Conflict Resolution

Buchanan, A. H. (2001). Organizational Behaviour:An Introductory Text (4 ed.). (F. T. Hall, Ed.) Pearson Education.

In this paper I will discuss the conflict that is occurring at General Hospital, the conflict management styles that are evident in the case, and how General Hospital could have used teams to address the cost reductions needed to stay competitive. I will also describe how the CEO of General Hospital, Mike Hammer can us negotiation skills to get buy-in for the cost reductions and finally I will recommend a strategy for Hammer to resolve the problem.

Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2013). Organizational behavior (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Retrieved from

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2015). Organizational behavior (16th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (Note: Refer to Chapter 3)

Kinicki, A., & Fugate, M. (2016). Organizational behavior: a practical, problem-solving approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Conflict is a fact of life - for individuals, organizations, and societies. The costs of conflict are well-documented - high turnover, grievances and lawsuits, absenteeism, divorce, dysfunctional families, prejudice, fear. What many people don't realize is that well-managed conflict can actually be a force for positive change.

Kinicki, A., Fugate, M. (2016). Organizational Behavior A Practical, Problem-Solving Approach. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill

Every team will have obstacles, and if they go unaddressed they can impact the team success. Examples of typical obstacles include differences in personalities that lead to misunderstanding, personal or hidden agendas, members who seem to reject all new ideas and bring about negativity, a team that fails to completely analyze the situation and comes to decisions to quickly to avoid conflict, a lack of adequate resources and support, ineffective leadership, members who resist change or new ways of thinking, scope creep, communication barriers, and not enough complimentary

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2009). Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th Edition). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.

Question: How would you react when a team member is being vague and trying to spin bad news to sound more positive, thereby making it harder for the team to actually approach and resolve the issue?

In this writing, we will explore and explain strategies of conflict resolution and, encourage teams, individuals and society as a whole to use some of these ideas for their own resolution purposes. “In many cases, effective conflict resolution skills can make the difference between positive and negative outcomes.” (Conflict resolution, 2008). With this in mind, individuals will have hope for a more positive team experience.

References:Huczynski, A. A. and Buchanan, D. A. (2007) Organizational behaviour: An introductory text. 6th ed., Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Baldwin, T. T., Bommer, W. H., & Rubin, R. S. (2012). Managing organizational behavior: What great managers know and do.

In trying to resolve the conflict between Reece and Patel, Edwards used an avoidance strategy. Instead of speaking directly about the root causes, or sources, of the conflict, Edwards focused on the behaviors and treated Reece and Patel like children. Edwards scolded them, and sent them off without bothering to find out what was bothering the two. Of course, this type of conflict resolution is ineffective because it fails to address the underlying issues. As Anderson (n.d.) points out, addressing the problem is key to conflict resolution. "When a conflict does happen, a manager needs to focus the conflicting parties on the issue and have them leave out any personal problems they may be having," (Anderson, n.d.).