Conflict Management

Conflict Management

A verbal or nonverbal disagreement, an articulated struggle between two or more interdependent people who identify irreconcilable goals, sparse resources, and hindrance from others, to attain specific goals is the definition of conflict. Conflict on teams is inevitable and can escalate and lead to nonproductive results depending on how the conflict is managed. Differences between group members, personality, perception, information, culture, and influence are some of the reasons conflict may occur. When members of the group do not mesh because the tolerance for risk is different or there is different levels of status, power, and influence over others arguments and disagreements ensue. Dealing with conflict, perpetually is dealing with cases in which someone does not like someone else, mostly driven by character differences. Accommodation, competition, and collaboration are management styles to assist in reconciling and understanding the differences.

A high degree of cooperation, perhaps at your own expense is called the accommodation approach. To give in to wishes of others because of the need for approval and wanting to be liked by others is a lose-win approach. This approach is effective when the other party is proficient or has a better solution, and preserving future relations with the other party. Competition is another type of management style, where someone often seek to compete with others to make their point of view the best result to have power or get more power. Acting self-assured or pressure winning the conflict at the costs of one or more other people to reach your goals is the win-lose approach. This approach may be suitable for quick results or when time is of the essence and an emergency decision needs to be made. Working side by side, rather than pushing for control and dominance to accomplish everyone's goals is collaborating. This management style has a high concern for all parties in the group and views conflict as a problem to be solved rather than a game. This approach can be successful for intricate situations where you need to find a novel resolution; a win-win approach. It also allows an open discussion of issues, work to be evenly distributed and creative problem solving. Collaborating is primarily used when dealing with interpersonal conflict situations.

When dealing with conflict, collaborating is my management style of choice because I mutually respect my group and start building a rapport from the beginning. I care about the members in the group feelings and I do not want to see anyone hurt. This style is better for learning, brainstorming, integrating viewpoints, increasing dedication and developing relationships (Meier, n.d.). The collaborating skills of actively or effectively listening, confronting situations in a non-threatening way, analyzing input, and identifying underlying concerns are very similar to my personal predispositions. Although, collaboration is my management style of choice, selecting and implementing the correct strategy to fit the circumstances is most important. Most conflicts can be handled with collaborative management style but some people may use the accommodation or competitive approach based on their personality. The competitive approach acts in an extremely aggressive way forcing ones views with no regards to other group members. I do not believe in forcing someone to follow ones opinion, everyone has one and is entitled to express it. Leaving a group member resentful, unsatisfied, or bruised by the competitive style to accomplish a personal goal shows no people skills (Meier, n.d.). I value my reputation and would not want to leave an impression that I do not care about others feelings. Any decision made within a group affects all members so it would be advantageous to include