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Showing posts with label Conflict Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conflict Management. Show all posts

Sunday, August 14, 2011

What is Conflict?

In every organization interaction between persons and group may raise some sort of indifference or conflict so, we need to know What is Conflict?

What is Conflict?

Conflict is :

  • What happens when there’s a gap between the goals of one person and those of others.
  • This gap affect the relation between them.

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How conflict can differ from just indifference ?

Questions that used t o differentiate conflict from indifference:

  • Are the parties approaching the conflict from a hostile point ?
  • Is the outcome likely to be negative one for the organization ?
  • Do the potential losses of the parties exceed any potential gain?

If answer by Yes indicate conflict here.

Why conflict management is importance ?

  • Conflict management skills predict managerial success.
  • Managers spend about 21% of their time dealing with conflict.

What are the perspective of conflict?

There are two perspectives:

  • Inter actionist view:

Conflict is valuable to organization.

When two people in business always agree, one of them unnecessary.

  • Minimization view:

Conflict reduces harmony and should avoided.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Consequences Of Conflict

Positive Consequences:

  • Leads to new ideas.
  • Stimulate creativity.
  • Motivates change.
  • Promote organization vitality.
  • Help individuals and groups establish identities.
  • Serves as a safety valve to indicate problems.

Negative Consequences:

  • Diverts energy from work.
  • Threatens psychological well-being.
  • Wastes resources.
  • Creates a negative climate.
  • Breaks down group cohesion.
  • Can increase hostility and aggressive behaviors.

Conflict Management

Is the process of of reducing, resolving, or suppressing conflict.

Conflict Management Styles

Thomas Kilman Conflict Model Instrument :

In this Model Thomas study the inter-relation between assertive and Cooperative behaviors as follow:

  1. Avoidance.
  2. Accommodation.
  3. Competing.
  4. Compromise.
  5. Collaboration.

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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Organizational Conflict

Nature of Organizational Conflict

Functional Conflict –  healthy:

Constructive disagreement between two or more people.

Dysfunctional Conflict – unhealthy:

Destructive disagreement between two or more people.

 

Causes of Conflict in Organization

Structural Factors :

  • Specialization.
  • Interdependence.
  • Common resources.
  • Goal differences.
  • Authority relationship.
  • status inconsistencies.
  • Jurisdictional ambiguities.

Personal Factors :

  • Skills and abilities.
  • Personalities.
  • Perceptions.
  • Emotions.
  • Communication barriers.
  • Cultural differences.

Several Things Often Combine To Create Conflict

  • Our natural need to want to explain our side first.
  • Our ineffectiveness as listener.
  • Our fear.
  • Our assumption that one of us has to lose.

Forms of  Conflict in Organization

 

Inter - organizational  Conflict :

Occurs between two or more organizations.

Intergroup Conflict :

Occurs between groups or team in an organizations.

Intragroup Conflict :

Occurs within groups or teams

Interpersonal Conflict :

Occurs between two or more individuals.

Intrapersonal Conflict :

Occurs within an individual.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Thomas Kilman Conflict Model Instrument For Conflict Management

  1. Avoidance ( Unassertive & Uncooperative )

  • Suppress conflict by avoiding it or the other party.
  • Use when the matter is trivial.
  • Allow other party or yourself time to cool down.
  • Use it when:
    • Issue importance is low.
    • Relationship importance is low.
    • Relative power is equal.
    • Time constraint is med : high

 

2.   Accommodation ( Unassertive & Cooperative )

  • Put the importance of other party above your own.
  • Caution as you may eventually “blow-up” by continuing to put others interests above your own.
  • Use it when:
    • Issue are more important to others than you.
    • Relationship importance is high .
    • Relative power is low.
    • Time constraint is med : high

3.    Competing ( Assertive & Uncooperative )

  • “ I am right, you are wrong “ approach.
  • Use it when:
    • Issue importance is high.
    • Relationship importance is short-term and/or one time interaction.
    • Relative power is high.
    • Time constraint:  emergency situation.

4.    Compromise ( The middle Ground )

  • Each party intends to or is asked to “give-up” something: “ let’s split the difference “
  • Middle ground result in incomplete satisfaction of both parties concerns.
  • Use it when:
    • Issue importance is med.
    • Relationship importance is med.
    • Relative power is equal.
    • Time constraint is low.

5.    Collaboration ( Assertive & Cooperative )

  • “ Win – Win “ strategy.
  • Each party seeks to fully satisfy their concerns and the concerns of other party.
  • Searching for a maturity beneficial outcome.
  • Commitment to long term relationships.
  • Use it when:
      • Issue importance is high.
      • Relationship importance is high.
      • Relative power is low-high.
      • Time constraint is low.

6 Steps for Managing Conflict

  1. Set the tone.
  2. Get the feelings.
  3. Get the facts.
  4. Ask for help.
  5. Get commitment.
  6. Follow up

  1. Set the tone

  • Be cordial and non-threatening.
  • Avoid abrupt statements.

2.   Get the feelings

  • Allow employees to “talk” through their feeling.
  • Don’t interrupt,seek clarification.
  • Avoid approval or disapproval.
  • Don’t question, explore, criticize, interpret, convince, or sympathize.
  • Use statements to “reflect” feelings
  • Don’t become emotional be neutral

3.   Get the facts

  • Actively listen.
  • Read nonverbal clues.
  • Depersonalize the conflict.
  • Save your comments until you have all the facts.
  • Avoid “ you “ statements: could, should, etc..

4.   Ask for help

  • Encourage employees to work out their own solution.
  • Don’t “tell” employees how to resolve the conflict.
  • Get participation and commitment.
  • Explore consequences of their proposed solutions.

5.   Get commitment

  • Ask directly for their commitments to work the solution.
  • Help put their plan in writing.
  • what is to be done?
  • Who will do it?
  • When will they do it?
  • What help will be needed?

6.   Follow up

  • It’s the manger’s ( not the employees’) responsibility to follow up.
  • Schedule a follow up meeting to check if the solution is working.