Summary of the article
The article “Managing conflict: Third-party interventions for managers” delineates the essential steps followed by a manager in effectively and efficiently managing organizational conflict and the various approaches adopted for its resolution. It identifies certain key variables to consider for each step of the decision process concerning intervention and presents guidelines for making appropriate choices. It also describes a variety of pitfalls that a manager must beware of when intervening as third party in managing conflict. Third-party intervention by the manager assumes greater significance in the light of increasing use of teams and participatory management approaches used by organizations wherein timely
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Since each of these four variables has two options –High and Low, there are sixteen combinations & appropriate intervention strategies are as given in following table
Table B: Matrix of intervention choices
Importance and urgency of conflict impact Disputants’ capability to resolve conflict Ability high and motivation high Ability high and motivation low Ability low and motivation high Ability low and motivation low
Urgent and important NOC- NPC
Non-intervention LOC-LPC
Providing impetus
HOC-HPC Arbitration HOC-HPC
Autocratic HOC-HPC
Autocratic
Urgent and not important NOC- NPC
Non-intervention LOC-LPC
Providing impetus
HOC-HPC Arbitration HOC-HPC
Autocratic HOC-HPC
Autocratic
Important and not urgent NOC- NPC
Non-intervention LOC-LPC
Providing impetus
LOC-HPC
Collaborative problem-solving or facilitating bargaining LOC-HPC
Collaborative problem-solving or facilitating bargaining LOC-HPC
Collaborative problem-solving or facilitating bargaining
Not important and not urgent NOC-NPC
Non-intervention NOC- NPC
Non-intervention NOC- NPC
Non-intervention NOC- NPC
Non-intervention
NOC-NPC: No outcome and no process control; LOC-HPC: Low outcome and high process control
In today’s organizations conflict and power are important elements to the success of any company but can also create negative long term impacts if not addressed. Organizations require enough power within the leaders to get through conflict and enough conflict within individuals to create new innovations. Not all conflict is bad but when there is conflict individuals with power must assist in aligning conflict resolution to assist in understanding for everyone involved in the conflict. The need for successful conflict resolution is vital for employees so that they are capable of moving on and understanding why the conflict was overcome.
Have you ever been a part of a conflict? Perhaps the conflict existed in your home because you want your children to do chores, but your spouse disagrees, or perhaps you have had a conflict in the workplace where a co-worker, no matter what you said was always in disagreement with you. Whether at home or work, it is best to resolve conflict as both instances, the conflict could create an uneasy situation at home or in the workplace and could result in people being hurt, work not be accomplished or even a physical altercation. Therefore, it is recommended that instead of allowing conflict to remain, that instead the conflict is resolved For that reason I will describe a conflict within an organization or team which I am familiar with, identify and describe the source(s) and level of the conflict and supporting evidence, describe the steps taken to resolve the conflict, describe a minimum of three conflict outcomes that could reasonably occur as a result of the resolution and the support for my reasoning for each possible outcome. First I will begin with a basic description of conflict.
Conflict is a stubborn fact of organizational life. Regrettably, it is an inevitable when organizations incorporate individuals with such diverse scopes of life. As conflict is identified in organizational work teams, an analytical approach to conceptualizing conflict is the first step. Further development will then focus on the different sources of conflict and how it can compromise the common goal of the team if it is not handled correctly. Searching for ways in which to manage conflict and avoid conflicts in work teams will bring together the underlying focus of this paper.
Conflict results from real or perceived opposition to one’s values, actions, desires or general interests. Conflicts may occur internally or externally between individuals or groups; conflict within a team environment can cause frustration, and occasionally anger. However, conflict resolution can also often generate positive results for the team. Conflict management skills remain in demand; conflict may be managed successfully by reaching an agreement that satisfies the needs of both the individual(s) and the team as a whole
As the expression of employees' dissatisfaction and differences with employers, conflict is regarded as bad and irrational for the organization and should be kept down through some forcible ways. Conflict can arise from employees' misunderstanding of the direction of the organisation or the poor communication between the staff and the management, enabling employees to substitute alternative agendas instead of the organisation's agenda (Bray, Deery, Walsh and Waring, 2005). Moreover, conflicts can arise from the poor management that caused by the management's failure to identify and meet employees' basic needs.
The aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes, including effectiveness or performance in organizational setting. The outcome of the conflict will depend on how it’s dealt with.
