CONFLICT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN SELECTED SERVICE ORGANISATIONS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between conflict management practices and service delivery in selected service organisations in Rivers State, Nigeria. The growing need for organisations to maintain harmonious workplace relationships while delivering high-quality and responsive services has increased the importance of effective conflict management practices. Conflict management practices were examined using negotiation and grievance handling, while service delivery was measured using service quality and service responsiveness. The study was anchored on the Dual Concern Theory and adopted a correlational research design. The population comprised 448 management and non-management employees drawn from 10 purposively selected service organisations in Rivers State, Nigeria, with a sample size of 205 determined using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sample size determination table. A total of 205 copies of the questionnaire were distributed; 196 (95.61%) were successfully retrieved, 9 (4.39%) were not returned, none (0.00%) was invalid, and 196 (95.61%) valid copies were used for the analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that negotiation and grievance handling each had strong positive and statistically significant relationships with service quality and service responsiveness. The study concludes that effective conflict management practices significantly enhance service delivery by improving service quality and responsiveness. It recommends that service organisations strengthen negotiation processes, establish effective grievance handling mechanisms, promote open communication, and encourage employee participation to sustain excellent service delivery and organisational effectiveness.