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Workplace conflict resolution
Different individual characteristics can affect team dynamics
Workplace conflict resolution
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Conflict is unavoidable at times, and has to be dealt with sooner or later. Especially while working as a team, a difference in opinion is normal. Every person is entitled to have his/her own opinion, and one should respect each other’s believes as well. However, most of the times, when one works in a team; everyone needs to reach an agreement. This is where conflict usually arises. Some people tend to hold strong opinions and beliefs, and aren’t flexible about them. A good team leader should have the skills to deal with conflicts that arise in teams, and should work constructively in managing them; while achieving their team goals. Conflicts arise when people aren’t flexible about their opinions. When one works as a team, it is important …show more content…
Not all team leaders know how to deal with conflict; as a result, it can result in stress and loss in productivity. One of our district managers at CVS Pharmacy was appointed to look over the progress of store managers in training. She had strong opinions and wasn’t flexible about them. As a team leader, instead of listening to other members, she would impose her views and ignore everyone else’s opinions. As a result, 6 out of 8 very competitive managers stepped down because of the stress that she her inflexibility was causing. However, the bosses of the district manager were angered because of this loss and she was asked to change her way of dealing with managers. This proves that it is important to deal with problems in a positive way, otherwise it will create stress and problems for everyone. A good team leader listens to everyone’s opinions, and deals with conflicts in a positive way. If I were to deal with a conflict as a team leader, I would listen to everyone’s opinions and help my team reach a conclusion. If someone wouldn’t corporate, I would talk to them about their opinion and about how reaching a conclusion is important for the team’s success. Moreover, I would motivate my team members to have constructive discussions, so they would know that their opinion
Does disagreement arise from team player differences? When individuals come together in teams, do their differences in terms of power, values, and attitudes contribute to the creation of disagreements?As team players, are individuals able to state their opinions, introduce their ideas, listen to other ideas with an open mind, respect, and able to cooperate with other members of the team?
...ure that their team stays motivated, and to be aware of the emotions of the individuals within the team. This, along with proper communication will allow the leader to address any questions or resolve any conflicts that may arise. Questions and conflicts are inevitable within any team. Although, conflicts and questions during the process of the project can become beneficial to the overall success of the team. The team can learn how to better communicate as well as how to ask better questions, ensuring future conflicts will stay to a minimum (module 5 lecture pages, n.d.).
Conflict is not always something that can be easily overcome. When two groups have a similar goal to work for, many times the groups will find a way to work with the other group to finish the job. When faced with a task that requires people to work with another group they dislike it results in a successful solution.
Along with the preparation for conflict resolutions, understanding the situation in the team during the conflict is important. Clarifying positions along with listing the facts and all the necessary analyzation of the particular situation helps in resolving the conflict in a team. Applying this process can effectively address and resolve the conflict in a
According to the Theorists as groups turn into teams, most conflict happens in the “storming” stage of team development (De Janasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2001). First, one must understand what conflict is. Capozzoli (1999) cites Boulding’s 1962 definition of conflict as “a situation of competition in which the parties are aware of the incompatibility of potential future positions and in which each party wishes to occupy a position which is incompatible with the wishes of the other.” Conflict can be either constructive or destructive to the team and can be created in several ways. Conflict must be analyzed and understood for the team to resolve it.
For a team to be successful there are several factors that have to be addressed in order for a fluent, functioning group of individuals combined to achieve a certain goal. This goal can be a variety of different endings from producing minor results to making decisions that create a major impact on a large scale. Within a team environment conflict is always presence. Conflict is essential to the advancement of teams and must be managed in a proper way to avoid destruction and division amongst the group of individuals. From sports, to education, and the workplace teamwork is present in everyday life. As a human race we all work in different team oriented situations in order to accomplish a variety of tasks.
People work in groups or teams everyday whether in their career, education, political organization, church, or any other social setting. Conflict while working in teams or groups is inevitable. When taking people of different backgrounds, personalities, moral, and ethical beliefs and putting them together in a group, conflict will arise. The key to achieving your team goals is to construct and conquer your goals with keeping the greater good of the team in mind. Conflict as it arises should be combated and abated through swift and thorough resolution techniques. When dealt with properly conflict resolution can give rise to a cohesive and productive team.
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).
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.
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).
After a review of my performance in the assigned group, I have learned a great deal about myself and behavior in the team-setting situation. This is not the first experience in a team-setting. Previous team setting experiences were conducted in sporting and recreational environments rather than academics. While the setting and the environments were indeed different, there were many commonalities and correlations between the team settings I previously experiences and the current academic team-setting experience for this academic course project.
Effective communication encompasses many concepts. For a leader to be effective, one must be able to build relationships between different parties. In order to build a good rapport, one must be able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of those involved, and within oneself. Acknowledging these differences will allow for a better collaboration between team members. A leader must also have the ability to put conflict resolution theories into practice. Allowing differing points of view may challenge the original idea and will make for a more thorough decision making process. Although this may seem counterproductive, it actually ensures the best possible outcome. One must be consistent in the message presented yet be flexible, approachable and maintain a positive attitude. Allowing for different perspectives to be heard will allow team members to feel valued. This flexibility helps to solidify the concept that everyone is in this together; thus establishing an environment where all team members can have a buy-in. Encouraging team members to voice opinions and give feedback produces an atmosphere of constructive give-and-take; a real t...
Effective teams work to establish common goals. These goals are usually the drivers of an effective team when all of the participants are communicating to develop the goals they would all like to achieve. In business, this can be seen when groups set a sales goal and develop a plan of action to achieve this goal. Individuals empowered to approach a goal with their interests in mind as well as the interest of the whole group.
proposes to review the literature related to the impact of leadership on conflict management in
Many of the talents and skills they regularly use on a daily basis will transfer to the project tasks that they may to be assigned.