Theories Of Conflict Management Theory

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.

In resolving conflict, ask the question, “How do we keep this from happening again?” The first thing is to be objective. This helps in managing conflict by keeping team members focused on the problem at hand (Huber, 2007)

In general, conflict theory is to explain the conflict between authority groups and powerless groups through the uneven distribution of power and resources in society (Lai, 2013). It is based entirely in power and how those in power do all they can to hold the majority of the population down and to keep them from gaining power, so as to secure their own position. Conflict theorists all assume that the existing social order is not a product of consensus and mutual benefit but rather a function of power differentials in society. These perspectives recognize that societal resources are limited and contend that opposing groups are in a constant struggle for a greater share of the resources and power that comes with them. As groups struggle to gain

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

What is conflict? Even something as basic as a universal definition for the word conflict seems to vary from source to source. A literature review focusing on conflict defined it as “the interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatibility and the possibility of interference from others as a result of this incompatibility” (Brinkert 2010). Often times the disagreement results not from a concrete difference, but rather a difference in perception (Ellis & Abbott 2012). One of the most important factors effecting conflict management is the resolution style used. The most often used tool for classifying how conflict is managed is the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (Iglesias & Vallejo 2012).

There are different conflict management styles, the dictatorial style, which insists that things are addressed their way and the low self -esteem style, which just allows others to have it their way. It is up to the individual to decide which way works for them. Additionally, the abdicator handles conflict by bowing out or walking away. This method is unhealthy because it robs the offended growth opportunity, which results from working through issues (Pegues, 2009, p.49). Another style is the collaborator, which often involves cooperation and pulling together to reach a common purpose and are emotionally balanced.

In team settings, individual team members generally handle conflict in five key ways as identified in an adaptation of the Thomas-Kilman Conflict Inventory (1976): Avoidance, Accommodation, Competition, Compromise, and Collaboration. All five conflict styles can be both beneficial and/or costly to individual and team success. It can also be argued that all five conflict styles may be useful to resolve conflicts under certain circumstances. Please review the five conflict styles listed below:

The purpose of the conflict management is to allow an individual to identify preferred conflict styles according to conflict management style assessment. In the conflict Management Assessment, the collaborating style is the most aligned to my management style. According to conflict management, collaborating styles are solved in an ideal result and is provided for all involved. Usually both sides get what they want and negative feelings are reduced. Generally, the pros of this management style create mutual trust, maintains positive relationship and builds commitments. The cons are that it is time consuming and energy consuming.

One theory that builds upon Conflict Theory and can be used to help examine various unit and segment variations and can also help examine why some officers exhibit deviant behaviors and why other officers do not is Symbolic Interactionism. Using this theory, I will examine the police targeting of citizens, more specifically the politically ostracized, and the spatial and temporal contexts in which this specific targeting occurs. Symbolic Interactionism gives emphasis on the individual meanings and the influences that socialization has when explaining the micro or individual level on interactions between the police and the politically ostracized, which is vitally important to this police brutality examination.

* Issues are more important and pressing and there is not enough time to deal with both

Introduction There are five conflict management styles based on the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. They include competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. Under the competing style, a person is assertive and uncooperative. When competing, an individual engages in their own concerns at the expense of others.

The text book describes conflict as “a process that begins when one party perceives another party has or is about to negatively affect something the first party cares about.” There are different views on dealing with conflict. There is the traditional view that seeks to eliminate any conflict and the interaction group that seek to use conflict as a stepping stone to greater things. Conflict can arise in any situation and, following the managed conflict view, it is not necessarily something to be push under the table but something to

Conflict theory is the theory that human behavior in social contexts is the result of conflicts between competing groups, as different social groups, be they class-, gender- or race-defined, have unequal power and access to power, yet all groups compete for limited resources. This inevitably gives rise to tension and conflict, albeit often of the subtle variety, as oftentimes the conflicts between groups have been institutionalized in society to such a degree that the conflicts and tensions are such an expected part of society that the conflict, and inequality, itself disappears from public sight, and consciousness. For example, an adherent of a world systems theory of conflict would point to the global competition for resources, particularly the inequality between rich and poor nations struggling to provide the basic necessities of life to their inhabitants, as evidence of global conflict. Conflict theories seek to explain the interactions of groups within society, and assert that social order is preserved involuntarily through the exercise of power one social class holds over another (Lindsey, 2010, 7). The conflict between groups is not always obvious or apparent, so it must be unraveled and examined in order to identify and establish the impact of such conflict on society as a whole, as well as individual members and social groupings.

Conflict management is the detriment of many teams or groups in accomplishing its goals. This is because most people do not understand the different conflict styles and how to apply the rules and principles associated with the style you may be dealing with. In this paper I will analyze three of the five management styles discussed in the textbook Communication in Small Groups. Avoidance and competition are two styles that I believe have the greatest effect on hindering a group or team from accomplishing its goals. Collaboration, however, is a style that I believe is most effective in

 "Effective conflict resolution requires dealing constructively with disagreements rather than pushing them under the rug, letting them break into open warfare, or attempting to eliminate them completely.  Successful resolution of a conflict may include the following: accurate diagnosis of the nature and source of the conflict, a clear understanding of how each party is contributing to the conflict, skills and processes for defining alternatives, constructively negotiating outcomes, and creatively developing win-win resolutions" (Hagberg Consulting Group, 1).