The problem is that many people are simply not used to dealing with conflict in a reasonable manner. Instead, they believe that all conflict must be resolved in a competitive manner, and that there is always a loser in each conflict.
Conflict resolution should be taught and implemented at all possible points of conflict in an organization. These include, but are not limited to, interpersonal conflicts, conflicts in meetings, conflicts in negotiations, conflicts in resource allocation, conflicts in workload distribution, and the conflict inherent in any organizational change. If employees and managers know to anticipate conflict and are trained in how to resolve conflict, then most conflict should never reach the level of needing attention from HR. Instead, HR's emphasis on conflict can be on training.
3. Is it important or necessary in an organization, to understand these sources of conflict, as we have an autocratic structure that can impose a resolution?
It is critical to understand the sources of conflict in an organization, even if there is an autocratic structure that can impose a resolution. First, it is unrealistic to believe that autocratic structures can solve the source of discord. While an autocratic structure may be able to resolve a particular dispute, it will not help reach agreement in the underlying philosophical differences that help create conflict. Therefore, while particular workplace disputes may be resolved, they are likely to recur. Moreover, these workplace disputes, which, if approached correctly could lead to an increase in team-building and cooperation, can fester when there...
One party is likely to perceive that the other party is receiving preferential treatment, which will exacerbate tensions. Eventually, even if the smaller disputes are all resolved, this may lead to a situation where parties are unable or unwilling to work together.
More importantly, a top-down autocratic approach to problem-solving ignores the fact that not all conflict is bad. There is a misperception among professionals that conflict in an organization is always a bad thing, when conflict simply means that people have clashing ideas about the appropriate solution or resolution to a problem. As Schachar pointed out, "conflict is an integral part of our lives… [People have their] own: different wants and needs, a different set of cultural background, different personal attributes and behaviors, and to top it all, a different understanding and perception of the world and its issues" (2011). When conflict in an organization is ignored, oftentimes the problem is only delayed until the organization needs to interact with the outside world, which is likely to have the same conflicting feelings about the issue. Instead, exploring those different ideas can often lead to the best resolution by ensuring that attention is given to multiple different perspectives.
References
Guttman, H.M. (2009). Conflict Management as a Core Competency for HR Professionals.
People and Strategy. New York: 2009. Vol. 32, Iss. 1; p. 32.
Schachar, M. (2011). Conflict Resolution Management (CRM) Textbook.
TUI University. (Unk.).…
