An investigation into what conflict exists between IT Engineers and Salespeople in Medium-sized Technology Company in Ireland : Is it process or personality based?
This study investigates whether conflict between IT Engineers and Salespeople is as a result of company processes or personality clashes. This study was undertaken in an IT SME and a case study was conducted. Six interviews with long-term employees were given to three Salespeople and three Engineers. Theaim of the study was to identify personality traits of Engineers and Salespeople, to investigate the issues resulting in conflict in Company X, to understand the conflict management styles used by employees and to investigate the current processes to uncover possible downfalls.
Is it process or personality based conflict? This study found that the conflict in this organisation is personality based but it could be effectively and drastically reduced by improving processes and managing the personality differences of employees. It was proven that process is needed to combat personality conflict with each of the conflict descriptions given by employees easily prevented with processes. This study was the first of this topic investigated although a small contribution it has created a topic worth more investigation.