International Journal of Business and Management; Vol. 10, No. 12; 2015 ISSN 1833-3850 E-ISSN 1833-8119 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 12 Conflict Behavior in the Workplace: A Study of Second Generation Arab Muslim Immigrants in the United States Jamil Al Wekhian 1 1 Department of Peace Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA Correspondence: Jamil Al Wekhian, Department of Peace Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA. E-mail: jalwekhian@yahoo.com Received: September 11, 2015 Accepted: October 22, 2015 Online Published: November 25, 2015 doi:10.5539/ijbm.v10n12p12 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v10n12p12 Abstract Multiple studies have shown that culture, religiosity, and gender influence people’s behavior in managing their conflict; however, there has been little investigation of the impact of the acculturation process on these variables utilized by second generation Arab Muslim immigrants in the United States. My study follows a sequential explanatory model with a mixed methods approach, and specifically explores the conflict management styles utilized by second generation Arab Muslim immigrants in the U.S. and how their culture, gender, and religiosity contribute to these processes. Data was collected by conducting 112 online surveys and 12 face-to-face semi-structured interviews, with the sample population stemming from the Arab Muslim communities in Columbia, Kansas City, and St. Louis, Missouri. Binary logistic regression and Chi-square tests were used to analyze this quantitative data through SPSS while thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The resulting analysis showed that second generation immigrants tended to be more individualistic, have a lower level of religiosity, and utilize and utilize dominating as a conflict management style to handle their interpersonal conflict. Level of religiosity had a significant relationship with the obliging, compromising, integrating, avoiding, and dominating conflict management styles. Gender had a significant association with the obliging, compromising, avoiding, and dominating conflict management styles. Finally, culture had a significant predictive relationship with obliging, integrating, compromising, and dominating conflict management styles. Keywords: conflict management styles, Arab, immigrants, Muslim, culture, religiosity, gender, interpersonal conflict, Middle East 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Information The immigrant population in the United States has grown considerably over the last 50 years, more than doubling since the 1960s. In 1990, the immigrant population was 19.8 million, which increased to 31.4 million in 2000, and reached a record of 40.4 million by 2011 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). The Arab immigrant population in the United States has also increased, accounting for about 2.5 percent of the total immigrant population in 2009. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Arab immigrant population was slightly over one million, which more than tripled to 3.5 million in 2010, indicating a greater rate of increase than that of the overall immigrant population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). Because Arab Muslim immigrants come to the U.S. with differing cultures, their norms differ from those of American culture. In the workplace, differences in expectations regarding workplace nature, norms, and interpersonal relations with co-workers create conflicts. Thus, they are more likely to utilize different conflict management styles. In some cases, acculturation can lead to some obstacles, especially in the work environment. Cultural differences between workers and the organizations they work for can lead to misunderstandings and ultimately conflicts in the workplace (Elsayed-Ekhouly, 1996). In fact, cultural differences can exist between workers from different cities within the same nation (Fitzsimmons, 2013). The ultimate goal of any organization is to bring together individuals such that they unite to perform a designated mission in order to achieve specific goals (Bernard, Goldstein, & Hazy, 2006). As organizations aim to increase the diversity of their workers, conflict becomes inevitable, necessitating members within the organization to decide their approach to conflict based upon their culture (LeBaron & Zumeta, 2003). Conflict is,