Organizational Behavior: Managing Conflict within the Workplace

Abstract

Our team has decided to write our research paper on conflict management. We felt that this topic would be a good choice because we feel that many of today’s companies have problems dealing with conflict. If managers are trained and aware of conflict management, conflict can bring out creativity and different points of view. The positive outcomes from conflict management can greatly assist the success of today’s organizations.

Conflict in the work place has been a problem for just about everyone. It doesn’t matter where you work or what kind of work it is, conflict is bound to happen. We felt that conflict management would be a good topic for our team research paper because we have seen so many problems related to conflict in the companies we have worked for. We believe that the ability to effectively deal with conflict will prove to be an asset. Obtaining skills in dealing with conflict could one day help to make the best manager possible and to lead a productive and cooperative work environment.

THE BENEFITS ATTAINED FROM STUDYING CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

In a modern business environment conflict is a normal aspect of decision making. Today’s companies have moved away from the idea that workplace conflict needs to be eliminated and have begun to manage conflict (Lang, 2009, p. 1). Workplace conflict can be positive to an organizations decision making process. Intel is a computer chip making organization which believes that vigorous debate allows many points of view to be analyzed which leads to better decisions (McShane & Von Glinow, 2009, p. 209).

A study by CPP Global which interviewed 5000 full time employees from Europe and North America found that after leadership training 27% reported that they were better at avoiding conflict and 20% said that they experienced positive performance benefits (Pace, 2008, p. 15). This study shows how critical conflict management in the workplace is to the success of an organization and individual employees.

IMPORTANCE OF MANAGING CONFLICT IN-AND-OUT OF WORK SITUATIONS

No matter what time, day, ethnicity, race, gender, business, home, school, or part of the world you live in, people just tend to have different views and conflict is inevitable (McShane & Von Glinow, 2009). We have all had our fair share of conflict in different jobs. Through the years we have become better at managing my conflicts at work from learning from past work-related conflict experiences and from my college education. Conflict managing, however, is broader than just the business setting (McCorkle, & Reese, 2005). If individuals can become effective conflict manager in their business setting, then people can greatly influence other facets of their life that revolved around conflict such in areas such as family and friends (McCorkle, & Reese, 2005). Knowing how people defer on conflict management outside of the work place is an important aspect to study (Aritzeta, Ayestaran, & Swailes, 2005; Shelton, Danes, & Eisenman, 2007; McCorkle, & Reese, 2005; McShane & Von Glinow, 2009).

One of our group members, a Hispanic male, at times tries to resolve his conflict based on conflict solving traditions of the Mexican culture, which at times are different from American values or conflict solving strategies. Some of his beliefs at times can impede on solving a conflict because he either offends someone or he doesn’t get his issue resolved. It is important that when we consider trying to manage conflict in a work environment that everyone consider each individuals background of why there might be a conflict or have a better understand of how to involve them in the process (Shelton, Danes, & Eisenman, 2007). It pays off knowing the people you try to solve conflict with, so that no one is offended and the process of solving the conflict will go quicker.

An individual who tends to be good at managing conflict in numerous aspects of life will be superior at managing conflict in a business situation (McCorkle, & Reese, 2005). According to Shelton, Danes and Eisenman article, role demands, difficulty in managing work-family conflict, and minority entrepreneurs, individuals who deal struggle with work-family conflicts tends to affect the business performance in a negative way. If a business wants to be successful, being effective in managing conflict in all areas of life is one key component for employers and their employees (Shelton, Danes, & Eisenman, 2007).

IMPORTANCE OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ON CREATIVITY When looking at organizational behavior, one cannot underestimate the importance conflict plays within the creative workplace. Conflict is a fundamental aspect of teamwork, and cannot be avoided so long as a fair and balanced mix of personalities and life experiences exists within the context of an organization. Members of a team bring a multitude of knowledge, experiences and perspectives, creating a unique learning environment where conflict is often referred to as the norm (Correia, 2008). In decades past, conflict was originally perceived as destructive and ineffective, as a problem that needs to be minimized and controlled. From this perspective, conflict represents a danger to effective teamwork by taking time, by being irrelevant to the tasks, and by disrupting the relationships among team members (Correia, 2008).

There are 5 key areas of focus in regards to conflict resolution. First, and least desirable of the options, is avoidance, which refers to evasiveness and failure to confront; meaning that team members recognize difficulties, but do not discuss or acknowledge them to other team members. Second, there is accommodation, which consists of an attempt to achieve others’ goals at the expense of one’s own. This may mean giving up an idea that a person feels is good simply because of a group consensus about the superiority of another’s idea. Third is competition, which describes the use of power as one member tries to exert their view on others. Fourth, compromise requires that each side of a dispute makes concessions. This may reach a middle ground both parties are reasonably satisfied with, but does not wholly satisfy either party. Finally, collaboration attempts to identify and achieve outcomes that satisfy the interests of all members involved, making it the obvious desired outcome when dealing with conflict (Thomas,1992).

It has been stated that, “conflict within organizations is inevitable, but without conflict there would be no creativity, and hence no innovation” (Whitworth, 2005). A small team setting fosters the overall creativity of a group, mostly due to the idea that the permission to criticize and debate an idea could encourage idea generation. Ideas that are seen as bad may be tweaked by other party members, or may be criticized in order to better establish what ends a group’s efforts are trying to achieve. Creativity and inspiration can come from nearly anything at any time, and criticism may well influence another team member, or inspire them to an idea of their own. When working in a team setting it is important not to stifle creativity, but to engage it and assess its relevance. This often occurs in the form of conflict, and for this reason it is important for members of such a team to understand that conflict is not always a personal attack on one’s ideas, but most often it is simply a clashing of ideas or opinions between two individuals.

Since conflict is inevitable, knowing how to deal with it when it becomes apparent is very important for any group to understand. We believe that having the ability to effectively manage conflict is a great benefit to any team. We cannot say exactly where our career paths will take us; however, we do know that the more qualified we are, dealing with conflict, the more successful we will be.

References

Aritzeta, A., Ayestaran, S., & Swailes, S. (2005). Team role preference and conflict management styles. _The International Journal of Conflict Management_, 16(2), 157-182.

Correia, A. (2008). Team conflict in ICT-Rich environments: Roles of technologies in conflict management. _British Journal of Educational
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Lang, M. (2009). Conflict management: A gap in business education curricula. _Journal of Education for Business_, 84(4), 240-245. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

McCorkle, S., & Reese, M J. (2005). Mediation theory and pratice. Boston: Pearson.

McShane, S. L. & Von Glinow, M. A. (2009). Organizational behavior: Essentials (2nd ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Pace, A. (2008). Make conflict your alley. _T+D_, 62(12), 14-15. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Shelton, L M., Danes, S M., & Eisenman, M. (2007). Role demands, difficulty in managing work-family conflict, and minority entrepreneurs_. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship_, 13(3), 315-342.

Thomas, K. (1992). Conflict and negotiation processes in organizations. _Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology,_ 3(2), 651-717. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Whitworth, A. (2005). The politics of virtual learning environments: Environmental change, conflict, and e-learning. _British Journal of Educational Technology_, 36(4), 685-691.