Article analysis and interpretive frameworks

Team work and team spirit seems to be one of the issues that companies tend to emphasize nowadays. A good team spirit may lead to considerable achievements and an increase in the team's efficiency. However, it is clear that a team, formed from individuals who are different one from another, may be also the appropriate environment for divergent opinions and these sometimes lead to conflicts. Although the general illusion is that conflicts are damaging overall productivity, they may be the source of useful ideas that may increase the overall potential of the group. On the other hand, it is extremely important to properly manage these conflicts so that they do not become a source of negative effects.

As such, we need to rely on specific aspects that lead to the management and eventual solving of a conflict. There are several key issues worth mentioning here. First of all, a conflict usually occurs because of different view points, disagreements over a certain situation, different beliefs, values or attitudes and several other unnamed causes. The first step in solving a problem is working out its causes and its origin. A conflict is no different in this sense.

Once the causes of the problem/conflict are identified, each party needs to propose their set of solutions for exiting the crisis situation. This part of the conflict management process will have as the result, a determined set of possible actions that will help overcome the current situation.

The third step is the most difficult in overcoming the conflict because it implies that the parties involved reach a common position on the matter. As the source of the conflict is generally a different position on a certain aspect, this step implies that the parties have negotiated a common stand and that the conflict is practically solved, with a solution that both sides believe in.

The implementation and evaluation phases are post-solution phases, but important because they provide the actual practical test of whether the solution is properly functioning or not. We may have the case of a loop situation, when the theoretical solution that the parties have agreed upon is not the proper solution in practice and a new one needs to be negotiated.

There are perhaps several questions that may arrive from the conflict management process I have described here above. First of all, may we assume that such an extensive process will lead to an overall decrease in efficiency because the team members will deal more with the conflict management process than with getting their job done? Not necessarily, because the time that is spent dealing with a conflict may later be retrieved with an increased post-conflict efficiency of the group.