?Conflict in teams can have an adverse effect on a team’s performance. As a project manager, it is imperative to manage conflict and handle matters before they become unmanageable. When conflict occurs, the trigger or event could be very minor and seem insignificant at the time. However, if the conflict is not resolved quickly, it could build up over time, creating a snowball effect. When this happens, it’s a matter of time before the conflict reaches a tipping point and emotions flare up.
Conflict can result from a variety of events or situations, although it primarily develops due to a breakdown in communication. This could be due to misinformation, a misunderstanding, or a lack of communication altogether. Misinformation could be deliberate by providing false information, or accidental, in which case the information was incorrect but perceived otherwise. A misunderstanding could result in the receiver not effectively understanding what was communicated. A lack of communication is simply a breakdown in the communication flow.
This could be intentional or not, though usually causes consternation on the receiver’s part. The biggest challenge with communication is trying to prevent its breakdown. In my workplace, I see more conflict arising from a lack of communication than with misinformation or misunderstandings. The communication can be informal and simple, such as a quick note in an email, on a whiteboard or on a Post-It Note. It can also be more formal and come through the chain of command or the external environment.
The Term Paper on Managers And Supervisors Imasco Conflict Communication
Introduction Our client Imasco Minerals Inc has hired us to conduct an analysis of their company and to suggest recommendations that will improve their profitability and long-term success. This review covers the following chapters from Schermerhorn's Organizational Behavior text: o Motivation and Reinforcement (Chapter 6) o Human Resource Management Systems (Chapter 7) o Information and ...
Managers need to encourage their employees to communicate, and to follow up when they notice breakdowns occurring. Other potential conflicts that exist within teams include task-content conflicts and task-process conflicts. Task-content conflicts arise when team members disagree on ideas or opinions of the tasks at hand. They can also disagree on the facts or semantics of the tasks. A team member may not like the way another member is going about his work, and this can create conflict.
A task-process conflict occurs when team members disagree or argue about logistics and task delegation (Thompson, 2008).
Managing conflict is a critical activity that a project manager must have control of. Understanding and embracing conflict will help teams work through conflict and work more effectively (Rafferty, 2011).
The best way to embrace conflict is to address it head on and educate the team on the issues at hand. Ground rules can be established to help focus behavior and mitigate conflicts.
Communication procedures should be communicated to the team members, letting them know what is expected. Task conflicts can be addressed with education and communication. Project managers can communicate the logistics and means of accomplishing tasks to help curb conflict before it begins. Conflicts are inevitable, though through proper communication, can be mitigated or avoided. Managers need to be aware of conflict, its causes and consequences, and be able to turn a negative conflict into something productive, using the conflict as leverage.
