Preview

Conflict Resolution Strategies in the Workplace

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
745 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Conflict Resolution Strategies in the Workplace
Conflict resolution strategies in the workplace Resolving conflict in team dynamics is an active problem in the workplace. Conflict is a part of our every day organizational life. Conflict is caused when a group of people get together and share there opinions, beliefs, and knowledge. Because, all people were not taught the same values and beliefs disagreements and disputes may arise within the group. When conflict is identified is should be resolved immediately to allow the team to continue to be productive and complete assigned tasks. Conflict can present itself in many forms, communicative, structural, and personal. There are three main reasons why conflict resolution strategies must be present in the workplace for teams to be successful. Conflict among the team can have a negative impact on productivity and efficiency within the team.
The efficiency and productivity of a team is affected negatively by conflict resolution. When conflict is present within a team, the team is not able to function and produce at their highest level. The team puts more effort and energy into the controversy itself rather that the goal that has been set by the team. Even though the disagreement may only be between two people, the whole team feels the unwanted tension, workload and extra costs incurred. As the UNC research team reported in their results to Industry Week and The Dallas Morning News, 53 % of the respondents said they lost work time worrying about a past or future confrontation with a coworker. (Zimmerman, 2007). In my experience, as a supervisor and part of a management team I have seen firsthand how conflict can dictate the productivity levels, efficiency and costs within the workplace.
Effective conflict resolution strategies help reduce costs and turnover ratios. A variety of costs are incurred as a result of long term tension and disputes. When conflict is not resolved as soon as it becomes imminent anger builds up and hostile work environments become



References: Building (n.d.). Building great places to work. Retrieved October 21, 2007, from http://www.hr.umich.edu Managing groups and teams (2007, October 10, 2007). Managing groups and teams/conflict. Retrieved October 21,2007, from http://en.wikibooks.org Zimmerman, A. (2007, June). Eliminate workplace conflict and improve productivity. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.salesandmarketing.com

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    References: Behfar, K. J., Peterson, R. S., Mannix, E. A., & Trochim, W. K. (2008). The Critical Role of Conflict Resolution in Teams: A Close Look at the Links Between Conflict Type, Conflict Management Strategies, and Team Outcomes. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 170-188.…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Week 4 MGT311

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Most companies face the challenge of team conflict. Conflict can increase or decrease things such as: turnover rate, production, employee…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Chattanooga Ice Cream Case

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages

    By: Shearouse, Susan H., “Conflict 101: A Managers Guide to Resolving Problems so That Everyone Can Get Back to Work,” In: Conflict One Hundred and One. New York: American Management Association. 2011. eBook.…

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In week three our team learned about group behavior, work teams, and organizational behavior. All of us collaborated our learning experiences with one another which will be presented in this paper. The hardest deliberation for this week was the discussion over whether or not conflict is a negative or positive effect in an organization.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Working together in organizations is increasingly the norm, yet the challenges of working effectively are considerable. One challenge is conflict—the process resulting from the tension between team members because of real or perceived differences.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Regardless of what type of work we do, we spend most of our awaking hours in the work place. Let's face it, an average person who spend at least 50% of awaking hours in the work place; therefore to work in a pleasant environment is very crucial to one's wellbeing. However, conflict in the work place happens more often than we can imagine. Some conflicts are minor and go away in a short period of time. And some conflicts can be prolonged and becomes more serious as times goes on. The productivity can be greatly effected with any kind of conflict. Thus, how do we identify some of the common conflicts occurs in the work team and resolve such conflicts to achieve maximum productivity.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dealing with conflict is always a challenging situation, which requires team members to be integrated into a single, organized unit (Bolger, 2003). Conflict among teams is bound to occur no matter how much one tries to avoid it. While resolving all conflicts is not possible, these conflicts can be dealt with using the correct methodology. To address team conflict there are five methods: Accommodate, Compromise, Enforce, Explore, and Postpone (Bolger, 2003).…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    SU MBA5001 W5 A2 Ayala I

    • 975 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In some instance, conflict usually doesn’t come only from one single source inside the organization. There are so many different sources of conflict in the workplace, which includes the following:…

