Page 18 - COMENIUS MANAGEMENT REVIEW

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work of their colleagues, is responsible for future interpersonal conflict’s attacks, as well. It can’t be
forgotten about the factors such as insufficient communication system, lack of problem solving
capability of participants, permanent overload or under-estimation as well as missing ethical norms
in the company.
The issue of interpersonal conflicts and aggression are closely connected with each other.
There are many theoretical models of the origination of aggression. In coherence with interpersonal
conflicts at work, following three principles are of importance:
 Aggression as a congenital behaviour
 Frustration as a reason of aggression
 Learning about aggression through success models
Management functions are involved in mobbing to a significant extent. More than a third of
all officially recorded cases of mobbing is traceable to superiors - oftentimes a collective bullying
of a single victim by a group of several higher-ranked functions including the superior of the victim
has been observed. Experience based reports by business advisors suggest an even significantly
higher rate. What are the reasons for superiors to breach the duty of custody of their employees and
even to create an environment where effectiveness and motivation of employees are reduced
drastically?
One possible explanation is based on the assumption that mobbing essentially results from
misinterpretation of management behavior. In reference to social animals, where the leader of the
pack keeps biting other individuals in the group or attacking them in some other way for no
apparent reason, but basically in order to strengthen his leading position, so the superiors
demonstrate the powers vested to them by bullying their subordinates in a haphazard manner.
Picking a subordinate for some mobbing practices may also present a welcome distraction from
one‘s own shortcomings. Another obvious impulse for releasing one‘s own frustrations is the
pressure to which the managerial function is exposed from above, i.e. from his own superiors. Inner
fears also are often the main motive, such as when typical mobbing techniques are applied by
managerial functions in order to defuse situations which apparently pose dangers to their position.
In cases of mobbing emanating from above in downward direction, not only losses caused
by lower efficiency, hours of absence etc. (not to mention the negative consequences for the victims)
shall be taken into account, but also some useful potential of mobbing may be pointed out which
may be profitable for the company under certain circumstances. For many involved persons it
remains a taboo to even openly admit that mobbing may be employed as an instrument in the
management of human resources for reducing over-employment. If an employee is exposed for