There are five major types of strategies that management could use to resolve conflicts in the work area. The five strategies are accommodating, compromising, collaborative, avoiding, and competing. Depending on the urgency and the type of conflict in the workplace, will decide what conflict strategy would be used to resolve the conflict at hand. Recognizing the conflict and the conflict management strategies strengths and weaknesses will assist management in developing a conflict management plan to solve the conflict between David and James.
Each of the five management strategies has strengths and weaknesses that the management needs in order to settle a conflict. The accommodating strategy is low in assertiveness and high in cooperation. This strategy puts the others needs or interest before his or her own just to maintain a harmonious relationship. In certain conflicts this could be fine because it allows the other party to feel like they have won the conflict. The problem with the accommodating strategy is the outcome, is of low importance.
The compromising strategy is moderate assertiveness and moderate cooperation. Using the compromising strategy there is no clear winner or loser. The compromising strategy is defined as “giving up more than you want”. This strategy is used as a temporary solution to the conflict not a permanent one, which could create a bigger problem later. The compromising strategy is good for when there are time constraints and the conflict needs to be resolved fast.
The collaborative strategy is high assertiveness and high cooperation. The collaborative strategy finds an integrative solution to the ideas presented to come up with a plan to achieve everyone’s goals. The strengths are simple; it is a “win-win” for all the parties involved. This allows everyone to merge his or her perspectives to come up with a permanent solution to the conflict. Ideally this is the best strategy to use because it gets everyone