earticle

영어

The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze which conflict handling styles are preferred between upper and lower middle managers and how the cultural difference between two countries, Korea and Thailand, has influence on the difference of referent roles and the styles of handling interpersonal conflicts. This study utilizes the discriminant analysis and T-test in order to identify the difference of interpersonal predispositions and the conflict handling styles. Data were collected by the survey method from middle mangers of financial institutions of the two counties. The study results show that Korean upper middle managers prefer integrating, compromising, obliging, dominating, and avoiding respectively in order, while Thailand upper middle managers prefer compromising, integrating, obliging, dominating, and avoiding respectively in order as conflict handling styles. In addition, Korean lower middle managers prefer in the order of integrating, compromising, obliging, dominating, and avoiding, while Thailand lower middle managers prefer compromising, integrating, obliging, avoiding, dominating respectively in order as conflict handling styles. Although this study provides several managerial implications, this study has some limitations. Specifically, data were collected from only the middle managers of financial institutions in Seoul and Bangkok. In spite of the limitations, the study results could be used valuably in case that the personnel managers of Korean companies which operate in South-East Asian countries negotiate with the employees of domestic countries in labor dispute.