Organizational Communication Conflict Instrument [OCCI]

Description

The Organizational Communication Conflict Instrument (OCCI) is a 30-item assessment instrument developed by Putnam and Wilson (1982) to examine behavioral responses to conflict within organizational communication.

Unlike approaches that primarily assess an individual’s general conflict-management style, the OCCI focuses on the behavioral choices individuals make when dealing with organizational conflict.

Objective

The primary objective of the OCCI is to assess how individuals respond to conflict and disagreement within organizational settings.

The instrument provides a structured framework for identifying different behavioral strategies used when employees encounter disputes, disagreements, or competing viewpoints.

Dimensions

The OCCI comprises three main dimensions:

Nonconfrontation: includes avoidance and smoothing strategies, such as withdrawing from disagreements or minimizing their importance.

Solution-Orientation: includes compromise and collaborative strategies aimed at developing mutually acceptable solutions to conflict.

Control: reflects assertive or forceful behaviors through which individuals attempt to maintain or impose their position during conflict.

Scoring

The OCCI consists of 30 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from:

1 = Strongly Agree
to
5 = Strongly Disagree

Scores can be examined according to the three dimensions of Nonconfrontation, Solution-Orientation, and Control.

Reliability and Factor Structure

The original psychometric evaluation reported strong internal consistency for the three OCCI subscales:

Nonconfrontation: α = 0.93
Solution-Orientation: α = 0.88
Control: α = 0.82

Factor analysis identified three factors accounting for approximately 56% of the common variance, supporting the multidimensional structure of the instrument.

Data Analysis

OCCI data can be analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlations, group comparisons, and regression analysis.

The three dimensions may also be examined separately to identify patterns of conflict-related behavior and their relationships with organizational or workplace variables.

Interpretation

Higher or lower scores should be interpreted according to the direction of the response scale and the scoring procedure used for each dimension.

Rather than relying exclusively on an overall score, interpretation should focus on the individual’s profile across Nonconfrontation, Solution-Orientation, and Control.

This approach provides a more detailed understanding of the behavioral strategies used during organizational conflict.

Applications

The OCCI can be applied in organizational communication, management, organizational psychology, human resource research, and conflict-management studies.

It can support research examining communication patterns, workplace conflict, collaboration, leadership, and organizational relationships.

References

Putnam, L. L., & Wilson, C. E. (1982). Communication strategies in organizational conflict: Reliability and validity of a measurement scale. In M. Burgoon (Ed.), Communication Yearbook. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Biediger-Collins, A. R. (2000). Communication and conflict management styles as perceived by special education directors and their subordinates in Region XX ESC in Texas. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University.

Mao, Y. (2010). Does culture matter? Relating intercultural communication sensitivity to conflict management styles, technology use, and organizational communication satisfaction in multinationals in China. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University.