Ldr/531 Conflict Resolution Research Paper
Conflict Resolution
Jessica Porter, Nicole Trammell, Toshala Oliver, Rory Keillor
LDR 531
November 24, 2014
George Demetropolis
Conflict Resolution
As leaders grow, so do responsibilities. Those leaders must understand conflict resolution strategies during that development. Team involvement helps to grasp the communication styles and barriers in different situations. Three storybooks provide team situations that each member of Team B must work through to find the best strategies to handle the conflicts. Then, the team will address a personal situation that may apply to one of the three storybook scenarios.
Storybook 1
When an employee is filtering their suggestions, it is important to discover why. Sometimes people wish to participate, …show more content…
but don’t know where to start. It is important at this point to determine what employees want. Get a general idea of what they’re attempting to communicate. Try to ask leading questions of them in order to help flesh out their ideas. Try to separate the wheat from the chaff, oftentimes an employee may just want to sound positive in order to look engaged to their employer. After you figure out their intentions, make efforts to make their contribution positive to the team.
You shouldn’t take ‘never mind’ for an answer from your staff. You should always respect someone’s indecisiveness, and it is often difficult for introverts to communicate. However, open communication should encourage others to speak up. It seems like this example someone isn’t quite sure whether they have something to contribute. When joking, sometimes there isn’t any dumb questions and employees aren’t getting anywhere. Encourage this person to speak more in future meetings. Asking plenty of yes or no questions will break the ice for that person. Makes it much easier for them to feel comfortable talking in front of the team. Making sure to avoid communication apprehension with your quiet team members will foster an atmosphere of openness. That will be picked up on by the rest of the team and lead to greater communication overall.
Storybook 2
The best way to relay a negative message to the team is through a formal meeting and include documentation about the policy and procedures set forth through the employer. This method is best because the team can reflect on how negativity can impact the company and as a manager you can discuss the consequences with the entire group for a better understanding from each team member. Sometimes bringing a group together to discuss important issues can help everyone learn to communicate better and provide training to handle negative feedback and issues.
Gossip can cause major problems in the workplace, from affecting productivity to the morale of the employees. The best way to handle gossip is to address the issues with the source of the gossip. It is important to address each about the issue in a location where others will not hear you. Next you will want to have a group meeting to discuss anything, they may have heard. If they know and understand what is happening, they will be less likely to gossip about it. Work with your team to understand the difference between positive and negative gossip. Managers should encourage them to gossip positively with stories that will boost morale.
It is important the team understands what is going on and why it is happening.
A team meeting may be beneficial, and this will allow everyone to openly discuss their thoughts and hopefully get some answers that make the team feel at ease. Communication will be key during this time, ask how everyone is doing and what rumors they have heard. Communicating will give you a chance to hit the possible problems head on before it gets out of hand and affects the workplace. Let your team know that you are available to talk if anyone needs to, some of your team members may not feel comfortable discussing certain matters in front of …show more content…
everyone.
Storybook 3
In Storybook 3: Conflict Management: A Get your Team to Talk to Each Other Adventure, John and Antonio had clashing personalities along with different views on deadlines in the company.
The strategy used in this situation is integrative bargaining. In this long-term, working relationship, both parties should learn to work together. As a leader, it is extremely helpful to alleviate stress caused by deadlines to prevent conflict in the workplace. One way to do that is through motivation. Managers can do several things to motivate employees in groups like hold events, compliment employees for hard work, set up reward systems, and show involvement. Small events like potlucks or recognition meetings can lighten the mood and create a team effort to take minds off the deadlines. One compliment can build confidence of the team. Reward systems give employees a goal to focus on while feeling a sense of value. Being involved is a way to show employees managers care about them. Each one of these things can create a positive environment for the group, so deadlines are not so
stressful.
General Question for all three Storybooks
According to Thompson (2011), Cliques can breed an atmosphere of exclusivity where the leaders can be toxic. All three storybooks involve the downfalls of gossip, negativity, and conflict, which usually starts from a clique of friends within the team. The best scenario regarding a work experience includes hanging within a clique at work and trying to be part of the most popular in the team. Trying to stay popular and most liked amongst your coworker or supposed to be friends, can cause you to be part of the rumor mill or negative gossip. Cliques can cause management stress and it’s hard to eliminate the caddy turmoil’s of each, and can cause morale to minimize and sometimes a high turnover rate.
Conclusion
When team members face conflict, they must understand the communication styles and barriers in the conflict resolution process. Each member of Team B reviewed one of the storybook scenarios and provided strategies for an effective result. Team members took the time to review each conflict, answer questions, and provide feedback. They presented strategies that can prevent, handle, or enhance the situation.
References
Quast, L (2013) New managers: 5 ways to stop negative office gossip. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2013/10/14/new-managers-5-ways-to-stop-negative-office-gossip/.
Robbins, S. P. (2014). Organizational behavior [University of Phoenix Custom Edition eBook]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, LDR531 website.
