School-based, decision-making councils - Conflict, leader power and social influence in the vertical team

School-based, decision-making councils were studied as vertical teams, groups of individuals who share a common purpose but operate on different levels from different role perspectives within the organization. These role perspectives were considered important determinants of the amount of conflict experienced by council members when conflict was considered to be a function of the bases of leader power of the principal and the social influence of the council members. Subjects were from 144 schools in Kentucky, representing the three school council constituencies: teachers, principals, and parents. Findings of the study revealed significant differences in the amount of conflict, power, and influence between the three council constituencies and a significant relationship between the amount of conflict and power and influence.