Conflict Management Style example essay topic

Conflict Management Styles Paper Introduction Conflict occurs in organizations whenever a difference of opinions exists. People disagree over many things including but not limited to, policies and procedures, the overall direction of the company, and distribution of rewards. This type of conflict is substantive conflict, as described in our reading text organizational behavior as a, "fundamental disagreement over ends or goals to be pursued". The second type of conflict is emotional conflict; which involves, "interpersonal difficulties that arise over feelings of anger, mistrust, dislike, fear, resentment, and the like". This type of conflict occurs when two or more persons do not see eye to eye or simply do not get along for whatever reason.

The organization that we run, we carefully hand pick our employees so that we have a team who are familiar with one another, their work ethics and abilities and work well together. We feel that by doing this we have eliminated a lot of the emotional conflict that occurs when persons who are unfamiliar with one another are forced into a situation where they must work together. We try to make the culture of our organization as such whereby conflict is deemed to be functional and used in a constructive manner to reap positive rewards for the company. Whereby differences of opinion are acknowledged in an open forum and discussed, with the benefits and disadvantages are laid out for all to see.

Ultimately the decision still lies with the managing director however, it gives one an all a chance to state their opinion and feel that they are a part of the decision-making process. We are lucky in our present organization not to have experienced any destructive or dysfunctional conflict. Conflict Management approaches used in my organization I cannot abide conflict. I hate confrontations and avoid them at all costs. However, I realize that in the business world, there will be differences of opinion and that in order to minimize the tension that results from said conflicts, it is appropriate to deal with any situations, perceived or otherwise, immediately. By acknowledging conflict in this way, we reduce the aftermath that such unresolved conflict can bring.

One of the more common ways that we tend to use to deal with potential conflict is appeal to the common goals of both the organization and its employees. Our managing director, (my husband) is not great at dealing with conflict and his preferred method is avoidance. However, since my induction in October of last year, I have encouraged him to deal with situations as and before they occur. He can now see the benefits of this and works hard to deal with situations as or before they arise. If he senses unhappiness or potential conflict with regards to a situation, he now calls the person or persons in question in to his office to discuss. He encourages his employees to look at the bigger picture rather than the small one - the issue.

By doing this and having them focus on the overall aim and objective of the company, he successfully manages to put conflicts and differences of opinion into a real life perspective. To summarize our approach to direct conflict, I can assure you that we have tried all of the five different approaches to conflict management. The company originally tried the avoidance method. This method clearly did not work. It resulted in unhappiness, frustration and the eventual termination of employment of one employee. We do occasionally use the accommodation or compromise methods of dealing with conflict but realize that these are only temporary measures or a band-aid fix to a potentially larger problem.

We very rarely use formal authority to end conflict. In the type of business we are in there are often times no right or wrong answer to a particular problem and using authority to issue a directive can be a potentially damaging way to deal with a situation. Most of our issues need to be discussed and all parties in agreement in order to provide the best possible service to the client. In this way we are in a win-win situation.

We have weekly staff meetings to discuss and address any issues that may be building up. Various solutions can be put on the table and tried at different intervals. If one method is chosen and does not seem to be working, it can be re-addressed at the following meeting until a positive result is achieved. In this way, we feel we break down the invisible hierarchy and encourage all of our staff members to be active participants in their futures. Compare to my own personal conflict management preference or style The preferred conflict management style or preference of my organization is a direct reflection of my own style. As stated above, I prefer to deal with situation as and when they occur.

Not only is this how I react in the workplace but also in my personal life. I cannot sit and watch circumstances grow out of proportion to the problem. I believe in addressing issues in the present saves a lot of time and headache in the future. I also believe that everyone has something to contribute. Having been an employee for many years and also a customer of the technical services company that I work for helps me to being a fresh perspective to the company that was previously lacking. In our company many of the technicians have never been anything other than the technician.

They have never experienced what it is like to be the customer depending on someone else for technological knowledge and expertise. I try to get my employees to place themselves in the shoes of the customer and treat them, as they would expect to be treated. This works both ways; I have never been a technician and do not understand a lot of the problems and frustrations that they experience. So in turn, we share our thoughts, our experiences and our ideas on how we can make our organization a more profitable one. We each realize our limitations and together strive for the common goals of the organization. Another one of my particular strengths is my ability to perceive conflict in situations before and as they arise.

I can sense that if we are to implement a particular policy and / or procedure how my staff will react to it. This helps us to plan ways to eliminate conflict before it even begins. Conclusion Conflict is inevitable when diverse people from different circumstances and backgrounds work together. Everyone had different visions and ideas as to how various situations should be dealt with. If conflict is not managed in an appropriate manner it can become time-consuming and a waste of management resources. By acknowledging this and dealing with conflict in a forthright and straightforward manner, conflict can be beneficial and turned into a positive collaboration method for solving problems.

Bibliography

Schermerhorn, Jr. J., Hunt, J., Osborn R., (2002).
Organizational Behavior. John Wiley & Sons Inc. Retrieved June 19, 2003 from The University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT/331 web site: web.