Power Imbalances Can Impede An Individual 's Attempt For Manage Work Related Conflict

Although many of us go great lengths to avoid it, sometimes it is just inevitable. People in the workplace setting will always have different ideas, values, and attitudes than others around them. A conflict can arouse in any given setting, and the affect it can have on those involved can either be negative or positive. Depending on the approach and strategies utilized during and after a conflict will determine the result of the conflict. Conflict helps people recognize legitimate differences within an organization or profession and serves as a powerful motivator to improve performance and effectiveness, as well as satisfaction (CCN, 2017). This paper will identify and explore a particular recurring conflict in the

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.

Whether you work for a manufacturing facility or the health care system, conflict is unavoidable. As a manager, you must learn to deal with conflict in the workplace. In this paper I will describe the different styles of conflict management. I will also discuss my preferred conflict management style with examples of its use. Lastly, I will describe a situation at work and how a conflict management strategy could have improved that situation.

Conflict is part of our human disposition; consequently, it is customary within organizations. “Left unanalyzed and unchecked, it can be a destructive force that consumes time, money and human resources. Learning the various ways that people resolve conflict and expanding their conflict resolution styles can lead to better results” (Sadri, 2012). Within organizations employees have personal beliefs, styles and attitudes, and backgrounds that at times can cause disagreements, inconsistencies and ultimately, conflict. It is the intent of this paper to examine the archetype of conflict as an

Wilmot and Hocker defines conflict as being, “an expressive struggle between at least two interdependent people with incompatible goals, scarce resources and interference from achieving a specific goal”. ( ) Conflicts are inevitable, these conflicts can arise in intimate relationships, between parents and children, between siblings, in friendships and in the work place. While conflicts will never cease to exist, they can evolve into very complex creatures, and as "most of us are notoriously inaccurate at describing our own behavior in a conflict"(p. 129). There has become a great need for an assessment model to begin to thoroughly understand all of the elements that play into complexities of conflict. The Hocker-Wilmot Conflict Assessment Guide is so important because it aides us in describing the nature of conflict, this include; its history, precipitating events, the parties ' assumptions about conflict in general, the conflict elements, and past or potential transformations of those elements. Additionally, conflict styles are addressed, as is the perceptions of the opposing view, and the style of the system as a whole. The guide assesses the role of power in the conflict, describing the parties ' attitudes toward power, their areas of dependency and sources of power, their view of the balance of power, any unrecognized sources of power, and whether destructive forms of power balancing are occurring. The assessment should describe the parties ' goals, their

Nurses are required to interact with multiple individuals on a daily basis. These individuals include the patient, patient’s family members, and other healthcare team members. As the nurse works with these groups of individuals, he or she may experience an interpersonal conflict with any of them. However, it is more likely for the nurse to experience conflicts with other healthcare workers. When the nurse experiences an interpersonal conflict with other members of the healthcare team, tension rises in the workplace, causing stress to all other workers even if they are not directly involved in the conflict. According to Higginbottom, “Employees suffering from high stress levels have lower engagement, are less productive and have higher absenteeism levels than those not working under excessive pressure” (2014, para. 1). In other words, interpersonal conflict at workplace can lower the productivity of the whole healthcare team. I have been licensed as a registered nurse since July of 2013; therefore, my experience regarding interpersonal conflict at workplace is limited. However, I remember one incidence clearly. During my second year of working as a registered nurse, I have experienced an interpersonal conflict with one of the staff at the clinic I worked in, which resulted in dismissal of that staff from the clinic.

Conflict is generally considered a typical part of human interactions and is not in itself essentially damaging. Rather, it is how conflict is managed that determines whether or not the outcomes are going to be constructive or damaging (Deutsch, 2006). Thus, conflict management, the method of managing a dispute and associated conflicts, is very important in producing satisfactory or disappointing outcomes. It is therefore vitally important to know your conflict management style, along with its inherent strengths and weaknesses, as a leader of a healthy organization, in order to deal with conflict in a positive manner.

“One of the tenets of this book is that all conflicts are about two issues: power and self-esteem.”(Hocker,J.L. & Wilmot, W.W., 2014). Thought, interpersonal relationships, and knowledge form our mental image of how we view or regard ourselves, consequently how view ourselves determines our conflict engagement method. Personal power, as it relates to the authority, control and the influence we exert in an organization, is also a predictor of our conflict engagement method. From our text, we can carefully conclude that our self view and perceived organizational influence contribute to our participation in conflict.

While conflict can be a healthy part of an organization, conflict managed poorly has significant impact on an organization. What further exacerbates this issue is when there is an imbalance of power. This paper examines the relationship of conflict and power. It will address how imbalance of power can impede one’s efforts in managing conflict in the workplace. It will also identify ideas on how to integrate ways to mediate conflict into the culture. Lastly, the paper will use a case study to illustrate these concepts.

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.

A leader has a role that can impact others to be more operative in functioning to attain a common goal and maintain effective working relationships amongst group members (Johnson & Johnson 2012). This makes leaders in groups considerably important in shaping individuals (Johnson & Johnson 2012). However, conflict arises in groups and becomes difficult to manage when a leader and the followers lack the skills to manage conflict as a team (Johnson & Johnson 2012). Leadership and conflict resolution skills must exists between leaders and followers in order to manage conflict (Johnson & Johnson 2012). Also, it is possible for followers to teach leaders how to lead and resolve problems since followers can play an active role in building relationships amongst group members (Howell & Shamir cited in Johnson & Johnson 2012). Since followers and leaders both have significant roles in accomplishing the group goals, they both have a role to manage conflict effectively as a group (Johnson & Johnson 2012). This essay will discuss how leaders have an important role in managing conflict and likewise with followers having important roles in managing conflict. Conflicts, the various types of conflicts that happen in groups and the reasons behind the conflicts will be mentioned followed by approaches that can be taken to help manage struggles within groups. The methods can be used by leaders and followers in order to manage

As far back as history can be told mankind has struggled between balancing culture, power and politics. Many wars have been fought and many people have placed their lives on the line in order to stand up for what they believe in. The combinations of culture, power and politics have spilled over into the workplace. In today’s business environment individuals have much more to worry about than just completing their assigned tasks. Organizational culture, power and office politics influence day to day operations as well as govern the atmosphere within the organization. The amount of impact that power and politics have in the workplace, directly reflect the organization’s culture formally as well as informally.

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

The traditional view of conflict is that conflict is intrinsically negative, produces negative consequences, and has a detrimental effect on organizations. Like the other two viewpoints, the tradition al view realizes that conflict is essentially inevitable. However, this viewpoint strives to minimize if not outright avoid conflict because it deems it to produce noxious consequences. This outright avoidance of conflict is not necessarily adhered to in the human relations view of conflict. This viewpoint posits the notion that conflict is and of itself natural, or organic in nature. Whereas the traditional viewpoint of conflict is that it is always bad, the human relations viewpoint sees conflict as a natural