Conflict Management What do really know about conflict management within an organization? We know that there are issues that almost every manager, leader, or employee will have to deal with at least one time or another within the workplace. Conflict can be defined by Rahim (1986), as an interactive process due to a disagreement between two people (Shabbir, Atta, & Adil., 2014). Conflict Management is an apparatus for dealing with complicated differences in a facility to bring about a better and peaceful outcome (Shabbir, Atta, & Adil., 2014). When there is a lack of communication or miscommunication between people, things can become complicated and create issues causing conflict. This paper will educate the reader on conflict management, …show more content…
Communication is a personal process in which behavior and information exchange between two people (Bethel University, 2006). People have these communication problems because they are unaware of the fact that they do not know how to effectively communicate. For example, have you ever heard the saying, “It is not what you say but how you say it?” Well, I was a line leader for a company called Aldelano that was operated through Kellogg’s. Aldelano’s purpose was ship out Pringle’s for Kellogg’s, to different stores or franchises for Kellogg’s. This particular day at work the line I was assigned to ended up having miscounted, that is when a specific order for inventory’s count of that product is off. Usually, when a miscount occurs, it can take up to as long as two or three hours to find the pallet in the warehouse. My supervisor, who verifies my count sheet and a Q. A. Supervisor (Quality Assurance), walks up to me on the production floor and starts to yell at me to get my line together to go find the pallet. In return, I then start to yell at my line for them to come on so we can find the pallet. In turn, everybody now has an attitude and nothing but tension in the air. This is now where conflict can be …show more content…
It is absolutely impossible to reflect an organizational life without considering the numerous amount of ways that we interact with others through communication. Interpersonal communication is how information is transferred through verbal or non-verbal communication and electronic media or information technology (Bethel University, 2006). Face-to-face has been a prime example in verbal communication but with new advanced technology over the years the way we communicate has been upgraded. Some examples of interpersonal communication are; telecommunication, emails, text messaging, or even social media. These are all new technological ways in which we communicate but sometimes the message is not delivered the way we want it to be or it can get misinterpreted. That is way the best way to deliver a message has always been face-to-face. I cannot even count how many times I have received an email or text message from a supervisor or advisor and not have a question or two that I need to ask them. That way if there are any misunderstandings then things can get addressed right then and
College life can be quite the adjustment for most new students. When entering the collegiate atmosphere, there are new, sometimes unspoken, social rules and norms. With so many new social elements for students to acclimate to, already difficult situations, such as any form of conflict, are often particularly difficult to address. Fortunately, with a clear understanding of the various forms of conflict management, new students can learn to effectively communicate regarding any subject matter they may encounter.
In several occasions, conflict occurs in the communication of one or two people. Several people have thought of conflict as cases involving pouring of furious anger in a communication process. Nonetheless, conflict is the misinterpretation of an individual’s words or values (Huan & YAzdanifard, 2012). Conflict can also be due to limited resources in an organization (Riaz & Junaid, 2010). Conflict may as well arise due to poor communication or the use of inappropriate communication channel of transmission of information between the involved parties. Management of conflict has various conflict management styles that include avoidance style, forcing style, passive-aggressive style, accommodating style, collaborating style and compromising style. Workplace conflict comes in two different kinds: task involving conflict, which focuses on the approaches used in resolving the problem and blaming conflict that has the aspects of blame and never brings element of resolving problems between the conflicting parties. In the perception of several individuals, relationship conflict is negative.
Steve A. Beebe, S. J. (2008). Interpersonal Communication. In A. a. Pearson, Interpersonal Communication, Relating To Others- Fifth Edition. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Education, Inc.
Thomas, K. W. (1992). Conflict and conflict management: Reflections and update. . Journal Of Organizational Behavior, 13(3), 265-274.
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.
workplace include greater total resources, greater knowledge band and a greater source of ideas. However, these advantages can also bring on conflict within teams and the entire workplace. Varney (1989) reported that conflict remained the number one problem within a large company. This was after several attempts were made to train management in conflict resolutions and procedures. However, the conflict remained. The conflict possibly remains because the managers and leaders did not pay attention to the seriousness of the issue. In order to maintain an effective team, leaders and team members must know and be proactive in the conflict resolution techniques and procedures.
Mrs. Harmon had to be able to empathize well with her employees and employer in order to understand the conflict within the organization. By doing this she analyzed every individual’s field of experience in order to learn their individual argumentation style and how they addressed certain issues. This was useful for Mrs. Harmon because she was not able to have a better understanding of each individual as well as how to address the conflict if she did not possess a certain amount of background information. A major issue with communication and how individuals interact is with the field of experience. The field of experience allows for areas of empathy among individuals. When an individual is able to address the varying views of individuals,
Look up the word conflict in the dictionary and you will see several negative responses. Descriptions such as: to come into collision or disagreement; be at variance or in opposition; clash; to contend; do battle; controversy; quarrel; antagonism or opposition between interests or principles Random House (1975). With the negative reputation associated with this word, no wonder people tend to shy away when they start to enter into the area of conflict. D. Jordan (1996) suggests that there are two types of conflict: good, which is defined as cognitive conflict (C-type conflict) and, detrimental, defined as affective conflict (A-type conflict). The C-type conflict allows for creativity, to pull together a group of people with different opinions or ideas, to combine and brain storm all thoughts to develop the best solution for the problem. The A-type conflict is the negative form when you have animosity, hostility, un-resolveable differences, and egos to deal with. The list citing negative conflicts could go on forever. We will be investigating these types of conflicts, what managers can do to recognize conflict early, and what strategies they can use to resolve conflicts once they have advanced.
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).
“While the absence of organizational conflict is often considered a sign of good leadership, it can actually signal that management is out of touch with significant changes in the marketplace” (Frates, 2014). Conflict can occur between anyone and over anything. In many ways conflict can be both healthy and unhealthy. The different types of conflict that will be identified are Intra-organizational conflict and Inter-organizational conflict. By the end of this paper I will have explained conflict management styles, the purpose of conflict resolution strategy, and strategies to reduce cost and legal liabilities.
Although communication as a whole has been studied for centuries, interpersonal communication is a newer field of focus. Communication scholars have concentrated on more than just “business proceedings” communication since the late 1940s. By adding the aspect of “shared meaning and building relationships” (Caputo, Hazel, McMahon & Dannels, 2002, p. 9), interpersonal communication has surfaced as an essential field to study. Just as the study of communication has altered, so have the method individuals communicate. While face-to-face (FtF) communication was the central mode of interpersonal communication, we now communicate using a variety of tools including computer-mediated communication. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) was defined by John December as “a process of human communication via computers, involving people, situated in particular contexts, engaging in processes to shape media for a variety of purposes.” (Thurlow, Lengel, & Tomic, 2004, p. 15).
Swinton, Lyndsay (2006). Workplace Conflict Management: Strategy for Successful Resolution. Retrieved November 14, 2010 from http://www.mftrou.com/workplace-conflict-management-strategy.html
that may result in a struggle for power or position. Conflict management, therefore, can be
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.
Be it organizational or personal, here are the major two different kinds of communication; Impersonal: one-way communication mainly used for facts, policies, instructions, notes, etc. Interpersonal: Two-way communication i.e. discussions, arguments, open forum, etc.