One of the major contributors to the study of conflict management is The Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI™). The instrument was created to a developed assist to help organizations in manger conflict. Thomas–Kilmann worked on this project for more than 40 years. Dr. Ken Thomas, PhD and Ralph Kilmann, PhD, are professors at the University of Pittsburgh. The Managerial Grid Model of Blake and Mouton, was also developed by Dr. Thomas and Dr. Kilmann. They create this tool so people would be able to implement the model quickly and the result would be effective. Their work became the primary measurement of conflict- management and was approval by hundreds of research studies. Managerial Grid Model of Blake and Mouton sold more than four million copies The strategies the leaders could use in resolving conflict is understand the issues, maintain relationships, utilize relative power, and make time to listen, communicate and compromise.
Conflict can have significant impact in the workplace and should not be ignored. It is essential for managers, supervisors, and even coworkers to address individuals that are causing office conflicts. The need for managers to have better leadership and management skills to handle their complex responsibilities is well recognized. The following case introduces conflict management in the workplace setting. The foundation of conflict management centers on communication techniques including transparent communication, open discussion, active listening and timing of intervention. This case analyzes the cause of conflicts, reviews techniques of conflict management, and discusses specific management styles such as: avoidance, competition, accommodation, compromise, and collaboration.
In this reflection for management 3000 with Marcus A. Valenzuela’s class, I have attempted conflicts that are being few things that happen usually between individuals and organizations. However, there are different ways to handle conflicts which a few are more effective than others. Before I justify the two different ways, it is crucial to grasp what conflict is. Conflict is whenever disagreements exist in a very scenario over problems with substance or emotional antagonisms produce frictions people or group. There are two distinctive forms of conflict, substantive conflict and emotional conflict. I learned in detail of the organization on understanding of human behavior in business organizations. I have been shown the importance of some
A case analysis of conflict happened between manager and boss will be analyzed firstly. Meanwhile, the skills that managers take to deal with such conflict and barriers to these skills which resist manager to receive better conflict management performance will be discussed. Finally, the rules containing the basic elements of constructive conflict management and a constructive conflict management process will be presented.
Conflict in the workforce can impact positive or negative. A positive outcome of conflict would be if an employee became more aware of the surroundings and understanding of a task or co-worker. The conflict then would be recognized as an educational purpose. Conflict starts when people perceive different outlooks with beliefs and goals; although, it can be avoidable, it might also help regain energy. There are different ways in resolving conflict in the workforce such as compromising, withdrawing participants, or conclusion. Situations are all handled differently. Managers should have a set of rules to stick by in order to keep issues resolved. Management of a business must know when to eliminate conflict and when to build on it (Rue, 1992).
A positive conflicts have a positive consequence, it helps in making better decision and to be aware of the external environment. Most of the time, the employees are affected by the magnitude of negative results. Leaders need to recognize the main six conditions that cause conflict in an organization which are interdepent, differentiation, scarce resources, incompatible goals, ambiguous rules and communication problem. Once the cause of the conflict is known leaders or employees could apply the five category model of problem solving, forcing, yielding, avoidance and compromising tactics to resolve conflicts. In some situation, a third party might be involved to resolve a conflict as a mediation, arbitration or inquisition and use the conflict management approaches.
Conflict is inescapable, having the ability to recognize, understand, and resolve conflicts are important in both personal and professional lives. Myatt (2012) states that conflict in the workplace is unavoidable; if left unresolved, workplace conflict may result in loss of productivity and the creation of barriers that can inhibit creativity, cooperation, and collaboration. It is vital to embrace conflict and address problems through effective conflict-resolution tactics because if not handled appropriately, conflict will escalate. “If not handled properly, conflict may significantly affect employee morale, increase turnover, and even result in litigation, ultimately affecting the overall well-being of
Present day organizations operate in a chaotic environment where they often look for actions that will enable them to advance their competitiveness and performance. In both our private and professional life, conflict is unavoidable. Though some of us try to evade conflict, it is quiet impossible. It is completely normal to desire to evade conflict. The efficient management of an organization conflict entails an indulgent of the basis and nature of the conflict in the workplace. Conflicts frequently come about because of view of mismatched interests between employees. Prudently, it is worth focusing on interpersonal conflicts, resolutions and the outcomes of such conflicts.
This essay seeks to illustrate how organizational conflict cannot be avoided. It will demonstrate the various ways in which conflict may arise within organizations and classify them into a range of groups. There will be a thorough analysis to show if conflict is positive or negative towards the growth of an organization. Findings of the previous will then lead to different mechanisms that can be used when managing conflict to ensure positive outcomes in an organization.