Conflict Management in Scandinavia

25 Pages Posted: 29 Mar 2002

See all articles by Jette Schramm-Nielsen

Jette Schramm-Nielsen

Copenhagen Business School, Department of Intercultural Communication and Management

Date Written: May 2002

Abstract

The focus of this paper is the management of conflict in business organisations in the three Scandinavian countries Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, a region that has not attracted much attention so far, since it does not seem to present major problems. However this situation could also be the point of departure for investigating what might make these countries different from other geographical areas. The paper presents some empirical evidence from a study of management in the three countries mentioned, in comparable companies in the same five industries in each country. Results show that Scandinavians have an aversion to conflicts, termed conflict shyness, and that they tend to minimize their importance and intensity, even when they do exist. The remedy par excellence to conflicts are talks, at whichever level the conflicts arise, and if a mutual understanding cannot be found, then to put a lid on the antagonisms. The data are related to Marc Howard Ross - psycho cultural conflict theory, which he has developed in a comparative perspective, and to Ross - case description of Norway. It is also shown that the Scandinavian conflict style has some similarity with that of the Chinese and the Japanese. Finally, the conclusions are drawn that Scandinavian countries are definitely low-conflict societies with specific conflict solving strategies conditioned by strong societal norms. These characteristics have been remarkably enduring.

Keywords: Scandinavia, business organisations, conflict shyness

Suggested Citation

Schramm-Nielsen, Jette, Conflict Management in Scandinavia (May 2002). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=305153 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.305153

Jette Schramm-Nielsen (Contact Author)

Copenhagen Business School, Department of Intercultural Communication and Management ( email )

Dalgas Have 15
DK - 2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
+45 3815 3196 (Phone)
+45 3815 3209 (Fax)

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