Principle & Rationale

Conflict is unavoidable whenever individuals or group of individuals congregate. Thus, it is inevitable that conflict would occur when people work together. However, conflict is often viewed in a negative connotation. But if we were to take a different perspective, we can view conflict as a necessary step needed to achieve unity or a consensus position. Conflict can be viewed as a process whereby parties table different arguments and viewpoints to achieve a meeting of the minds. Conflict management requires the joint cooperation to achieve an optimal outcome for all parties. Therefore, if conflict exists in a manageable level, it can lead to creative and positive change for the organization.

For directors, conflict oftentimes occurs in the context of the boardroom. It is important that directors gain an understanding of the source of conflict and measures to resolve them. Be they mediation measures or means to prevent conflicts from even happening in the first place. These are all important issues for directors to grasp so that conflicts can be appropriately managed and thus the risks to the organization minimized.

IOD sees the importance of boardroom conflict management and thus initiated this Director Survey entitled “Managing Conflicts in the Boardroom” The objective of the survey is to obtain a broad perspective from directors on the issues of boardroom conflict and measures taken to resolve them. This is with the view that we can, through the collective wisdom of all survey participants, gain measurable inputs that will ultimately help improve corporate governance systematically going forward.

Research & Policy Department

Thai Institute of Directors Association

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Survey Result - Managing Conflicts in the Boardroom.PDF