Conflict

Of the definitions of conflict presented by Slack & Parent, I like the Morgan version.  It simply states that conflict occurs whenever interests collide.  Building on that, Slack & Parent says that first, the parties involved my perceive conflict to exist, and if no one does see conflict as existing, then it doesn't exist.  Second, there must be two of more parties.  Third, one or more party must be preventing one or more other party from reaching their desired goal(s) through what is called a blocking behavior.  Fourth, the blocking party must result in some frustration, anger, or some other form of emotional response.
Slack & Parent asks, "Is conflict dysfunctional to the operation of a sport organization?"  I believe that it can be both a detriment and a motivator.  Without conflict, what is there to spark ideas and promote creativeness within an organization.  If an organization was without conflict, the work day would basically consist of repetitive tasks, day in and day out.  Conflict forces employees to work a little harder to come up with a better way of doing something.
Between horizontal and vertical conflicts, i believe that vertical conflicts are a little more easily resolved.  In a horizontal conflict, the parties are on the same level within an organization, so neither side really has any weight to throw around.  In a vertical conflict, the higher ranking party will most likely prevail.
In terms of stimulating conflict, the book presents 3 different ways.  Introducing new blood, manipulating communications, and creating competition.  I think that introducing new blood and creating competition are fairly similar, as bringing in new blood will stimulate the remaining employees.  As far as manipulating communications, i don't really see how that would provide more positive results than negative.