Conflict Management Styles Assessment

Please CIRCLE ONE response that best describes you. Be honest, this survey is designed to help you
learn about your conflict management style. There are no right or wrong answers!

Name ________________________ Date _____________________

Rarely Sometimes Often Always

1. I discuss issues with others to try to find solutions that meet everyone’s
1 2 3 4
needs.

2. I try to negotiate and use a give-and-take approach to problem situations. 1 2 3 4

3. I try to meet the expectations of others. 1 2 3 4

4. I would argue my case and insist on the advantages of my point of view. 1 2 3 4

5. When there is a disagreement, I gather as much information as I can and

1 2 3 4
keep the lines of communication open.
6. When I find myself in an argument, I usually say very little and try to leave
1 2 3 4
as soon as possible.
7. I try to see conflicts from both sides. What do I need? What does the other
1 2 3 4
person need? What are the issues involved?

8. I prefer to compromise when solving problems and just move on. 1 2 3 4

9. I find conflicts exhilarating; I enjoy the battle of wits that usually follows. 1 2 3 4

10. Being in a disagreement with other people makes me feel uncomfortable

1 2 3 4
and anxious.

11. I try to meet the wishes of my friends and family. 1 2 3 4

12. I can figure out what needs to be done and I am usually right. 1 2 3 4

13. To break deadlocks, I would meet people halfway. 1 2 3 4

14. I may not get what I want but it’s a small price to pay for keeping the
1 2 3 4
peace.

15. I avoid hard feelings by keeping my disagreements with others to myself. 1 2 3 4

Source: Reginald (Reg) Adkins, Ph.D., Elemental Truths. http://elementaltruths.blogspot.com/2006/11/conflict-

management-quiz.html
 Scoring the Conflict Management Styles Assessment

As stated, the 15 statements correspond to the five conflict management styles. To find your
most preferred style, total the points for each style. The style with the highest score indicates
your most commonly used strategy. The one with the lowest score indicates your least
preferred strategy. However, all styles have pros and cons, so it’s important that you can use
the most appropriate style for each conflict situation.

Style Corresponding Statements: Total:

Collaborating (questions 1, 5, 7): 9

_______

Competing: (questions 4, 9, 12): 7

_______

Avoiding: (questions 6, 10, 15): 3

_______

Accommodating: (questions 3, 11, 14):

7
_______

Compromising: (questions 2, 8, 13) 7

_______

Collaborating
My preferred conflict management style is: _______________________________

The conflict management style I would like to work on is: ____________________

Avoiding

How can I practice this conflict management style?

Written in Pearl Diving Assignment
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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 Brief Descriptions of the Five Conflict Management Styles
Keep in mind that one style of conflict management is not necessarily better than another; each
style has pros and cons, and each can be useful depending on the situation. This assessment is
intended to help you identify your typical response to conflict, with the goal that when you
encounter future conflicts, you will be aware of not only your instinctive reaction, but also the
pros and cons of that reaction for the specific situation. Furthermore, you will also be aware of
the other styles of conflict management that you could draw on to resolve the situation, if one
of the other styles is more appropriate for the current situation.

Owl Collaborating
Owls highly value both their goals and their relationships. They view conflict as a
problem to be solved and seek a solution that achieves both their goals and the goals
of the other person. Owls see conflicts as a means of improving relationships by reducing
tensions between two persons. They try to begin a discussion that identifies the conflict as a
problem, and strive to resolve tensions and maintain the relationship by seeking solutions that
satisfy both themselves and the other person.
Turtle Avoiding
Turtles tend to value avoiding confrontation more than either their goals or
relationships. They often find it easier to withdraw from a conflict than to face it. This might
even include completely giving up relationships or goals that are associated with the conflict.
Shark Competing
Sharks typically value their goals over relationships, meaning that if forced to
choose, they would seek to achieve their goals even at the cost of the relationship
involved. Sharks are typically more concerned with accomplishing their goals than with being
liked by others. They might try to force opponents to accept their solution to the conflict by
overpowering them.
Teddy Bear Accommodating
Teddy Bears typically value relationships over their own goals; if forced to choose,
Teddy Bears will often sacrifice their goals in order to maintain relationships. Teddy
Bears generally want to be liked by others, and prefer to avoid conflict because they believe
addressing it will damage relationships. Teddy Bears try to smooth over conflict to prevent
damage to the relationship.
Fox Compromising
Foxes are moderately concerned with both their goals and their relationships with
others. Foxes typically seek a compromise; they give up part of their goals and
persuade the other person in a conflict to give up part of their goals. They seek a conflict
solution in which both sides gain something; the middle ground between two extreme
positions. They are willing to sacrifice part of their goals in order to find agreement for the
common good.
Adapted from: Conflict Management Styles Descriptions. Docstoc, http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/47081621.png
 University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving assignment 2

