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Conflict Management

The document discusses various types of conflict that can occur in the workplace, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, inter-group, and inter-organizational conflicts. It also outlines common causes of workplace conflicts such as misunderstandings, personality clashes, competition for resources, and differing values or goals. Finally, the document discusses different conflict management styles like forcing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating to find a resolution.

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Deepika Singh
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
52 views21 pages

Conflict Management

The document discusses various types of conflict that can occur in the workplace, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, inter-group, and inter-organizational conflicts. It also outlines common causes of workplace conflicts such as misunderstandings, personality clashes, competition for resources, and differing values or goals. Finally, the document discusses different conflict management styles like forcing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating to find a resolution.

Uploaded by

Deepika Singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Workplace Conflict -

Strategies & Management


Agenda
◦ What is Conflict ?

◦ What workplace conflict means ?

◦ Different views and levels of conflict.

◦ Causes of conflict in the workplace.

◦ Different styles of Conflict management and the conflict resolution


process.
What is Conflict?
◦ Conflict is a condition that exists anytime two or more people
disagree over an issue or situation.

◦ Conflict refers to some form of friction, disagreement, or discord


arising within a group when the beliefs or actions of one or more
members of the group are either resisted by or unacceptable to one
or more members of another group.

◦ Conflict is inevitable and often good.

◦ Conflict is not the same as discomfort. The conflict isn't the problem
- it is when conflict is poorly managed that is the problem
What is Workplace Conflict?
◦ Organizational conflict or workplace conflict, is a state of
discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of
needs, values and interests between people working
together. Conflict takes many forms in organizations.

◦ Workplace conflict is disagreement or opposition


between/among individuals, teams or departments in an
organization.

◦ Conflict is a natural phenomenon, neither inherently good or


bad, but there may be positive or negative outcomes.
1. Traditional View

Views About Conflict 2. Human Relations View

3. Inter - Actionist View


•This approach assumes that all conflicts hamper performance.
•Conflicts occur due to poor communication, lack of openness and trust
Traditional between people, and the failure of managers to be open to their employees.
View

• This approach assumes that conflicts occur naturally in all groups and
organizations.
Human • It is natural and cannot be avoided, hence it should be accepted.
Relations • It cannot be removed and it may play a role in group performance.
View

• This approach encourages conflict because it believes that a peaceful and


cooperative group may become constant and may not respond to the need for
change and innovation.
Inter - • Group leaders should maintain sufficient conflict so that the group remains
Actionist creative and self-critical.
View
Intrapersonal
Levels of Conflict Level

Interpersonal
Level

Inter – Group Level

Inter –
Organizational
Level
Involvement Levels Of Conflict

Inter –
Intrapersonal Interpersonal Inter – Group
Organizational
Level Level Level
Level

Conflict between two or Conflict among Conflict between firms


Conflicts involve the
more individuals who members of different that operate in the
individual alone
are against one another teams or groups same markets

Approach – Approach Conflict:


It occurs when a person has to choose between two positive and equally attractive alternatives.
E.G.: Choosing between promotion in the organization or a new job with another firm.

Avoidance – Avoidance Conflict:


It occurs when a person has to choose between two negative and equally unattractive alternatives.
E.G.: To make a choice between accepting a job transfer to another town or have the employment terminated.

Approach – Avoidance Conflict:


It occurs when a person has to choose between something that has both positive and negative results.
E.G.: Accepting or not accepting a job with a higher pay but with increased responsibilities that demand a lot of
personal time.
Misunderstandings

Personality Clashes

Competition for
Resources

Authority Issues
Causes of Conflict
Lack of Co-operation

Differences of Opinion

Low Performance

Values / Goal
Differences
Managerial Actions That Cause
Workplace Conflicts

Poor Insufficient Working Conflicting Leadership


Communications Resources Compatibility Values Problems
Avoid the person

Change the subject


Try to understand the other person’s
point of view
Find a judge / arbitrator

Play the martyr

Give in

Apologize
Typical Responses
To Conflict Whine / Complain

Fight it out

Pretend to agree

Try to find common ground

Admit that you are wrong

Turn the conflict into a joke


Work toward a mutually agreeable
solution
Constructive Conflict
Results in clarification of important problems and
issues

Results in solutions to problems

Involves people in resolving issues important to


them

Causes authentic communication


Conflict Is
Constructive
When It Helps release emotion, anxiety, and stress

Builds cooperation among people through learning


more about each other

Joining in resolving the conflict

Helps individuals develop understanding and skills


Destructive Conflict
Takes attention away from other important activities

Undermines morale or self-concept

Conflict Is
Polarizes people and groups, reducing cooperation
Destructive
When It

Increases or sharpens difference

Leads to irresponsible and harmful behavior, such as


fighting, name-calling
Helps to raise
and address
problems

Energizes work
to be on the
Improves
most
communication
appropriate
issues
Advantages
of Conflict

Helps people
Helps people
learn how to
"be real", for
recognize and
example, it
benefit from
motivates them
their
to participate
differences
Lost work
time and
productivity

Legal costs Lost


due to employees /
litigation high turnover

Disadvantages
of Conflict
Damage to
Health costs
organization
due to stress
reputation

Lowered job Sabotage,


motivation theft, damage
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES
Force
• It is a victory achieved due to force, superior skill, or domination of one party.
• It is a win-lose situation.

Avoidance
• In avoidance, every one shows that the conflict does not really exist and hopes
that it will finish.

Accommodation
• It involves hiding the differences between the conflicting parties and showing
areas of agreement.

Compromise
• It involves appreciation by all conflicting parties that something is wrong and
needs attention.

Collaborative
• It occurs when each party gives up something for the sake of the other.
• It is a win – win situation.
Approach Objective Your Position Supporting Likely Outcome
Rationale
Forcing Get your way. “I know what’s right. It is better to risk You feel vindicated, but
Don’t question my causing a few hard other party feels
judgment or authority.” feelings than to abandon defeated and possibly
a position you are humiliated.
committed to.
Avoiding Avoid having to deal “I’m neutral on that Disagreements are Interpersonal problems
with conflict. issue. Let me think inherently bad because don’t get resolved,
about it.” they create tension. causing long-term
frustration manifested
in a variety of ways.
Accommodating Don’t upset the other “How can I help you feel Maintaining harmonious Other person is likely to
person. good about this relationships should be take advantage of you.
encounter? My position our top priority.
isn’t so important that it
is worth risking bad
feelings between us.”
Compromising Reach an agreement “Let’s search for a Prolonged conflicts Participants become
quickly. mutually agreeable distract people from conditioned to seek an
solution.” their work and engender expedient, rather than
bitter feelings. effective solution.
Collaborating Solve the problem “This is my position. The positions of both Participants find an
together. What is yours? I’m parties are equally effective solution.
committed to finding the important (though not
best possible solution.” necessarily equally
valid).
Equality emphasis
should be placed on the
quality of the outcome
and the fairness of the
decision-making.
It’s common that a person uses
more than one style, depending on
the need of the situation, but
usually one style dominates.
CONFLICT
RESOLUTION
PROCESS
Managing conflict constructively depends in large measure
on clear, open, and honest communication
Conflict Resolution Process
Find a good time and place to talk

Discuss the problem - Clarify issues

Brainstorm - generate a variety of


options

Choose a solution that works the best


and suits everybody's need

Try the solution (If it doesn’t work, go


back to step three and renegotiate)
Thank You

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