Conflict management in the workplace: turning disagreement into opportunity

Conflict Management

Conflict within any situation, especially in the workplace, can be seen as a natural occurrence which usually reflects differences in views and personal style.

Conflict can be in most instances be defined as a difference in view or opinion or the variance in choices that can occur between two or more people.

However, unmanaged and undirected conflict can also be detrimental and result in strains and even divisive friction within the workplace.

Conflict management takes place when these differences in view and opinion are managed or are dealt with in a creative and positive way. "Wherever choices exist there is potential for disagreement. Such differences, when handled properly, can result in richer, more effective, creative solutions and interaction." (Billikopf)

The art of conflict management is essentially the ability to consistently turn conflict situations into opportunities for development and growth. This can be the achieved in a personal as well as in a business and corporate context.

The reverse side of conflict management is an increase in tension and dissention between the various parties. "When disagreement is poorly dealt with, the outcome can be contention. Contention creates a sense of psychological distance between people, such as feelings of dislike, bitter antagonism, competition, alienation, and disregard." (Billikopf)

The aim of this paper is to explore the various aspects of conflict and conflict management and the ways and methods in which it can be understood and dealt with in a responsive and positive manner.

2. What is conflict and conflict management?

Conflict management refers to the long - term and consistent management of various forms of conflict that can occur in a certain environment. There are numerous types and kinds of conflict that can take place in a working environment. These can range from gossip and ridicule to feuding and aggressive disagreements.

Essentially conflict is a result of the difference in opinion between people and therefore has to take account of variations in personality and character. Conflict has also been described in the following way. "Conflict is when two or more values, perspectives and opinions are contradictory in nature and haven't been aligned or agreed about yet..." (McNamara C.)

There are various reasons or causation factors for these situations. From a personal and psychological point-of-view, these can include conflict within oneself due to the fact that you are not living in accordance with your own values. Conflict can also arise from a situation where the values and perceptions of life that you hold dear are threatened by others. Another reason why a conflict situation arises is from fear of the unknown or from a personal sense of a lack of fulfillment. (McNamara C.)

There are numerous causes of conflict that are important to understand in the context of conflict management and these will be dealt with in greater detail below. However a central point that is reiterated in many studies on conflict management is that conflict can be seen as a positive factor in one's personal life and in the workplace. Of course this does not discount the fact that conflicts can also have very serious effects in the workplace and for the personal life of the individual.

However, as one study states, "Conflict is inevitable and often good, for example, good teams always go through a "form, storm, norm and perform" period. Getting the most out of diversity means often-contradictory values, perspectives and opinions." (McNamara C.) This is a factor that will also be expanded on in the exploration of the various views of conflict and conflict management.

Professional and personal differences

The complexity of workplace conflict is shown by the fact that in addition to the personal and individual differences and social and cultural aspects, there are also important differences in terms of professional attitudes, status and professional positions. For example, within a business working environment we find that marketing people tend to view the work and the world in a very different way to those people who are mainly concerned with financial issues and, "Human resources specialists often have different values and perspectives than do accountants." (Landau, Landau, and Landau 8)

The above aspect also relates to the differences in personality types as well.

For example, "...an outgoing, imaginative, entrepreneurial person is more likely to become a marketer than an accountant. Once in the marketing business, the person will probably be rewarded more for vision, risk taking, and intuition than for caution and accuracy. "(Landau, Landau, and Landau 8)

Unclear Vision

One of the most common factors that create conflict within any working environment is a lack of vision or unclear vision about the aims and goals involved in the business or concern.

This is a particularly important aspect with regard to the management of conflict.

Identifying unclear vision or instructions as a cause of conflict can help to rectify and "manage" the conflict situation and help to reduce the underlying causative factors in the conflict.

It is therefore an extremely important tenet of good management to provide clear and understandable goals and a clear vision of what is to be expected from the staff. " When you have many people working in specialized groups, it is important to provide them with a clear idea about the goals, direction, and values of the overall entity. This enables them to carry out their responsibilities in ways that contribute to the success of the enterprise." (Landau, Landau, and Landau 9)

In essence, what can occur when there is lack of clear vision in an organization is that each individual may interpret and invent their own versions of the intentions and purpose of the concern. This naturally tends to exacerbate the tension and increase the potential for conflict; as with many competing visions and views there are bound to be differences of opinion and consequently conflict between different individuals." As a result many people in many organizations are forced to invent their own corporate vision. When you have different versions of goals, direction, and values among different individuals and groups, you increase the probability of unproductive conflict. " (Landau, Landau, and Landau 9)

An example given by Landau et al. illustrates this important point. The authors describe a situation where each individual working in a museum visualized the aims and goals of the institution differently.

One visualized the museum as primarily an educational institution, whereas the other saw its primary goal as entertainment. The business of the museum could not be carried out without the collaboration of these two officers, but unfortunately the difference in their views was a barrier to their cooperation. Their relationship quickly deteriorated and spread to members of their respective staffs. Eventually members of the board became concerned and put pressure on the CEO to resolve the conflict.

Landau, Landau, and Landau 10)

Conflicting Responsibilities

Within any organization there are different groups with different responsibilities. This also means that there can be differences and opposition between these various groups.

