Conflict, which is a natural outcome of human interaction, begins when one individual perceives that his or her goals, attitudes, values, or beliefs are incongruent with those of another individual. I will discuss three conflict management approaches/styles that are used in my United States Army unit.
The presence of conflict among employees can have both negative and positive consequences for organizations. Perhaps most evident are the negative consequences, which include dysfunctional behaviors such as low work effort stemming from stress and poor interpersonal relations between the conflicting employees. Possible positive consequences include enhanced creativity and innovation, higher quality decision-making, and improved mutual understanding. Conflict is an inevitable part of the human relatedness process. “Conflict is the interaction of interdependent people who perceive opposition of goals, aims, and values, and who see the other party as potentially interfering with the realization of these goals” (Rahim, 2000, p. 9).
Utilized Conflict Management Approaches/Styles
Discussed below are the three conflict management approaches/styles that are used in my United States Army unit:
1. Integrating, which involves high concern for self as well as the other party, has also been described as problem solving, collaboration, cooperation, solution-orientation, win-win, or positive-sum style. Integrating involves active participation between the parties such as openness, exchange of information, and examination of differences to reach a solution that satisfies the concerns of both parties. “The first rule … for obtaining integration is to put your cards on the table, face the real issue, uncover the conflict, bring the whole thing into the open” (Follett, 1940, p. 38).
The Essay on Management and Negotiating Conflict Style
1. Hastings had a reputation of being hard headed, and not being able to take criticism. He used the autocratic style to push for his ways of doing things. They said he would sometimes embarrass employees, and roll his eyes at them. And when they had an idea he might call their ideas “dumb ideas”. He was so bad at this he actually established the nickname “Animal”. Hastings was young when he ...
Prein (1976) suggested that this style has two distinctive elements: confrontation and problem solving. Confrontation involves open and direct communication that should make way for problem solving.
“Dominating, which involves high concern for self and low concern for the other party, is also called competing, control, contending, win-lose, or zero-sum style. It has been identified with a win-lose orientation and forcing behavior to win one’s position. A dominating person goes all out to win his or her objective and, as a result, often ignores the needs and expectations of the other parties. Dominating may mean standing up for one’s rights and/or defending a position that the person believes to be correct. Sometimes a dominating person wants to win at any cost. Dominating supervisors are likely to use their position of power to impose their will on subordinates and command obedience” (Rahim, 2000, p. 9).
Compromising involves moderate concern for self as well as for the other party; it is also called the mixed motive style in game theory. It involves give-and-take or sharing, whereby both parties give up something to make a mutually acceptable decision. A compromising person gives up more than a dominating person, but less than an obliging person. Likewise, “a compromising person addresses an issue more directly than an avoiding person, but does not explore it in as much depth as an integrating person. For this reason, compromising typically means splitting the difference, or seeking other quick middle-ground positions” (Rahim, 2000, p. 9).
At my Army unit, integrating, dominating, and compromising styles of conflict approaches are utilized. Management is both assertive and uncooperative with an extremely high regard for self. It is a matter of forcing acceptable behavior to adhere to policies and procedures. This organization is known for confrontations, open and direct communications and its problem-solving attributes.
The Essay on Versus Person Caesar Conflict Brutus
Conflicts In The Story Julius Caesar Have you ever read the story of Julius Caesar? It s such a good book, and the conflicts in it are awesome. This plot involves struggles from all places, particularly those of Brutus, Cassius, and Caesar. Cassius is one of the more involved characters in this story and with that comes most of the conflicts. Several of these conflicts stem from personal grudges ...
In conclusion, “the need to manage conflict in organizations seems likely to rise as a result of many factors–including increased workforce diversity, long-distance communications between workers across continents, cultural misunderstandings resulting from nationally-diverse employees, and more work demands with fewer employees, to name a few. It is therefore a matter of practical as well as theoretical importance to continue examining how employees and managers choose to handle conflict with each other” (Rahim, 2000, p. 23).
References
Follett, M. P. (1940).
_Constructive conflict_. In H. C. Metcalf & L. Urwick (Eds.), Dynamic administration: The collected papers of Mary Follett p. 30-49 New York: Harper Publishing
Prein, H. C. M. (1976).
_Stijlen van conflicthantering_ [STYLES of handling conflict]. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Psychologies p321-346.
Rahim, M. A. (2000).
_Organizational justice_ _Conflict management_. International Journal of Conflict Management p 9, p 23
