Question

What are the four primary ways to resolve conflict? In which situations should they be applied?

Answer 1

Conflict can be defined as the situation or circumstances where the differences between two people, groups or individual and group remain unsettled or ambiguous. Conflict has always been considered as something negative and harmful experience. Conflict can be good or bad but it totally depends on the individuals how to take it. The values, beliefs, feelings of the individuals or groups who are involved in conflict plays major role in a good or bad conflict.

Conflict is caused when people are not ready to come out of their comfort zone and stick to their own thoughts.

• Values, belief and thought process of individuals are different from one another. This difference in opinion may lead to a conflict. Example - conflict of interest, misunderstanding of job responsibilities and requirements etc.
• Motivation is another factor for the conflict to occur. People have different level of satisfaction of their needs which directly or indirectly motivates them. So one individual might not get satisfied with others’ thought process as that thought might not give him what he wants so this may cause conflict. Example - not ready to accept feedback, lack of focus, blame culture, fear of failure, self-centered etc.
• Ideas and philosophy plays important role and is another factors for the cause of conflict. Examples - disagreement about strategy, competing goals etc.

Conflict can be considered as bad when:

• People are not ready for change
• It creates misunderstanding
• People are not ready to cooperate
• Individuals built the feeling of defeat

A bad conflict might result in distrust between individuals or individuals and group and creates very unhealthy atmosphere at workplace. People will lose interest at work which will result in underperformance. Sticking to their own ideas and philosophy will not benefit anyone in the long run. A bad conflict can be changed to a good conflict when:

• People get encouraged to innovation and creativity
• People put forward their ideas or point of view with clarity
• People shows respect to each ones values or thought process
• Structured discussion is conducted with a proper brain storming session.
• People take initiatives for the growth or to meet the objectives.

A good conflict encourages open-mindedness by acting as a catalyst. A conflict should be taken in a positive way as it results in

• New thinking – Different point of views will give new and innovative ideas.
• Healthy discussion- Different ideas will raise questions which will give more clarity.
• Good interpersonal relationship- People will come to a mutual understanding which will help in building relationship.
• Creativity- Open mindedness of individuals will result in creative thinking.
• Remove stagnation- Conflict is a positive way to eliminate stagnation which will result in growth.

The five styles of conflict management are as follows:-

• Accommodating
• Avoiding
• Collaborating
• Compromise
• Confrontation

Accommodating – It means being cooperative and adjust to the situation by neglecting their own point and allowing the other party to put forward their point and agree to it. This result from the lack of assertiveness. The style is effective if the person wants to keep the relationship good with the other person or if the other person’s point is better than his own. Example - Employees agreeing with the management to work extra hours without extra pay.

Avoiding – It means ignoring the conflict and not being serious about resolving it. The person does not participate in the problem-solving with the thought process that it will go away on its own. So the differences between the parties are never resolved. Example - Manager avoiding the conflict between employees and coming up with the solution without proper investigation just to meet the target on time.

Collaborating – It means coordinating and cooperating with the other party to resolve the issue. This is done by understanding the viewpoint of the other party, expressing their own concern and come to a solution that is taken on a common ground. This creates a sense of satisfaction in both the parties and gives rise to a win-win situation. Example - Employees collaborating with the management to work extra hours to meet the deadline and get extra pay.

Compromise – It means coming to a solution which is partially satisfactory for both the parties. The only focus is to come to an intermediate solution by understanding each other’s concern. This is the lose-lose approach as both the parties are not satisfied completely with the solution. Example - Employees compromising with the management to meet half of the target by doing overtime.

Competing – It means being assertive to prove your point right without cooperating with the other party. This approach is appropriate in emergency situations and people are ready to support your decision. This is a win-lose situation as the other party’s viewpoint are not considered. Example - Management making the employees work extra hours to meet the deadline and also during weekends and compensating this by providing extra leave.