A group can only be called a team if the members are actively working together toward a common goal. A team must have the capability to set goals, make decisions, solve problems, and share responsibilities. For a team to be successful, trust must be earned between its members by being consistent and reliable (Temme & Katzel, 2005). When more than one person is working on a particular task, inconsistent views or opinions commonly arise. People come from different backgrounds and live through different life experiences therefore, even when working towards a common goal, they will not always see eye to eye. Major conflict that is not dealt with can devastate a team or organization (Make Conflict Work, 2008). In some situations, conflict can be more constructive than destructive. Recognizing the difference between conflict that is constructive to the team and conflict that is destructive to the team is important. Trying to prevent the conflict is not always the best way to manage conflict when working within a team setting. Understanding conflict, what causes it, and how to resolve conflict effectively, should consume full concentration. Understanding Conflict Before understanding how to deal with conflict, one must understand what conflict is. Conflict can be defined as, “any situation in which incompatible goals, cognitions, or emotions within or between individuals or groups lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction” (Learning Team Toolkit, 2004, pp 242-243). Does the idea of conflict always have to carry a negative connotation? The growth and development of society would be a great deal slower if people never challenged each other’s ideas. The Learning Team Toolkit discusses three different views of conflict: traditiona... ... middle of paper ... ...s, Parents, Teachers Team up to Work on Conflict Resolution Skills: [FINAL Edition]. Seattle Times, p. B4. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from ProQuest Central database. (Document ID: 49058162). Make conflict work. (2008, May 24). Winnipeg Free Press, G.1. Retrieved March 14, 2015, from ProQuest Central database. (Document ID: 1485216051). Peden, T. (26 June). Lessons in leadership: New program teaches students life skills. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Retrieved March 14, 2015, from Business Dateline database. (Document ID: 1500668231). Temme, J. & Katzel, J. (2005). Calling a team a team doesn't mean that it is: Successful teamwork must be a way of life. Plant Engineering, 49(1), 112-114. University of Phoenix. (2004). Learning Team Toolkit. Available on the University of Phoenix student/faculty website: http://ecampus.phoenix.edu (March 14, 2015).
As much as some of us dislike conflict, it is inherent in human nature. After all, it is like a wall that keeps us from moving forward in the path of life, but we must understand that those walls merely act as temporary challenges that are yet to be solved. Some conflicts may be insignificantly trivial, and some may be quite immense. Some conflicts may be happening within ourselves, and some may be accompanied by another person. Regardless, we must learn not to run away from conflict, but rather to run over them with a determined demeanor as the conflicts that we encounter in our lives are what helps us learn and grow as an individual. Furthermore, learning and growing from conflict is what shape individuals and what prepares us for the upcoming challenges that life will throw at us in the future.
Pruitt, Dean G, and Sung Hee Kim. Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement. 3rd ed. 2004. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2004.
O’Rourke, J. & Collins, S. (2008). Managing Conflict and Workplace Relationships. New York: Cengage Learning.
Abigail, R. A., & Cahn, D. D. (2011). Managing conflict through communication. 4th Ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
As the processes and systems used in business have become more complex, teams, not individuals, have become popular in many organizations. Teams are made up of individuals from an organization brought together to solve a problem, improve a process or implement a new process. “A major advantage that a team has over an individual is its diversity of resources and ideas” (Burns, 1995, p. 52). However, this diversity can cause conflict within the team. The success of the team is strongly influenced by the team’s ability to recognize the causes of, manage and resolve conflict.
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).
Stewart, G., Manz, C., & Sims, H., (1999). Teamwork and Group Dynamics. New York: Wiley. pp. 70- 125.
“To live anyhow is better than not at all” (Chekhov 1) , the short story, The Bet commenced with the conflict when the person had no choice but to choose between the death penalty or life in prison. The Bet was originally written by Anton Chekhov, a profound Russian short-story writer who concentrated a lot on human values and the reflection of the extravagantly selfish Russian nobility. And through The Bet he was able to express all those ideas in two sides, the banker and the lawyer with the conflict along the story line.
According to McShane and Von Glinow, conflict is “a process in which one party perceives that his or her interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party” (328). The Conflict Process Model begins with the different sources of conflict; these sources lead one or more parties to perceive that a conflict exists. These perceptions interact with emotions and manifest themselves in the behavior towards other parties. The arrows in the figure illustrate the series of conflict episodes that cycle into conflict escalation (McShane and Von Glinow 331-332).
A team can be defined as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performing goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Katzenbach & Smith, The Wisdom of Teams 2015). A team can also be defined as a group in which members work together intensively to achieve a common group goal (Lewis-McClear & Taylor 1998). According to the class lecture, teams can improve competitiveness, improve productivity, improve quality, provide backup for key skills, enhance
Conflict is a basic aspect of teamwork (Levi, 2001), since the number of decisions that a team needs to make often evokes feelings of discomfort and stress. Conflict very often arises from a clash of different working style, ideas, interests, needs, and wants. Team conflicts can be due to high stress level. It has been experienced that in teamwork there can be conflicts and conflicts creates dissatisfaction among the employees. It is important that conflicts be addressed in such a way that it has adverse effect and it is very important to address the conflicts on the spot otherwise it would be difficult to handle the conflicts. (Jehn, 1995).When team member s disagree about the task themselves that how these tasks should be performed then task related conflicts occurs. It is also called task led-conflicts, it occurs when persons disagree over the understanding of tasks and their goals it is a disagreement between two team members in a group over the decisions. They have differences of opinions about a certain issue. (Stewart, Sims & Manz, 1999). Disagreement can be caused by differences in viewpoint and values, differences of opinion about tasks and differences in expectation about the impact of decisions (Levi, 2001).
Working in teams provides an opportunity for individuals to come together and establish a rapport towards others within a group. Teamwork is classified as people with different strengths and skills who work together to achieve a common goal. When a team works well, specific objectives are fulfilled and satisfied. Teamwork plays a crucial role in implementing and fulfilling a common goal in a team project. Each member plays a role and takes on different responsibilities combined together. In different stages of teamwork, conflicts and arguments may occur for as members have different standpoints which need to be harmonized within the team. The key to having an effective teamwork is to explore each member's unique abilities to motivate them.
Montgomery, M. (1995). Five questions to resolve any conflict: An interactive article. Journal of Management Consulting, 8, 37-45. Retrieve May 20, 2014 from http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/215897265/fulltextPDF/AE402A08E004112PQ/7?accountid=35796
Borisoff, D., & Victor, D.A. (1998). Conflict Management: A Communication Skills Approach (2nd Ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Conflicts and disputes are one of the major aspects in society that need to be dealt with on a regular basis. When these conflicts and disputes arise in the workforce, at home, in an institute, or/and in public, there needs to be some form of resolution in order to resolve and maintain a peaceful environment. Conflicts are a part of a healthy relationship, however at times, these conflicts need to be resolved using a conflict resolution process. Although there are several processes that can be used to solve conflicts, mediation and advocacy are two of the most common conflict resolution processes that can be utilized to come to a harmonious conclusion or resolution. Even though mediation and advocacy may seem to fall under the same category, these two are individually and specifically used for certain problematic scenarios as they both uniquely utilize distinctive skills and steps.