Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution Are Integral

Conflict management and conflict resolution are integral parts of any given organization. The antecedents for conflict vary in nature, yet three desired outcomes can be defined. There are many reasons as to why conflict can arise within an organization, however the types of conflict that arise can be differentiated between functional and dysfunctional conflicts. Functional conflicts are considered to be "constructive, support your company's goals, and improve performance" and often involve people that are willing to cooperate with each other in order to solve a problem (Kinicki, n.d.).

There are two generally accepted methods for stimulating and simulating functional conflicts: devil's advocacy and the dialectic method. The devil's advocacy method requires that a team member be assigned the role of a critic; this person should them "always question and critique any ideas that [the] team may have" and usually results in "critical thinking and reality testing" (Kinicki, n.d.). The dialectic methods requires that a structured debate be organized in which the pros and cons of each idea is investigated (Kinicki, n.d.).

On the other hand, dysfunctional conflicts threaten an organization's interests (Farias, n.d.). When dysfunctional conflicts arise within an organization, they can be dealt with in a variety of ways including integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising (Kinicki, n.d.). Integrating involves "encouraging opposing parties to confront an issue and cooperatively identify the problem generate…solutions, and select the most appropriate solution (Kinicki, n.d.).

Obliging occurs when one party disregards their personal interests in order to satisfy the other opposing party, whereas dominating "relies on formal authority to force compliance" (Kinicki, n.d.). Avoiding requires that parties withdraw from the problem, whereas compromising allows both conflicting parties to partially get what they want (Kinicki, n.d.). In order for conflicts to arise, the antecedents for conflict must be present.

There are a variety of reasons as to why conflict arises including goal incongruity, unresolved or suppressed conflicts, conflicting behaviors, interdepartmental/intergroup competition for limited resources, and inadequate communication (Song, Xie, & Dyer, 2000; Managing Conflict and Negotiation, n.d.). Goal incongruity occurs within a firm when differences arise between one department's goals and values and the goals and values of an opposing department (Song et al., 2000). Unresolved or suppressed conflicts may reemerge if a similar situation arises.

Additionally, conflicting behaviors may create opposing viewpoints and goals, however, these behaviors can be resolved, or at least lessened, if parties learn to compromise or to avoid the conflicting matter (Song et al., 2000). Competition for limited resources creates conflict within any environment as firms or groups will do anything possible to ensure that they get access to or a part of said limited resource; limited resources can range from budgets to manpower to positions within a firm (Farias, n.d.).

Inadequate communication creates conflict when parties that need to be apprised of a situation are ignorant about the dealings that are going on within a firm; effective communication allows a firm or department to meet obligations and allows for "possible mitigation of disputes to occur" (Einertz & Einertz, n.d.). The three desired outcomes of conflict are agreement, the establishment or development of stronger relationships, and learning.

Agreement occurs when firms strive "for equitable and fair agreements that last," stronger relationships help to "build bridges of goodwill and trust for the future," and learning provides "greater self-awareness and creative problem solving" (Farias, n.d.). By being able to understand the types of conflict that arise and the antecedents to said conflict, a firm is given the tools to effectively resolve conflicts in an organized and effective manner. Additionally, conflict resolution is not industry specific and.