Conflict handling preferences: A public-private comparison

In recent years the traditional boundaries between the public and private sectors have become increasingly blurred as public organizations have adopted businessoriented management policies and practices. Yet, there is evidence to suggest that public sector employment continues to attract individuals with different values and expectations than those who choose a career with a profit-making firm. In this study, the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory (ROCI-II) was administered to a total of 107 Hong Kong Chinese accountants from the Treasury Department and a large private accounting firm, to test whether the same interpersonal conflicthandling strategies would be used in conflict situations with a superior. The data indicated that public and private sector employees are similar in their overall approach to conflict resolution. However public employees favored more strongly the integrating, problem-solving approach, which requires information exchange, looking for alternatives and reaching a solution acceptable to all. These findings are interpreted in relation to the Hong Kong public sector's well-established principles of procedural due process and formal dispute-resolution mechanisms. The study indicates that the public-private distinction continues to exist and it is not appropriate to apply universally private sector strategies to personnel management in public organizations.