Conflict is known to be inseparable in all human interactions. In any organization, role differentiation acquires the different uses of conflict handling styles. Work direction, reward, supervision, discipline and performance review also involve the use of conflict handling styles. Organizational change and control is also viewed from a conflict perspective. In attempts to explain the nature or dynamics of a particular organizational phenomenon, conflict may be incorporated as a causal factor (Brown and Peterson, 1993).
Our society is concerned with the issue on how the skills of leaders can be enriched so as to enable them to act with greater proficiency when their contributions are from dealing with and through people especially their subordinates. One way of looking into this issue is from the conflict perspectives. The attention to interpersonal relationships is due to our belief that sound leader-subordinate relationships are important and consistent with humanistic and cooperative work environment sought by contemporary leaders. It is also believed that positive interpersonal relationship at workplace is able to increase subordinates’ satisfaction with leader and subordinates with high levels of satisfaction are more likely to be committed to the organization (Brown and Peterson, 1993).
Differences in the perception of conflict possess implication in its own right. This is due to leaders uses of conflict styles may be reinforced by subordinates’ responses or the leader may anticipate subordinates’ reaction to the use of conflict styles. It is worthwhile for the leader to be aware of the existence of multiple sources of conflict in work situations and how it promote subordinates’ job satisfaction sin...
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...nd Kabanoff (1990) support these dimensions.
Applying good management principles in building quality relationships with people will help to prevent or at least lessen conflict. In spite of the best efforts at prevention, conflict does arise. The secret is to learn to cope positively with conflict, and not to see it as an enemy to peace, but an opportunity for growth in relationships (Laue, 1981, and Blome, 1983).
In the past, management theorist used the term conflict avoidance, but today this phrase is increasingly replaced with the phrase of conflict management. Conflict management recognizes that while conflict does have associated costs, it can also bring with it great benefits. It is for this reasons that today’s managers seek not to avoid, but to manage conflict within the organization (Nurmi and Darling, 1997; Su-Mei Lin, 2003).
In this paper, conflict, its effects, and some management and resolution strategies as they relate to team dynamics will be discussed. Understanding the various conflict resolution methods, including how and when to apply them, is of utmost importance. In teams, different types of conflict call for different solutions. Conflict resolution is certainly not an area in which one size fits all. Conflict may be classified as Substantive, Procedural, or Affective, depending upon the context to which it relates.
Conflict management is a strategized approach to understanding the complexity of conflict within any environment. Sources of conflict can derive from many avenues and include such things as scare resources to personal beliefs and work styles and lack of communication. Conflict is said to be inevitable and subjected to time and change. However, many organizations, including the federal department, have created functional methods through the use of historical theorist to become better aware of contribution and resolutions into conflict management. The criminal justice system within the United States have been subjected to many conflicts that hinder the progress of adaptability. What has been uncovered throughout decades of research is that human conflict is intertwined into the very fabric of our society, making it a formidable adversary.
Huan, L. & Yazdanifard, R. (2012). The Differences of Conflict Management Styles and Conflict Resolution in Workplaces. Business & Entrepreneurship Journal. 1(1), 141-155.
While Mike believes that conflict is a normal part of any organization, and the real challenge is how one deals with it. He then provides you with his “5 Keys of Dealing with Workplace Conflict,” (Myatt, 2012) which are: “Define Acceptable Behavior, Hit Conflict Head-on, Understanding the WIIFM Factor, The Importance Factor, and View Conflict as Opportunity.” (Myatt, 2012) What I have learned for this article is, that in order to be a good leader, you need to know how to deal with conflict, employ effective conflict resolution, while also avoided unnecessary
It has been estimated in a study by the American Management Association that managers spend between 20% to as much as 50% of their times dealing with conflict among their employees (American Sentinel, 2012). When workplace conflicts are left unresolved they can lead to dissatisfaction, depression and other problems such as aggression and violence (Whitworth 2008). The negative, sometimes hostile, environment created by unresolved conflict has been recognized to be a hazard not only to staff, but also to patient care (The Joint Commission 2008).
Interpersonal conflict is very common with many relationships. It occurs when two people can not meet in the middle or agree on a discussion. Cooperation is key to maintaining a healthy debate. More frequently; when dealing with members of your own family, issues arise that include conflict and resolution. During this process our true conflict management style appears “out of thin air”. (Steve A. Beebe, 2008, p. 191).
