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Conflict resolution in the workplace case studies
Conflict resolution strategies
Conflict resolution strategies
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Managers use within 24 to 60 percent of their time at work engaging with conflict in the workplace (Fiore). Often, employees are either in conflict with another person, avoiding the conflict of other staff and managers, or recovering from a dispute in the workplace. Disagreements and differences of opinion can escalate into interpersonal conflict when varying ideas exist regarding personal and organizational success. The high drive for work-related achievement in some employees can clash with staff who do not emphasize work-related success in their lives. I recently endured an interpersonal conflict with a fellow coworker who desires to be the person that everyone goes to for a lot of tasks, but she regularly falls short of correctly finishing or setting the proper level of importance on these assignments. As a result, coworkers and I experience additional work created by the mistakes or delays. I attempted to have a discussion with this coworker as to why she continues to neglect her duties and cause hardship on the other staff. Based on her feedback, I could present some suggestions to enhance how duties associated …show more content…
The conflict style I tried to use in this situation was collaborating; I win you win. By applying this style, we both would win because our work could be completely effectively. That means I would not be faced with the stress of having to correct her mistakes consistently and she would not be confronted with the eventual fear of being reprimanded and recognized as someone who could not get things done. My conflict style was not well received, and in direct contrast to the avoiding, I lose-you lose style she applied. In my opinion, her response exhibited a classic example of this style. She showed that she was not concerned with either of our needs and psychologically withdrew from the
According to Robin (2002), there are five conflict resolution styles: confront compromise, collaborate, accommodate, and avoid. Identify the preference(s) you most often use from these resolution styles. Think about times you have interacted with styles other than your own. Once the differences between these styles are identified, they can be managed, and the appropriateness of when to use them can be determined.
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.
It has been estimated in a study by the American Management Association that managers spend between 20% to as much as 50% of their times dealing with conflict among their employees (American Sentinel, 2012). When workplace conflicts are left unresolved they can lead to dissatisfaction, depression and other problems such as aggression and violence (Whitworth 2008). The negative, sometimes hostile, environment created by unresolved conflict has been recognized to be a hazard not only to staff, but also to patient care (The Joint Commission 2008).
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).
Although there is a plethora of possible sources of conflict in any workplace, the ones in this case are rather explicit. These include personal differences, Informal deficiencies’, role incompatibility, environment stress, perceptions, and expectations. Personal differences could be related to personal values, physiognomies, family bonds or ties, and material belongings.
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.
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.
Thomas, K. W. (1992). Conflict and conflict management: Reflections and update. . Journal Of Organizational Behavior, 13(3), 265-274.
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
This elasticity in your approach to choosing which conflict style is best for the current situation is a key to managing conflict. No one style of conflict resolution will work all the time when addressing issues. You must remain flexible to other people’s wants, needs, direction, criticism, schedules, moods, temperament, and a myriad of other things in life. If there is one thing in life that will never change it is the fact that everything is going to change! There is nothing you can do to stop it, so the quicker you learn how to adapt to the changes the better off you will be. The ability to change your approach to dealing with conflict better prepares you to face the interpersonal challenges that will eventually come your way. I believe it is important to also remember that you cannot win every battle with every person you encounter. Knowing that you cannot fix or solve every problem with everyone is very helpful in reducing stress and managing difficult situations with others. My father dislikes when I use this cliché but sometimes, it is what it
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).
Organizations strive for creative ways to enhance employee motivation and resolve conflicts with the desire to have employees perform better within the workplace. To motivate one has to be motivated. Motivation within the workplace has to be constant and requiring a goal. Motivation, if not repeated will not last. Therefore, learning to determine how different organizations apply motivation theories to motivate employees, analyzing conflict management strategies and what approaches work best in different organizations will influence the success of an organization.
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.