Conflict Resolution

Running Head Ð'- CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Conflict Resolution in Workgroups

Introduction

In workgroups there can be many causes of conflict that can result in either a positive or a negative outcome. In a working environment you have several dynamics that affect a team's ability to work as a cohesive unit. For instance, you have individual personalities where each member has their own definitions of what conflict means. Each individual personality has different life experiences that come into the team environment and affect each team member individually and as a group.

A major factor in every team situation is to decide what problems there are and to determine if the problem is one that needs a solution. Conflicts do not necessarily have to result in poor work or group performance. It can be a motivating factor in determining what if anything needs to be changed. In most situations, each member has their own predetermined expectations on how a group should function and it is necessary to address these issues up front so that you can come to a mutual agreement or at least one that the individual team members and the group as a whole can agree upon.

There are several methods to determine what the actual conflict is and how to come to an amicable resolution. The team must decide and understand exactly what the issues are by having each team member state what their expectations are, whether it is regarding participation, tone or any other aspect that fits into the situation. In order to resolve team issues there must be respect shown to each member's thoughts, and issues must be discussed rationally without making any member feel belittled or undervalued.

According to the text, Ralph H. Kilmann and Kenneth W. Thomas, who wrote Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument have arrived at 5 approaches and these methods include:

Ð'* Accommodation Ð'- is where an individual member agrees with the team decision for the good of the team.

Ð'* Competition Ð'- this is not the most team oriented method because one person loses while another wins and does not contribute to the team spirit.

Ð'* Compromise Ð'- this solution is the most productive in terms of team attitude and feeling of cohesiveness. It allows for all members to feel like they have contributed to the project.

Ð'* Collaboration Ð'- requires a great deal of negotiation and give and take on all members in order to come up with a viable solution that each team member can agree upon.

One of the most important concepts to understand in a workgroup is conflict resolution. However, before you can rectify conflict you must be able to identify it and the causes of it. How will you handle a problem when it occurs? Who will be responsible? For a work group to function during the development of the team, it is important to identify a concept of solving problems. Maintaining a work group basically requires some kind of concept set in stone early on to allow effective collaboration between members and resolve conflict. Once the problem has been identified it may seem easy to discover the best way to resolve this issue before it affects work group performance.

How do you identify and solve conflict and problems in workgroups? This process may differ depending on the type of work group you have established. It is helpful to have all work group members participate in identifying any possible problem that may arise. Issues should be discussed so that each team member's definition of participation is defined, what method of communication will be most effective, what are the dates to mark milestones in the progression of the project, what tools does the team want to utilize to keep things organized and on track. Having checks and balances on the team's performance can be a key tool to identifying problems. Progressive feedback, observing members communication style, and building trust among work group members will help in identifying problems and resolving conflict.

Finding out the whole story when a problem does occur will allow you to fully understand the cause of the problem.