An example is as follows: "Sales people want to sell as much as they can, and their job is made easier if the product can be customized and the price kept low. Production managers want to keep costs low, and this is best accomplished through long runs of similar items. Finance wants the sales to be profitable, so the price cannot be too low." (Landau, Landau, and Landau 10)

All of these different aspirations and goals can lead to conflict and tension between the various groups

Unclear Responsibilities

This point is similar in some ways to the problem of unclear vision. In this case management may not make the responsibilities of individuals and groups clear enough. This can subsequently lead to problems of misinterpretation and overlapping areas of responsibility and conflict. Overlapping areas of responsibly are almost inevitable to a certain extent in large organizations. This aspect is therefore an important point to consider when dealing with minimizing conflict and ways of conflict management.

Conflicting Information

Communication is one of the essential factors in most forms of conflict management.

A breakdown in communication is also one of the central reasons and factors for the development of conflict within the workplace and between individuals. The subject of interpersonal communicators is a field on its own and there are extensive and wide-ranging views on this topic.

It is however a simple fact that people, "...act on the basis of their understanding of the information available to them." (Landau, Landau, and Landau 12) it is also another fact of life that information is not always clearly shared among the working staff in many organizations. This can lead not only to misunderstandings and conflicts but can also be a serious impediment to the positive atmosphere and workflow in an organization. "Conflict arises because people act on information in ways that others do not understand and therefore misinterpret. "(Landau, Landau, and Landau 12)

Power Struggles

An issue that is essential for the understanding of dissention and conflict within the working environment where there are a number of people is the existence of power struggles for status or position within the organization. The mediator in conflict management should therefore be aware of the various underlying power struggles which may be the real source of the conflict and may not be openly admitted by members of staff. This aspect refers to what is commonly called "office politics." rather humorous but nevertheless insightful view of office politics can be observed in television programs like the Office, where underlying power struggles and jealousy are shown to be a major part in office conflict.

Organizations are usually hierarchical in structure. Position and status within the hierarchy often determine and are central to the politics and functioning of the organization.

An understanding of this aspect is also essential for effective conflict management.

Position in the hierarchy conveys the power to affect how things get done, so people with agendas and ambition covet key positions. These people quite naturally view their colleagues as potential roadblocks to their careers. Thus people behave competitively when they should be cooperating in the corporate interest. Management often encourages such competitive tendencies out of a belief in natural selection.

Landau, Landau, and Landau 16

Organization Structure and Procedures

The organization structure itself can cause conflict. Structure refers to the fact that relationships between people are often formalized and people with different views and opinions may be 'thrown together' and expected to work in close proximity. In other words, people with opposing or ambiguous responsibilities may have to "rub points... that cause raw wounds." (Landau, Landau, and Landau 17) Therefore, in determining ways of reducing or minimizing conflict in an organization, the aspect to structure and the way that relationships are formalized by this structure is an essential point that needs to be taken into account. As Landau et al. suggest:

Perhaps a structure was designed to take advantage of the strengths of a particular individual, or to compensate for someone's weaknesses, or to keep two incompatible people apart. Those people may no longer even be in the organization. Whatever the reasons, there is a saying: "If you put good people in a bad organization structure, the bad structure will win."

Landau, Landau, and Landau 17)

Perception vs. reality

Another basic but crucial aspect that has been shown to create and engender conflict and misunderstanding in organizations is the difference in the way that the reality of a certain situation perceived. This applies equally to interpersonal relationships and to personal conflict. "Sometimes our perceptions are accurate, and sometimes they are not. When it comes to conflict, reality is not nearly as important as perception." (Landau, Landau, and Landau 17) This is an extremely important aspect that mediators and those involved in conflict management should be aware of in the effort to reduce and minimize conflict.

Different forms of workforce diversity

Research has shown that workforce is becoming more diverse. (Landau, Landau, and Landau 22) This can be seen in the increasing number of women in the workforce in the last few decades. " Women now make up about 40% of the North American workforce, with increasing representation in management and other nontraditional roles." (Landau, Landau, and Landau 22)

Gender differences and variations in perception between men and women are often a cause of misunderstanding leading to conflict. Furthermore most societies place different social expectations on men and women, which is another issuer that has to be taken into account when developing conflict management strategies.

There are also other forms of diversity in the workplace which can be the catalyst for differing opinions and potential conflict. One of these is age diversity. It is a well- known fact that people are today working longer and even past their retirement dates. Older people may have different views and opinions, which may conflict with those in younger age groups. "Corporate loyalty, long-term employment, job security, and pension benefits are likely more important to older workers than to the generations that follow. However, many younger people seem to want less structure and more informal dress; many prefer to work from home." (Landau, Landau, and Landau 22)

Another aspect that has come to the fore in recent years is difference in ethnicity and cultural background in the workplace. This can present a problem for conflict management as different nationalities and ethnic groups may have divergent views and perceptions and this tends to complicate the issue of minimizing conflict. The situation has also been exacerbated by the increase of the immigrant population in the country since the end of the last century.

Figure 1. Numbers of Unauthorized Foreign-Born in the United States, 1980-2005

Source: (http://www.prb.org/Template.cfm?Section=PRB&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=13774)

Another factor to consider is that globalization has also increased the national and cultural diversity in the workplace. (Landau, Landau, and Landau 22) "People of different cultures, genders, ages, and professions may have different attitudes toward work and family, equality