Workplace conflict resolution: causes, strategies, and organizational impact

Conflict resolution has received a great deal of attention over the last decade. Conflict resolution is commonly discussed in the realm of educational institutions and the workplace.

For the purpose of this discussion we will focus on the latter. The discussion will summarize three articles concerning conflict resolution in the workplace. Let us begin this discussion by providing a definition of conflict resolution.

Defining Conflict resolution

Conflict resolution involves the process by which disagreements or arguments are remedies so that they do not result in violence or the continuation of hostility.

Conflict often arises in diverse environments that are characterized by many individuals form different backgrounds that are expected to work cooperatively.

The most important causes of conflict probably relate to the characteristics of the groups involved, their interests, values, and aims. If these are completely opposed, there is little room for maneuver. However, a seemingly fixed position may be rooted in misperception. Values may differ substantively, but they may merely seem to do so as a result of different criteria used to evaluate them. Apparently incompatible interests may be reconciled in the way an outcome is engineered. Conflict resolution means eliminating the conflict to the satisfaction of all the parties involved (Anderson, 2005, pg 345)."

In the workplace, conflict resolution is vitally important because organizations rely upon employees working together to achieve the goals of the organization. However, when conflict arises employees are not able to work together to achieve these goals and the organization can suffer as it relates to profitability, customer service and high turnover rates. For this reason most organizations have some type of conflict resolution strategy. These strategies are designed to avoid conflict from occurring and to resolve it quickly when it does develop. Conflict resolution is viewed as necessary in any organization because individuals always have differing opinions concerning the manner in which the organization is run.

There are many articles that examine the issue of workplace conflict resolution. The topics range from the implementation of conflict resolution systems and that growth that can occur as a result of conflict.

The next few paragraphs will summarize these articles.

Article summary. William Cottinger. "Resolving Workplace Conflict: To Overcome Disagreements and Build a Cohesive Team, a Manager Must Understand What Causes Conflicts"

An article entitled "Resolving Workplace Conflict: To Overcome Disagreements and Build a Cohesive Team, a Manager Must Understand What Causes Conflicts" explains the causes of workplace conflicts. In this article published in the Security Management the author asserts that conflict in the workplace can develop as a result of differences that exist between various departments within an organization. These differences often arise because departments have different goals that may conflict with one another.

In addition to the conflict that exists between the departments there are also conflicts that can arise amongst team members. Because so many organizations rely on teamwork to complete projects, it is important that these teams are able to work together. However, there are often conflicts that exist amongst team members that can greatly impede upon the ability of the team to complete tasks. This in turn can have an n adverse effect on the productivity of the company.

The author explains that conflict resolution in this type of environment must involve managers assisting everyone on a team or department in understanding that they are actually working to achieve the same goals and objectives. The article contends that managers must employ smart decoding to unlock insight and understanding.

In order to unlock this insight and understanding the author contends that Whatever the source of the conflict, the manager must not ignore it. It is often through the process of patiently working out what is the underlying cause of a conflict that the solution to a difficult problem can be found. Working through a conflict can also help all those involved to get to the next stage of development in self-awareness, team building, and productivity. Finding this purpose is not easy because there are too many distractions getting in the way. These include all the noisy symptoms of turnover, sick-leave abuse, business cancellations, decreasing revenue, employee grievances, and low morale. Managers must look past these symptoms to decode the conflict (Cottinger, 2006, pg 42).

Article Summary. "Effectively Managing Team Conflict"

In this particular article Bulleit (2006) discusses the symptoms of team conflict and the steps that can be taken to resolve these conflicts. The author answers four primary questions in the article. These questions include

1. What are the symptoms of team conflict? The article summarizes that these symptoms are inclusive of Gossip, complaints, the inability to complete work by stipulated deadlines, absenteeism, not attending meetings, law suits, not return phone calls or other efforts to communicate, passive or aggressive behaviors and even physical violence. The article asserts that the presence of a few of these problems are not unusual and do not necessarily reflect the presence of a conflict. However, when several of these issues arise at the same time, there is a possibility that a conflict exist.

2. What causes team conflict? The article asserts that team conflict arises as a result of inability to solve problems, Poor communication, Lack of clarity as it relates to purpose, goals, and objectives. In addition, causes of team conflict also include poor management of time, turnover, conflicts in personality, team members don't seem challenged or interested, and personal problems.

The author asserts that managers play an instrumental role in resolving these conflicts. The author also points out that the resolving of such conflicts is an essential team skill.

3. How is team conflict addressed?

Conclusion

For the purpose of this discussion we focused on conflict resolution in the workplace. We began this discussion by providing a definition of conflict resolution. Conflict resolution was defined as the process by which disagreements or arguments are remedies so that they do not result in violence or the continuation of hostility.

The discussion also summarized three articles concerning conflict resolution in the workplace.

The first article "Resolving Workplace Conflict: To Overcome Disagreements and Build a Cohesive Team, a Manager Must Understand What Causes Conflicts" explained the reasons why conflict often exist in the workplace. This particular article also focused on the steps that managers can take to avoid such conflict and to resolve it when it does arise.

The second article "Effectively Managing Team Conflict" focused specifically on resolving team conflict and the causes and solutions that managers can employ to resolve such conflicts. The final article "Conflict - an Essential Ingredient for Growth" focused on the idea that conflict can be a catalyst for growth if it is handled correctly.

Overall, the research indicates that conflict resolution is almost always necessary as it relates to organizational management. It is evident that the inability to resolve conflicts can result in organizational failure or greatly reduce the ability of the organization to operate effectively. For this reasons managers must take into consideration conflict resolution strategies.