Conflict Management Strategies and Industrial Harmony in Lubcon Nigeria Limited

Conflict is an inevitable aspect of workplace interactions, particularly in manufacturing organizations like Lubcon Nigeria Limited in Kwara State, where frequent employee-manager interactions during production and negotiation processes often lead to disputes. While previous research has emphasized managerial perspectives on conflict resolution, there is a notable gap in incorporating employees’ views. This research addresses this gap by exploring the strategies employed, such as collective bargaining, compromise, accommodation, and avoidance, with their impact on industrial harmony. The study used simple random sampling technique to select one hundred and fifty-one (151) respondents including permanent and casual employees. Primary data was collected using a well-structured questionnaire which was administered electronically to the respondents. Data collected were presented and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The hypotheses that were formulated in accordance with the research questions were tested using simple linear regression analysis, with the aid of SPSS. The findings revealed that the collective bargaining and compromise strategies have a moderately positive relationship and impact on industrial harmony, while the accommodation strategy has a positive relationship but a weak influence on it. In contrast, the avoidance strategy has a negative relationship and impact on industrial harmony. The study concludes that appropriate and effective conflict management strategies are crucial for the attainment of industrial harmony. Therefore, it recommends Lubcon Nigeria Limited prioritize collective bargaining and compromise strategies while cautiously applying accommodation and avoidance to maintain industrial harmony.