Many people enjoy working or participating in a group or team, but when a group of people work together chances are that conflicts will occur. Hazleton describes conflict as the discrepancy between what is the perceived reality and what is seen as ideal (2007). “We enter into conflicts reluctantly, cautiously, angrily, nervously, confidently- and emerge from them battered, exhausted, sad, satisfied, triumphant. And still many of us underestimate or overlook the merits of conflict- the opportunity conflict offers every time it occurs” (Schilling, nd.). Conflict does not have to lead to a hostile environment or to broken relationships. Conflict if resolved effectively can lead to a positive experience for everyone involved. First, there must be an understanding of the reasons why conflicts occur. The conflict must be approached with an open mind. Using specific strategies can lead to a successful resolution for all parties involved. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument states “there are five general approaches to dealing with conflict. The five approaches are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. Conflict resolution is situational and no one approach provides the best or right approach for all circumstances” (Thomas, 2000).
Although there is a plethora of possible sources of conflict in any workplace, the ones in this case are rather explicit. These include personal differences, Informal deficiencies’, role incompatibility, environment stress, perceptions, and expectations. Personal differences could be related to personal values, physiognomies, family bonds or ties, and material belongings.
Thomas, K. W. (1992). Conflict and conflict management: Reflections and update. . Journal Of Organizational Behavior, 13(3), 265-274.
In order of being able to analyze the sources of conflicts regarding the clothing manufacturer, I will present the Conflict Process Model according to McShane and Von Glinow. Therefore, I will first define what conflicts are, and second present the different sources of conflicts and carve out which conflicts are involved regarding to the given case. The third step is to explain two different strategies to minimize these conflicts in future. Finally, I will provide a recommendation and conclusion.
Borisoff, D., & Victor, D.A. (1998). Conflict Management: A Communication Skills Approach (2nd Ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Conflict avoidance is a technique used to deal with conflict. Avoiding conflict is mainly used to disregard the direct issue at hand. Avoiding conflict can be used to temporarily get rid of an issue or it can be used to permanently remove the issue. Avoiding conflict within the workplace most often results in relationship division. Workplace conflict is inevitable, meaning wherever and whenever there is a group working to accomplish similar goals as a whole, conflict will be present. Workplace conflict exists due to various factors. (Graham 2014) The most common seen factors influencing workplace conflict include role understanding, meaning who is responsible for what task, how tasks are to be accomplished, personality difference and poor
Gross and Guerrero (2000) supported Rahim’s conflict management styles and identified that these styles are associated with organizational climate and culture, job satisfaction. Their research on 50 employees uncovered some facts include employees who were involved in unmanaged conflict end up in job dissatisfaction and subsequently their performance deters (p. 208). The competence-based model developed by Canary, Cupach and Serpe (2001) contrast with Rahim’s theory, where the effectiveness of conflict management styles is based on the situation and understanding of individuals (p. 81). They tried to find a resolution for the conflict instead of implementing the strategy to reduce tension by applying conflict management styles, resulting in inconsistent outcomes (p. 531).
Conflict exists in every organization as a result of incompatible needs, goals, and objectives of two people while aligning to the overall business requirements. Though disagreement is linked with negative impact, the approach has healthy considerations (Leung, 2008). For instance, some conflicts create an avenue for the exchange of ideas and creativity to meet the set organizational purposes. However, damaging disagreement in organizations results in employee dissatisfaction, turnover, and poor services and reduced productivity. The paper establishes different types of interpersonal conflict and key resolution strategies used to address the problem. Human resource managers need to have the capacity to identify different levels of conflicts and the best methods to negate them.
In the workplace, disagreement or arguments may arise due to several reasons. This can further result into a state of antagonism or opposition, resentment, avoidance, verbal assaults, and inability to work together. Such may arise due to personality clashes, differences in style, differences in leadership, interdependence conflicts and differences in the background or gender. With reference to the conflict between Norm and Norma, disagreement arose due to differences in styles. This is because Norma was after quick result from the initiated project while Norm believed he could work from home and still meet the expected standard. However, Norma expected full commitment from all the staff under her. For good working relations, conflicts should always be resolved and hence improve good working relationship among the employees both the juniors and seniors. Professionally, conflicts can be solved via two models; circle of conflict and triangle of satisfaction (Susan Holton, 1998).