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Conflict management theory
Conflict management
Conflict management
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As business organizations move further into the twenty-first century, there appears to be steady advancement in technology, expansion, and innovation. More than ever, leaders are being developed to handle change, growth and transformation. With rapid growth, leaders are also encountering interpersonal and group-to-group conflict. By reviewing the current literature on leadership and conflict management, leaders can be equipped to understand the what conflict is, how it can be managed and the impact of leadership on conflict situations. This research paper proposes to review the literature related to the impact of leadership on conflict management in organizations. The research question presented in this research paper address leadership in …show more content…
This review begins with a description of conflict management and the factors influencing conflict. Then, an examination of leadership is explored sharing the current literature on leadership of conflict management. Next, a synthesis is provided of how leadership impacts conflict management. Finally, implications are drawn on the effects of leadership on conflict management.
LEADERSHIP & CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Conflict Management
Merriam-Webster (conflict, 2014) defines conflict as a difference in ideas or viewpoints that may result in a struggle for power or position. Conflict management, therefore, can be defined as an affirmative and effective approach to managing differences or disagreements
(Asawo, 2011). Conflict can occur in any setting and as leaders in organizations guide and transform their teams, they are also challenged with managing conflicts that arise both interpersonally and within groups. Doucet, Poitras, & Chênevert (2009) share that the nature of conflict is typically connected to an interest or task. A conflict that is interest-related refers to a interpersonal or group divergence in goals or objectives while a task conflict indicates a
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al., 2008). With the vast array of possible triggers for conflict, management of conflict has been challenging for leaders, thus an examination of the role of leadership in conflict situations is necessary.
Leadership of Conflict Management
Doucet, Poitras, & Chênevert (2009) share that a leader can play a role in organization conflict in three specific ways: directly, through intervention or through leadership style. In a direct role, the conflict may be interpersonal or group-to-group and the leader may exhibit a conflict management style to achieve a desired outcome. If intervening in a conflict, the leader may act as arbitrator or mediator. Lastly, if the leader’s management style causes conflict, then the methods or techniques used by the leader promotes conflict interpersonally or group-to-group within his organization (Curseu, 2011). Giacomantonio, Pierro, & Kruglanski (2011) share a similar view offering that leaders often have conflict management handling styles that they employ to deal with differences, whether interpersonally or within their
According to Riaz and Junaid (2010), there are four levels of conflict evaluation: intragroup, intergroup, intrapersonal and interpersonal. Sources of intrapersonal conflict include inappropriate demand on one’s capacity, goal incongruence and mal-assignment. Mal-assignment rises in cases where an employee is allocated a task to which he or she does not have the right skills or knowledge, commitment or aptitude. The employee experiences an overloaded qualitative role resulting to role conflict. The employee is unable to satisfy the specified capacity even if he or she works to his or her capacity leading to quantitative ro...
This piece of work will critically explore the theories about management and leadership in health care. At the beginning it will provide a base understanding of both topics and accountability importance. It will then concentrate on management of conflict, which could be seen in the clinical setting scenario from my current placement area. It will demonstrate how the use of conflict management theories can be helpful and how I behaved in the role of a manager. Also different leadership styles involved during this conflict situation will be analysed with use of evidence-based literature.
Conflict Management can often be the toughest task for a leader to handle. It involves dealing with inter-personal and intra-personal conflict. As a team leader of a technical event called Pulse’09 at my university, I had to deal with conflicts on a regular basis. Conflicts usually arise either due to lack of effective communication, different ideologies, lack of resources or due to task interdependence [3]. It was by far my most life changing experience as it taught me the reason behind conflicts and the way to resolve them. In this paper, I will be talking about the way I dealt with conflicts and managed them, the impact they had on the team performance and what I could do to improve my leadership by contrasting my experience to the class readings.
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.
When considering your conflict management style with others, be it; personal or professional, we tend to use the style that seems appropriate to the conflict.
The Norming stage is where conflict is identified and dealt with, and resolution strategies are implemented. Effective Conflict Resolution Strategies There are several effective conflict resolution strategies that can be used to resolve conflicts within a team. One such strategy is to identify the source of the conflict and address it directly. Another strategy is to encourage open communication and active listening among team members. Additionally, compromise and negotiation can be used to find a mutually beneficial solution to the conflict.
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).
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...
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.
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.
According to McShane and Von Glinow, conflict is “a process in which one party perceives that his or her interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party” (328). The Conflict Process Model begins with the different sources of conflict; these sources lead one or more parties to perceive that a conflict exists. These perceptions interact with emotions and manifest themselves in the behavior towards other parties. The arrows in the figure illustrate the series of conflict episodes that cycle into conflict escalation (McShane and Von Glinow 331-332).
Leadership is not always in the hands of members and it continually meet with dilemmas and difficulties.
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).
In the organizational setting, it comes through job retention or desires to be met, employer/employee disagreements and settlement, confidentiality reports and information sharing; all these leads to change in feeling and attitude. However, there are conflict management challenges facing many organizations in Nigeria. It is phenomenal, but can be controlled or managed. Notably, there seems to be growing importance of the conflict in various organizations. Olu and Adesobomi (2013) in a survey revealed that managers spend most of their time handling issues and that conflict management is important for them to function effectively. This means that conflict is always an issue and that peace is one of the important tools needed for an effective running of the organizational Conflict Levels of Educational Supervisors”, stated that supervisors sometimes experience organizational conflict which included other inter-groups and even with departmental heads. Furthermore, communication competence was reported to predict organization conflict. However, conflict remains an issue in organizations and the objective of conflict management are mainly to issue good lasting and quality solution. It is to give disputants fair process and sense of empowerment to resolve conflicts (Spiroska, 2014). This means that conflict is a continuous process and does not cease. However, as a result of a large number of cases of poor conflict management, its