Rick Wandji
Communications for Project Managers: ENCE 424
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
October 21, 2020
Introduction
As an engineering student, the majority of my schooling consists of technical instruction in
subjects like physics, calculus, or dynamics. Communications for Project Managers emphasizes a
very important but highly ignored subject in the engineering field, communication.
Communicating effectively as a project manager is paramount to the success of any engineering
endeavor. Students in communication for project managers must complete required readings,
participate in class activities and, ultimately, employ the skills they learn in class in the real
world. This essay will first focus on reflecting on the results of the conflict management styles
assessment, then comparing that to the DISC assessment. Then I will finish up by using the
storytelling techniques learned in chapter 10 and 15 of ​Five Star​ to tell two stories, one about
overcoming adversity and one about identifying a problem and addressing it.

A. ​Conflict Management Styles Assessment

For this assessment I left feeling like I was generally non confrontational. I ended up
scoring highest for collaboration and lowest for avoiding. It was interesting because the
immediate thing that I noticed was that most of my scores were all very near each other, almost
all of them being 2 points within each other. The only one that stood out to me was avoiding,
which was very low, at 3. At first thought I was happy with that, avoidance has a very negative
connotation to it, and the questions attached to it didn’t seem anymore positive as well. One of
the questions asked “Being in a disagreement with other people makes me feel uncomfortable
and anxious”. I just said to myself of course not, how are you going to be able to work with
others if you feel anxious at the sign of a disagreement. However I tried to look at it from a
different view, and using the readings I thought about how avoidance could actually be a good
thing. In the book ​Crucial Conversations​ they talk about how hard it can be to work with
someone you may not respect. In instances like this it may actually be a positive thing, trying to
avoid conflicts. When met with someone you don't respect the book mentions how it's important
to have a mutual goal, and I think that staying focused allows you to not run into any petty
conflicts. Not every conflict will be necessary, and I think that working on my avoidance may
allow me to better decide what is worth conflicting over, and what is not.

B.​ Yung personality assessment vs Disc personality assessment

My Yung personality assessment results were INTP, ​Introvert- iNtuitive- Thinker-
Perceiver.​ This didn’t surprise me too much and I felt like overall all of these things were in the
order I expected as well. This assessment felt a bit more easier to complete than the DISC one.
For the disc assessment a lot of the questions felt like they could swing either way, these
questions I felt more settled on one of the answers for the most part. I liked that for their
definition for each personality it felt even more accurate to how I felt. For introverts they wrote
“they draw their energy from their own thoughts and the time they spend alone. Introverts do not
need people around them all the time.” I agreed with this, it wasn’t that I was shy all the time,
even if sometimes I was. I just felt like taking that time to myself allows me to think more
clearly. Drawing energy from myself was important because sometimes when I was around too
many people for too long I would just feel drained. I felt that everything after intuitiveness could
be put in any order. I wasn’t really sure what stood out to me. I do think the perceivers definition
was a little unclear. “Perceivers prefer a lifestyle that is spontaneous, flexible and adaptable.
They like an environment that is unstructured, and like to keep their options open.” They say that
they prefer a lifestyle that is flexible and adaptable, I felt like there’s a difference between that
and unstructured. I don't think that I would want an unstructured environment, because
sometimes that cna make goals unclear. I prefer to be in environments that have a good overall
structure however can still be adaptable and ready to change.
Comparing these results to my DISC results I felt like they were both similar and
portrayed things that I already knew. One part that I think they differed was with some of the
wording for the descriptions. For my DISC assessment I had compliance, steadiness, influence,
and dominance. I felt like for the most part these things were accurate as well, even if I felt
compliance had a negative connotation. I wasn’t sure what connection to bring between
compliance and ant of my Yung personality assessments. The only connection I could make was
with introverts, both of these assessments could give off the idea that I was shy as opposed to
being reserved and cautious. Both assessments painted me as someone that is diligent and pays
close attention to detail. Yung said that I am logical while being imaginative and DISC said that I
have an inner drive to be systematic and precise, things I both feel are true about me and what I
strive to be.

C. ​ storytelling techniques:one story around a personal experience in which you

demonstrated your ability to overcome adversity and one story around how you
identified and fixed a problem that resulted in tremendous benefit to yourself and
others.

