Conflict Resolution

Conflict is part of human existence. The world is filled with conflicts in all realms of life. Evidence of unresolved conflicts in greater scale are the chaos around the world that we hear and see from the daily world news. Everyday we experience some sort of conflict that are either insignificant or relatively important whether we are at home, at school, at a coffee shop, or at work. The workplace usually has a diverse group of employees from all walks of life, culture, and family background. Any differences that arise from a diverse group could result to a conflict. Therefore, it is imperative to better understand the influences and styles of conflict and implement a conflict resolution process as part of organizations culture.

“Conflict is defined as a disagreement through which the parties involved perceive a threat to their needs, interests, or concerns” (online training solution). Organizations typically view conflict as normal part of organization life and a way of embracing numerous opportunities for growth by improved understanding. In addition, there is a tendency of viewing conflict as a negative and costly experience. Incidents of conflict are somewhat common to hear but the associated cost of conflict to the organization showed tremendous financial hurdle. “The total value of lost work time due to stress is estimated to be $1.7 billion” (www.conflictatwork.com). A recent conflict incident in San Diego involved a medical group paying $6 million to one of their doctors that was fired for whistle blowing, that turned around and sued the medical group for wrongful termination (10news.com). Conflicts are waste of resources, costly, and can inflict damage to the organization.

Perceptions play a great influence in conflict. Disagreement or conflict usually arises when each party has different perception of a given situation. There are number of factors that influence one’s perception. Different cultural backgrounds and previous experiences create varying influences on how we deal conflicts (online training solution). It is sometimes difficult to break away from the cultural beliefs and values that someone was brought up with. Unfamiliarity also of someone’s cultural background can create negative perceptions. Pointing at someone when talking to him or her might not be considered rude to people from Asian countries, but it is typically offensive for Americans. An only child that grew up being the family’s center of attention may sometimes find it difficult playing well with others. A co-worker of mine who is an only child admitted to me that she does not get along well with other people. She does not have the patience and she does not feel the need of being nice to others.

In addition, gender and sexuality creates varying perceptions on given situation. Men and women often perceive situations differently. In general, men are insensitive to issues and if they ever have to deal with them, they prefer to get it resolved quickly. Women are generally more sensitive and would prefer to engage in many conversations to resolve the issue. In addition, parties generally respond to situations based on their knowledge of the issue. It could be a general knowledge of the issue or a situation-specific knowledge (online training solution). Such knowledge can influence the person’s willingness to manage the conflict. Some disagreements at work involved parties that are very knowledgeable about the subject and find it difficult to come to agreement. Alternatively, it may seem that all parties involved agree but in reality, some will remain adamant about their own idea and might refuse to support other parties’ ideas. Situations similar to just mention lowers organizations productivity, efficiency, and morale. Organizations need to have a conflict resolution process in place.

As wikipedia states it, conflict resolution is the process of attempting to resolve a dispute or a conflict (Wikipedia.org). People typically have a preferred conflict resolution style. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) identified five styles to help an individual identify which conflict style he or she tend towards when conflict arises (mindtools.com). The five Thomas and Killman’s styles are competitive, collaborative, compromising, accommodating, and avoiding (mindtools.com). Competitive individuals tend to take a firm stand and they know what they want. This style is useful when trying to finish an emergency project, and a decision needs to be done right away. While people that tend to have a collaborative style try to meet the needs of parties involved. These people cooperate effectively and acknowledge that everyone is important. People that prefer a compromising style try to satisfy partially everyone. Accommodating style is generally cooperative and not assertive. Lastly, people that tend towards avoiding style attempt to avoid the conflict entirely (mindtools.com). Usually, this is a weak and ineffective approach to take. Understanding Thomas and Killman’s five styles of identifying conflict can be utilized to seek the most suitable approach for the situation you are faced with.

Based on my research, I found the following eight steps or �cheat sheet’ that might be useful in successful management and resolving conflict in an organization. These eight steps will not guarantee a successful resolution but will most likely create a better understanding of the conflict, solutions will be examined, and result to a win-win environment.

1. “Know Thyself” and Take Care of Self

2. Clarify Personal Needs Threatened by the Dispute

3. Identify a Safe Place for Negotiation

4. Take a Listening Stance into the Interaction

5. Assert Your Needs Clearly and Specifically

6. Approach Problem вЂ" Solving with Flexibility

7. Manage Impasse with Calm, Patience, and Respect

8. Build an Agreement that Works

In summary, to successfully manage and resolve a conflict it is imperative to recognize perception as one of the biggest influences in conflict. As a result of different kinds of conflict in the workplace, organizations are wasting millions of dollars in wasted resources, legal settlements, medical help, and the most important asset, which are the employees. Thomas and Killman identified five styles in recognizing conflict and assist parties to identify the style that they tend towards when conflict arises. By understanding individuals conflict