INVESTIGATING THE USE OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUESTO ENHANCE THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL BUSINESSES IN BORNOSTATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the use of Conflict Management Techniques by small business
operators in Borno State, Nigeria. The techniques investigated includes Investigation,
Arbitration, Dialogue, Enforcement, Work Environment, Diversity Management,
Collaboration and, Learning Adventure, which constituted the study Independent
Variables; and the Dependent variable is the effective conflict management by the
operators of registered small-businesses in the state. The scope of the study focused on
the registered small business operators within the major business hubs in 4 local
governments Areas in the state, which include MMC, Jere, Konduga and Mafa with a
documented population of seven thousand eight hundred and fifty (7850) registered
small-businesses. The target population includes the 2 categories of the operators of the
registered small businesses (owners and their operating staff). It used a multistage
sampling technique, which comprises of cluster, purposive and simple random sampling
to arrive at a sample of four hundred and fifty-four (454) respondents of the study. The
study employed descriptive research design which involved modified qualitative data
using well-structured questionnaire. The interview instrument was used only for
screening guide to sample respondents with fair knowledge of the subject to report on
the usage of the identified techniques from the available literature. Data collected were
analysed using descriptive statistics with frequency and percentage distribution, mean
distribution and bar charts. This study found all the eight techniques investigated to be
in use by small-business operators for managing conflicts of small business concern in
the state. This study recommends that small-business operators should utilise a
combination of relevant techniques; as no single technique can effectively resolve
business conflict. Operators should attend routine symposiums and training workshops
to gain greater awareness on the use of appropriate techniques in managing small
business conflicts in the state. It also recommended the need to replicate this study in
other states of the country to add value to the current state of knowledge on this subject.