Story number 1: ​My 10th grade year was not a year to be remembered. I was unruly, struggled
to focus in class and my grades reflected that. At the beginning of my sophomore year it was
clear that I was unfocused as there was an immediate drop in my grades. That year I wasn't
sociable, nor did I perform well in school. My family had just been in a bad car accident and was
left hurt. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me, I didn't even play basketball that year.
As my tenth grade year came to an end I was left with a decision about my schedule for next
year, would I go into the IB program or not? As I entered the summer I wanted to just take
honors classes. After the terrible 10th grade year I had, I doubted my ability to withstand the
rigorous courses of the IB program.

I was worried because I was going into my most important year without even knowing
what I wanted to study, and having just come off a below average sophomore year. To others
my 10th grade year wasn’t bad at all, but I had always prided myself on being an above average
student, and I didn’t want to stop now. I would end up deciding to take the Ib course and
prepare myself for rigorous workload. What I ended up getting was my most memorable year of
highschool. Not only did my grades soar, but I was more sociable and enjoyed my time at
school. Having harder classes I was forced to work harder and manage my time better. I
learned to stop feeling sorry for myself and that my future was in my hands. I joined the
basketball team and became a part of a family as we won our regional championship and made
it all the way to states. I think that had I not had the courage to take the Ib course I wouldn’t
have had the courage to join the basketball team. The two most important things I learned from
my tenth grade year was that you can always bounce back and only you control your future.

Story number 2: I once was working with a group of engineers to create an oversand vehicle, a
small robotic car that could be given a set of codes and follow instructions. It was my first
engineering project I was a part of, and at times I felt very out of my depth. It felt like other
people had way more knowledge of basic concepts than I did. I started to wonder what exactly
could I bring to the group and if I had a future as an engineer​. ​This project required me to take on
a managerial position. I had to keep track of everyone's schedules in order to find the best times
to collectively work as a group, and I had to take on the challenge of learning C++ so that I
would be able to assist in writing the code that would control the vehicle. This project required
me to step out of my comfort zone and learn something on my own to ensure that my team
would have a better chance of success. I had to make sure that all team members' work ​was kept
in an organized manner to make sure that everyone was on the same page. This project not only
showed my leadership skills but my organizational skills in order to contribute to a common
goal.

Works cited

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). ​Crucial conversations:

Tools for talking when stakes are high​. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Gallo, C. (2019). ​Five stars: The communication secrets to get from good to great.​ London: St
Martin's press.
 University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving assignment 2

Rick Wandji

Communications for Project Managers: ENCE 424

Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman

October 21, 2020

Introduction

As an engineering student, the majority of my schooling consists of technical instruction in

subjects like physics, calculus, or dynamics. Communications for Project Managers emphasizes a
very important but highly ignored subject in the engineering field, communication.
Communicating effectively as a project manager is paramount to the success of any engineering
endeavor. Students in communication for project managers must complete required readings,
participate in class activities and, ultimately, employ the skills they learn in class in the real
world. This essay will first focus on reflecting on the results of the conflict management styles
assessment, then comparing that to the DISC assessment. Then I will finish up by using the
storytelling techniques learned in chapter 10 and 15 of ​Five Star​ to tell two stories, one about
overcoming adversity and one about identifying a problem and addressing it.

A. ​Conflict Management Styles Assessment

For this assessment I left feeling like I was generally non confrontational. I ended up
scoring highest for collaboration and lowest for avoiding. It was interesting because the
immediate thing that I noticed was that most of my scores were all very near each other, almost
all of them being 2 points within each other. The only one that stood out to me was avoiding,
which was very low, at 3. At first thought I was happy with that, avoidance has a very negative
connotation to it, and the questions attached to it didn’t seem anymore positive as well. One of
the questions asked “Being in a disagreement with other people makes me feel uncomfortable
and anxious”. I just said to myself of course not, how are you going to be able to work with
others if you feel anxious at the sign of a disagreement. However I tried to look at it from a
different view, and using the readings I thought about how avoidance could actually be a good
thing. In the book ​Crucial Conversations​ they talk about how hard it can be to work with
someone you may not respect. In instances like this it may actually be a positive thing, trying to
avoid conflicts. When met with someone you don't respect the book mentions how it's important
to have a mutual goal, and I think that staying focused allows you to not run into any petty
conflicts. Not every conflict will be necessary, and I think that working on my avoidance may
allow me to better decide what is worth conflicting over, and what is not.