TITLE:
Power Influence and Conflict Management of Ready-to-Wear (RTW) Store Supervisors
AUTHORS:
Kim Edward S. Santos, Mary Chris Austria-Cruz
KEYWORDS:
Ready-to-Wear, Conflict Management, Power Profile, Management Style, Conflict Management Style
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.7 No.3,
March
24,
2020
ABSTRACT: Conflict awareness would enable managers to tackle the problems of operational performance, sustainability, and governance, more efficiently and effectively. This paper described the Ready-to-Wear (RTW) Store Supervisors’ personal power profile in terms of reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, and expert; and described the conflict management styles, such as competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. Further, this paper determined Sex Difference on the Personal Power Profile and Conflict Management Styles of RTW Store Supervisors. This paper used descriptive method of research. The researchers distributed survey questionnaires to a total of 79 (33 males and 46 females) RTW store supervisors in Nueva Ecija with likert-scale responses and analyzed it through statistical data treatment such as mean, standard deviation and t-test. Based on the result of the study, the researchers concluded that, first, RTW store supervisors mostly prefer referent power in influencing their staff they will feel valued and personally accepted. Second, store supervisor least prefers coercive power to influence others. Third, in terms of conflict management styles, collaborating is always used, and accommodating and compromising are sometimes used as strategies in conflict situations. Last, there is sex difference in terms personal power profile and conflict management styles where female RTW store supervisors report higher on some domains as compared to male RTW store supervisors. In lieu of the forgoing conclusions, the researchers recommend that RTW store supervisors should strengthen the personal power profiles that recognize the value, accept strong relationship, give benefits needed, and show example of commitment. These powers are referent, expert and reward. Conflict situations are normal in any business; thus RTW store supervisors should develop skills in managing conflicts. Collaborating, accommodating and compromising are conflict management styles that often give positive results. It is further recommended that regardless of sex difference, all store supervisors must have training to fully develop skills in managing conflicts.