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Managing Conflict

What Is Conflict?

Conflict is process that begins when someone perceives that someone else has negatively affected,or is about to negatively affect,something that the first person care about.

Not all conflicts within an organization is unhealthy,but conflict between and among people within the organization can quickly become counter-productive,divisive, and destructive if not properly managed.

Definition Of Conflict

Traditional View All conflicts are bad. Conflicts are result of poor communication. Lack of openness and trust between workers and management. A failure on the part of managers. Workplace without conflict was assumed to be happy and productive workplace.

Human Relations View (1940s to 1970s) Conflict was a natural occurrence in all groups and organizations.

Industrial and labor psychologist rationalized its extistence:Can’t be elminated,it may even be beneficial.

Interactionist View (1980s to 1990s) Encourages conflict on the ground that without the minimum level of conflict,

no organization can change,adapt,and survive the rigors of the marketplace.

Different Views Of Conflict

Substantive Conflict:Disagreement over goal,resourses,rewards,policies,procedures and job assignments.

Emotional Conflict:Results from feeling of anger,distrust,dislike,fear,as well as relationship problems.

Functional Conflict:Stimulates us towards greater work effort.More creativity in problem solving.And to cooperate more with others.

Dysfunctional Conflict:Is destructive and hurts task performances.

Types Of Conflict

Poorly defined goals.Divergent personal values.Lack of cooperation.Scarcity of resources.Unclear roles/ job description.Communication failure.Personality conflict.

General Causes Of Conflict

Hampers Productivity. Lowers Morale.Causes More and Continued Conflicts.Causes Inappropriate Behaviors.

Conflict Is a Problem When It:

Conflict Management

Conflict management is the practice of identifying and handling conflict in a sensible,fair,and efficient manner.

Five Styles Of Conflict Management

Competing:Assert one's viewpoint at the potential expense of another. It can be useful when achieving one's objectives outweighs one's concern for the relationship.

Accommodating:Surrender one's own needs and wishes to accommodate the other party to maintain harmony.

Avoiding:Avoid or postpone conflict by ignoring it, changing the subject, etc. Avoidance can be useful as a temporary measure to buy time or as an expedient means of dealing with very minor, non-recurring conflicts.

Collaborating:Work together to find a mutually beneficial .While the Thomas Kilman grid views collaboration as the only win-win solution to conflict, collaboration can also be time-intensive and inappropriate when there is not enough trust, respect or communication among participants for collaboration to occur.

Compromising:Occurs when both parties sacrifice to find some common grounds or bargaining for something “Acceptable” so in this case each party wins and loses a bit.

Five basic ways of addressing conflict were identified by Thomas and Kilman in 1976:

Competing (win-lose situation)

Accommodating (lose-win situation)

Avoiding (lose-lose situation)

Compromising (lose-lose situation)

Collaborating (win-win situation)

Different Situations Developed By Conflict Management Styles

Frequent meeting of your team.Allow your team to express openly.Sharing objectives.Having a clear and detailed job description.Distributing task fairly.Never criticize team members publicly.Always be fair and just with your team.Being a role model.

How to prevent conflicts

Acknowledge The Problem:Effectively managing a conflict requires facing up to it. Ignoring a conflict won't make it go away.

Great Listening Skills:Be sure to listen to what the other person is saying. Remember that listening involves more than just hearing the words. Try hard to understand the situation from the other point of view. Ask questions to help you know what the other person's needs and concerns are. Pay attention to nonverbal cues, such as body language. If you each approach things with a clear understanding of the other's perspective, you'll probably agree on a solution.

Choose Your Words Carefully:Use "I" statements — "I think … I feel … I need … " — and avoid placing blame. Being blamed for something usually only makes the other person angry. Be positive — after all, you're trying to resolve the conflict.

Focus On The Issue:If the problem is complex, focus on one issue at a time. In fact, most conflicts have several components. Break the problem down so that a satisfactory resolution won't seem unattainable.

Be Willing To Compromise:As you approach the situation, recognize that you and the other person each have something at stake. Find ways to meet in the middle, if necessary.Compromise may be the best solution when issues are complex.

Take Action:Once you've identified a solution, follow through on the agreed course of action. Then follow up. Tension and conflict will probably remain if you don't keep the lines of communication open. Check back from time to time

KEY COMPONENTS IN RESOLVING CONFLICT

Build good relationships before conflict occurs.Do not let small problems escalate; deal with them as they arise.Respect differences. Listen to others’ perspectives on the conflict situation.Acknowledge feelings before focussing on facts. Focus on solving problems, not changing people. If you can’t resolve the problem, turn to someone who can help.Remember to adapt your style to the situation and persons

involved .

Tips Of Managing Work Place Conflicts

Make avoiding the conflict less pleasurable than facing it and …

Make facing the conflict more pleasurable than avoiding it!

Whether you think you can or you can’t –

you’re right – Henry Ford

How to Win at Conflict

Conflict is unavoidable.Conflict is a healthy sign not a negative process.

It reflects dynamics