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Hocker (1991) defined conflict and specifically interpersonal conflict as an expressed struggle involving a minimum of two interdependent individuals who have incompatible goals, scarce resources, and they perceive obstruction from the other party in achieving their goals. Hocker’s definition of conflict is criticized for its ambiguity. Rather than being a source of incompatible goals, conflict is caused by incompatible positions. When the term power is used in connection with communications between opponents, it is understood to mean the ability to control some other individual’s behavior (Burgoon & Dunbar, 2006). Individual perception is an important key concept to understanding the origin of conflict between parties. Conflict has also been de-fined as “a breakdown in the standard mechanisms of decision-making so that an individual or group experiences difficulty in selecting an action alternative” March and Simon (1993). Jehn and Mannix (2001) described conflict of an interpersonal nature as a recognition shared by two people in a dispute that they have irreconcilable needs, incompatible goals, and incongruity. During group situations, conflict frequently manifests itself when members of the group express opposing opinions and goals (Eisenhardt & Schoonhoven, 1990). Research by Amason (1996) revealed that conflict manifests itself in a group’s decision-making processes in spite of everyone in the group sharing the same goals. Amason (1996) and later Jehn (1999) theorized the reason for this disconnect was due to each person in the group having their own unique perspectives, varying levels of knowledge, and different life experiences that created an environment ripe for the collision of values.
Interpersonal conflict is viewed by a vast majority of people as dysfunctional and costly to companies because of the time and money spent on conflict resolution strategies. Furthermore, many believe conflict stifles performance, reduces group cohesion, and it ultimately hinders the process of decision-making (Gladstein, 1984).
Language also ascribes negative attributes to the word conflict. Typically, dysfunctional be-haviors whether they are verbal or physical like disputes, quarrels or hostilities -- all are associated with the word “conflict.” With the word “conflict” being used in great abundance globally to describe
Knapp, M. L., Putnam, L. L., & Davis, L. J. (1988). Measuring interpersonal conflict in organizations: Where do we go from here? Management Communication Quarterly, 1(3), 414-429. doi: 10.1177/0893318988001003008
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.
My brother, Andrew stated that he felt betrayed how his best friends go out and party with him, then turned around and call my mother, Faye, and told them that he was addicted to cocaine. Two days went by; my brother, Andrew, avoided all phone calls from my mother and his best friends. Finally, on the third day after the confrontation, my oldest brother, Gary, and mother, Faye, showed up at Andrew’s dorm room and explained to him if he went with them to get a drug assessment then he would be able to stay in school and keep everything that my family had threatened to take away from him. My brother, Andrew, had already lost most of his trust in his friends, but he agreed to take a drug assessment because he did not want to lose what he had.
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.
Hocker & Wilmot, 2007, Poole, & Stutman, 2005 Folger and 2007 Cahn& Abigail. "Interpersonal Conflict and Conflict Management." Devito, Joseph A. The Interpersonal Communication Book. Boston: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon, 2009. 276.
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).
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).
The interpersonal conflict revolves around my mother and I. We have always had a strong relationship but lately, have been at constant odds between each other. There is conflict between us because of our conflicting views on whats the better option for our beloved dog. My mother will always hold the power most of the times by default, she is my mother after all, but when it comes to this specific interpersonal conflict, I certainly hold the power. Other family members know of this dilemma as well including my grandmother who is just as conflicted as my mother and I are. My grandmother has a strong attachment to our dog and would effect her emotionally.
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...
Differences within the team are the major reason for conflict. This stems from differences in opinion, attitude, beliefs, as well as cultural back grounds and social factors. The Conflict can be positive which is functional and supports or benefits the organization or a person’s main objectives (Reaching Out, 1997). Conflict is viewed as positive when the conflict results in increased involvement form the group, increased cohesion, and positive innovation and creativity. Conflict tends to be positive as well when it leads to better decisions, and solutions to long-term problems.
Thomas, K. W. (1992). Conflict and conflict management: Reflections and update. . Journal Of Organizational Behavior, 13(3), 265-274.
This model distinguishes six possible sources of conflict that may arise: incompatible goals, differentiation, interdependence, scarce resources, ambiguous rules, and communication problem (McShane and Von Glinow 332-333). Incompatible goals involves that “the goal of one person or department seem to interfere with another person’s or department’s goal” (McShane and Von Glinow 333). Differentiation is described as the “difference among people, departments, and other entities regarding their training, values, beliefs, and experiences” (McShane and Von Glinow 333). Interdependence “occurs where individuals operate interdependently except for reliance on a common source or authority” (McShane and Von Glinow 335). Scarce Resources are a source of conflict when several persons or units require the same recourse to fulfill their goals. Ambiguous Rules occur as a source of conflict because “uncertainty increases the risk that one party intends to interfere with the other party’s goals” (McShane and Von Glinow 335). Communication Problems are a source of conflict “due to the lack of opportunity, ability, or motivation to communicate effectively” (McShane and Von Glinow 333).
...rs but the goal is not achieved until each member has completed his part. The Factors that influence teamwork are impacted trust and have an impact on trust. When communication breaks down, trust is reduced and communications can help to build trust (Rocco, Hofer, and Herbsleb).Research shows that conflict has a negative impact on performance. A conceptual model is developed which explores relationship between conflict and performance and conflict impact performance through its effect on exchange and trust (Lau & Cobb, 2009).
Rahim (2002) differentiated person’s perception towards handling a conflict into two: “concern for self and concern for others” (p. 216). Further, the study explored two types of conflicts and observed that most conflicts arise during the decision-making process. Dysfunctional conflict, which hinders team performance and interpersonal relations due to individual’s self-interest in implementing particular decision. Functional conflict serves organization purpose with employees involved in the conflict regarding which proposal to implement (Rahim, 2011).
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.