Group conflict may very well be relatively independent of the individuals occupying the roles within the structure. For example, conflict between marketing and production is fairly common. The marketing department, being customer oriented, may believe some exceptions can and should be made in production for the sake of future sales. The production department may view such exceptions as unreasonable and not in the best interests of the organization.

The conflict situation can be even more intense if the managers of each department are also experiencing interpersonal conflict.

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Open Conflict vs. Hidden Conflict