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Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution
Team dynamics and resolving conflict
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Recommended: Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution
There are several ways that we can aid in conflict resolution; however, to effectively resolve a conflict, we should various strategies that are appropriate for that particular conflict. This paper explores the strategies for managing different types of conflict, Group performance and satisfaction. My research will show that over time conflict-resolution tendencies will focus on the content of interpersonal interactions rather than delivery style, explicitly discussing reasons behind any agreements or decisions reached in accepting and distributing work assignments, and assigning work to employees who have that relevant task experience and expertise, rather than assigning duties based on convenience. Employees that are successful in conflict management are likely to be both proactive in anticipating the need for conflict resolution and developing solutions in a collaborative effort. Conflict management is an effort guide behaviors aimed at resolving conflicts which may occur between people or groups within an organization. In the business place, conflict is very common as employees have their own opinion about the way duties are performed and disseminated. Conflict management is further needed when a company has a large department of staff to manage. In every group it is certain that everyone probably has their own points of view and ways to resolve conflict, therefore, groups of employees will strive to prove to their management team that they have the a better solution based on their experience, ethnic background and personality. This type of conflict is called the personal conflict. Manager should be able to resolve conflicts with the cooperation of their employees by analyzing the cause of the problem and by listening to ... ... middle of paper ... ...ough if there is no attempt to resolve the issue. Also taking the time to evaluate all the information provided is necessary so that you can avoid making the wrong decisions that can further alienate the employees involved. Focus on the issue, not the individual. Try to avoid your own pre-conceived notions about the employee. It is important to establish guidelines before conducting a kind of formal meeting between employees, and have both employees agree the guidelines. Also have them agree hear out the other person and try to see things from their perspective. The goal of any manager is to facilitate the discussion and pinpoint the issues causing the conflict so that both employees can resolve the issue between themselves. Do not leave the issue unresolved and in limbo as taking too long to make a decision can have a reverse effect and damage your credibility.
Understanding how situations can become conflicts are important matters to investigate in hopes of preventing it from happening again. Every employee (in their minds) have different perspectives as to why conflicts happen. Such things include a lack of communication, feeling as if others are not doing their jobs, crazy rules, special treatment of friends as well as expectations that they feel are not reasonable. Conflicts that management may be involved in could be poor communication, lack of appropriate response to any given situation, not taking responsibility for their own errors, letting work & personal life interfere with the other, as well as not having good prioritizing
Occasionally, management strife and issues will occur because basic human nature instinct calls for disagreements and social interferences. However, it depends on the upper level of management to deal with problems that occur in a timely and effective manner that benefits all parties involved. There are a number of reasons that management discrepancies may occur, with the leading being various attitude problems. If team members feel underappreciated or taken advantage of they will show their disgruntled feelings, and it can cause serious issues if not handled immediately. The second are communication issues, ...
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.
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.
According to her, conflict and changes can be managed with flexible mindset. She encourages to have periodic one on one meeting with the employees. Also, she stresses on frequent communication sessions/webcast with the leadership team to avoid any last minute surprises. There is also an employee grievance program where employee can report their woes anonymously or to any senior management which promotes transparency between the employee and employer.
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).
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.
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).
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
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).
First, they need to investigate the true nature of the conflict because the dysfunction observed may be a symptom of the actual conflict. Once he has a complete understanding of the conflict, the skilled manager will be able to transform it into functional conflict and come up with a synergistically beneficial solution. The same way that every suggestion Honda implemented at Marysville resolved some sort of conflict, even the most heated and personal of conflicts can be resolved to the benefit for all parties involved if management is open and transparent in its policies; investigates the conflict to find its true nature; then handles it quickly, professionally, and in such a manner that it will not reappear in the
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.
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