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Importance of conflict management
Importance of conflict management
Importance of conflict management
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Conflict Intentions Many people think that conflict is a bad thing; however, conflict is not always bad. There are two intentions of conflicts, dysfunctional and functional. Dysfunctional conflict is what most people think of when they think of conflict, and it is destructive. It is more of a personal kind of conflict that nothing good can come from. On the other hand, functional conflict can be a good thing. Functional conflict is where two or more people disagree about something, but they work to achieve a solution to the disagreement. This kind of conflict can actually be good because it gets people to discuss the different ideas to achieve something everybody agrees on which is usually best solution. An example of dysfunctional conflict …show more content…
The three kinds are task, relationship, and process. Task conflicts are related to the content and goals of the task. An example would be if one person wanted to achieve a perfect score on an assignment and one person just wanted a passing grade. Relationship conflict is all about interpersonal relationships, and this type of conflict is always bad. An example of a relationship conflict would be if two members of a team were fighting about one not being polite to the other. Process conflict occurs when people disagree on how to achieve a goal. This could occur if two people disagreed about how to write a paper. One person might want to split the paper in half down the middle while the other might one to assign sections of the paper and specific tasks to each …show more content…
However, looking back, I can see how a lot of the conflict could have been very useful. I can see that relationship conflict is never good because all it does it make people dislike each other. I can see how task conflict can be good if it is about choosing the best task, and I can see how process conflict can help improve process by people discussing processes. In the future, I will use my knowledge of the different kinds of conflict and the potential benefits of task and process conflict to help improve the way I or a company does things. For example, if an employee has a process conflict with me, I will listen to their points and discuss the pros and cons of the different processes with him or her. This will help ensure that the best processes are used. In addition, I will try to minimize relationship conflict by making sure I am respectful of employees and coworkers as well as trying to keep an open line of communication with them to help resolve relationship
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.
Conflict is more than just an argument that manifest itself through yelling and behavior it is a perception that there is something wrong and needs to be fixed or explained. There are many different paths that conflict can take and it all depends on the person and situation. The following is an analysis of a conflict in my own life and how it came to be, the different perceptions involved, and the path we choose to take as the conflict went on.
Conflict theory is a perspective derived from the work of Karl Marx, who believe that society is a dynamic entity and it is constantly undergoing changes driven by class conflict, who holds different interests, ideas and values, for competing scare resources and aiming to maximize their own-benefits. According to the founder of conflict theory, Karl Marx, society are divided into two category: the have and the do not have, the latter is dominated by the former ones who are those people with power in hands and with the greatest political, economic and social resources. Conflict theory assumes that society makes the norms to serve the interests of the powerful.
Conflicts arise when people’s interest, values, actions, views or expectation come into contact and there is a difference of opinion and thus a disagreement (Conerly, 2004). The way people view the conflict will determine whether the resolution will negative or positive consequences.
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).
Conflict is good because it forces others to communicate. People have arguments all the time. When people have arguments it is good because it forces them to communicate with each other. They argue about what they want to do but they argue in the good way. They argue about what is better for them to do in the good way of arguing not in the bad way of arguing because arguing is better in the good way then it is in the bad way.They argue about what is a good thing for them to go out and do because they both think that their is something better to do then what the other person says to do so they argue in the good way. Conflict is a good thing.
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...
Conflict can be negative in the same tense except it is dysfunctional and hinders the teams or the person’s performance or ability to attain goals or objectives (Reaching out, 1997). Negative conflicts tend to result from the most common aspects known as relationship conflict or task conflict. Task conflict occurs when team members disagree about the tasks at hand and how they need to be performed. The other common conflict is relationship. This occurs when team members experience intrapersonal incompatibility issues. This is typically detrimental to teams as it tends to turn personal because they differ in social and communication differences and never come to a positive resolution to forego these conflicts. This is different when compared to task conflict in that task conflict can potentially be beneficial because the issue does not become personal, therefore, bringing about new ideas. Negative conflict is destructive when it leads to stress, inability to take action, and the loss of esteem or purpose (Reaching out, 1997). Conflict is viewed as negative when it results in unresolved anger within the team, personality clashes, low self confidence and problems of efficiency within the team leading to low productivity.
When managed correctly, functional conflict helps managers anticipate and solve problems, feel confident and strengthen relationships. Dysfunctional conflict is a confrontation or interaction between groups that harms the organization or the achievement of organizational goals (Kumar, 2009). Cunningham is faced with a functional conflict. The conflict created by the merger that Cunningham is faced with can create positive consequences for both Synergon, and Beauchamp. Cunningham must solve the problems between the two companies and make it acceptable to all parties involved.
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).
Conflict is energy, conflict is excitement, conflict is often driven by a passion that is necessary to progression. In other words, we need many of the characteristics that might cause conflict and conflict itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The important thing is learning how to manage
Conflict is unavoidable and connected to a world where different ideas and opinions are challenged. Negative conflict occurs when voices are not expressed appropriately, discussions are not in control or different parties reject moving forward with a solution. There is difficulty resolving disagreements because there are multiple reactions to disputes. However, a positive conflict supports debates without a destructive outcome. They improve communication, introduce principles that are important to others, and reduce chaos. On the other hand, the approach that a person uses to address conflict dictates the outcome they receive. Methods for resolving conflict include avoiding the problem, smoothing out a situation, competing against the ideas
Functional conflict is conflict that can be resolved to the benefit of all parties involved and can be observed on the micro level when a boxer takes part in sparring sessions to improve his
When most people hear that word conflict, they decide instantly if this is something they care to get involved in. Most people rather avoid conflict than get caught up in other people’s drama. Laura Stacks author of conflict in the workplace compares conflict to pain. She argues that pain and conflict has one thing in common; no one likes either. However, someone once said that pain was a gift, because pain is the indicator that God blessed us with so that, we will know when something is wrong and we may need medical attention. If pain is not all bad according to Stacks illustration conflict is not all bad either. According to Porter-O’Grady and Malloch, (2015) it is normal for conflict to occur within various relationships; people will just have to learn to deal with conflict sooner or later. This paper will address the issues surround workplace conflicts and their resolutions.
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).