Afghanistan: Managing Conflict and Employee Relations between Americans and Afghans

Abstract

Based on interviews and the use of the “Conflict Management Modes” exercise, it was discovered that Afghan managers are more directive, less empowering and delegating, more relationship-oriented, have long-term visions, are less confrontational and mostly avoid conflicts, whereas American expatriate managers seemed to be more collaborating, more empowering and delegating, more task-oriented, more short-term in their thinking, and collaborative in handling conflicts. It is recommended that Americans working in Afghanistan need to pay more attention to the need to build human capital, pay exclusive attention to cultural values, and foster more relationship-oriented attitudes, particularly when working in this kind of environment. Afghans need to be prepared to be more confrontational, more collaborating, and empower others in order to develop future leaders. In certain areas, such as teamwork, expertise, and the relationship between management and leadership, both Afghan and American managers seem to agree to a great extent but with different attitudes.