Team Dynamics - Conflict Resolution Strategies People work in groups or teams every day, whether in their career, education, political organization, church, or any other social setting. Conflict while working in teams or groups is inevitable. When taking people of different backgrounds, personalities, moral and ethical beliefs, and putting them together in a group, conflict will arise. The key to achieving your team goals is to construct and conquer your goals while keeping the greater good of the team in mind. Conflict, as it arises, should be combated and abated through swift and thorough resolution techniques. When dealt with properly, conflict resolution can give rise to a cohesive and productive team. What Is Conflict? Conflict, as defined by Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is "a competitive or opposing action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interest, or persons), Mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands." Simply put, conflict is the disagreement and disharmony that occurs in groups when differences are expressed regarding ideas, methods, and/or members (Engleberg, Wynn, and Schuttler, 2003). Conflict among teams or groups develops in many ways. In developing an effective team, members will generally experience the five stages of evolution: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. The storming and norming stages deal with the process of conflict (storming) and resolution (norming). During the storming stage, exact conflict has not yet been identified, and therefore chaos, disorganization, and disputes are apparent. 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. Finally, it is important to seek the assistance of a mediator or third-party facilitator if the conflict cannot be resolved internally. Conclusion In conclusion, conflict is an inevitable part of working in teams or groups. However, by using effective conflict resolution strategies, conflicts can be resolved, and a cohesive and productive team can be established. It is important to keep the greater good of the team in mind when dealing with conflicts and to address conflicts directly and promptly. By doing so, teams can achieve their goals and work together effectively. References DeJanasz, S. C., Dowd, K. O., & Schneider, B. Z. (2002). Interpersonal Skills in Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 309-329, 371-393, 241-259. Engleberg, I., Wynn, D., & Schuttler, R., (2003). Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies (3rd ed.) Boston: Houghton-Mifflin. pp. 146-170. Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A., (2004). Organizational Behavior (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. pp. 406-441. Parker, G., (2003). Cross-Functional Teams: Working with Allies, Enemies, and Other Str
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
Engleberg, Isa N. and Dianna R. Wynn. Working in Groups. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A., (2011). Organizational Behavior. (14th ed., pp. 376-543). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Interpersonal Skills enable you to work with others harmoniously and efficiently within a team, working well with other involves understanding and appreciating individual differences. The following points are important interpersonal skills to have;
Conflicts situation can happen at any time. There are many different ways to handle conflict situations. To strengthen our skills in responding to conflicts situation we must understand the various conflict management style. The five styles of conflict management style include: Competing, Avoiding, Accommodating, Collaborating, and Compromising. The competing style is like a shark, a competitive approach to ensure only your views counts. Avoiding is like a turtle, avoiding every situation and giving up. Accommodating is like a teddy bear, working against your own goals to move forward. Collaborating is like an owl, working together with your partner to achieve both your goals. Compromising is like a fox, negotiating half your goals in order
Larson, C. and LaFasto, F. (1989), Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong. Newberry Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
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.
Conflict is known to be some means of disagreement, or some kind of disharmony rising within a group or between persons when the beliefs or actions of any one party is offensive to another party. Conflict can take place between two individuals, in small groups and work teams, or between two or more groups (Al-Hamdan, Shukri, and Anthony 2011)which may include violence or some kind of mental pressure on either parties involved in conflicts. Usually conflicts start with some kind of disagreement and gradually gets intense and leads way to Conflict resolution.
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.
Moorhead, G. & Griffin, R. Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.
De Janasz, S., Wood, G., Gottschalk, L., Dowd , K., & Schneider , B. (2009). Interpersonal skills in organisations. North Ryde, NSW: McGraw Hill.
Organizations are collections of people that work together and coordinate their actions to achieve a wide variety of goals and for a positive outcome. Conflict is a matter of perception. Managing and resolving conflicts are key factor which group needs to use to be productive. All stages in team development require the ability to negotiate and resolve team conflict. In the beginning stages, it would mostly be the manager negotiating with the employees. In the latter stages of team development, team members to negotiate and resolve conflicts amongst
Conflict can be described as a major disagreement or opposing interests or ideas. Whenever people work together, conflict can most often be expected. Conflict is a normal and natural part of any workplace usually resulting from the differences in employees' personalities and values. . When it occurs, there is a tendency for morale to be lowered and a decrease in productivity. While conflict is a normal part of any organizational setting, the challenge of conflict comes from how you choose to deal with it. Masking, avoided or otherwise ignoring conflict will most likely fester and grow into bitterness, create withdrawal or cause discord and spitefulness within an organization. Addressing conflict in a timely manner is important to maintaining a healthy work environment. Believing that a conflict will simply disappear is an incorrect assumption to make because simple conflicts can grow into major problems if not dealt with appropriately.
Interpersonal skills are highly important in the workplace as a manager or as an employee. Skills such as listening, assertiveness, negotitation, coaching, persuasion, interviewing, and feedback set apart a manager or applicant, who then would appeal attractive to a company. Throughout this essay, there would be a brief explanation of each skill.
Go on the internet and do research on the following interpersonal skills: listening, assertiveness, negotiation, feedback, persuasion, interviewing, and coaching. For each skill prepare a report containing the following elements: a definition of the skill, an example of how the skill could be useful in business, and a web site that offers instruction on how to develop that skill.