    • 975 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conflict in the workplace can be incredibly destructive to good teamwork managed in the wrong way, can quickly spiral out of control, resulted in situations where co-operation breaks down and the team’s mission is threatened. To calm these situations, it helps take a positive approach, be courteous, non – confrontational and focus on the issues as the goal of any conflict resolution should be to reach a functional settlement. Three desired outcomes of conflict resolution are (1) agreement, (2) stronger relationships, and (3) organizational learning. Agreement has been achieved when both sides believe a settlement was fair or equitable. Stronger relationships emerge when both parties try to build trust goodwill for the future. Organizational learning takes place…

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sikes, B., Gulbro, R. D., & Shonesy, L. (2010). CONFLICT IN WORK TEAMS: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS. Allied Academies International Conference: Proceedings Of The Academy Of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict (AOCCC), 15(1), 15-19.…

    • 1784 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When we generally think of conflict it is a very negative thought about the team member. Usually there is arguing, yelling or disagreeing which can make others feel uncomfortable. Learning how to deal and handle these disagreements constructively will usually improve the productivity and create new ideas and help develop personality of other in the team. Each team will go through stages of growth and development. “Team conflict can be resolved quickly and effectively and only requires one key ingredient and that is a team leader who can diagnose a team within stages of team development and choose from an array of effective team leadership skills.” (Warren, Jon) Letting the team members get to know each other in forming better a workable group with the support and direction of the leader.…

    • 2627 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mgt Learning Team

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages

    We as a team have discussed Week 4 and the things we have learned along with some of the things we struggled with. We have become very familiar with each of the different conflict management strategies. We were able to define and gain knowledge on each of the strategies. Along with gaining knowledge, we were able to figure out what scenarios are appropriate for each conflict management strategy. Along with the different conflict management strategies we have been able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. Doing so, this has helped us use these strategies in our own teams here at the University of Phoenix. While during times of conflict among team members in the future, we will now know that there are different strategies of coping with the conflict. Along with the conflict management strategies we learned about team strategies. In learning about teams, there are different points to get across when forming an effective team. First and foremost is having an effective leader among the team. By electing a leader, it gives the team a sense of management and time accuracy. The leader is responsible for handling the tasks and assigning each team member to a particular task. This will help the team meet deadlines and progress in meeting the goals they have obtained. Our teammates have discussed this topic, and believe that each of us use these strategies in our daily work place. The conflict resolution along with the team strategy’s help the workplace by having more clarity and combining ideas to achieve…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Conflict is oftentimes a natural occurrence when groups of people work together, but it is important that it is handled properly. Managers have two options when conflict arises, they can take a hands off approach or a hands on approach. The hands off approach, however, “rarely address the real interests of either party, and seldom truly resolve the underlying problems in a way that prevents recurrence or accomplishes a purpose beyond resolving the immediate dispute.” (Blackard, 2001) The hands on approach typically has better results, and gives the employees the sense that someone cares as well. Blackard states that there are three levels of strategies when it comes to the hands on approach. Level one is the minimal approach where “management encourages employees to surface conflict, perhaps through an open door policy.” (Blackard, 2001) Level two is a bit more invasive, with management laying out specific procedures that allow for conflict resolution and at the same time give management more power in resolving the conflicts as they arise. (Blackard, 2001) Level three is the most invasive, and is when “conflict resolution systems are implemented before the fact in an active effort to reduce incidents of counterproductive conflict, minimize their severity, and provide effective ways to resolve disputes that do occur.” (Blackard, 2001) Whatever strategy is chosen, it is important the management keep the conflict to a minimum, and ensure that resolution occurs as soon as…

    • 2960 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although our mission is to treat each other with respect, workplace hostilities can erupt for various reasons under almost any circumstances. According to Lanier (n.d.), the term conflict refers to perceived incompatibilities resulting typically from some form of interference or opposition. Conflict management, then, is the employment of strategies to correct these perceived differences in a positive manner. Some of the conflicts that can erupt in my workplace are a result of uneven distribution of the workload, misunderstanding of information or communication breakdown, personality clashes, and misinterpretation of duties or policies.…

    • 2934 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Conflict can be successfully faced and managed if teams recognize conflicts are normal and inevitable (Fleishman, 2000, p. 29). Team members today are using various strategies to manage the inevitable disagreements among themselves while still allowing room for individuality and creativity. When deciding how to manage a conflict we have to keep in mind the goal of the team. We also have to decide how important the disagreement is and its worth to reaching the ultimate goal. Once you remind yourself of the team 's goal and have determined the disagreement 's level of importance, research on conflict management has proposed five strategies to: avoiding, accommodating, compromising, competing and collaborating (Thomas, 1976, pp. 889-935).…

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays