v.20 no.3
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- pp.205-233
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- 2014
This study aims to identify work conflicts in Korean socio-cultural context by applying grounded theory. Survey has been conducted through in-depth interviews with 11 different employees from various occupational categories. Data collected from the survey were then analyzed based on the grounded theory of Strauss and Corbin (1998), thus resulted in a paradigm model consisting of 31 categories, 63 subcategories, and 100 concepts by open coding. Axial coding was then conducted and the results were as follows. The causal condition was the 'character of an opponent'. Contextual conditions which affect the causal condition were 'situational characteristics', 'character of an opponent', 'character of oneself', and their 'mutuality'. 'Negative feeling' was the central phenomena of work conflict and action/interaction strategies were verified to be 'avoidance', 'expression', 'effort toward solving problems' and 'increasing conflict'. Intervening conditions were 'interrelation', 'intervention', and 'group/task characteristics'. The consequences were organized as 'conflict continuance', 'personnel change' and 'positive effect'. Through selective coding, 'managing with the conflict' was derived as core-category and three different types of management were classified. Ultimately, this study shows how employees work in Korea experience the work conflicts and what kinds of socio-cultural factors have influence on the work conflicts, which can supplement previous inadequate empirical research. Also, this study can provide implications and suggestions as a fundamental integrated model for the future empirical research on work conflicts.
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