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Human Services Administrator And The Conflict Situation Essay

¶ … human services administrator and the conflict situation you selected from the Roundtable Discussion. Then explain how you, as a human services administrator, might approach conflict in the selected situation to facilitate productivity and creativity. Be specific. Finally, explain any insights you had or conclusions you drew related to using conflict as a tool for human services administration. Social conflict occurs when two or more individuals oppose something within a social interaction. Conflict is part of human nature, and, as such, may be mitigated or managed through a variety of theories and psychological techniques. Conflict theory, for instance, emphasizes individual interests rather than norms of value: society is composed of groups that struggle to pursue their own interests and will use whatever advantage possible to pursue their goals. This has given rise to a number of theories --...

Many tend to look at the idea of conflict as an inevitable negative within the workplace or organizational culture. However, it is also possible to see conflict as positive dissent, something that might be encouraged and developed in a positive way to improve the organization.
For instance, in the conflict scenario, Holly underscores the idea that conflict is important; it is how it is channeled and how it can be used to help individuals grow and develop. Further, if we think about modern business structures, we can see how tremendously complex they can be. There are pressures to remain profitable, to produce more, to be innovative, and to do far more with less staff. If we take this further though, we can view conflict as a necessary part of the organization, a necessary…

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For instance, in the conflict scenario, Holly underscores the idea that conflict is important; it is how it is channeled and how it can be used to help individuals grow and develop. Further, if we think about modern business structures, we can see how tremendously complex they can be. There are pressures to remain profitable, to produce more, to be innovative, and to do far more with less staff. If we take this further though, we can view conflict as a necessary part of the organization, a necessary and important part of being human. Further, leaders can shape the culture of an organization by encouraging conflict as part of the new "innovation culture" (Gelfand, et.al., 2010).

In most cases, innovation is not clean, neat, and pretty. Instead, by its very nature, it is disruptive to the patterns and procedures within an organization. Often, this disruption takes the form of dissent -- meaning that individuals prefer to go in a different direction or pattern than the status quo. The difficulty for most managers, and all levels, is to encourage dissent without feeling threatened by it. As the axiom of a wise CEO said, "I don't shoot messengers -- that's why I have them."

In the Human Services scenario, Andrea had a situation in which two staffers were extremely critical of how the other performed their job. To mitigate this, Andrea had the two switch jobs -- and the problem actually diminished and the two became closer. This was an extremely effective and innovative management tool that had larger ramifications than just the jobs the two were doing. In human nature dissent does not always stay confined to areas that managers and owners find agreeable or even acceptable. However, the human psyche works in a way that it is typically "all or nothing" when giving an opinion. It is not typically possible to find an organizational culture that encourages dissent and free thinking -- but only in limited subjects defined by management. By walking in one another's shoes for a bit, they could each appreciate a better way to collaborate effectively. After all, particularly in non-profit organizations, each person should fully realize that they are working for something grander than themselves -- and most would seem to have
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