Role of Religious Principles in Managing Conflicts with Higher Authorities in Higher Educational Institutions

Abstract

Religion provides great guidelines in improving interpersonal relations at workplace. The present study aimed at exploring the role of religious principles in managing work place conflicts among faculty members. Participants of this study were 8 faculty members (4 males and 4females) teaching in various disciplines of different higher education institutions. Participant’s age range was 29 to 60 years (M=44.5, SD= 8.3) with at least two years of teaching experience. Semi structured interview protocol of 15 questions was developed to explore their experiences about conflict management in the light of religious teachings. The primary research question was: which religious principles do you use to manage conflicts with chairperson of your department? In-depth interview was conducted with each participant individually. Content analysis was used in the study to analyze qualitative data semi structured interviews. The most salient religious principles reported by the participants of the study in order to manage conflicts with higher authority were obedience, polite discussion and reasoning, submissiveness, respect, wisdom and use of religious examples. The study had strong implications in improving interpersonal relations for higher authorities of post graduate institutions and faculty members.

Keywords: Obedience, Polite Discussion, Respect, Wisdom and Use of Religious Examples Higher Educational Institutes.