Thompson, J. (2011). Cliques in the workplace: The good, the bad & the reality. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/24/living/cliques-in-workplace-cb/index.html
Jessica Porter, Nicole Trammell, Toshala Oliver, Rory Keillor
LDR 531
November 24, 2014
George Demetropolis
Conflict Resolution
As leaders grow, so do responsibilities. Those leaders must understand conflict resolution strategies during that development. Team involvement helps to grasp the communication styles and barriers in different situations. Three storybooks provide team situations that each member of Team B must work through to find the best strategies to handle the conflicts. Then, the team will address a personal situation that may apply to one of the three storybook scenarios.
Storybook 1
When an employee is filtering their suggestions, it is important to discover why. Sometimes people wish to participate, …show more content…
but don’t know where to start. It is important at this point to determine what employees want. Get a general idea of what they’re attempting to communicate. Try to ask leading questions of them in order to help flesh out their ideas. Try to separate the wheat from the chaff, oftentimes an employee may just want to sound positive in order to look engaged to their employer. After you figure out their intentions, make efforts to make their contribution positive to the team.
You shouldn’t take ‘never mind’ for an answer from your staff. You should always respect someone’s indecisiveness, and it is often difficult for introverts to communicate. However, open communication should encourage others to speak up. It seems like this example someone isn’t quite sure whether they have something to contribute. When joking, sometimes there isn’t any dumb questions and employees aren’t getting anywhere. Encourage this person to speak more in future meetings. Asking plenty of yes or no questions will break the ice for that person. Makes it much easier for them to feel comfortable talking in front of the team. Making sure to avoid communication apprehension with your quiet team members will foster an atmosphere of openness. That will be picked up on by the rest of the team and lead to greater communication overall.
Storybook 2
The best way to relay a negative message to the team is through a formal meeting and include documentation about the policy and procedures set forth through the employer. This method is best because the team can reflect on how negativity can impact the company and as a manager you can discuss the consequences with the entire group for a better understanding from each team member. Sometimes bringing a group together to discuss important issues can help everyone learn to communicate better and provide training to handle negative feedback and issues.
Gossip can cause major problems in the workplace, from affecting productivity to the morale of the employees. The best way to handle gossip is to address the issues with the source of the gossip. It is important to address each about the issue in a location where others will not hear you. Next you will want to have a group meeting to discuss anything, they may have heard. If they know and understand what is happening, they will be less likely to gossip about it. Work with your team to understand the difference between positive and negative gossip. Managers should encourage them to gossip positively with stories that will boost morale.
It is important the team understands what is going on and why it is happening.
A team meeting may be beneficial, and this will allow everyone to openly discuss their thoughts and hopefully get some answers that make the team feel at ease. Communication will be key during this time, ask how everyone is doing and what rumors they have heard. Communicating will give you a chance to hit the possible problems head on before it gets out of hand and affects the workplace. Let your team know that you are available to talk if anyone needs to, some of your team members may not feel comfortable discussing certain matters in front of …show more content…
everyone.
Storybook 3
In Storybook 3: Conflict Management: A Get your Team to Talk to Each Other Adventure, John and Antonio had clashing personalities along with different views on deadlines in the company.
The strategy used in this situation is integrative bargaining. In this long-term, working relationship, both parties should learn to work together. As a leader, it is extremely helpful to alleviate stress caused by deadlines to prevent conflict in the workplace. One way to do that is through motivation. Managers can do several things to motivate employees in groups like hold events, compliment employees for hard work, set up reward systems, and show involvement. Small events like potlucks or recognition meetings can lighten the mood and create a team effort to take minds off the deadlines. One compliment can build confidence of the team. Reward systems give employees a goal to focus on while feeling a sense of value. Being involved is a way to show employees managers care about them. Each one of these things can create a positive environment for the group, so deadlines are not so
stressful.
General Question for all three Storybooks
According to Thompson (2011), Cliques can breed an atmosphere of exclusivity where the leaders can be toxic. All three storybooks involve the downfalls of gossip, negativity, and conflict, which usually starts from a clique of friends within the team. The best scenario regarding a work experience includes hanging within a clique at work and trying to be part of the most popular in the team. Trying to stay popular and most liked amongst your coworker or supposed to be friends, can cause you to be part of the rumor mill or negative gossip. Cliques can cause management stress and it’s hard to eliminate the caddy turmoil’s of each, and can cause morale to minimize and sometimes a high turnover rate.
Conclusion
When team members face conflict, they must understand the communication styles and barriers in the conflict resolution process. Each member of Team B reviewed one of the storybook scenarios and provided strategies for an effective result. Team members took the time to review each conflict, answer questions, and provide feedback. They presented strategies that can prevent, handle, or enhance the situation.
References
Quast, L (2013) New managers: 5 ways to stop negative office gossip. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2013/10/14/new-managers-5-ways-to-stop-negative-office-gossip/.
Robbins, S. P. (2014). Organizational behavior [University of Phoenix Custom Edition eBook]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, LDR531 website.
Thompson, J. (2011). Cliques in the workplace: The good, the bad & the reality. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/24/living/cliques-in-workplace-cb/index.html