CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Conflict Management

Conflict Management

Introduction

Conflict may be defined as a struggle or contest between people with opposing needs, ideas, beliefs, values, or goals. Conflict in organisations is inevitable; however, the results of conflict are not predetermined. Conflict might escalate and lead to non-productive results, or conflict can be beneficially resolved and lead to quality final products. Therefore, learning to manage conflict is integral to a high-performance organisation. Although very few people go looking for conflict, more often than not, conflict results because of miscommunication between people with regard to their needs, ideas, beliefs, goals, or values. Conflict management is the principle that all conflicts cannot necessarily be resolved, but learning how to manage conflicts can decrease the odds of non-productive escalation. Conflict management involves acquiring skills related to conflict resolution, self-awareness about conflict modes, conflict communication skills, and establishing a structure for management of conflict in your environment.

The following paper describes the main sources of conflict, the levels of conflict, how conflicts can be beneficial for an organisation and the various conflict management strategies in place to resolve conflicts. The paper also highlights the Learning Contract outcomes and measures its effectiveness as corresponding to personal and professional development.

The Principles of Conflict Management

Conflict

Conflict is "an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources, and interference from others in achieving their goals" (Blake & Mouton, 1970)

Sources of Conflict

Conflicts may originate from a number of different sources, including:

Differences in information, beliefs, values, interests, or desires.

A scarcity of some resource.

Rivalries in which one person or group competes with another.

Limited resources for different departments of an organization.

Cultural differences can also lead to conflicts.

Levels of Conflict

There are 6 main levels of conflict (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2000): -

Intra-personal: This is a conflict which occurs in an individual's mind.

Inter-personal: This is a conflict that occurs between 2 or more individuals at a personal level.

Inter-role: This conflict occurs with individuals based on roles.

Inter-group: This conflict occurs between 2 or more groups of an organisation.

Intra-group: The intra-group conflict occurs between members of a group.

Inter-national: The conflict that occurs between 2 or more countries.

Desirability of organisational conflict

Many writers believe that conflict in a group is desirable. Conflict helps eliminate or reduce the likelihood of groupthink. (Blake & Mouton, 1970) A moderate level of conflict across tasks within a group results in increased group performance while conflict among personality's results in lower group performance. Organizational Conflict can:

Help increase strength and cohesion

Provide a safety valve function

Help clarify issues and goals

Improve relationships

Foster improved communication

Trigger innovation and creativity

Be a major cause of organizational change

Undesirability of organizational conflict

Many writers argue that conflicts are often hard to keep under control once they have begun. There is a definite trend toward escalation and polarization when conflict occurs. Once conflict escalates to a point at which it is no longer under control, it almost always yields negative results. Conflict is viewed as negative when it results in: -

Unresolved Anger - Anger that has not been resolved or ...