Committee Chair

Kim, Seong Dae

Committee Member

Goodrich, Jennifer; Sozer, Sevin; Varol, Serkan

Department

Dept. of Engineering Management

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Conflict is an inevitable part of life, and organizations spend a sizable amount of time addressing it. Literature has shown a connection between conflict management styles and psychological safety, but little research has been afforded to these interactions applied across departments. Data were collected from various companies across the United States using an anonymous survey to quantify respondents’ perceived level of general psychological safety, interdepartmental psychological safety, and preferred styles of conflict management. The results of this study indicated that a significant difference between interdepartmental and general psychological safety exists and is positively correlated with each other. Furthermore, certain styles of conflict management showed correlations to the raising and lowering of interdepartmental psychological safety. The results of this study will be helpful to managers and employees by illuminating how the interdepartmental psychological safety level of a company influences an individual’s propensity toward certain conflict management styles when addressing interdepartmental conflict.

Acknowledgments

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my academic advisor and thesis committee chair, Dr. Seong Dae Kim, for their consistent support and guidance during this entire process. I would also like to thank Dr. Jennifer Goodrich for her many hours spent back and forth with me to ensure this thesis was held to the utmost standards. Furthermore, thanks and appreciation are due to the two other members of my committee, Dr. Sevin Sozer and Dr. Serkan Varol for their invaluable input and help on this research. Finally, I would not be where I am today without the love and support given to me by my two parents, Frank and Sharon Limpus, and my wonderful partner, Olivia Lynn.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

8-2023

Subject

Organizational behavior--Psychological aspects; Conflict management; Personnel management

Keyword

Psychological Safety; Conflict Management; Interdepartmental Dynamics; Organizational Research; Engineering Management; Management

Discipline

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xi, 76 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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