Introduction
Conflict is a serious disagreement, a radical way of resolving a conflict between people. According to the American Management Association, modern managers devote about 24% of their time to it (Greer & Dannals, 2017, p. 317). It is dangerous for productivity to pretend that conflicts do not exist in an organization or to forbid them. There is a risk that staff will then hide differences of opinion, become accustomed to operating in secret, and begin to engage in corporate games instead of solving their problems. Thus, it is essential to establish methods of conflict management in the organization.
Stages of Conflict
It is crucial to remember that conflicts, from their emergence to their extinction, pass through four stages. The first phase is the emergence of the crisis, at which point employees begin to have a negative attitude toward something, usually some managerial situation (Greer & Dannals, 2017).
The conflict is initiated implicitly, employees do not show their feelings and do not make demands, but usually, at this stage, they are not articulated. The problem manifests itself through unhelpful behavior and an oppressive climate in the workplace. The next stage is formation, which divides the staff into groups with different attitudes toward a specific managerial situation (Greer & Dannals, 2017). In other words, there is a so-called consolidation depending on their desires, which means that everyone has a different attitude toward the situation, but their requirements are varied.
After this, the conflict peaks, and the parties proceed into open confrontation. The so-called model of the enemy’s behavior is when people try not to achieve something and harm and interfere with each other to reach desired results. The final stage is extinction, and the dispute ends sometime after the peak when functional or dysfunctional consequences occur (Greer & Dannals, 2017). Thus, such situations in the team lead to a decrease in productivity and a change in the staff.
Methods of Addressing Conflict
In order to prevent critical situations from arising, managers need to intervene in times of conflict. At the same time, one of the critical mistakes of participants in any dispute is to perceive the disagreement as a kind of competition that should be won. One popular error of the supervisor is attempting to determine which side is right and which is wrong. Thus, the administrator indirectly takes sides and begins to participate in this competition. Instead, it is worth trying “to extinguish the conflict itself first” (McKibben, 2017, p. 102). For example, make it clear to the participants that perceiving each other as enemies or competitors is not necessary. Alternatively, it is possible to find a compromise that satisfies both parties.
The best option is to offer to explore together with the conflicting parties the situation that has led to the disagreement. It is also essential to try to have a more comprehensive view of it as if to find some third opinion that contradicts the positions of both sides. It is doubtful that the conflict will be resolved as a result (McKibben, 2017). Still, it will simultaneously extinguish the heat of passion in the team, channel the energy of the conflict participants into a productive direction, and the manager will not be involved in the controversy.
However, it is crucial to have the skills to teach in conflicts. This is due to the fact that the manager sometimes has to act as an actor. To participate effectively in disputes, it is crucial to learn to act according to a given procedure and to preserve stability (McKibben, 2017). Moreover, one can use the advice of the American Management Association to start by identifying the root cause of the conflict. After that, it is essential to determine what is important to the company in the conflict. If it is a dispute, it is to evaluate the consequences for the company of a specific party losing or winning in it (McKibben, 2017). The next step is to determine why the other party is in conflict; in this way, a holistic view of the situation can be obtained. Accordingly, the manager can assess the situation and intervene in the conflict.
Importantly, it is better to deal with conflicts in a designated area and not immediately. Participants should be allowed to have some time to reflect on the situation, not just emotionally. At the same time, for negotiations, it is essential to talk to each party to the conflict separately (McKibben, 2017). This will help to discover what rational and emotional background has led to the disagreement. Thus, only an open dialogue and conversation about the problems will help to create a strategy for solving them.
Methods of Avoiding Conflicts
For a company to work successfully, it is essential to eliminate the leading causes of conflict. For example, a transparent payroll system will not contribute to disputes over the financial factor (Rahim, 2017). Meanwhile, the closer people are to each other in the team, the fewer interpersonal conflicts arise. Thus, low team spirit should be changed to high, motivating staff to complete their work (Rahim, 2017). In addition, it is necessary to build a strong authority for the head to be considered superior. Accordingly, this will enable cooperation to be influenced and resolve conflicts.
Conclusion
Thus, it is essential to recognize the stage of conflict and intervene to resolve it. Simultaneously, it is necessary to develop management skills to identify the cause and possible consequences of disputes. Also, negotiation is one of the main ways to quickly understand the situation and offer the parties options for solutions. Although it is significant not to even allow conflict situations to progress, with the assistance of motivation, authority, and team cohesion, the situation is under control.
References
Greer, L. L., & Dannals, J. E. (2017). Conflict in teams. In E. Salas, R. Rico & Passmore, J. Passmore (Eds.), The psychology of team working and collaborative processes ( pp. 317-343). Wiley Blackwell Handbook.
McKibben, L. (2017). Conflict management: Importance and implications. British Journal of Nursing, 26(2), 100-103. Web.
Rahim, M. A. (2017). Managing conflict in organizations. Routledge.