Abstract:

The central objective of this study is to critically examine the effects of conflict management taxonomy on the performance of employees in manufacturing industries. The manufacturing industry selected for this study is the Nestle Nigeria Plc, located at Agbara Industrial Estate, Ota, Nigeria.  In specific terms, the objectives of this research include evaluating the effect of compromise on employee engagement, examine the effect of accommodation on employee’s commitment, identify the effect of competition on employee’s task performance and appraise the effect of collaboration on employee’s productivity. A descriptive survey design involving a quantitative method was used for this research study to obtain data through sample selection and analysis. The data for this study were obtained from primary sources. The data was collected over a period of 7 days. The survey started on the 5th of March and the last day was the 12th of March, 2020. The data collected through the administered questionnaire was subjected to sorting and analysis. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).

Three hundred and thirty-eight (338) copies of questionnaires were administered to the staff of the Nestle Nigeria Plc through the random sampling technique, a total of two hundred and eighty-six (286) copies of questionnaires were properly retrieved and adequately completed which represents a feedback ratio of 84.6%. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of the data; linear regression analysis was also used to test all the hypotheses. The findings from this study revealed that compromise, accommodation, competition, and collaboration conflict management styles are significant predictors of employee engagement, commitment, task performance, and productivity respectively as measures of employee performance. The results of this study demonstrated the significant role of conflict management approaches and thus, encourage organizations to adopt these approaches as they motivate employees towards achieving the goals of the organization. Also, this study expressed the need to create awareness on conflict management styles within organizations as they are crucial in ensuring the achievement of the organization’s objectives.