Week 5 Research Paper: Theorising Disagreement

Workplace conflict is a specific type of conflict that occurs in the workplace. According to Cloke and Goldsmith, “Most executives, managers, and employees face conflicts on a daily or weekly basis, spending from 20 percent to as much as 80 percent of their working hours trying to resolve or contain them” (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2011). It is an inevitable part of our workday life that can be caused by many factors, such as different values, beliefs, opinions, and points of view. It can create a great deal of tension for all those involved. Our workplace are already stressful enough before conflict contributes to its share of stress. Ineffective management’s styles, hierarchical structures, misunderstandings, and unrealistic expectations are just a few factors that help shape the conflicts that may arise at the workplace. We all come across at least one incident in our lives that is challenging and we are baffled on what decision is to be made. This paper will then report an incident in my life involving a conflict at my workplace by probing my thoughts and feelings. First, I will describe the conflict situation and issues of contention. Second, I will discuss how the conflict was dealt with. Third, I will explain what could have been done differently to effectively resolve the dispute.

There are four distinct conflict styles which are the levels of assertiveness and cooperativeness that are employed by a person in a conflict situation. Everyone has their own individual conflict style; my own style tends to be accommodating. This means that I am not very assertive and I am very good at cooperating with those I am in conflict with. In this essay I will examine each conflict style and my own choice of style and why I tend to default to this style. I will also examine whether or not my choice of the accommodating style is the best approach to resolving conflict, and discuss the advantages of learning to use each of the styles in specific situations.

The confrontation style of conflict management can be seen in higher-performing organizations, but can be found in all situations, professional or personal (Goncalves, et al., 2016). Confrontation is defined as the volatile face to face interaction regarding a particular conflict, usually regarded as aggressive or argumentative. Cahn and Abigail (2014) offer six steps to confrontation that can aid a manager in transitioning through a conflict. These steps include “Preparation: identify your problems/needs/issues, arrange for a time and place to meet and talk, interpersonal confrontation: talk to the other person about your problem, consider your partner’s point of view: listen, empathize, and respond with

Interpersonal conflict is very common with many relationships. It occurs when two people can not meet in the middle or agree on a discussion. Cooperation is key to maintaining a healthy debate. More frequently; when dealing with members of your own family, issues arise that include conflict and resolution. During this process our true conflict management style appears “out of thin air”. (Steve A. Beebe, 2008, p. 191).

In order to be successful in almost any workplace, it is important to be able to approach conflicts respectfully and in a professional manner while representing your profession with dignity. When conflict does arise, I find that it is helpful to fully understand the perspective of the other individuals involved. It is important to take time to listen to their point of view and seek to work out a collaborative solution. A key point in this process is to remain calm and attempt to defuse any tension. In addition, when dealing with another person, it is important to keep in mind your relationship with them and adjust your approach to managing the situation appropriately.

Conflict is something that each person will have to deal with sooner or later. Our text described the Conflict Resolution Cycle and Ten Principles of New Thinking that can resolve conflicts in a less costly manner (Levine, 2009). Brown (2011), points out that a chance of goal conflict is somewhat low between groups that have their own resources and perform entirely different tasks. In other words, if your task is separate the chances of conflict are extremely low. However, if there is any type of dependency, or common task and frequently pursue incompatible goals, the chances of conflict are greater (Brown, 2011). Levine (2009) explained that although the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is growing, the cost of conflict is a resource drain of huge proportion, and a source of great unhappiness and discomfort.

Generally interlocutors try to be co-operative while communicating. The kind of expression expressed by speaker should be replied verbally or non-verbally. The neutral verbal or non-verbal behaviour i.e. no reply is considered as non- co-operative behaviour. An offer should be accepted or diplomatically rejected; a question should be answered. Grice calls violation of these maxims of co-operative principles as ‘flouting’ of maxims. Observance and violation of maxims of co-operative principles can be studied with following examples.

In today 's workforce communication and conflict resolution are paramount to a successful organization. As with any leadership trait, these skills must be developed and regularly practiced by leaders. There are many skills involved in both the communication process as well as with conflict resolution. According to Schermerhorn, the communication process is a simple process of sending and receiving messages with attached meaning (2005). The process is further defined by having three elements, those being a source, a receiver and in some instances feedback. Conflict resolution according to the text, is a situation in which the underlying reasons for a given destructive conflict are eliminated (Schermerhorn, et al, 2005). We will take a look

Power and conflict go hand and hand. It is up to the individual to decide how to handle the two. “Leaders must strive to possess a balance between conflict and power in order to sustain a high-performance working environment” (Hale, 2009, p.1). Creating and maintaining a more power balanced organization where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to increase individual’s self-esteem. In a general way, people want others to like, respect, encourage, consult, include, appreciate, and reward them. They want others to ask them questions, greet them warmly, help them when needed, and make them feel safe. We can also support others in a more specific way. To do this, we need to determine what traits or characteristics the other perceives in him or her-self and point out the ones we have in common or are capable of supporting. Thus enhancing one’s communication skills, also known as Data Conflict, is paramount when seeking to mediate and subsequently resolve conflict. The purpose of resolving conflict within an organization is to create a win-win situation for all involved. To this end, organizations develop a protocol to expeditiously and satisfactorily resolve conflict. Often, the protocol is known as the grievance process.

It is imperative that leaders develop problem solving methods to address conflict resolution within the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to discuss specific techniques and tools to resolve conflict within the workplace. A description of a workplace conflict at my current place of employment will be provided. The impact that cultural norms may have on conflict will be briefly considered. Additionally, the impact that conflict has on leadership’s decision making will be addressed. In discussing resolution of this particular conflict, specific techniques most useful in reducing or overcoming the identified conflict and associated behavior will be identified. Finally, the potential negative and positive impacts that the techniques utilized to address this problem has on resolving the conflict will be explored.

Dispute is the formal name of dysfunctional conflict, which is viewed as “a kind of conflict manifesting itself in a distinct, justiciable issues” (Brown and Marriot 1999). This view indicates that one more feature of the dispute is its justiciability. Burton (1993) further distinguished the two concepts from a time-scale perspective, who suggested that compared with conflict, dispute which is supposed to be easy to resolve is a kind of short-term disagreement that are embedded in a larger and longer-term conflict. Thus, from this analysis of conflict and dispute, it can be suggested that conflict is inevitable while dispute is needed to be avoided.

Analysis of findings: I dislike conflict and would do whatever possible to avoid it. Thus, when I took the conflict managing questionnaire and received the title of accommodating, I knew that there was no mistake. In a dispute, I would allow the other person to get what they want and not project or accomplish my own. I do not want to upset anyone in any way; I only want to be kind to and support the person. At the same time, I feel that giving and satisfying someone else’s needs would be more rewarding than if I were to satisfy my own. This point of view has become engrained in me that I find it difficult to stick to my opinions in

Organizations must accept the fact that some workplace conflict is inevitable as everyone may not have the same priorities and

Conflict is inevitable when participating in day-to-day operations in groups, the workplace, and in life. How one approaches these conflicts can ultimately lead to the success or failure in ones professional, social or academic life. According to our class textbook, “Organizational Behavior,” conflict is when one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. Sources of conflict can be real or imagined and there are multiple causes for conflict in the workplace, including but not limited to: inadequate communication, unclear boundaries and competition for limited resources. People tend to avoid conflict due to fear of harm, fear of rejection or to maintain positive relationships

Conflict can arise from any one or more general sources in the workplace (McShane & Von Glinow, 2003). Conflict as it arises should be addressed immediately, as if left unattended can create