Conflict Management Essay

915 Words4 Pages
Assignment 3 – Question 1 Describe 5 main stages of handling conflicts and describe the situation in which these stages are best applied. Answer What is Conflict? Conflict may be defined as the struggle or contest between people who have opposing ideas, needs, beliefs, goals and even values. De Bono (1985) defines conflict clearly as a clash of interests, values, actions views or directions. Conflicts may emanate from more than one source, : disagreements, differences in styles, principles, values, beliefs etc., different ideological and philosophical outlooks, different status and a host of many other reasons. However, Kirchoff and Adams (1982) state that there are four distinct conditions under which conflicts may arise. These include : ambiguous roles and responsibilities, high stress environments, multiple boss situations and even the prevalence of advanced technology. The emergence of conflicts has both positive and negative effects on the organization. Amongst the positive effects, include: * The avoidance of more serious conflicts * An increase in group cohesion and performance. When two or more groups are in conflict, performance and cohesion because when an opponent is seen as being in the wrong, team members rally amongst themselves, forging a unified alliance. * Assessment of power * Stimulation of a search for new facts or resolution Negative effects may include: * The impediment conflicts cause to a smooth working process * Formation of competing factions within an organization * Diminishing/Reduced Work Output Thus, when conflicts arise, how are they handled effectively? There can be 5 main modes of handling conflicts. These are : 1. Competing In this method of conflict, the resulting scenario is that of a win-lose situation. It is assertive and uncooperative. An individual places individual interests at
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